From shadow of gun to engineering new future in Gadchiroli

Time of India

26-07-2025

Gadchiroli: In the deep forested reaches of eastern Maharashtra, where red soil paths snake through hills long shadowed by Maoist unrest, a quiet revolution is taking shape — not with rifles, but with backpacks and blueprints.
Earlier this week, more than 50 tribal students stepped into Gadchiroli city for the first time in their lives. Many had never seen paved roads or mobile towers, let alone the gates of a college. But there they were, freshly admitted to the University Institute of Technology (UIT), the first engineering college run directly by Gondwana University, ready to rewrite their future.
"These students come from some of the most interior villages of the district," said Prashant Bokare, vice-chancellor of Gondwana University, adding, "They've grown up where access to electricity, transport, even classrooms, is sporadic at best.
And now, they are entering the world of technology, engineering, and opportunity."
Among the new admits is Tanvi Gaddamwar, a determined young student from Etapalli whose father earns around Rs10,000 a month farming small land parcels. When Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis handed her over the official admission confirmation during a function in Konsari earlier this week, her family's hopes crystallised into something tangible.
by Taboola
by Taboola
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"Financial help means a lot to us," Tanvi said quietly while emphasising, "It's not just money, it's hope. Every rupee means less pressure on my father and more chances for me to build a life he never had."
In a district often associated with conflict and insurgency, her voice was filled not with fear, but determination.
Shreyanshi Hichami, another UIT student from Krushnar village, echoed the sentiment. "Coming from a remote region, education is our only path forward.
This support doesn't just help my father, it gives me the confidence to focus, to dream," she said.
Tanmay Hichami, who scored 75% in his Class 10 exams and chose to pursue a diploma in mining, called the opportunity a "godsend". His family, like many others, survives on subsistence farming. "We could never have imagined engineering education. Now everything — tuition, books, meals, even hostel — will be covered. It's a new life," he said.
Backing this initiative is Lloyds Metals and Energy Limited (LMEL), which is not just financing UIT's operations but also investing in its future workforce. The company, which is building a large integrated steel plant in Konsari, has committed to fully funding the education of the inaugural batch of 120 tribal students, covering everything from tuition to housing, books and uniforms.
"We are not just building steel.
We are building futures," said B Prabhakaran, LMEL's managing director. "When our plant becomes fully operational in three years, we will need over 20,000 skilled workers. We want those jobs to go to the sons and daughters of this soil," he stressed.
Prabhakaran added that 10 tribal students have already been sent to Curtin University in Australia, ranked among the world's top five for mining education. "Their entire education, including international travel, will be funded by us.
More will follow. This is our long-term commitment to Gadchiroli," he said.
Long marginalised by geography and politics, Gadchiroli lies within India's Red Corridor, a swath of territory notorious for Maoist insurgency. For decades, roads, schools, and hospitals were either absent or inaccessible. Electricity came late. Internet, even later. For tribal youth, formal education remained a distant promise.
Anil Hirekhan, registrar of Gondwana University explained, "We are trying to bridge a generational gap.
These are first-generation learners. They've had to overcome not just poverty, but also the psychological barriers of being told they don't belong."
Hirekhan believes that removing every obstacle, from tuition fees to daily meals, is the only way to ensure real inclusion. "We have made UIT fully residential and zero-cost, because if the student has to worry about food or a roof over their head, they can't focus on calculus or coding," he said.
A faculty member added, "For many of them, just entering a college classroom is an act of radical courage."
One student from Bhamragad, whose parents work as agricultural labourers, summed up the emotional weight of this transition. "We have always been told by senior family members that cities and colleges are not for people like us. Now, for the first time, I feel like I belong here, like I actually have a future," he said.
For educators, that shift in self-belief is the most significant milestone yet. "These students have grit, intelligence, and hunger," said one professor, adding, "All they needed was someone to believe in them."
With its innovative model, UIT is now being looked at as a potential blueprint for higher education in conflict zones. Its success could mark a turning point in India's ongoing challenge of bridging the educational divide between its urban centres and its tribal heartlands.