RAIPUR: In a victory of hope over terror, the sound of school bells has returned to the deepest, most inhospitable corners of Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district.
The landmark initiative has successfully reclaimed over 1,000 children from educational isolation, re-anchoring them into the mainstream of structured learning after 21 years of darkness.
Driven by the state government's resolute vision and a decisive campaign spearheaded by Bijapur District Collector Vishwadeep, as many as 37 long-defunct schools have reopened in the new academic session.
Across the district’s remote blocks of Bijapur, Bhairamgarh, Usur, and Bhopalpatnam—vast hinterlands where senior Naxal leaders once commonly resided—a significant transformation is occurring. Following security clearance and the declaration of these villages as Maoist-free, the district administration and the School Education Department launched a synchronised campaign under the Right to Education mandate to ensure no child is left behind.
"Educating a child in these remote areas is not merely teaching letters; it is restoring human dignity and establishing peace where fear once ruled,” said Vishwadeep, Bijapur Collector.
The roots of this educational tragedy trace back to 2005 when the controversial anti-Maoist Salwa Judum movement was launched. Then the insurgents systematically targeted public infrastructure, dynamiting and destroying over 300 school buildings across displaced tribal villages. The destruction aimed to sever the state’s presence, forcing entire generations of children into literacy deprivation.
In heavily impacted villages such as Pidia, Gampur, Donditumnar, and Tamodi in Bijapur block, and Takilod, Ghotpal, Marrmeta, Sagmeta, Gomtair, and Darbha in Bhairamgarh block, schools had completely vanished for over two decades. What was once lost to conflict is now being rebuilt brick by brick and heart by heart.
“It’s a ray of hope in the former Red Corridor, we will contribute our best as community 'Shikshadoots' for school students in Bijapur”, said Mahendra Tati, who is teaching in Kadenar village.
Re-establishing education in highly sensitive terrain required more than administrative orders—it demanded local trust. To achieve this, local educated youth were selected as 'Shikshadoots' (Ambassadors of Education) based on formal Gram Panchayat resolutions, financed through District Mineral Foundation (DMF) funds.
Undeterred by the lack of permanent infrastructure, local villagers collaborated with the administration to construct temporary thatched huts (Jhopdis) so classes could commence immediately. The district administration has already provided essential learning kits, textbooks, blackboards, and uniforms, while official sanctioning and administrative clearances for permanent concrete (pucca) school buildings are actively underway, the collector said.