Odisha tribal who topped exam in district works as labourer to fund studies

Karama Muduli said she could not afford new notebooks and would write on them with pencils, erase what she wrote when it was finished so that she could use the notebook all over again

Updated on: May 30, 2023, 22:03:59 IST

By Debabrata Mohanty

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BHUBANESWAR: A 20-year-old, who was the first from Odisha’s primitive tribe last year to top the higher secondary examination in Malkangiri district, is back to working at a construction site during the summer break to fund her studies.

Karama Muduli is from the Bonda tribe, which is known for its secluded lifestyle and is counted among Odisha’s particularly vulnerable tribal groups (PVTG).

Bondas live in highlands, 3,500-feet above sea level, and are spread mostly in 32 villages of Mudulipada and Andrahal panchayats of Khairput block in Malkangiri district, the southernmost district of Odisha. There are about 6,000 Bondas in Odisha.

The literacy rate among the Bondas is just about 6%, according to the 2011 Census.

Karama Muduli said she did get help after her performance in the state board examination but it wasn’t enough. It isn’t that she didn’t try. “Since I couldn’t afford to buy new notebooks, I would write with a pencil, erase what I wrote and write all over again,” she said.

She explained: “After I passed the higher secondary exam last year, Myra Charitable Trust came forward to help me realise my dream. They got me admitted to Rama Devi University in Bhubaneswar and gave ₹1,000 for hostel expenses every month. But I found it a herculean task to meet the education cost as my family is very poor. I have no money to buy books and other stationery items…. With no option left, I decided to work as a daily labourer in Malkangiri during summer vacation,” said Muduli, who is getting ₹220 as wage.

A student of the scheduled tribe & scheduled caste development department-run Higher Secondary School at Govindpalli, Karma scored 82.66% in the annual examination conducted by Odisha’s Council of Higher Secondary Education last year.

Her parents are marginal farmers while her elder brother Bina studied up to Class 8 before dropping out. One of her younger sisters Manguli, 18, discontinued her studies due to poverty while another, 13-year-old Sima, is a class 8 student.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Debabrata Mohanty
Debabrata Mohanty is a senior assistant editor of Hindustan Times who works as state correspondent from Odisha covering the state's politics, governance, public policy, natural disasters, environment and its society for close to three decades. With his long years of reporting from the state capital of Bhubaneswar, Mohanty has been known as one of the most experienced and credible journalists covering Odisha for the national English dailies. His reporting combines on-ground detail with deep institutional knowledge detailing the state's changing politics, governance issues, administrative reforms and the functioning of its public institutions. He has regularly reported on issues ranging from legislative developments and public policy implementation. Politics is his core areas of expertise as he closely tracks Odisha's political landscape, including the rise and transformation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the two principal political parties in Odisha. His long association with the state's political establishment enables him to write on contemporary developments in a larger political context. Mohanty takes a deep interest in writing human interest stories, environmental issues and documenting the impact of cyclones, floods, heatwaves, and other climate-related events in one of the most disaster-prone states. His coverage extends to public health, governance reforms and stories on accountability of government institutions. Before joining Hindustan Times, Mohanty worked with The Indian Express, Mail Today, and The Telegraph, where he covered at least six general elections and as many assembly elections. In 2007, he was selected for the prestigious Chevening Young Indian Print Journalist Programme at the University of Lincoln, United Kingdom, where he received advanced training in print journalism. In 2009 he won the Press Institute of India-International Committee of Red Cross award on conflict reporting for his on-ground reportage of 2008 Kandhamal riots.Read More

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