Activist Launches Campaign for Tribal Schools in India

Activist Abhijeet Dipke, founder of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), announced the launch of the 'Adivasi School Thik Karo' campaign on Wednesday, aiming to address neglect and discrimination in tribal schools across India. The campaign is set to begin on September 17 from Gadchiroli in Maharashtra, with CJP representatives visiting tribal schools to inspect facilities and infrastructure. Dipke alleged that more than 590 tribal students have died in Maharashtra over the past two years, with deaths attributed to incidents such as snakebites, food poisoning, and inadequate access to medical facilities. He claimed that families of deceased students often receive insufficient compensation, citing instances where goats were given as ex-gratia in Rajasthan and only Rs 4 lakh in Madhya Pradesh. The activist also stated that 477 of the 720 sanctioned Eklavya Model Residential Schools are non-functional, with only 340 having permanent buildings, and more than 2,800 teacher posts remaining vacant. In a symbolic protest, Dipke tore up a copy of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Maharashtra Tribal Development Department and the Late Lakshman Mankar Trust, which he opposed.