Friends of Tribals Society
Encyclopedia
The Friends of Tribals Society (FTS), or Vanbandhu Parishad, is a volunteer organization formed in 1989 with the goal of improving literacy and health among the Adivasi
, rural tribal people in India
. The society operates one-teacher schools in the villages, led by trained members of the local community.
The FTS is associated with the Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation, which is active in fundraising abroad.
FTS operates Ekal Vidyalayas in Assam
, Orissa
, Bihar
, Jharkhand
, Madhya Pradesh
, Chhatisgarh, Maharashtra
and Karnataka
, while its sister organization Bharat Lok Shiksha Parishad
(BLSP) operates in Uttar Pradesh
, Uttranchal, Himachal Pradesh
, Haryana
, Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir
.
The schools (Ekal Vidyalyas) are led by a local person who is trained as a teacher. The curriculum is mainly basic literacy in the language of the state, but also introduces concepts of Hinduism
, even in areas where that is not the main religion.
An Ekal Vidyalaya teacher was killed by Naxalite
s for ignoring their directive not to teach Hindu culture.
As of July 2003, the FTS was operating 6,966 schools with 222,775 students.
By July 2007, the FTS and the Ekal Vidyalaya was operating over 23,000 schools.
The FTS had the goal of operating 30,000 schools by 2011.
The target was achieved and surpassed by March 2010 itself reaching 34,000 schools with 10,30,290 students.
The society is associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh
(RSS), which belongs to the Sangh Parivar
, a Hindu nationalist organization, although FTS officials claim to be independent of these organizations. After a 2004 electoral victory by the Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP) in Madhya Pradesh
, the Human Resources Development minister Murli Manohar Joshi
gave credit to the FTS for helping achieve the BJP victory.
In May 2005, the Union Human Resource Development Ministry stopped grants to the FTS for their schools after an inquiry reported that the organization was misusing this funding. The FTS was said to be inflating their school registers, failing to provide educational material and teaching divisive ideology.
In December 2010 the State Bank of India
donated money to purchase teaching materials for 150 one-teacher schools in the Patna
area.
Adivasi
Adivasi is an umbrella term for a heterogeneous set of ethnic and tribal groups claimed to be the aboriginal population of India. They comprise a substantial indigenous minority of the population of India...
, rural tribal people in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. The society operates one-teacher schools in the villages, led by trained members of the local community.
The FTS is associated with the Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation, which is active in fundraising abroad.
FTS operates Ekal Vidyalayas in Assam
Assam
Assam , also, rarely, Assam Valley and formerly the Assam Province , is a northeastern state of India and is one of the most culturally and geographically distinct regions of the country...
, Orissa
Orissa
Orissa , officially Odisha since Nov 2011, is a state of India, located on the east coast of India, by the Bay of Bengal. It is the modern name of the ancient nation of Kalinga, which was invaded by the Maurya Emperor Ashoka in 261 BC. The modern state of Orissa was established on 1 April...
, Bihar
Bihar
Bihar is a state in eastern India. It is the 12th largest state in terms of geographical size at and 3rd largest by population. Almost 58% of Biharis are below the age of 25, which is the highest proportion in India....
, Jharkhand
Jharkhand
Jharkhand is a state in eastern India. It was carved out of the southern part of Bihar on 15 November 2000. Jharkhand shares its border with the states of Bihar to the north, Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh to the west, Orissa to the south, and West Bengal to the east...
, Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh , often called the Heart of India, is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and Indore is the largest city....
, Chhatisgarh, Maharashtra
Maharashtra
Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...
and Karnataka
Karnataka
Karnataka , the land of the Kannadigas, is a state in South West India. It was created on 1 November 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act and this day is annually celebrated as Karnataka Rajyotsava...
, while its sister organization Bharat Lok Shiksha Parishad
Bharat Lok Shiksha Parishad
Bharat Lok Shiksha Parishad is a charity in India that operates Ekal Vidyalayas, or single-teacher schools, under the Ekal Vidyalaya of India umbrella organization....
(BLSP) operates in Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. , is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity...
, Uttranchal, Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh is a state in Northern India. It is spread over , and is bordered by the Indian states of Jammu and Kashmir on the north, Punjab on the west and south-west, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh on the south, Uttarakhand on the south-east and by the Tibet Autonomous Region on the east...
, Haryana
Haryana
Haryana is a state in India. Historically, it has been a part of the Kuru region in North India. The name Haryana is found mentioned in the 12th century AD by the apabhramsha writer Vibudh Shridhar . It is bordered by Punjab and Himachal Pradesh to the north, and by Rajasthan to the west and south...
, Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir
Jammu and Kashmir
Jammu and Kashmir is the northernmost state of India. It is situated mostly in the Himalayan mountains. Jammu and Kashmir shares a border with the states of Himachal Pradesh and Punjab to the south and internationally with the People's Republic of China to the north and east and the...
.
The schools (Ekal Vidyalyas) are led by a local person who is trained as a teacher. The curriculum is mainly basic literacy in the language of the state, but also introduces concepts of Hinduism
Hinduism
Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
, even in areas where that is not the main religion.
An Ekal Vidyalaya teacher was killed by Naxalite
Naxalite
The word Naxal, Naxalite or Naksalvadi is a generic term used to refer to various militant Communist groups operating in different parts of India under different organizational envelopes...
s for ignoring their directive not to teach Hindu culture.
As of July 2003, the FTS was operating 6,966 schools with 222,775 students.
By July 2007, the FTS and the Ekal Vidyalaya was operating over 23,000 schools.
The FTS had the goal of operating 30,000 schools by 2011.
The target was achieved and surpassed by March 2010 itself reaching 34,000 schools with 10,30,290 students.
The society is associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh or National Patriotic Organization), also known the Sangh, is a right-wing Hindu nationalist, paramilitary, volunteer, and allegedly militant organization for Hindu males in India...
(RSS), which belongs to the Sangh Parivar
Sangh Parivar
The Sangh Parivar refers to the family of organisations of Hindu nationalists which have been started by members of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh or are inspired by its ideas. The Sangh Parivar represents the Hindu nationalist movement. It includes the RSS and several dozen smaller...
, a Hindu nationalist organization, although FTS officials claim to be independent of these organizations. After a 2004 electoral victory by the Bharatiya Janata Party
Bharatiya Janata Party
The Bharatiya Janata Party ,; translation: Indian People's Party) is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Indian National Congress. Established in 1980, it is India's second largest political party in terms of representation in the parliament...
(BJP) in Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh , often called the Heart of India, is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and Indore is the largest city....
, the Human Resources Development minister Murli Manohar Joshi
Murli Manohar Joshi
Murli Manohar Joshi was the Union Human Resources Development minister of India in the NDA government. Joshi is a leading member of the Bharatiya Janata Party...
gave credit to the FTS for helping achieve the BJP victory.
In May 2005, the Union Human Resource Development Ministry stopped grants to the FTS for their schools after an inquiry reported that the organization was misusing this funding. The FTS was said to be inflating their school registers, failing to provide educational material and teaching divisive ideology.
In December 2010 the State Bank of India
State Bank of India
The State Bank of India is the largest Indian banking and financial services company with its headquarters in Mumbai, India. It is state-owned. The bank traces its ancestry to British India, through the Imperial Bank of India, to the founding in 1806 of the Bank of Calcutta, making it the oldest...
donated money to purchase teaching materials for 150 one-teacher schools in the Patna
Patna
Paṭnā , is the capital of the Indian state of Bihar and the second largest city in Eastern India . Patna is one of the oldest continuously inhabited places in the world...
area.