How KISS University is redefining traditional tribal narrative

Thepast: When Arms Replaced Books

The 1990s presented India and Odisha with converging crises. Globalisation arrived with promises, but for tribal communities, liberalisation, privatisation and globalisation (LPG raj) meant displacement. Industrial corridors were being carved through ancestral lands. The tribals of Odisha found themselves pushed to society’s margins, watching their forests vanish and their futures evaporate. Maoist insurgency found ground in this despair. Young tribals, seeing no future, picked up arms instead of textbooks.

I witnessed this firsthand when I was 25 years old, almost three and a half decades ago. Tribal children’s dreams extended no further than survival. Education was unthinkable. Healthcare existed but only on paper. In that moment, a clarity emerged. A permanent solution could be achieved through quality education and not tokenistic intervention. A comprehensive solution that removes all obstacles was needed.

The present: Building Hope at Scale

I laid the foundation of Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS). It began with 125 poor tribal children in 1992-1993. Today, we serve 80,000 tribal students. Over 800,000 have been impacted directly and indirectly through KISS. We became the world’s largest tribal residential institute and, after receiving deemed university status in 2017 from government of India for which I worked relentlessly for years, KISS Deemed to be University is now the world’s only university exclusively for indigenous scholars.

The model is comprehensive by design. When tribal children join KISS, they leave behind poverty but not identity. They are first-generation learners. What they require is total support which includes free education, accommodation, healthcare, clothing and food. KISS provides all in a package of fully free fully residential model.

But comprehensiveness means more than material needs. KISS provides all-round development aligned with Sustainable Development Goals such as academic excellence, skill education, sports training, immersion in tribal art, culture, literature and music. We create not merely graduates but good human beings rooted in heritage yet prepared for contemporary challenges. For both poor and better-off tribal families, KISS represents hope where every tribal child’s dream finds space to flourish. KISS has addressed the problems of trafficking, dropout, child marriage, Naxalism and hunger to a great extent among tribals in Odisha.

The future: Transformation in Action

The 5th Convocation of KISS Deemed to be University is being graced by top thought leaders including a Nobel Laureate who will deliver the Convocation lecture. The graduates of KISS have engaged with global scholars and conducted research ranging from tribal medicine to indigenous resource management. Our students achieve stellar results in board examinations and competitive tests. They gain admission to IITs, NITs and IIMs. They clear NEET, CLAT, JRF and NET. But the deeper transformation is harder to quantify. When a tribal girl from a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group earns a doctorate and returns to her community, her achievement provides concrete proof of possibility. She becomes living evidence of transformation. This is how insurgency gets arrested through demonstrable pathways to dignity. This is the power of KISS. The comprehensive approach matters because partial solutions create partial humans like I say half education is more harmful than no education. The KISS ensures students graduate as academically accomplished, culturally grounded, physically healthy and emotionally secure individuals.

The Path Forward

The KISS model proves what becomes possible when intervention is comprehensive, when cultural respect meets academic rigour and when commitment meets action. The journey from 125 students to 80,000 students validates a simple truth that quality education is the permanent solution. These young graduates walk across the stage carrying their communities’ hopes. They are doctors, engineers, researchers, entrepreneurs, artistes and scholars. They prove that given genuine opportunity, tribal youth excel as education is the third eye of a child. The light KISS has kindled shows what India can achieve. Every convocation celebrates individualtriumph and collective possibility. These graduates demonstrate that inclusion through education transforms not just individuals but entire communities, creating ripples of change that will touch millions.

(The writer is the Founder of KIIT and KISS Deemed to be University, Bhubaneswar)