JEWELS OF INDIA: NOT ALWAYS GENUINE

Bharat Ratna was awarded to  Atal Bihari Vajpayee on the occasion of the 90th birthday of the former Prime Minister and statesman. He was the first non-Congress Prime Minister to complete the full term of five years. That too as PM of a coalition govenment .Known for politics of consensus instead of confrontation, his contribution to the nation was immense. A poet, a great orator and a great humanist, Vajpayee was acceptable to political parties of different ideological shades across the national spectrum.He was on the verge of making an historical breakthrough in settling the Kasmir dispute which unfortunately did not materialize at the last stage.Such a great person of his stature was denied Bharat Ratna by the Congress-led UPA govt which ruled India for ten years purely because of political considerations.Now the Congress questions the credibility of the Bharat Ratna to Vajpayee just because the present BJP govt nominated him.

It has been pointed out that India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi nominated themselves their names for Bharat Ratna.Shocking, if Dr Subramanian Swamy is telling the truth.He must be correct because no one disputed Dr Swamy in an authentic manner.That is about the credbility of the source of nominations raised by Congress leaders.

The  UPA govt amended the rules of eligibilty of Bharat Ratna to sports personalties.Fair enough.But the motive was questionable.Hockey wizard late Dhyanchand, world renowned Chess champion Viswanathan Anand, and other deserving sports personslities were ignored.Instead it was conferred on Sachin Tendulkar on the last day of retirement from cricket hoping to reap political gains .The legendary cricketer Kapil Dev who led India to the World Cup victory and who was chosen cricketer of the century by Wisden, cricket's final authority, was not considered for the award.Rahul Gandhi was present at the Mumbai stadium perhaps to receive gratitude from Sachin for the award. The great scientist Professor C.N.R. Rao was also given the award along with Sachin giving the impression that he was awarded to give company to Sachin Tendulkar,and not for his outstanding scientifc  contribution.

The Indian nation will be grateful to the political  power structure of the country when Bharat Ratnas are unblemished jewels of India.

JUSTICE V R KRISHNA IYER: INCARNATION OF JUSTICE

A colossus of justice is no more after completing 100 years of mortal existence .

A synonym of  justice , VR Krishna Iyer's life and contribution has only few parallels in post-Independent India. As Minister of Law in the first democratically elected Communist government on earth led by EMS Namboodiripad in Kerala, iyer piloted the epochmaking land reform legislation  which conferred land rights to the dispossessed landless poor and the Dalits. Since then,for nearly 60 years ,Iyer carried his crusade for justice for the deprived and the  neglected as Minister, Lawyer,Supreme Court judge,and social activist.

Justice Iyer changed the political, social and legal landscape of India through his landmark judgements. His judgement on the redefinition of INDUSTRY under the Industrial Disputes Act has brought unimaginable benefits to the working class.He abolished the cruel practice of routine handcuffing of prisoners.He ordered that the prisoners could study, write examinations ,write articles and books during their jail sentence . Justice Iyer is the main father figure of PIL (Public Interest Litigation) in the country which has revolutionised Indian jurisprudence ,and ensured  justice to the millions and protected  people from the arbitrariness of the politicians,bureaucracy , police and other oppressive forces .Justice Iyer's  social change making judicial pronouncements are legion.His siglehanded contribution for the well-being and development of the people of India is more than even that of a goverment.

Till the last breath Justice Iyer worked for people's causes through speeches, campaigns , letters, etc.. His was the voice of hope for the desperate. A personal experience is unforgettable.He inaugurated a conference on human rights at Chennai straight from the hospital after a heart related surgery despite the advice of the doctors because he had  earlier assured us that he would inaugurate the programme.After the inauguration, we dropped him at the hospital. A rare commitment.

 Justice Iyer's judgements are literary pieces worth reading again and again. The government of India should commission a team of scholars to document Justice Iyer's judgements, speeches and letters for wider dissemination.

One debatable spot in Justice Iyer's unblemished career is his judgement on the Allahabad High Court order which enabled Indira Gandhi to continue as Prime Minister in 1975 .The declaration of National Emergency by Mrs. Gandhi is attributed to Iyer's judgement. This controversy in no way undermines the phenomenal life and service to the nation and the people by Justice Iyer.The eminent jurist deserved Bharath Ratna during his life time. Having failed to do so, his memory may be honoured with a posthumous Bharath Ratna as that would be a recognition of the causes of human rights, social justce, and equity

so dear to the great man and so vital for the Indian nation.

CORRUPTION COUNTRY INDIA

India has too many public servants both elected and selected.Barring a fraction of these servants, the public servants loot the public  without fear of law or feeling of guilt.

Yadav Singh is a public servant in Uttar Pradesh. He without an engineering degree moved up the ladder of government service till 1995 from 1980. When he was to be promoted as Project Engineer there was a minor technical hurdle. He needed an engineering degree, and it appears that he managed to get the four year degree in three years.A brilliant man.Singh moved ahead and became Engineer-in-Chief of Noida. He was very humble to all persons around him. He built a house for his family: a sprawling three-storied mansion or palace. A recent Income Tax department raids located movable and immovable property worth at least Rs 1,000 crore.Singh appears to be a lover of exquisite art work as his collections included a two kilogram diamond studded ornament suitable for gods and goddesses in Temples. Yadav Singh is now rated as India's Corrupt Number One. Sachin Tendulkar's cricket records may be difficult to be broken. But Yadav Singh's ranking may be overtaken by some other enterprising public servant as the batting ground is flat and the bowling/fielding attack is weak. These can be fixed.

Recently a senior IAS officer of the rank of Principal Secretary in Kerala  Mr.Suraj has been in the electronic and print media for disproportionate assets and unaccounted cash. Suraj has  strong political blessing and he has come forward with "explanations justifying the cash in his house". The case is on and may be he will be promoted one day. A similar case of an IPS officer in Kerala has been in the news often. But he is now IG of police !


From peon to principal secretary, corruption is an hourly occurrence in India.
No department or daily activity of the common man is corruption-free.But we should remember that these public servants create enormous wealth,though not for the nation. Many share the bribe amount with Gods as penance. As  no givernment in Independent India has succeeded in eliminating or even reducing  the menace of corruption, let the state and central governments institute Arjuna Awards to these public sernants. After all, corruption is an art and a sport.

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.

MY SOCIAL WORK JOURNEY (2)

The first week at MSSW was eventful. Welcome of the freshers by second year students , teachers and Director. Prof K.N.George (KNG) emphasised the importance of punctuality,and Other standards of behaviour. He stressed on America more than once. The term School of Social Work was borrowed from the US .

A great new experience at the campus was the free interaction between the men and women students.
In the class room, students sat as a group ; there was no separate seating arrangement for men and women as in the other colleges where I studied. But the number of female students was far less than the number of boys. So there was serious competition among the boys to attract the attention of the limited number of girls. There was a feeling of inferiority among those who failed to catch the eyes of the girls. But then not all boys and girls were interested in these extr-curricular activities.  KNG  liked free mixing of boys  and girls , and also " dating " as he himself  loved one of his MSSW students and finally married her. My classmate C.K.Sampath was his favourite as he used to give LIFT to all obliging girls. Neighbours in the conservative Egmore neighbourhood Sait Colony were not used to the free movement of boys and girls, and hence gave some unpleasant "titles" to MSSW which was a recent neighbour in the residential locality. Then social attitudes fifty years ago could be imagined ,that too in Madras (as it was known then ).

Observation visits to social welfare institutions, writing reports, and Group  Conferences were new academic experiences. Our Fieldwork Co-ordinator Rachael Thangavelu was a wonderful facilitator and a motivator. She  had a pleasant face and always spoke encouragingly.

Theory classes were generally boring except the sessions by M .T. Paul and his wife Radha Paul. The former taught Psychology with a high sense of humour and the examples were those .which the young students would love to hear. Radha Paul was charming and taught Social Case Work with ease. They fell in love at MSSW and got married despite opposition from Radha Iyer's family. The Pauls were the best teachers. KNG taught Social Research .  He seldom taught Research Methodology in a way that the students could understand.But his classes were most lively and all his examples were American. He was and is still a great admirer of Uncle Sam. When I became his professional colleague after some years, I used to hear his critics and admirers referring to him as CIA (Central Intelligence Agency ) Agent.

MY SOCIAL WORK JOURNEY FROM JARRET'S GARDENS (1)

I am fortunate to have a small, reassuring family consisting of my wife, children ,children-in-law ,and grandchildren , and a big extended family comprising my former students of social work , many of whom keep in touch with me regularly or occasionally. Some of my former students  have been asking me to write my experiences as a social work professional. I am touched by their warmth and I am planning to look back in time .

My father's ambition was to see me as an Engineer as I was good at Mathematics. But I completed my Master's degree in Statistics. Soon I realised  that I will not be happy with Statistics as my career option. I discussed with my Statistics Professor Dr. M.Mani my indecision. He suggested Social Anthroplogy. The "Social"part appealed to me, but not Anthroplogy. Meanwhile , I was in contact with a famous Marxist thinker and a Member of Parliament as from my College days, I was a part of the activities of the Student Federation of India. I had attended many study sessions on Marxism. I was advised by the MP to consider joining the Communist Party as an ordinary member and he assured that he, being an economist , would be able to sharpen my theoretical skills on  Marxist theory and praxis. But my family circumstances did not permit me to consider his advice.

Meanwhile, I happened to see an advertisement of the Madras School of Social Work (MSSW) inviting applications for the postgraduate course in social work. I thought Social Work would be suitable for me as a career. The address given was JARRET'S  GARDENS. Lal Bagh at Bangalore with its beautiful gardens was in my mental  image . I appeared for selection test at Jarret's Gardens at Casa Major Road at Egmore. As I entered the gate my mental picture changed dramatically. The campus had some trees, two thatched sheds, a dilapidated out house, and an old two-storied structure, which gave the impression of  a heritage building. It was in June 1961.

There was a written test, group discussion, a face-to-face interview with a member of the faculty, and the final panel interview. For the first time  I met two significant personalities: Mrs. Mary Clubwala Jadhav, Founder-Secretary , and Prof.K.N.George, Director of MSSW. Our Head of the Department of Mathematics  during my degree course , Prof. John K John was always in suit and we have never seen him smiling. Our Statistics Professor  Aleyamma George  was a terror. In contrast, I saw to my surprise a Director who was cheerful. Prof. K. N.George was different. I saw him walking up and down most of the time, screaming for minor things, and talking casually as if nothing happened. I found my name in  the selected list of candidates for the postgraduate course in social work. My social work career ,thus, started from Jarret's Gardens.

BONDED AND SWEAT LABOUR OF OUR CHILDREN

Sustained global and national campaigns ultimately led to the banning of Child Labour in India 25 years ago. But nothing has changed on the ground as unscrupulous exploiters of cheap labour continued to use child labour as law implementing officials sleep over the violations. Textile Mills are   among the biggest violators. A shocking  revelation is from a Spinning Mill at Dindigal which PULLED OUT 22 school going children from schools to work in the Mill and the poor parents who are peasants in low paying work definitely prefer some money to education.

SUMANGALI is a beautiful blessing showered on women at marriage for a happy married life. But this age-old blessing has been converted to a clever ploy to exploit children. In Kongu belt consisting of Erode, Tirupur and Coimbatore Textile Mills influence poverty-stricken families with girl children with the Sumangali Scheme to keep girls as mill workers on contract for a number of years so that the children could save money for their future dowry???. Many horrifying instances of this exploitation have come in the public domain with no effect.

The government of India enacted the Right to Education Act (RTE) making education of children a fundamental right. Children are required to be in schools and parents are  to be educated on the need for keeping their kids in schools. But  hunger and deprivation make parents  opt for some earning from their children to supplement their wages. So they do not pay attention to their children dropping out of Schools when prospective employers Pull them out of schools.. Pulling children out of schools is a heinous crime. So also making children work. But who will enforce law? Those who are required to protect children and punish the violators of law themselves are in BONDAGE to the violators. Cruelty to children is a media item for a short period : the officials are fully aware of this reality.

POLICE MEN :TOUGH IMAGE, BUT SOFT JOB

In the United Kingdom, a police constable can occupy the highest police position by performance over a period of time. But not in India. The IPS blocks the constable's growth. At best a constable may become a Sub-Inspector ; but most may not cross the post of Assistant Sub-Inspector. But for many constables, attractive  openings are available as Orderlies in the houses of their superior officers. An orderly is a Domestic Servant doing a variety of services for the  Officer'sfamily and its members. When there is shortage of constabulary for law and order, and criminal investigation duties,  many constables are posted for domestic duties in the houses of  the police officers. After a tough selection process and  giving bribe to politicians in a good number of cases, the young  recruits are shocked to see their posting as domestic help. The wife of a police constable lamented that " my husband is doing even a scavenger's job at the officer's house. I was proud to marry a policeman. But now I am ashamed ."

A Police officer is often referred to as YAJAMAN,  meaning Feudal Landlord because of such unacceptable practice and the way many function. Strangely even a Police Constable is called YAJAMAN by the poor ,  an illustration of  the vertical violence of the social order by those entrusted with  the responsibility of  upholding its integrity. A Standing Committee of The Parliament recommended the abolition of the orderly practice quite a long time ago. But like the other pressing Police Reforms which remain unattended by the central and state governments , this recommendation is also ignored.

Child labour, bonded labour, domestic labour and many ther vulnerable  working class are exploited in India despite some form of protective legislation, Police labour or Orderlies have no legal umbrella to prevent this practice or to regulate the working hours, nature of work and working conditions. While Human Rights activists  will condemn this practice, the ordinary citizens are happy that their daily tormentors are treated this way by an indifferent  state.

PEDAGOGY OF THE POWERLESS

After various permutations, combinations and experimentations, Indian education finally settled for 10+2+3+2 pattern from the primary to the postgraduate levels. But all of a sudden there was an implosion in the Delhi University. The Vice-Chancellor , with a supporting cohort , decided to introduce a 4-year Bachelor's degree followed by an 1-year Master's degree by research. This unilateral decision was made possible because of the paralysis of the UPA's policy makers and the HRD Ministry. The 4-year Bachelor's degree may give more learning time ,  and load the tired and bored students with more information while diminishing absorption of real learning will be the end result. An one-year Master's degree by research is attractive to label , but a counter productive academic measure in the present research scenario in India. The decision of a 4-year Bachelor's degrree by the Delhi University lacks a sound rationale of the coverage of the curricula at the first degree level without consideration for the employability and the educational mobility of the students. As far as the duration, why 4 years, why not 3 1/4, 3 1/2 , or 3 3/4 years? By creating an Exclusive Degree Club, inclusive education is a given a farewell by the self-admiring educationists at the Delhi University. They never bothered about consensus-building on an issue that affects the future of millions of our young students. They had least concern for the financial burden of such an extended degree. Their decision created academic chaos in our education system.A decision of this nature ought to have been linked to a human resource policy. But where is such a policy in India ? In the US, employment / unemployment data is available month-wise. But in India, such data is collected once in five years: that too fudged statistics.  In May 2014, the powerless voted out the bedridden and the paralytic UPA rulers, and elected a new government with great expectations. BJP is committed to the abolition of the reckless experimentation of the Delhi University TUGLAQS. History has given Smriti Irani, our HRD Minister a great opportunity to abolish this 4-year disastrous degree with the Prime Minister's support.

DYNASTIES INTO DUSTBINS

May 16, 2014 : Red letter day in Indian history after August 15 , 1947. On this day Indians threw away two most powerful political dynasties into political oblivion. While the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty met with the worst electoral defeat of all time with a meagre 44 seats out of 543 ( 8 %), Kalaigner Karunanidhi dynasty in Tamilnadu was eclipsed beyond recognition with ZERO out of 39.

Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the first  Prime Minister of India laid the foundation for the most political dynasty of the country.Indira Gandhi knew that to retain power in a vast nation powerful state leaders should be weakened. She branded the charismatic Kamaraj, Nijalingappa, Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy and other leaders as anti-people Syndicate; empty slogans like Garibi Hatao were raised to hoodwink the people ;  and split the Congress party to have personal control. In 1975, she declared National Emergency ; arrested popular leaders like Jayaprakash Narayan ; promulgated media censorship ; evicted urban poor from their habitats ; forcibly sterilised men and women of all ages in the name of family planning ; and unleashed fear across the country. The massive electoral defeat suffered by her personally and her party in 1977 was only a temporary shocker. The dynasty manipulated the weaknesses of the opposition, and returned to power with a bang in 1980. Since then, the dynasty has been in direct or remote control of  state power for a quarter century. State leaders were made sycophants ; grass root structures became weak or non-existent ; and all decisions were imposed by the dynasty and its High Command. Finally even the exalted position of  Prime Minister was made a JOB. Dynasty believe that Party is their fiefdom and even the country is its property. "India is Indira and Indira is India " was a famous or notorious slogan during the Emergeny Era. Absolute control of power by the dynasty wiith total lack of  of accountability. Corruption became the order of the day and people were taken for granted. Amitabh Bachan once remarked that "they (dynasty) are Rajalog". The arrogant dynasty became insensitive to the mounting anger of the people and was unprepared for the Electoral Tsunami.

The postmortem of the Congress Party's performance in the elections was on predicted lines. Pre-scripted resignation of the dynasty and the rejection of the same by the  weak Working Committee, a creation of the dynasty , was a boring drama . Congress leaders are afraid to take responsibility having enjoyed power by subserving the dynasty. FEAR OF FREEDOM as written by The Brazilian Philosopher and Educator Paulo Friere in his famous book "Pedagogy of the Oppressed ". The party functionaries have all along internalised hegemony of the dynasty from Indira to  Rajiv to Sonia to Rahul and Priyanka  to Priyanka's children and grandchildren. Dynasties are always optimistic ,and forget that the historic mission of all power hungry dynasties is to wither away over time :through the ballot or bullet.

TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE AND SOCIAL WORK PROFESSION

Indian and other traditional societies have a reservoir of traditional knowledge which has not been explored by social work teachers and practitioners. In a country with the majority of the population being rural and tribal,oral traditions of the people have not been given due recognition by social work professionals neither in research nor in practice. Creative literature ,oral as well as written , preceded social sciences in understanding social relations and human behaviour. Indian society cannot be fully studied without taking into account of the orality of the Indian rural and tribal culture and literature. The kind of insights that folklore can yield into our social life can seldom be provided by the objective and so-called scientific study of our society.

Social and individual development is the concern of social work. Application of folklore in social work practice is of high utility in social group work and community organization. Changes in attitudes and practices can be brought about by folk songs and plays, which are created by the people of a particular community  themselves., and which facilitate interchangeability of roles between the performers( change agents ) and the audience (client groups ). Folk songs touch the mind ( emotions and thinking) which signals heartbeats (feeling and sensitivity), and the combination of both make men and women to put these thoughts and feelings  into action or practice ; they no longer remain merely in the realm of knowledge . So  social work profession in India should take serious cognisance of the intersection between folklore and social work. Only Athropology ,including Medical Anthroplogy , has the wisdom to have close association with the folklore and folk practices.

KERALA'S MULTINATIONAL SPIRITUAL CORPORATION

"Spirit"and pseudo-spiritualism are in abundant supply in Kerala ,known as God's Own Country with Devils aplenty .Boys get baptised into liquor consumption as early as from the tender age of  12. Kerala is on the top with regard to alcoholism , sexual abuse of girl children by fathers and close relatives, harassment of girls and women in society, and suicide though the state has the highest literacy in India.People seek solace wherever it is readily available . So  priests, astrologers, Godmen and Godwomen, etc  thrive. Kerala is not an exception ;all over the country swamis, gurus, soothsayers and other pseudo-spiritual merchants (though many are in jails) are worshipped.. For instance ,Tamilnadu and neighbouring states in the recent past had the presence of KALKI Bhagawan(God), the tenth incarnation of Lord Vishnu , and his spiritual movement with numerous followers around him. Finally ,KALKI had a brush with law and police.

Mata Amritanandamayi  Math in Kerala is the ultimate destination for laity,celebrity,political class of all ideologies,corporate bosses, and all needing spiritual cleanliness. From here "spirituality and divinity " are exported to all countries with spiritual bases and centres. The simple devotee of Lord Krishna became a Goddess herself over time ,perhaps like Lord Krishna himself ,with temple rituals and "poojas". A new spiritual order of monks and "sisters" is in place.. The Math has a battery of highly skilled marketing strategists and articulate "swamis ", a TV channel , corporate style organisations and community service. The Math has been engaged in outstanding health care and rehabilitation of families affected by Tsunami and other disasters. Thousands of believers are benefitted with emotional support from the Mata with her personal touch and "hug" . On the negative side, its medical college, engineering colleges, and other educational institutions are becoming corporate enterprises. Massive flow of foreign funding under the FCRA Act and huge donations from devotees are worrying  phenomena.

Gail Tredwell, who became Gayathri, spent nearly twenty years at the Math and was a part of the inner coterie of Amma (Mother ) Her book HOLY HELL became an explosive to Amma's believers demystifying the Mata. Sleaze, rape, sexual abuse, cruelty to inmates, witch-hunting of dissidents and critics, diversion of devotees' donations to family, disproportionate  accumulation of wealth by family members and relatives of the Mata, and other unpleasant matters are explained in the book of Gail. Popular TV personality John Brittas of Kairali /WE TV interviewed Gail. The interview was virtually a wide dissemination of information on the Mata and The Math among the Kerala diaspora and others across the globe. A concerned citizen went to the court. Though the case was dismissed,it is a temporary reprieve. The Kerala government has taken the stand that a book cannot be the basis for filing a case. A weak defence. But the dice has been cast. The wind of the present day can be a cyclone tomorrow. Mata is a Goddess to her followers. So it is her responsibility to accept an impartial investigation into the functioning of the Math by eminent citizens.

Mother Teresa is the only Mother India can be proud of. All other "Mothers" are pale shadows of Teresa, the Mother of all time. 

FROM WHICH PLANET ARE OUR POLITICIANS COMING ?

"Boys are boys ",if the boys rape  girls why give death sentence to them ?If  we come to power we will amend the laws. Outrageous speech by Mulayam Singh Yadav ,leader of Samajwadi Party. Purpose :to get some more votes. I wish the women of UP vote against him. But Mulayam knows that such justifiable retaliation will not take place in UP. His follower and prominent SP leader says that those involved in sex outside marriage should be stoned to death: this leader is from Maharashtra. Such anti-women politicians have mass following. Aam Aadmi Party gave rise to great hopes for the tired Indians. But it's leader Arwind Kejriwal became a 49-day disaster by running away from governance to capture power in the country as a whole:ambitious and politically stupid desire. His understanding of Indians as clay which his theatrics  can shape the way he wants was not from the IIT where he studied. His party has become an ALL AADMI PARTY welcoming anyone with a broom and a white cap.The total cost is just ₹ 100; no other credential needed.. So once a clean party has billionaires, secessionists, criminals,celebrities,corporate honchos, etc etc are admitted in the party. AK 49,as Kejriwal is called ,Got the highest number of slaps and ink bottles, and he tried to convert every muck and slap into votes. Now AK 49 admits that he made a mistake in quitting CM 's post. The language used by our politicians against  political opponents is often obscene. Unbelievably provocative rhetorics are used. Inflammable speeches and foul name calling are the order of the day. Money and gifts flow and the Election Commission is raiding as much as possible. Mamata Banerji,   CM of West Bengal, would like to conduct elections by herself with her henchmen. She  condemned the Election Commission and refused to obey its order. But faced with the threat of cancellation  of elections in West Bengal she meekly surrendered. One national daily suggested that her party could withdraw from contesting elections if she is not willing to abide by the constitutional authority's mandate. Politicians go on violating the Model Code of Conduct and scream BIAS when the Election Commission  initiates action. SAD our country is under threat from our politicians who definitely are from a different planet.

AADHAR CARD

Aadhar card, the flagship project of the UPA government is now in tatters.
Cobrapost's sting operation clearly shows that Aadhar card is freely available to any one ready to give a pittance of just Rupees 500 to the agent. Anybody including foreigners could get the Aadhar card. Many non-Indians including those who are threats to our national security may be possessing the Aadhar cards. A frightening prospect. Further the card seeker need not personally appear for the card. The agent will take all the necessary biometric measurements including vital photographs from other genuine Indian Aadhar card for the bribegivers. Again all the biometric and other details can be sold to anyone for a price. It is learnt that international companies are involved in the preparation of the hardware and software of Aadhar card under UIDAI. That means foreign agencies can get access to the vital data of Indians. UIDAI is a government agency, and not created by any act of Indian Parliament. 18, 000 crores Rupees already spent for this project.A colossal waste of our tax money which could have ben used for providing drinking water and other useful purposes to our people.
The media brought the misuse of the Aadhar card distribution to the public domain. But UIDAI and the government ignored these exposures. The central and many state governments made Aadhar card compulsory for getting gas subsidy through banks, registration of property and marriage, and for many purposes making life difficult for the lawabiding citizens.Many reports are now coming out regarding the hardships faced by Aadhar card-compliant people in getting gas cylinders and securing subsidy. Recently the Supreme Court ordered the governments to withdraw all orders regarding the linking of Aadhar card with government services. A great relief for the ordinary Indians. But what about the security threats posed to the people and the country because of the  already issued bogus cards?

MARKETING DREAMS TO COMMON PEOPLE (AAM AADMI)

Social Activist Anna Hazare and his team brought  corruption to the centre stage of India's political scene. Aravind Kejriwal took advantage of being a part of Anna's Team and  formed the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and captured the imagination of people by offering numerous DREAMS. But as Chief Minister he  had no systematic approach to governance. Finally after 49 days he played martyr and resigned from the post of CM. Now he appears to be aiming at the PM's chair. He dreams and tries to make the dream-loving Indians to believe him.All over India corporate leaders, social activists, politicians from other parties, and the educated youth are joining his dreams. But the reality is the lack of ideology. Crusade against corruption alone cannot take a political movement forward. There must be an ideological base which should be shared by those who join the movement. Take two examples. Kejriwal told the Confederation of Indian Industries that he wants the government to be not in business and all business activities should be by private enterprises. A typical NEO-LIBERAL ECONOMIC IDEOLOGY, which will lead to exploitation of the vunerable and the weak, and will also breed corrupion. On the social life, he supports Khap Panchayats. The Khaps in villages , no doubt, help settle certain disputes, which  elected panchayats can do with committed village representatives. But Khaps are patriarchal formations of village men and the Khap Panchayats have dictated inhuman punishments against women. Directing rape of a young girl by nearly a dozen  men in public gaze for loving a man, not approved by the villaga elders, is a recent example. The Supreme Court of India declared the Khap Panchayats illegal. But our politicians treat the Khaps as potential electoral allies. Kerala, a state with progressive population, has no such Regressive panchayats. Arwind Kejriwal and his team of ideologues, with an eye on Haryana voters, say that Khap Panchayats are social organisations. Yes, they are social , but doing generally antisocial actions against women. India's bane :SLOGANS.VOCAL POLITICIANS, MASS MOBILISATION TO CAPTURE POLITICAL POWER, LEAVING PEOPLE IN THE LURCH.

PUSHED TO THE STREETS IN OLD AGE BY FAMILIES

Old age as a happy period of one's life free from serious family responsibilities under the loving care of children and relatives is only a dream for a large number of elderly men and women in India. Many are illtreated in the families and neglected. But many are thrown out of their houses when their utility is over or when their caregivers feel that they are a "burden" .  This is what is being witnessed in Chennai city.

Helplines operating organisations, old age homes , and kindhearted individuals narrate heartrending incidents , and the media like the Times of India(TOI) bring these distressing realities before the community. Recently the TOI reported  senior citizens being found dead at the Chennai Mofussil Bus Terminus. Many old people are found abandoned in garbage dumps, at bus terminals and railway platforms in a ragged heap, under flyovers, outside hospitals, and even in sewage canals.Some are sick or mentally ill, some are bitten by dogs and rats, some with insect-infected wounds, some with fractures, and some are dazed without knowing where they are. Cruel, some old women are sexually assaulted in the streets.
Head of an old age home says that  when elderly parents are bedridden or when they suffer from serious, chronic illness, children abandon them in some families.When old age pension gets stopped due to some reason, or when there is space constraint in small apartments, children leave their parents by the wayside. Children, in many cases, get the parents admitted in government hospitals under the pretext of medical treatment, and never return to take them back; in such cases, hospitals because of shortage of beds leave them in the streets in the night. Relatives from smaller cities and towns, and also from other states leave the old men and women in bus terminals, railway platforms, temple premises , etc.

Among the abandoned old people are men and women from all social classes. Former teachers, government officials, airhostesses, and others are seen sharing the streets with homehelps, labourers and beggars till they are rescued and rehabilitated . Not all are lucky. Many spend the remainder of their lives in the anonymity of the streets , and even die on the pavements. Ironically, the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act of 2007 has become a major factor pushing the parents from families to the  streets by children to avoid the provisions of the Act. Whatever it be, in recent years there has been an upsurge in the number of "STREET ELDERLY". Take the country as a whole, the magnitude of homeless, abandoned elderly is humongous,