REGULATING SOCIAL WORK IN INDIA

Ever since the early years of the emergence of schools of social work in India, serious concerns were expressed by social work professionals and others actively engaged in social welfare in the country. The Indian Conference of Social Work ( now, Indian Council of Social Welfare ) was the first organization to propose the creation of a statutory body to regulate social work education in India in the late 1950s .Since then the Ministry of Social Welfare/ Ministry of Welfare ,two UGC review committees on social work education ,and organizations like the Association of Schools of Social Work in India were demanding the establishment of a regulatory council .Finally a draft bill was formulated in the early 1990s and that was referred to the Ministry of Education ,which ,in turn ,referred the same to the UGC for its opinion. The UGC did not favour a council for social work education as it was of the view that the UGC itself was competent to regulate education in social work as per the UGC Act. Subsequently the UGC itself reversed its earlier opinion and finally the draft bill was sent to the Department of Higher Education (MHRD) for clearance. For the past two decades the draft bill has been gathering dust at the MHRD. In between hopes were created in the social work circles at Delhi and Mumbai regarding the enactment of the bill by the Parliament and no tangible result could be seen. In March 2008, the Delhi School of Social Work organized a national consultation on the bill.

The draft bill is aimed at creating a Council of Professional Social Work. Medical Council of India, Bar Council of India ,and similar regulatory councils do not have the prefix professional .Rather Professional Medical Council ,Professional Bar Council, etc appear strange and amusing .So why does social work need the prefix professional ? So why does social work need the prefix professional ? Is there still ambivalence among social work professionals as to the self-sufficiency of social work ? Like the Council on Social Work Education in the US, the draft bill ought to have been independent of the adjective professional. The bill defines professional social work as a form of practice which follows established and acknowledged methods of social work carried out by professional social workers. While the "established and acknowledged methods” are wide open to interpretation, the definition implies that professional social work is what professional social workers, with BSW or MSW, do. A confusing explanation! The bill defines a social work teacher as one who teaches or engaged in research, while a social work practitioner is one who is engaged in social work practice and/or administration .Further, a social work researcher is one engaged in full time research in social work. An unnecessary and unwelcome compartmentalization of a social work professional. If the architects of the bill substitute social work with any other profession the contradictions will be apparent. The bill can help itself well without trying to bring in paraprofessionals into its fold.

The composition of the Council is educator -centred with the chairperson ,vice-chairperson ,member-secretary and at least eight members belonging to the category "social work educator " out of twenty eight in the Council, Social work practitioners are fewer in number .Strangely ,the Council will have two representatives of the recently formed National Association of Professional Social Workers in India (NAPSWI). This Delhi-based association with 1,200 members in June 2013 ( New Indian Express) has been treated National ,while there are professional social work associations in Chennai, Bangalore ,Kerala ,and possibly in other states too , in addition to the Indian Society of Professional Social Work ,which has been functioning for the past many years.

There is a provision for a national register of social work professionals, a compulsory requirement for teaching and practice. A fair provision. The functions of the Council are exhaustive .The Council ,as the statement specifies ,shall take all steps for the promotion, maintenance ,co-ordination of standards of education, training ,research and practice . A vast range of issues to be covered! In many countries like the US ,there is a council for social work education and a national association of social work professionals .In India too professions like medicine ,law, nursing, and engineering have similar organizational arrangements .Social work ,somehow, is out of sync with other professions. Anyhow, there is a draft bill before us to hope for a law one day. Let us wait.

NOBEL PEACE PRIZE FOR CHILDREN AND THEIR RIGHTS

Kailash Satyarthi and Malala Yousufzai are awarded  the 2014 Nobel Prize for Peace for their fight and work for the rights of children suffering in India, Pakistan and other countries in the world under bondage, sweat labour , and other conditions of deprivation.  Bachpan  Bachao Andolan ,the NGO founded by Kailash Satyaethi , has so far saved more than 83,000 children from  child labour, trafficking ,and bondage ,and arranged education for them. Malala after the fatal attack on her life by the Taliban has been popular not only in her state Pakistan, but all over the world for her campaign for education of girls. But Kailash Satyarthi  has been known only in limited regions in India.

Recognition for Satyarthi's  work was rewarded by US, Germany ,Italy and other countries . But in India he has been almost a persona non grata. Neither any state government nor the government of India considered his work any award. In other words, his work has not been to the liking of the power structure in India which pays lip service to abolition of child labour (which of course is legally prohibited ), but continues to exploit cheap child labour. Match industry,  textile mills, garment industry, small scale production units, etc do utilise  the labour of children without any feeling of guilt or  fear of accountability to gain competitive advantage in the market. The notorious Sumangali Scheme promoted by many textile mills in Tamilnadu as a dowry earning scheme is a cruel bonded labour practice with the government officials not bothering to take any action and the politicians extending their support .

The way the  corporate organizations and many politicians reacted to the prestigious Nobel Prize to Kailash Satyarthi has been MUTE or HOSTILE. One argument is that the award is to put a break on the Make  in India measure and the general manufacturing sector's progress. Equating Hindu with Muslim  as well as Indian with Pakistani by the Nobel Committee spokesperson while announcing the award has been interpreted as Award with Suspicios Motive. These reactions deserve to be thrown to the dustbin of human rights struggles.

Even the ubiquitous  Padma Shri award was not given to Kailash Satyarthi by the self-styled great champions of the underprivileged, while the leaders of the previous ruling dispensation hurriedly awarded the Bharat Ratna to a sports person  after amending the originally prescribed eligibility norms specified in the  Indian Constitution by rushing to the stadium where the awardee was playing  the farewell match. .

Whether the business sector likes it or not, and whether the political patrons of crony capitalism criticises it or not , the Nobel Prize has brought Child Rights before the media's essential attention for serious debates and also  as a key political issue.

A MESSAIAH AND HIS REGRESSIVE MESSAGE

K.J.Yesudas, 74,  legendary singer adored by millions across India .Known as Gana Gandharwan (celestial singer), and fondly called "Dasettan"(elder brother) by Malayalis. Yesudas has won many awards for film songs in many Indian languages  and for his rendering of carnatic music. The nation conferred on him the Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan awards. Always dressed in pristine white "kurta and Veshti  ", his face radiated a divine touch and his voice mesmerised millions. As an icon, his words have been listened to without any dissent. But on Gandhi Jayanthi day, the image of the musical colossus has been shattered . Condemned by millions through social media, electronic media and street protests , the pristine white attire of Yesudas is stained beyond restoration.Reason: a speech of Yesudas on October 2 and some advice to women.

    "   Do not create  trouble to others by wearing JEANS. Men think beyond that (the jeans)  and gets tempted with desire prompting them to undesirable actions .Wearing jeans is against Indian culture which values modesty as the greatest quality of women. WHAT SHOULD BE COVERED  MUST BE COVERED.  "( Not verbatim as he spoke in Malayalam).

       

What a regressive sexist  comment from Yesudas! By implication he justifies rape as UP leader Mulayam Sinngh Yadav said " Boys are boys" which was condemned even by the UN Secretary General. Innocent kids aged 3 , 4, etc are raped across India. These children do not wear jeans , Padma Bhushan Yesudas ! Asianet TV, the popular Malayalam Channel , did an investigative telecast on sexual abuse and rape of young girls and women by their fathers under the title Makalanu Marakkaruthu, meaning "Do not forget, they are your daughters". Are these rapes because of their wearing jeans ? Even between husband and wife, sex is in the mind and not in the anatomy of the wife. So also, RAPE IS IN THE MIND OF THE RAPIST AND  NOT ON THE JEANS.

The eminent singer spoke his mind at a Swatchh Baharat  (Clean India) function . Psychologists say that people reveal their real self in an unguarded moment. Yesudas definitely need cleaning of his mind as he is in public life in the midst of men and women of all age groups. Famous psychoanalyst Erik Erikson in his book Gandhi's Truth did a psychoanalytical study of the Mahatma . Gandhiji attempted to test his control over his mind on sex, but failed. The Mahatma confessed  his failure in the book My Experiments with  Truth. Yesudas will benefit from psychoanalysis to identify the disconnect between his social self and the real self.

CLEAN INDIA AND CLEANING THE INDIANS

Gandhi Jayanthi was observed this year with a never before mission Swatchh Bharat (Clean India Campaign) by PM Narendra Modi leading from the front on October 2. It was a moving experience. PM  exhorted the young Indians: Devote two hours every week for cleaning your surroundings :: Do not litter and do not allow others to litter,

If each citizen can stop throwing litter outside and spitting in public, then the battle against unclean environment can be won. Parents and other adults should inculcate socially re ractices and healthy personal habits as a gurantee for a future clean India. Go to a govt office and you  alls because of Pan stains and spit marks. There is a joke:: a tourist asked his host "Why do You Indians spit blood ? Why is your govt not doing any thing to give treatment to the people?".Most men, including the well educated, have no hesitation to urinate in public against the walls and trees as a matter of right. Open defecation by those without access to toilts is understandable. But many with private toilets throw the excreta of their children on to the roads. Purity inside is important, but pollution outside is immaterial.That is the attitude of many. A colleague of mine in a school  of social work never forgot to brush his teeth after lunch, but he never flushed the WC after use. So cleanliness is also an attitudinal problem.

Millions of workers who clean our roads, parks and lavatories across the country have been experiencing very undesirable working and living conditions. Manual scavenging of night soil continues which is an inhuman practice. Despite the Supreme Court order no action has been taken by the govt. Most of these workers are Dalits. Indian Railways is the worst offender in causing the worst form of unclean environment.

Swatchh Bharat Mission needs a carrot and stick approach as many  democracies have been doing successfuly.A purely voluntary approach has serious limitations.

ABUSE THE ELDERLY AND CELEBRATE ELDERS DAY

Today the whole world observes International Day of Older Persons with fanfare as Tokenism when millions of the elderly starve and are abused.

Angelina Mary ,87, all along had a life of misery. A chennai born girl, she was an orphan. She was brought up by the Sisters of St Mary's Church. They fondly caled her Lily. When she grew up as a young beauty, the Sisters arranged her marria a young man. He was working as a driver. The initial years were happy. She gave birth to a baby boy. Unexpectedly situation has changed in their life. Her husband took to drinking and became an alcoholic. Mary was tortured by her husband, day in and day out. After forty years of a dreadful married lif ary became a widow. A long legal battle soon followed for securing the legitimate pension of her deceased husband.

But living with her only son and daughter-in-law has become a nightmare. They used to scold her and also used to beat her. Switching off the fan whille she was asleep was a regular feature.Then the ceiling fan in her room ltself was removed by her son.Finally her son threw Mary out of the house. The main reason was her fiing a case  under the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act. Mary appealed to the Chief Minister's Cell and the Commissioner of Police.She had to run from pillar to post for protection. Exasperated by the indifference of the bureaucracy and the police, Mary,with the help of a sympathetic lawyer, approached the Chennai Metropolitan Magistrate Court at Saidapet. The Court ordered the son and Daughter-in-law to "ALLOW MARY TO LIVE PEACEFULLY". The Court directed the police to give Mary protection to life and property FROM HER SON AND DAUGHTER-IN-LAW

Mary is one of the millions of neglected and abused older persons in whos name funftions are organized, and empty speeches are made on October 1 everywhere !

SOCIAL WORK COURSE FIFTY YERS AGO (MSWJ:4)

Rural Camp of a week-long duration after the observation visits to welfare institutions and hospitals  was the best part of  our social work course. Group living, knowing each other very closely, team work in camp activities ,and spending time meaningfully with the village community were of invaluable learning.

Looking back, I feel that the course on History and Philosophy of Social Work could have been handled in an imaginative way. The teacher who was entrusted with this subject was a soft-spoken person who preferred to read out from his notes. His class was very noisy by all the students talking in small groups. But our teacher was always unperturbed : a philosophical point driven home to all. The selection of the teacher for this subject perhaps was because the faculty as a whole gave least importance to social work's history and philosophy. My Professor was a wonderful human being  and he is no more with us now. Years later, a young teacher Henry J D'Souza made the subject extremely popular and interesting. Dr. D'Souza is now Professor of social work at the University of Omaha, United States.

Social work  education's major strength is the theory- field work integration. Three and a half days allotted for theory, and two alternate days for field  work. But there was only field work and no field instruction. Barring the PMIR field work where the field suprevisor explained the relevant topics, there  absolutely was no social work instruction in the welfare institutions as  most of the institutions did not employ professionally trained personnel . Back at MSSW, there were Individual Conferences every week with the faculty supervisors. But most of the social work teachers had no experience in social work practice. So conferences were generally conversations between the teachers and the students,the importance of which cannot be undermined in the development of the young learners.

The  Project Report  was an academic hurdle to cross. Selection of topic during the last part of the first year, preparation of the questionnaire before the year end, data  collection during the summer vacation, data analysis and drafting the report during the second year were routine tasks. Generally it was an enterprise in plagiarism. Library was fully utilised for this work.

Social work course influenced me considerably. What Did MSSW teach its students ?  It did not teach. That was the great learning. The freedom in the campus, the exposure to social realities , accessibility to teachers, free interaction between boys and girls , functions where students could express themselves, an independent students' union which was consulted on all important matters, a feeling of assurance that MSSW would help in securing employment, and many other small small matters helped all of us shape our personality. For this ,only one person was responsible : K.N.George , whom my classmate late Dr. N.Subramanian, described as King George in an article in the Students' Union Magazine during the period in which Subramanian was General Secretary and I was President.

SOCIAL WORK COURSE FIFTY YEARS AGO (MSWJ :3 )

Clifford Manshardt ,an American Protestant Missionary working in the Nagpada Neighbourhood of  poor families, started social work education in India under the auspices of the Tatas .The Sir Dorabji Tata Graduate School of Social Work came into being in 1936 with Manshardt as the first Director and it offered a two-year Postgraduate Diploma in Social Service Administration (Dip SSA ). Incidentally I was born the same year in August ; I gained a lot from Social Work and also gave back something significant to society and social work education in India.

MSSW  founded in 1952 borrowed the name School as well as the curriculum cotent from the first school, which in 1944 became the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS). MSSW ,thus, became an American Dream. The late Dr. P.T. Thomas , the first professional social worker-Director of MSSW , described  social work as an "Exotic Plant" implanted on the Indian soil by an American.

The two-year social work course at MSSW was a Generic Programme, that is, all areas  or FIELDS where social work skills could be applied were taught without any area of specialization and the successful students were awarded the Dip SSA. The  five fields of social work were Medical and Psychiatric Social Work , Community Development , Criminology and Correctional Administration , Family and Child Welfare, and Labour Welfare and Industrial Relations (which later on became PMIR :Personnell Management ). After some years MSSW opted for the specialization model .
Most of the students who joined  MSSW had done so to become officers in industries. This has been the pattern all across the country. When Specialization was introduced PMIR was the most favoured specialization. It is so even now. Late Dr. K.V. Sridharan,the second Director of MSSW, once recalled in a conversation with me that at the TISS the PMIR students considered themselves  the BRAHMINS in TISS.

Social Work has the unique pattern of theory classes and concurrent Field Work of two days duration during the two years. In addition Block field work for about a month and a project report based on data collected by the student reasearcher.

Social Work taught at  MSSW was devoid of any Social / Structural Analysis and the assessment of  the systemic causation of problems and maladies. Instead emphasis was on  Individual Pathology , deviance , family breakdown, and related issues. The method Social Case Work to a great extent and Social  Group Work to some extent were given emphasis. The thrust was on urban-centred issues. Sadly MSSW gave least  preference to rural students. Community Organization was taught more as a welfare intervention of delivery of services to people living in slums. Shockingly students going to slums for field work were advised to take BATH on return from the poor settlements. The poor living in slums were polluted: a biased understanding of urban poverty at that time by social work teachers.