Anshu Meshack

As the aircraft descends through the clouds and hovers above the emerald green patches of land amid the myriad shades of blue of the Indian Ocean, it is difficult to believe the spectacular beauty of the unfolding landscape. It also leaves one ill-prepared to accept, in sharp contrast, the realities of those who call these islands home and live in blissful ignorance of the possibilities of a better life.

Charkha’s Distant Areas Programme, that seeks to integrate the many remote residents of the country with ‘mainland’ India, led a team of two to the Andaman & Nicobar Islands on April 15-21, 2007, to carry out the groundwork for the Pilot Project in the first ‘distant area’ selected for the Programme. The visit, covering extensive distances on the 340-km long Andaman Trunk Road, offered a glimpse into the not-so-picturesque lives of the residents of North Andaman district.

The Islands are populated by communities that represent a microcosm of the Indian ethos, resplendent in the variety of cultures, languages and religions that represent India at her brilliant best. While the harmony on the Islands is worthy of emulation, the disadvantage of being geographically distant from the Indian mainland puts the locals at a disadvantage not quite of their making.

The network of State-run schools is extensive and permeates the nearly inaccessible forest settlements where people practice a form of shifting cultivation that makes schooling an arduous task. Formal education is not perceived as high priority and children are often involved in cultivation and other forest-based activities, in line with the livelihood patterns of the elders, soon after they complete primary school.

The Pilot involves the selection of six government schools in Mayabunder, the district headquarters, where environment-based activities will provide the platform for collective actions by the school children, studying in Classes Six to Nine. Communications play a crucial role in this process of integration through the exchange of thoughts, ideas and information between children’s groups. Radio has been found to be the most optimal medium of communication in these geographically isolated and difficult-to-access islands.

The potential of Radio as a medium of two-way communication can be best explained by involving children in the creation of radio programmes, supported by their teachers and radio professionals, and broadcasting these programmes through the local All India Radio broadcasting station. Nature trails and camps, essay competitions and film screenings, are some of the activities slated for this first-ever Programme that involves the joint participation of the State, Civil Society organizations and the media.

Children across the country deserve equal opportunities to be the best they can; this is an effort to make them responsible future citizens of a country we can be proud of.

(Charkha Features)