“Being Neutral is Our Biggest Crime” - Global Coalition to Protect ...

The ITDA project officer for Khammam district assured us that schools were open to
all children including those displaced, but failed to address the problem of language
as a barrier to education. He offered a “solution” to the language problem—that
because displaced children are bilingual (speaking both Hindi and Koya, a tribal
language) they could go to Koya schools in interior villages. 498 A local NGO however
said that this solution would not address the language barrier—written Koya uses the
Telugu script, and poses the same problem as Telugu-medium schools. 499
The Indian central and Chhattisgarh state governments should take immediate steps
to ensure that government security forces avoid using school buildings, restore
damaged schools, and facilitate contact between parents and children where they
have been separated due to schooling needs. Naxalites should immediately stop
destroying school buildings to ensure that civilians who voluntarily return to villages
are able to use government facilities in interior areas. The Andhra Pradesh
government should immediately provide access to education in Hindi to ensure that
displaced children are able to continue their education.
498 Human Rights Watch interview with K. Bhaskar, sub-collector of Khammam district holding charge as ITDA project officer
for Khammam district, Bhadrachalam, December 7, 2007.
499 Human Rights Watch interview with Dr. Haneef, Chinturu, December 7, 2007 (second interview).
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