Late Prof. N. K. Bose very often used to send his scholars to study life and culture of the tribal people of undivided district Medinipur, West Bengal. One of his scholars late Prof. Prabodh Bhowmick was assigned by Prof. Bose to collect information about Lodhas of Medinipur for field of research. The Lodhas manhandled the obedient scholar. From that unfortunate event, the scholar realised that education does not merely lie in “knowing about underprivileged” rather in “doing something for their upliftment.” Since then, 1955, Prof. Bhowmick carried out his activities for the socioeconomic development of the Lodha tribe in particular and other tribal communities. He founded the Ashram-cum-Research Institute Bidisha, where traditional knowledge culminates with social research of modern times.
After Prof. Prabodh Bhowmick died in 2003, Dr. Pradip Bhowmick, Associate Professor, Rural Development Centre, IIT Kharagpur, filled the gap with his immense ability to successfully bring the Ashram under the arch light. He is assisted by good number of administrators, academicians, social activists and two sister organizations namely the “Samaj Sevak Sangha” and “Institute of Social Research and Applied Anthropology(ISRAA)”.
Bidisha is currently set up in around 50 acres campus in Mednipur district, about 30 kms from Kharagpur. It houses a formal as well as vocational education school for tribal children. The campus boasts of rock garden and an artificial cave covered by various trees with cottage for guests. A huge tank with an island having a small boat that attract birds before the winter sets in and deer park presenting nature’s harmony and ashramic essence of Tapoban, the learning centre in traditional India. It publishes books on social science and a periodic journal, Man and Life; preserves and conserves the stone age implements including Jain and Buddha sculpture through existing rural museum and organizes the village fair to promote Nabanna, folk culture, etc.
We as students of MHRM (Master of Human Resource Management), IIT Kharagpur, visited Bidisha as part of our class assignment. Interacting with the children in school, who could not understand or speak any language other than Bengali, we got to know that even though they lacked basic facilities they were full of hopes and dreams. We asked students what they aspire to become in future and to our surprise none of them wanted big money or high power jobs, instead most of them wanted to be a social worker or a teacher and do something for their village. Post that we spent our time in the lap of nature playing with ducks, deer, rabbits and deliberating over the history and current conditions of tribal community and how we can bring a change.
Thus, I can say and want everyone to know that Bidisha is a safe shelter of the marginal class of society and a rich social laboratory. It is due to its commendable service one should bow down when he enters into Bidisha, a social lab within ashramic fold.