A Lone School Holds Fort in an Uncharted Land

Deep inside the emerald embrace of Abujhmad, where the dense forest provided perfect cover for Maoists for decades, is a unique residential school in the village of Rekavaya.

- Ritesh Mishra

ABUJHMAD (BASTAR):

It is located 30km off the main road and one has to cross the mighty Indravati river and walk for about five hours to reach Rekavaya. The narrow and dusty muddy path to the village still has signs of dismantled spike holes dug by Maoists to target security forces.

The primary school has 112 students in 12 temporary structures that house classrooms, a kitchen, hostels, and staff quarters. It is the only school serving 12 villages in the region. Until recently, it was run by the villages, which took over the school from the Maoists in 2021. It is now run by the state government which took it over last year and has started work on a new permanent school building.

Abujhmad, between Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh, is known as 'unknown hill' as the 6,000 sq km of thick forest has not been surveyed since the British era. The jungle is the epicentre of Maoist activities and about a dozen senior cadres of CPI (Maoist) are believed to be hiding there.

The primary school has four teachers from Rekavaya; only one of them is a graduate.