One Hundred Years Of... The Adivasi Quandary

RSS' Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram works in the fields of education, health and rural development. However, the cultural homogeneity of tribals as Hindus is at the core of its agenda

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GORAKH Shinde, in his pink school shirt, sat under a tree on the premises of the Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram (VKA) in Kanadi-Chikhali. In Class V, he had just returned to his ashram hostel to play for a short while. His Zilla Parishad school is located right next door. Shinde, a Bhil Adivasi from Piprani village in Shahada taluka of Maharashtra's Nandurbar district, mentioned how he was introduced to the VKA at Kanadi-Chikhali.

"My parents are daily-wage labourers. We are five siblings. In 2023, I was studying in another school near our home along with my elder brother, but then we dropped out due to poverty. Later, when my father heard about the Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram here at Kanadi, I was brought here," he said.

His eyes were empty and distant and his patched uniform suggested financial struggles at home. He was eight when he entered the VKA. Now he is ten. Like him, around 29 other tribal children live in the VKA, attending nearby public schools. The VKA serves as a hostel for them, providing food and shelter free of cost, but with a strict schedule and discipline—the organisation's pan-India signature.

History of the VKA and Religious Conflicts

Founded in 1952 at Jashpur in Madhya Pradesh by senior RSS activist Balasaheb Deshpande, the VKA has grown over 74 years into a nationwide network working among tribal communities. It cuts across students, professionals and retired persons involved in the VKA's projects in education, health, agriculture, sports and shraddha jagaran (religious awakening). In Maharashtra, the Ashram began its work in 1979. It now runs 18 hostels for tribal students, three schools, three