T he Kols are an ancient people living in the Vindhya hills. Most communities would be proud of such a history. But, like most indigenous groups, the Kols have never advanced much in life. In modern times, therefore, they find themselves handicapped by the lack of education and work skills. If you should visit their poor hutments, you would find them eking out a bare existence breaking boulders for up to 12 hours a day. In return for the back-breaking work, the contractors pay them a meagre Rs 30.

The Kols, a bleak future ahead of them, are wont to accept with utmost gratitude whatever blessings come their way. All the more if it comes in the form of sustainable development. And this is what the spare figure of Vijay Kumar, senior superintendent of police (SSP), Allahabad, represents to the impoverished tribals.

FORWARD MARCH: SSP Vijay Kumar with his Kol wards at Shankargarh

Some months ago, Kumar visited the clusters of thatch huts of the Kols in Shankargarh, met their families and children and decided to spend a day with them every week. "I decided to first hold regular health camps in their villages in Shankargarh," says Kumar. Over the years, a large number of Kols have contracted lung diseases like silicosis and tuberculosis. There are others who have lost limbs and sustained injuries while breaking rocks using explosives. "The contractors leave us to die once we are injured or struck by a deadly disease," laments Rajan Kol. Local doctors, who are members of the Indian Medical Association and also run private nursing homes, have also joined Kumar's Development From Distance Mission. The Kols now get free medical treatment, including check-ups and medicines every Sunday. Camps for the physically challenged people have also been organised with the assistance of a Delhi-based NGO.

The dark-complexioned Kols are categorised as a Scheduled Caste in Uttar Pradesh and a Scheduled Tribe in adjoining Madhya Pradesh. But despite dozens of government schemes for these groups, the living conditions of the Kols have worsened over the years. Kumar, therefore, has a vision: the setting up of an educational institute with primary, secondary and college departments under one roof. Ten acres of land has been allocated by the district administration for the college and construction work has begun.

Explaining how he hopes to improve the lot of the Kols, Kumar says that through his mission, he wants to inculcate a feeling of confidence and self-reliance among his wards. "I asked the educated among the Kols to form a committee, supervise plans and build the college. Once the college is established, the same literate group of Kols will manage the institution on their own." The costs have been worked out. Stones are no problems for people used to breaking rocks. Labour is voluntary. As for the more expensive items like furniture and educational paraphernalia, Kumar is planning to mobilise NGOs, who will be asked to participate in the project only after the building is complete.

But why only an educational institute? Kumar turns philosophical and says, "My strategy is to hit at the root of the problem.The Kols are living in pathetic conditions mostly because of their lack of education and backwardness. The need is of a long-term sustainable development programme." It is not that Shankargarh does not have a school or a hospital. But it is the social hostility towards the Kols, born out of years of feudal superiority, and their economic conditions that pushed them away from the mainstream and still compel them to live as they did around a hundred years ago.

It is not for the first time that Kumar has taken such an initiative. The police officer has an uncanny knack for identifying social problems and trying to rectify them. When most of his friends in the police go to the clubhouse or for weekend holidays with their families, Kumar drives down to Shankargarh to spend time with the poverty-stricken Kols. A year earlier, as SSP in Gorakhpur, he had similarly opened a primary school on the Uttar Pradesh-Nepal border for the underprivileged people there.

Kumar now wants to go a step further and start a scheme that will help the Kols economically. While he hasn't yet divulged his plans, they will involve employing the Kols so that they receive training or a skill on the job. The Kols are now Kumar's adopted children. The police officer's wife Anupama too has learnt to live with his passions. In her words, "Social work not only freshens us, but also gives us satisfaction." She might as well be speaking for Kumar.

T he Kols are an ancient people living in the Vindhya hills. Most communities would be proud of such a history. But, like most indigenous groups, the Kols have never advanced much in life. In modern times, therefore, they find themselves handicapped by the lack of education and work skills. If you should visit their poor hutments, you would find them eking out a bare existence breaking boulders for up to 12 hours a day. In return for the back-breaking work, the contractors pay them a meagre Rs 30.

The Kols, a bleak future ahead of them, are wont to accept with utmost gratitude whatever blessings come their way. All the more if it comes in the form of sustainable development. And this is what the spare figure of Vijay Kumar, senior superintendent of police (SSP), Allahabad, represents to the impoverished tribals.

FORWARD MARCH: SSP Vijay Kumar with his Kol wards at Shankargarh

Some months ago, Kumar visited the clusters of thatch huts of the Kols in Shankargarh, met their families and children and decided to spend a day with them every week. "I decided to first hold regular health camps in their villages in Shankargarh," says Kumar. Over the years, a large number of Kols have contracted lung diseases like silicosis and tuberculosis. There are others who have lost limbs and sustained injuries while breaking rocks using explosives. "The contractors leave us to die once we are injured or struck by a deadly disease," laments Rajan Kol. Local doctors, who are members of the Indian Medical Association and also run private nursing homes, have also joined Kumar's Development From Distance Mission. The Kols now get free medical treatment, including check-ups and medicines every Sunday. Camps for the physically challenged people have also been organised with the assistance of a Delhi-based NGO.

The dark-complexioned Kols are categorised as a Scheduled Caste in Uttar Pradesh and a Scheduled Tribe in adjoining Madhya Pradesh. But despite dozens of government schemes for these groups, the living conditions of the Kols have worsened over the years. Kumar, therefore, has a vision: the setting up of an educational institute with primary, secondary and college departments under one roof. Ten acres of land has been allocated by the district administration for the college and construction work has begun.

Explaining how he hopes to improve the lot of the Kols, Kumar says that through his mission, he wants to inculcate a feeling of confidence and self-reliance among his wards. "I asked the educated among the Kols to form a committee, supervise plans and build the college. Once the college is established, the same literate group of Kols will manage the institution on their own." The costs have been worked out. Stones are no problems for people used to breaking rocks. Labour is voluntary. As for the more expensive items like furniture and educational paraphernalia, Kumar is planning to mobilise NGOs, who will be asked to participate in the project only after the building is complete.

But why only an educational institute? Kumar turns philosophical and says, "My strategy is to hit at the root of the problem.The Kols are living in pathetic conditions mostly because of their lack of education and backwardness. The need is of a long-term sustainable development programme." It is not that Shankargarh does not have a school or a hospital. But it is the social hostility towards the Kols, born out of years of feudal superiority, and their economic conditions that pushed them away from the mainstream and still compel them to live as they did around a hundred years ago.

It is not for the first time that Kumar has taken such an initiative. The police officer has an uncanny knack for identifying social problems and trying to rectify them. When most of his friends in the police go to the clubhouse or for weekend holidays with their families, Kumar drives down to Shankargarh to spend time with the poverty-stricken Kols. A year earlier, as SSP in Gorakhpur, he had similarly opened a primary school on the Uttar Pradesh-Nepal border for the underprivileged people there.

Kumar now wants to go a step further and start a scheme that will help the Kols economically. While he hasn't yet divulged his plans, they will involve employing the Kols so that they receive training or a skill on the job. The Kols are now Kumar's adopted children. The police officer's wife Anupama too has learnt to live with his passions. In her words, "Social work not only freshens us, but also gives us satisfaction." She might as well be speaking for Kumar.