In The Zone

A unique programme in Jharkhand shed light on how sports can be the force to rise above poverty and discord. As efforts are on to replicate it, we travel to the interiors to gauge its impact and direction.

- Jasvinder Sidhu

ALONGSIDE NH 39 from Ranchi to Latehar in Jharkhand, labourers are busy chopping down some 100-year-old trees to clear the way for a winding road that takes you to the entry point of the Maoist-dominated parts of the state. This is the highway on which travelling after five in the evening is considered dangerous because of the presence of armed cadres of the Maoist Communist Centre (MCC).

Jharkhand has witnessed, according to data presented by the Ministry of Home Affairs, some 1,296 incidents of Left Wing Extremism (LWE) violence over the past five years, with 300 lives lost. Both the Central and State governments have been trying to push for normalcy in the region for decades through a mix of incentives and martial action, but districts like Palamu, Pakur, Dumka, Giridih, Latehar, Simdega, Gumla, East Singhbhum, West Singhbhum, Dhanbad and Chatra have a strong presence of the MCC.

In a state that is fraught with LWE violence, child marriage, substance abuse, trafficking and child labour in mines—coupled with poor quality of education—providing a safe future for the youth is the biggest challenge for any government. There is also the spectre of poverty, of course, with villagers having to forage and make do with little and ramshackle means deep in the villages.

Amidst this pallor of adversity, it seems sports can be a silent weapon to fight against all odds. The instant success and immediate fall of the Sports For Development programme Main Hoon Champion (‘I am a Champion’), jointly financed by the UNICEF, for youth in 320 villages across 12 districts affected by LWE is a case study.