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Orphans of Maoist violence find a home in Dantewada-Rakhi Chakrabarty
-The Times of India

DANTEWADA: Six-year-old Shiva Yadav sang softly to Shahid Khan, about two-and-half-years-old, trying to lull him to sleep. Their mothers — Vime Yadav and Kureshia Begum — were busy chopping vegetables for dinner of 250 children at Dantewada's Aastha hostel in south Chhattisgarh. Vime is a cook and Kureshia works as a peon at the state government-run Aastha. They landed the jobs after their husbands were killed in a landmine blast in 2009.

Like Shiva and Shahid, their fathers were friends. "They had gone to Kerlapal to buy fowls. While they were returning home, the vehicle carrying four people blew up in a landmine blast triggered by the Maoists," said Vime.

Aastha is home to around 127 girls and 123 boys who are orphans from villages of Dantewada and surrounding districts of Chhattisgarh ravaged by Maoist violence. Parents of many of the children were killed by Maoists.

Kamla Curram (14) studies in class IX. She left her home in Konta's Chittalguda village in the Maoist heartland and came to Aastha in 2007 after her father was killed by Maoists and her mother died of malaria in 2006.

Speaking to TOI, Kamla said, "The Maoists came to the village at night and took away my father along with five other villagers to the jungle. They were hacked to death. We found him next morning."

She is scared everytime she returns to the village during summer vacation. She is determined though not to let the fear get the better of her. "I sing when I feel depressed," she said. She dreams of becoming a doctor.

Her friend Podiyam Anita (15), from Konta's Murliguda village, shudders everytime she remembers her father who was a farmer. He was an SPO but later quit. "He had gone to Konta when they (Maoists) abducted him. We searched for him everywhere, but could not find him. After a week, we found his body in the forest. There were worms crawling on his body," said Anita.

Sushma Das, in charge of the girls at Aastha, said, "Both girls have a good voice. So, we arranged for a teacher to give them music lessons."

After the children come to Aastha from villages they are coached for admission to schools. "We want to make use of the Right to Education in case of these children," said Dantewada collector O P Chowdhury.

Aastha inmates currently study in various schools, including Kendriya Vidyalaya. "The older children are coached for various entrance tests," said Ramesh Baghel, in charge of the boys at the hostel.

In 2011, Chowdhury started a project called, Chhoo lo Aasman, to coach children from remote Maoist-hit villages in science and mathematics. "In Bastar, there is an acute shortage of good science and mathematics teachers. So, we selected teachers with proven track record in these subjects and housed them at residential schools for those who want to study science after class X," said Chowdhury.

Currently, around 180 girls and 140 boys are coached in science subjects at residential schools at Karli and Balood in Dantewada. All expenses are borne by the state government.

At Karli, Veena Podiyam is among the girls who cleared the pharmacy entrance test. She also appeared in the medical entrance test. In January, her brother died in police custody in Sukma. He was picked up by the CRPF on the suspicion that he was a Maoist and handed over to district police. It was alleged that he committed suicide in the police lock-up. Rights activists alleged he was killed by police who tortured him.

Monika Jatre of Sukma's Chhindgarh village has grown up battling terror and seeing villagers killed by Maoists. "I don't want to go to my village," she said. The class XI student has enrolled in for science coaching and is studying hard for pharmacy, nursing and medical entrance tests at the Karli residential school.