Odisha: Naveen Patnaik wakes up to Sangh Parivar's growth

As Sangh Parivar affiliated schools mushroom, Patnaik pushes to improve govt-run schools

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) is growing in strength in Odisha through its social welfare work, especially schools, which outfits affiliated with the Sangh Parivar run to prepare a generation of youth devoted to Hindutva. The increase in numbers and popularity of educational institutions run by the Sangh Parivar poses a challenge to the state government-run and government-aided schools.

To repair the reputation of government-run schools and attract more students, the state government recently launched an initiative to revamp these in a phased manner. Starting with 50 high schools in Hinjili, the constituency of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, the Odisha government has announced to transform 5,000 high schools in the state in the next three years.

The state government project comes in the wake of the growing popularity of schools run by the Shiksha Vikash Samiti (SVS), affiliated with Vidya Bharati, the educational wing of the RSS, and also of private English medium schools. The SVS schools and private English medium schools charge for admission and collect monthly fees, while education is free in the government-run schools.

In 1977, the Sangh Parivar established Odisha's first Saraswati Shishu Mandir in Bhubaneswar. Interestingly, it ran the school from a government quarter in the capital city. The setting up of SVS schools coincided with the deterioration of the standard of government-run schools because of lackadaisical supervision.

The entry for RSS affiliated outfits into Odisha was easier then since the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, the earlier avatar of the Bharatiya Janata Party, had merged with the then ruling Janata Party.

Since then, SVS schools have witnessed a steady increase. The SVS currently runs a total of 1,367 schools in Odisha. Of these, 1,007 are Saraswati Shishu Mandir primary and upper primary schools, and the remaining 360 are Saraswati Shishu Vidya Mandir high schools. There are a total of 14,63,756 students enrolled and 17,000 teachers employed with these schools.

Besides, the SVS is also running five higher secondary schools in different parts of the state and a degree college at Nilakantha Nagar in the southern Odisha town of Berhampur in Ganjam, the chief minister's home district.

The SVS schools with Odia language as the medium of instruction also teach other books of their choice and the government-approved curriculum.

Their performance has been better than government-run and aided schools due to better monitoring and discipline, which most parents appreciate. The academic results of these schools are also better than government-run schools.

Along with these SVS schools performing well, Odisha has seen a growth in the number of RSS shakhas. Currently, 1,932 shakhas are functioning in the state. RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat was on a five-day trip to the state last month to meet the Sangh Parivar functionaries.

The Sangh Parivar has divided Odisha into two sectors – 16 coastal districts clubbed as the Purba Pranta (eastern region) with 1,132 Shakhas and daily attendance of 25,000 volunteers, and the Paschim Pranta (western region) with 14 interior districts, which have 800 shakhas with attendance of 20,000 volunteers.

The increase in SVS schools and RSS shakhas was sharper when the BJP was in power in the state as an alliance partner of the ruling Biju Janata Dal for nine years, from 2000 to 2009.

Patnaik's plan

The Patnaik government plans to improve school infrastructure with better classrooms, e-libraries, advanced science labs, clean drinking water, hygienic toilets and sports facilities.

For the state's aspirational middle class that prefers to send their children to English medium schools, the state government has established 250 Adarsha Vidyalayas in each block. It will eventually cover all 314 blocks. These schools start their intake of students from middle school onwards, and instead of the State Board, these are affiliated with the Central Board of Secondary Education. The state government has proposed to set up model schools for meritorious students.

However, the Patnaik government's plan could take years to complete. In the interregnum, the SVS schools are likely to increase. The RSS and its several affiliated outfits are growing in strength as well and expanding their footprint at the grassroots level.

Will all of this contribute to the BJP's ambition to win the next round of Assembly and Lok Sabha polls in Odisha in 2024? That is hazardous to predict. What one can say with certainty is that many of the party's workers developed an affinity for Hindutva while studying in the SVS schools.

(The writer is a Bhubaneswar based journalist)

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are the author's own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of DH.

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