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Letters

An Old frontier story
The naxalite movement in West Bengal was crushed in the early 1970s with brutal State terror. Multiple instances of state-violence were documented in the pages of Frontier under the leadership of Samar Sen, the legendary Bengali poet, journalist and editor. In the June 24, 1972 issue, an entry in the journal observed: "...Arrests of so-called extremists or Naxalites are, of course, not a new thing in West Bengal. But recently the police appear to have launched an offensive, the latest victim of which is a professor of the Indian Institute of Management...there is evidence to suggest that this time the police is going well beyond the alleged activists and turning its attention to those who, while they may be generally sympathetic to certain Naxalite positions, have not been themselves involved in political activity. The purpose may be to warn others of this category that they enjoy no immunity simply because they abstain from active involvement in politics".

The recent arrests of some noted civil/human rights activists in India and invention of the category of "urban naxal" remind the people of this part of the globe of the old Frontier story and its caption—'The Hunt Continues'.
Arup Kumar Sen, Kolkata

Bhagwat Prasad and Gyarsi Bai
Bhagwat Prasad, a senior social activist who had contributed much to drawing attention to the problems of Bundel-khand region, breathed his last at Chitrakut on August 8. He; was the director of a leading voluntary organisation of the area the ABSSS. At a time when land reforms were being neglected, he was closely involved in successful efforts for land distribution which were preceded by the release and rehabilitation of bonded workers in Chitrakut district and neighboring areas. His hard work and deep commitment contributed much to the success of several water conservation works most of which were taken up in Patha region of Chitrakut district. Bhagwar Prasad was keenly involved for a long time in many-sided welfare activities relating to Kol tribals . In the last years of his life he was more closely associated with reform of school education in remote villages, particularly from the perspective of weaker sections.

Earlier on July 12 Gyarsi Bai, a leading Sahariya tribal activist of Baran district, Rajasthan, breathed her last. She emerged from an extremely poor background and a child marriage to become one of the most respected voices of the poorest community. As someone who had seen her own family members working as bonded workers, Gyarsi Bai working with Sankalp organisation showed a lot of grit and determination in the struggle against bonded labour in Baran district. It was only due to the unflinching courage of a few activists like her that the efforts for the release and rehabilitation of bonded workers could succeed in this area. Gyarsi was quick to understand the importance of right to Information and right to rural employment guarantee campaigns and played an important role in the mobilisation for these rights in Rajasthan. Her contribution to many-sided welfare and mobilisation of Sahariya community will be remembered for a long time.

Both these activists were in their '50s at the time of their sudden death and were expected to contribute many more years of invaluable social service. The widely believed reason of their death related to heart attacks. It is a reminder that activists who toil in remote areas for very important objectives also need access to better and timely health care.
Bharat Dogra, New Delhi

10th Anniversary of PASCH
To celebrate the 10th anniversary of PASCH Programme in 2018 the German Consulate General Kolkata announced a competition among PASCH schools in Kolkata to teach German language and culture in an interactive and innovative way! Each PASCH school had to develop a concept to teach German language and culture to students of a school that does not offer German as a Foreign language. The most important rule of the competition is both Teachers and Students must have fun!
PASCH stands for the 'Schools: Partners for the Future". The aim of PASCH is to create and strengthen a global network of partner schools with special links to Germany. At present it is a global network of some 1,800 schools.

Being the winner, the Modern High School for Girls has received 1,96,943 INR as the Prize money.

Birla High School (Boys) and the Heritage School Kolkala have received respectively 78,777 INR and 39,389 INR for securing the second and the third positions.

The schools can spend their prize money for acquiring learning material, books, teaching materials, organising (German) cultural events, etc.

From the next week the Modern High School for Girls will start implementing its concept to teach German language and culture to students of South City International School, a school that does not offer German as a Foreign language.
Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany, Kolkata

Frontier
Vol. 51, No.13, Sep 30 - Oct 6, 2018