The Ramakrishna Mission It is now nearly 107 years since Swami Vivekananda, the chief disciple of Shri Ramakrishna established the Ramakrishna Math and the Ramakrishna Mission with its headquarters at Belur Math, District Howrah, West Bengal, India to propagate the teachings of his Master. These teachings which constitute the core of India's oldest philosophy, Vedanta, stress, among other things, the equal validity of all religions, the potential divinity of man and the service of man as service unto God. The Ramakrishna Math and the Ramakrishna Mission have been serving the community by running schools, colleges, hospitals and orphanages spread all over India and abroad through their more than 113 centres.

Ramakrishna Mission Ashrama, Narainpur

Started in 1985, the Ramakrishna Mission Ashrama, Narainpur, along with its 5 Service Centres inside Abujhmarh jungle villages of Chhattisgarh State, has been serving the tribal brothers and sisters of the area who had been the mute victims of several centuries of oppression and utter neglect.

Abujhmarh has a tribal population of about 34,000 inhabiting some 233 far-flung villages over a sprawling area of 4000 sq.km. It is described as a "tangled knot of hills" having an inaccessible terrain that remains absolutely cut off from the rest of the civilized world for about 6 months a year even to this day.

Bastar and Abujhmarh

 

The Bastar district lies at the extreme south-east corner of Chhattisgarh in India. It is 26,882 sq.km. in area and is most sparsely populated and backward. The greater part of the Bastar is a plateau, about 600m. high. The land surface is maintained at a height of 600 to 750 m. throughout the central part of the district except that in the Western part where it is so dissected as to possess a local relief of 150 to 300 m. giving it a hill form, known as Abujhmarh hills in the southern part of Narainpur Tehsil. Abujhmarh region is about 95 km. long from north to south and about 55 km. broad from east to west. A large part of this area is rugged and dissected by numerous streams.

If any part of India is still 'terra incognito' to nearly all the travellers, it is Abujhmarh which has, in fact, always been an almost unknown backwater of the river of the Indian history - a land free from rules and regulations, inhabited by perhaps now the most primitive tribes, the "Hill Marias" as popularized in anthropological literature, between the Godavari and the Ganga. Abujhmarh has been described as a "tangled knot of hills", a back-of-the-beyond-country, having an inaccessible geographical terrain that remains cut-off from the rest of the world for nearly half of the year.

The word 'Abujhmarh' is a combination of two words - one, the Hindi word 'Abujh' meaning unknown and second, the Gondi word 'Marh' meaning highlands. And Abujhmarh, true to its name, still continues to be more or less an unknown and un-surveyed area. Its population is around 34000 spread over in about 233 villages. Because of their extreme geographical isolation for long, the Hill Marias have very primitive economy, their mainstay being the slash-and-burn cultivation practiced on the steep hill slopes. They also collect forest produce like Chironji, Resin, Cocoons etc. They make brooms of Fulbahari (jungle) grass, some bamboo articles and rope from grass.

They grow all their requirement of food crops but have to depend on the outside world for their meager necessities of salt, chillies, tobacco and clothes. Barter system is still prevalent in some areas. In the sale of their produce and purchase of their requirements, they are most unscrupulously and liberally exploited by the traders. Literacy is very low and ill-health stalks the land with malnutrition and diseases like Malaria, Yaws, Leprosy and Scabies and high rate of infant and maternal mortality. But their near total isolation from the outside world seems to have spared them the pangs of unending wants. Ignorance has proved to be bliss for them. They are happy with their lot and themselves and have, therefore, very little desire for any change for the better.

Short of complete nakedness, men could hardly wear less than the Hill Marias in their most primitive state. In natural cheerfulness few races can surpass the Hill Marias. With out exception, they are the most cheerful, light-hearted people - always laughing and joking. They, in common with many other primitive races, bear a singular character in truthfulness and honesty. They can be easily won over by kindness. They are quick to observe and learn. They form, indeed one of the most improvable of the aboriginal tribes of India. Here, woman is considered as a partner in economic endeavour rather than a burden on the family. So once educated, girls can bring about the much-needed social change rather speedily. Present Problems of Abujhmarh The main problems of Abujhmarh, apart from extremely poor communication, are :

• Lack of medical facilities, high death-rate and, particularly, high infant mortality rate;

• Lack of educational facilities and extremely low literacy;

• Their economic exploitation by various agencies; and

• Unwillingness of government servants to work in the area.