New Delhi: At least 72 Delhi government schools were used to house delegates attending a large tribal communities’ convention, ‘Janjati Sanskritik Samagam’, organised at the Red Fort on Sunday (May 24) by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh-affiliated Janjati Suraksha Manch (JSM) and Akhil Bharatiya Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram (ABVKA), and another NGO Janajati Jagriti Samiti. Union home minister Amit Shah was the chief speaker at the event.The convention was held to commemorate the 150th birth anniversary of Adivasi icon Birsa Munda. Many Adivasi groups and activists had called for a boycott of the event, arguing that “the fundamental ideology underpinning this conclave is anti-Adivasi”. At the event, Shah referred to it as a “Janjatiya Mahakumbh”. ABVKA claimed that the event was attended by 1.5 lakh people from 550 tribal communities.The JSM was formed in 2006 to oppose religious conversions among tribal communities, while the ABVKA has been working among tribal communities to “preserve their culture” and resist conversion to Christianity and Islam. Both are RSS-affiliated units and part of the larger Sangh parivar.Those opposing the event have pointed out how these RSS-affiliated groups “consistently refrain from using the term ‘Adivasi’”, and instead describe tribal communities as “Janjatis” or “Vanvasis”. According to the signatories, these organisations view Adivasis as part of the Hindu social order and have promoted slogans such as “Sarna Sanatan Ek”.An official communication issued by the Directorate of Education, accessed by The Wire, stated that the “Competent Authority has granted permission to Janjati Suraksha Manch for arranging accommodation facilities for delegates and guests from May 21 to May 25 in identified 72 schools”.“The school premises shall be utilised strictly for the approved purpose and only for the specified duration,” the circular said, while directing heads of schools to extend necessary coordination and cooperation for the arrangements related to the event.The order also specified that smart classrooms, laboratories and libraries were not to be used.The order raised concern among teachers over the use of public school infrastructure for a privately organised, ideological event.A poster outside a government school welcoming delegates for the event. Photo: Aparna KalraTeachers from some of these schools told The Wire that classrooms and school premises were rearranged over the weekend to house incoming delegates. Speaking on the condition of anonymity, a teacher from a north Delhi government school said that “tents, mattresses and bedsheets were arranged inside the campus before the event”.“Saturday evening we were informed that arrangements were being made for guests who would stay in the school premises,” the teacher said. “Beds and mattresses were spread out and temporary tent-like arrangements were also made.”The Wire has reached out to the director of the Directorate of Education and minister and officials in the Delhi education department to ask how government schools were given for private use, and whether the Delhi government played a part in organising the event. This article will be updated when a response is received.“Classes were shifted online”The teacher claimed that some classes were shifted online during the period of the event. According to the teacher, staff were initially informed orally, and no formal communication was immediately shared with teachers explaining the nature of the programme. Later, they found out about the official communication received via email.“We were first told that extra classes would move online for three days. Later we came to know this was connected to the Janjati Samagam programme,” the teacher said. While schools are currently on summer vacations, extra classes for classes 9, 10 and 12 are underway.The teacher further alleged that when questions were raised internally about whether the event was an official government programme or a private one, school authorities said they had received instructions over phone calls.“There was confusion because we could not find any detailed official communication initially. Some teachers questioned whether government schools should be used this way for a programme linked to an RSS-affiliated organisation,” the teacher said.The school in question hosted approximately 1,700 delegates.Photographs from outside of a few Delhi government schools show large banners welcoming delegates attending the event. The banners carried the names of Janjati Suraksha Manch and Janajati Jagriti Samiti and also included the line, “Delhi Government and Delhi Tourism Department welcome all tribal guests arriving from across the country.”The presence of Delhi government branding on the banners has raised further questions among teachers regarding the extent of the government’s involvement in the event.Another teacher who spoke to The Wire said they are concerned about the “increasing use of public educational infrastructure for programmes linked to ideological or political organisations”.“Government schools have hosted public welfare campaigns earlier too, but this felt different because of the political and ideological affiliations of the organisers,” one teacher said.During his speech on Sunday, Shah made it clear that he was speaking as the home minister of the country, even though this event was privately organised. Alleging that there is a conspiracy to try and “divide” tribal groups over a uniform civil code (UCC), Shah said he would ensure that the UCC was not applicable for tribal communities. “There is a conspiracy underway to send the message that UCC will take away tribal communities’ culture and way of life. At this Mahakumbh here today, as the home minister of the Narendra Modi-led government, I am telling you in no uncertain terms that UCC will not apply anywhere in tribal areas and to any tribal person, and it will not encroach upon any tribal rights,” he said.“Local BJP-RSS leaders were looking at the arrangements”The Wire has learnt that local BJP and RSS leaders coordinated with schools and oversaw arrangements for the stay of delegates.A source who closely monitored the arrangements at several schools told The Wire that approximately 50,000 tribal people were accommodated in Delhi government schools during the event.The source said it remains unclear where the funds for food, water and other logistical arrangements came from. “Some local leaders contributed or arranged the funds,” the source claimed.Union Home Minister Amit Shah during the ‘Janjati Sanskritik Samagam’. Photo: PTI/Arun SharmaThe source further alleged that donations or chanda were also collected from local shopkeepers, which contributed substantially towards the expenses.According to the source, arrangements for food, drinking water, bathing facilities and other basic necessities were made inside the school premises.“We do everything except teaching”A teacher posted at a government school in south Delhi, whose school was not among the 72 identified schools, told The Wire that schools and teachers are increasingly being made to perform duties unrelated to education.“Such arrangements were not made in my school, but I am familiar with the event. And this is very concerning,” the teacher said.“The event was linked to the RSS, and they are associated with the ruling party. So what else can you expect?”The teacher said this was not the first time schools and teachers had been deployed for activities unrelated to teaching.“For example, during former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal’s tenure, teachers were often taken in buses to increase crowds at government events. But those programmes were still government-related. This time, public school premises were being handed over to a group associated with a particular ideology and linked to the ideological parent organisation of the ruling party,” she said.The teacher also questioned the government’s priorities, saying teaching and learning were increasingly taking a backseat to administrative and non-academic work.“I have not taken a single class this session because I am currently busy with census-related duties, and before that we were occupied with the SIR mapping process,” she said.“I chose teaching out of passion, like many others. But they are not letting us teach any more. Teachers and schools are made to do everything except teaching.”“These are the priorities of the government, and this reflects the condition of education in the country,” she added.