Sadhu Manhji squats on the floor on the veranda 
of Bahuada primary school. He wipes the sweat of his forehead. Bare bodied and dusty, he has interrupted his work in the fields to come to the school and talk to us about the new initiatives for education happening within his community. He is a member of the VSS, the school education committee.
“This generation has opportunities to go to school that we never had. And all our Musahar people must realize this. The efforts of the government to give our children an education are sincere. Our own people must take advantage of this and demand for education,” he says.
Thanks to an initiative by local Mushahar youth called Navachar Kendras, backed by the State Government tHrough the SSA (Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan), 138 Musahar children of primary school going age have been identified, and all of these have been enrolled in school, he says.
“I did go to school. I remember that I was in class two when things began going against my education. We would have to walk for some distance and go to the school. We would have to pass the fields belonging to the land-owners. The farmers would tell us that we had no business going to school. The bigger boys who belonged to the farmer caste would threaten to break our legs if we went towards the school. My own parents, fearing for my safety, or even for their lives said that it was our lot to work in the fields and that we could never hope to have foolish dreams of becoming officers. This was how things were twenty five years ago.
of Bahuada primary school. He wipes the sweat of his forehead. Bare bodied and dusty, he has interrupted his work in the fields to come to the school and talk to us about the new initiatives for education happening within his community. He is a member of the VSS, the school education committee.“This generation has opportunities to go to school that we never had. And all our Musahar people must realize this. The efforts of the government to give our children an education are sincere. Our own people must take advantage of this and demand for education,” he says.
Thanks to an initiative by local Mushahar youth called Navachar Kendras, backed by the State Government tHrough the SSA (Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan), 138 Musahar children of primary school going age have been identified, and all of these have been enrolled in school, he says.
“I did go to school. I remember that I was in class two when things began going against my education. We would have to walk for some distance and go to the school. We would have to pass the fields belonging to the land-owners. The farmers would tell us that we had no business going to school. The bigger boys who belonged to the farmer caste would threaten to break our legs if we went towards the school. My own parents, fearing for my safety, or even for their lives said that it was our lot to work in the fields and that we could never hope to have foolish dreams of becoming officers. This was how things were twenty five years ago.
“Today, I am a member of the School education committee in this village. Whatever these volunteers [Tola sevaks] are doing, they are helping the children complete their education. They are taking the children by the hand and making them sit in the classrooms. The teachers are accepting these Musahar children. In our time, we would have to sit at a distance from the rest of the students, because we were regarded as smelly and dirty,” says Sadhu Manjhi with feeling.
At Pitvans Mushari beside the Punpun river, a young man named Birju speaks up. “The Musahars have always been outside the social circle. Even though there were winds of change blowing all around us, they didn’t touch our lives.
“Not only me, but practically every male above ten or eleven in my family had to find some sort of means to survive– servant, helper, brick carrier, factory worker. If your parents are busy the whole day to scrape together a handful of food, how can you go to school? You are left to survive as best you can. I studied in the school for about three years, but reality took over. I had to earn my living, so dropped out.
But now, things are very different. I would want my children to go to the school. Because they will be able to benefit. In the evenings, the tola sevak will coach my children as well. It is wonderful that educated persons from our own community are engaged in this process. This is a positive move by the government. No doubt there are problems, but this is a beginning. I am happy to say that I urged my relatives to support the tola sevak Ganauri Manjhi. This child in my arms will also go to school one day. Instead of just complaining about how we are being neglected, it is our duty to become a part of our own children’s development,” Birju asserts.
Ninety Musahar children of primary school going age were identified from the Pitvans area and all have been placed within the school system.
Photos by Frank Krishner
1.Sadhu Manjhi [right] at Bahuada PS
At Pitvans Mushari beside the Punpun river, a young man named Birju speaks up. “The Musahars have always been outside the social circle. Even though there were winds of change blowing all around us, they didn’t touch our lives.
“Not only me, but practically every male above ten or eleven in my family had to find some sort of means to survive– servant, helper, brick carrier, factory worker. If your parents are busy the whole day to scrape together a handful of food, how can you go to school? You are left to survive as best you can. I studied in the school for about three years, but reality took over. I had to earn my living, so dropped out.
But now, things are very different. I would want my children to go to the school. Because they will be able to benefit. In the evenings, the tola sevak will coach my children as well. It is wonderful that educated persons from our own community are engaged in this process. This is a positive move by the government. No doubt there are problems, but this is a beginning. I am happy to say that I urged my relatives to support the tola sevak Ganauri Manjhi. This child in my arms will also go to school one day. Instead of just complaining about how we are being neglected, it is our duty to become a part of our own children’s development,” Birju asserts.
Ninety Musahar children of primary school going age were identified from the Pitvans area and all have been placed within the school system.
Photos by Frank Krishner
1.Sadhu Manjhi [right] at Bahuada PS
2.Birju Manjhi
Author: Frank Krishner
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