SOCIAL WORK, FOREIGN FUNDS, AND JUDICIAL PROTECTION

It is well-known that foreign funds for social work are misused and misappropriated.by smart operators called social activists, human rights protectors, development workers , and a host of self styled "selfless😛" social workers. When Tsunami wreaked havoc some years ago, there was a huge flow of foreign funds to Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to rehabilitate the victims of Tsunami. It was a god-send opportunity for most NGO leaders who made a fortune of the misfortune of the Tsunami affected. In fact they wish Tsunami to happen often. Foreign funds have also been diverted to religious conversions and blocking development initiatives of the government.

Teesta Setalvad is a social activist whose obsessions are "Narendra MODI, fame and money"[Ravishankar,  Sunday New Indian Express]. Her mission was to send Narendra Modi to jail, and she had the backing of all pseudo-secular politicians and foreign donors to fight court cases against Modi. She cooked up macabre tales of  Gujarat riot victims. Mr. RK.Raghavan, a man of impeccable integrity and the head of the Supreme Court appointed SIT , reported that Teesta tutored false witnesses to give evidence about imaginary incidents. Twenty-two identical affidavits were filed by Teesta sponsored witnesses. But her sustained campaign with foreign funds failed and Narendra Modi became Prime Minister of India.

Teesta Setalvad and her husband,according to the CBI, have violated Foreign Contributions Regulationa Act (FCRA), and cases have been registered against them. Ford Foundation gave $2,90,000 to them for their Sabrang Communications and Publishing without FCRA approval. Teesta has been leading a life of luxury with foreign funds. For example,
        Activity.                      Head of  FCRA Accounting in Account Book
Hairdo in Italy$5,000                  Secular education
Hairdo in Pakistan $ 3.800.         Legal Aid Service

CBI is convinced that custodial interrogation is necessary to bring out the truth from Teesta and husband. But even the Supreme Court gave them anticipatory bail. Five star activists influencing judicial decision as PM observed at the conference of  justices and chief  ministers !! Recently  the concerned CBI court denied anticipatory bail to them as the court was convinced that their custodial interrogation was imperative.. Yet  the  Bombay High Court came to their rescue which they do not deserve. They were given interim anticipatory bail. Will an ordinary offender be able to spend huge amounts of foreign funds to hire great legal minds? Will the ordinary citizen have faith in the judiciary if it protects high profile offenders ?

SOCIAL WORKERS WITH A MISSION (2):CRUSADER OF DALIT HUMAN RIGHTS

Namala Paul Divakar joined the MSSW in his early twenties with a mission to work with the oppressed communities. Son of a CSI Bishop, Paul was fully aware of the inequalities in our society. Today after nearly four decades, Paul is a well known advocate and activist of Dalit Rights.

More than 250 million Indians are Dalits. Dr. B.R.Ambedkar, architect of the Indian Constitution, guaranteed Fundamental Rights to all Indians in the Constitution. But the inhumanity to Dalits  perpetuated by the other majority communities with the Indian state remaining a passive observer continues unabated.

Paul ,in the early years after his MA/SW, worked with an INGO on the humanitarian concerns of the refugees of the Eritrean War in Somalia. He then worked with the indigenous communities in West Papua. It was here he felt the urge to return to India to work with his own community of DALITS..

Paul and his classmate Annie Panicker were in love during the college days itself, which had a happy ending in marriage with some resistance as it was an alliance between the ultra conservative Syrian Christian and the Dalit Christian. Annie and Paul are a formidable team in the struggle against atrocities against Dalits. Annie is now Director of the Delhi-based Centre for Social Equity. Paul and Annie were together at Prajwala, an organisation to unionise Dalit agricultural workers in Andhra Pradesh.from 1985 to 1991. In 1998,Paul co-founded .the National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights (NCDHR) of which he was the National Convenor till 2008 from its inception. NCDHR was awarded  the prestigious RAFTO Human Rights Prize in 2007 in Norway. Paul has been active in setting up Dalit organisations, networking, advocacy, and campaigning at the grassroots, regional, national and global levels. A landmark achievement of Paul was the presentation of a memorandum to the Prime Minister of the previous government with 2.5 million signature from Dalit men and women. Paul led the Indian Dalit team to the United Nations Conference Against Racism (WRAS) in 2001. Paul also addressed the heads of states at the WRAS.

Paul was a member of the Steering Committee constituted by the government of India to formulate the 11th and 12th Five Year Plans.He has been a member of the National Monitoring Committee for the Welfare of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes headed by the Ministry of Human Resource Development.

It is impossible to summarise the many sided contributions of  Paul  to secure the human rights  and dignity of the millions of DALITS in the Indian society and polity in a limited number of paragraphs. The struggle  in which he has been engaged will be long , intense and protracted . At 58 ,Paul is young and the Indian nation expects great results from him and his fellow activists for a future society free of  caste-based  inequality and injustice.

SOCIAL WORKERS WITH A MISSION: CARING FOR ELDERLY

Forty years ago, a young man joined the Madras School of Social Work with the idea of working in a company on completion of the social work course :K.R.Gangadharan. He was a talented student and successfully completed the postgraduate programme. On completion, he joined a private company as Industrial Relations Officer. He then worked in two corporate groups before joining Apollo Hospitals as Manager ,where he was promoted as General Manager. He then shifted his base to
Hyderabad and while he was Vice-President of a corporate hospital, he decided to be on his own. At that time I placed before him a vision and a plan to enter the field of ageing, in which I had been modestly active. He was sceptical of my suggestion because he was unfamiliar with the field of elder care. But finally he started the Heritage Institute for the Care of the Elderly at Hyderabad, an exclusive health centre and hospital for the older persons. It was the first venture of its kind in India. Since then Gangadharan has expanded services to the elderly such as nursing care and bedside assistance to bedridden elderly at their homes, training nursing personnel and bedside assistants, apartments for the older persons with support services, and a variety of other innovative elder care measures. He took active interest in the global body International Federation on Ageing (IFA) and visited almost all countries spending his own hard-earned money. Impressed by his enthusiasm Gangadharan was first elected as a Director of IFA and subsequently as its President. He was the first President of IFA below 60 years. He contributed significantly for the expansion of IFA globally.

Gangadharan was awarded PhD for his well-researched dissertation on Care Burden of Care Givers of Bedridden Elderly. Dr. Gangadharan was invited to speak at the White House Conference on Ageing in 2005. He was a member of the Open-ended Working Group on Ageing to facilitate UN efforts. He was invited as a Resource Person by the UN ESCAP and WHO SEAR in many of their regional meetings of experts on ageing. He was appointed by the Government  of India as a member of the five -member committee which drafted the revised National Policy on Senior Citizens in 2011. Earlier he was a member of the National Council of Older Persons from 2006-2011. He was also a member of the Andhra Pradesh State Advisory Council to implement the national policy on older persons. Dr. Gangadharan has been very active in promoting elder care organisations and services in all states in India. He maintains excellent relations with the state , national and international bodies on ageing.

Dr.K.R.Gangadharan is synonymous with elder care movement in India. His wife Nalini has been vibrantly involved in skill development of the youth in Indian States and in African countries .They  both are wonderful parents who have empowered their daughters Pournima and Pavithra as competent professionals capable of carrying on the initiatives of Gangadharan and Nalini. Still younger in age, Dr.Gangadharan has many many more years of active service left in him to enrich the lives of the elderly in India and in other countries.

YOGA INDIA'S GIFT TO GLOBAL WELL-BEING

On  June 21, the first International Yoga Day will be observed in 191 countries of diverse religious faith and political ideology under the auspices of the United Nations .
Yoga, an ancient science, dates back to more than 5,000 years ago, long before the birth of religions.  Yoga  is derived from the Sanskrit word YOG which means "to join " or " to unite ". Yoga is a spiritual discipline,which may not be confused with religion and a subtle science. Yoga brings about harmony between mind and body, between man and nature. Yoga is a holistic science of human well-being  :     Yoga prevents disorders of mind and body.
                 Yoga promotes and maintains health &
                 Yoga helps  manage physical and mental disorders.
At the philosophical level, the practice of Yoga leads to the union of individual consciousness with the universal consciousness indicating harmony between humans and nature.

The great sage Maharishi Patanjali systematised and codified the then existing yoga practices which are known as Pathanjali's  Yoga Sutras. The effectiveness of  Yoga sadhanas or practices is well established even by critical modern researchers..It is a very cheap and easily accessible form of alternative medicine with no side-effects.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi,in his maiden address at the UN General Assembly,made  a passionate appeal to the world forum to declare one day as International Yoga Day. The comity of nations accepted the proposal of the UN Secretary General to declare June 21 as the International Yoga Day. The credit for taking Yoga to the centre stage of  the world definitely goes to Narendra Modi.

Intolerant of the global recognition that Narendra Modi gets, Congress Party and some pseudo-secular formations in India are virtually opposing the International Yoga Day. Let them be victims of their own intolerance.
Meanwhile, let us in India join the entire global society to LIVE LIFE TO ITS FULL POTENTIAL.

YET ANOTHER WORLD ELDER ABUSE AWARENESS DAY

Today marks the Tenth anniversary of the World Elder Abuse Awareness Day ( WEAAD). As each WEAAD moves by the number of old people abused ,neglected and thrown away by their children and close relatives have also been on the increase in India.

Chennai Metropolitan Mofussil Bus Terminus (CMBT) is a spacious and comfortable structure built by the Tamilnadu government for the benefit of the commuters. But this Terminus is also the terminal point of the family life of many aged persons. Children bring the unwanted parents here on the pretext of taking them to some idyllic place, ask them to wait for a few minutes, and go away never to return. The stranded parents are finally taken to some old age homes by the police. Definitely a better abode. The Bus Terminus is a better option for the children than the temples and churches  because their crime is not before the eyes of the God. Recently other bus terminuses are also preferred by the relatives who are in a hurry. Guduvanchery terminus is one such place. Two instances were reported in the media,

Saroja of Sembium was found unconscious near the Guduvanchery bus terminus. She said her son Narendran ( the name of great Swami Vivekananda) brought her there. Eighty year old Saraswathi from Uthiramerur in Kancheepuram district was another victim. The police took both of them back to their families. By this time what would have happened to the two women ? God only knows. These are only examples.

Dr. Jayalalithaa, CM of Tamilnadu, has launched good social security schemes for the aged and other sections. But the implementation is in the hands of insensitive officials ( Not all, but some).A 95 year old from Selur in Madurai had a harrowing experience . After attending a public grievance meeting at the Collectorate he applied for old age pension on May 19,2014. But after a lot of running from post to pillar his application was registered finally on June 28. He is a widower and his children are poor. One son is no more and the other is bedridden. His daughter herself needs financial support. The Village Administrative Officer and Revenue Inspector visited him and declared that he was a destitute. But his world came crashing down on September 4 when the Tahsildar in charge of  social security schemes rejected his pension application on the ground that the man would be able to work for his bread. The nonagenarian takes some minutes to move each step as he uses a walker. But the government officer  was convinced that the old man was healthy enough to work for his living. WHAT AN AWARENESS ?

HISTORIC REFERUNDUM FOR DIGNITY IN LOVE AND MARRIAGE

 Global History has been created  in Ireland through its referundum on same sex marriage. By overwhelmingly voting  for constitutional approval of same sex weddings Ireland has set the model for other countries. Many countries have legalised same sex marriages. But Ireland is the first country to have a referendum on this sensitive issue. With this, formal same sex weddings can be celebrated. Ireland ,a Catholic society, is ahead of Japan and India in family solidarity.

India is among those countries which oppose same sex relationship on misguided beliefs and social prejudices, though we claim to be a modern democracy. Some years ago the Delhi High Court's landmark judgement decriminalised gay and lesbian relationships. The Supreme Court reversed the order not on the merit of the issue, but the Court wanted the Govt to enact a progressive legislation. But the political establishment is reluctant more out of electoral considerations than on the basis of any scientific data, Baba Ramdev described same sex relations as a psychiatric disorder for which he claimed even Yogic remedy. The Pope has sympathy for the cause of gay and lesbian relationship. But all the major religious groups are hostile to this matter . The LGBT ( Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender ) community are crucified . Most inhuman has been the way the Transgender has been treated. Because of the intervention of the Supreme Court the Transgender has been made mandatory as the Third Sex in all matters. But the prejudice continues. The LGBT community lives in a state of uncertainty in our Constitutional democracy merely because of the majority 's perception of what is just natural as unnatural.

In the Hindu mythology Lord Ayyappa is the child born out of the Union of Lord Hari and Lord Hara, both male Gods. Lord Ayyappa is worshipped by Keralites, Tamils, Telugus, Kannadigas and others as virtually a Living God. The devotees consider this birth as a rare event. A celestial birth of such nature is not possible in the realm of science . But humans believe and celebrate while denying the basic human rights of love,sex and marriage to gays and lesbians in India. India can be proud of its human values by giving freedom of intimate relationship of one's preference to our own people. Otherwise History will be harsh in judging  the Indian policy and law makers of this period.

BORN UNEQUAL, LIIVE UNEQUAL AND DIE UNEQUAL

 Indian democracy's hallmark is an independent judiciary. But is it always independent ? Is it not influenced by high profile lawyers arguing for seven-star clients?

2.54 lakh undertrials are languishing in various Indian jails denied of their Fundamental Rights. Many may be innocent. Many have lived behind the bars for years far exceeding the likely sentence in case their offences were proved. No Human Rights champions for them . No media space in the channels which regularly announce "Breaking News".

But film star Salman Khan who was proved guilty of CULPABLE HOMICIDE for drunken driving over poor homeless sleeping on the pavement of a  Mumbai road killing one and injuring some.was sentenced to FIVE years imprisonment by the trial court got interim bail for two days within just THREE hours by the High Court as he had a team of powerful lawyers arguing on technicalities. Before the expiry of the 48 hours interim bail he got bail for an indefinite period . Salman's lawyers dragged the case for thirteen years . Salman did not visit the victims in the hospital nor did he give any aid to them. One Constable Ravindra Patil, Salman's bodyguard, stood firm in his statement that Salman was drunk and drove over the victims. No pressure could force him to change his statement..The Court recorded that he was a Credible Witness. Sad, Patil is no more.

Salman's friends, fans,political faithfuls and the media reacted as if  the Third World War has stated. Shameful. One supporter Abhijeet,a singer said" Homeless are KUTHAS ( dogs). Dogs die under cars. So how Salman is guilty? ". Abhijeet I suppose is a human . Dogs are worthy creations . Salman's supporters are thrilled. They are confident that the best and the expensive legal luminaries will finally get Salman out of the trial court verdict. They are aware of how the SYSTEM works .

Meanwhile the undertrials will continue to be in jails. More will join them. No bail. Only jail.