ELECTION SCENE

Four Indian states are having the elections . Election time is a festival time . Money is available all around giving the impression that India is a very rich nation. Election is a good opportunity  for converting BLACK MONEY into white ; something like the role of the Reserve Bank of India..A lot of employment opportunities are created during election time, though it is seasonal. Grabbing walls of buildings and painting slogans of parties are highly competitive activities.. A new category of contractors has emerged: Election Contractors. Their functions : arranging participants for election meetings and rallies,; supplying goons ;  arranging   soda bottles, stones ,cycle chains and other destructive materials; procuring liquor ( illicit ,local or branded) and sex workers ; making available different types of  food ; etc. Election contractors mature into local body councillors and higher-ups in course of time. Participants in rallies and meetings  are paid well on a per day basis : Rs. 600 for a man, Rs. 800 for a woman and Rs.1200 for a student. The same persons will be utilised for different parties what ever be the party ideology. Speech makers are in great demand according their vocal chord strength, and star status in the parties.
Door to door campaigners in large numbers will be in demand once the high decibel  public meetings come to an end.. Poster making is a profit making enterprise during the election period..Voter bribing is an art and many with bribe giving skills are rated high with the candidates and parties. On the whole our elections are not only an entertainment extravaganza but also a wonderful economic enterprise .. A temporary START UP INDIA.

PhD FOR A PRICE

Hindustan Times exposed the well-known business of  fake Doctoral research work in Indian Universities. A shopping complex opposite old JNU campus in Delhi  has a row of book shops that appear like ordinary book stalls. But inside serious "research " discussions regarding creation of bogus Doctoral discussions take place between the research customers and touts. PhD on any topic. Price of  ghostwritten dissertations ranges from a minimum of ₹ 30,000/- depending on the topic and the "degree of originality " required by the research " scholar". Ghost written dissertations are not merely for researchers from ordinary Universities, but also for scholars from prestigious Universities like JNU, Jamia Millia Islamia ( JMI ) and Indian Institute of Technology ,Delhi.  It is said that South Delhi is a flourishing ghost-written PhD market. This malady is not confined to Delhi alone.All across India doctorate degrees are sold for researchers by Professors and administrators of various Universities.

Doctorate degrees are also in great demand from  politicians,astrologers, businessmen, civil servants, and others. Some give doctorates to them by themselves. Astrologers of various types call themselves Dr. XXX. Who questions them. When persons without any medical qualification practise medicine and even do surgery , adding Dr to one's name ,though not from any University, is a minor aberration from Indian standards.

Writing dissertations for Master's degrees, MPhil degrees and PhDs is a Start-Up  Industry in India needing no venture capital. Like corruption for public service in government departments, Ghost dissertations for a price have become a common phenomenon. Ironically, even a doctoral degree secured after years of hard work is viewed with suspicion . Some years ago, a good research scholar worked hard and wrote his dissertation under the research guidance of a Professor with an MPhil and a PhD . Before submitting he showed me his dissertation. His dissertation had a very serious defect : the percentages in all the cross-tables were computed with a wrong base. When I pointed out this to him, he was initially upset. But he had no time to redraft the dissertation. He took the risk hoping that like his research guide , the examiner would also be ignorant of the percentage rules. He was perfectly right. He passed MPhil with distinction.

Our HRD Miniter Ms.Smriti Irani announced that soon Universities in India would be ranked. Very good idea. When academic Ghosts are available in plenty in India ,rating of Universities has to be taken with a " bag of salt". AMEN.🌺😝🌺

SPIRITUALITY AND SUSTAINABILITY

Sri Sri Ravishankarji  is a highly revered spiritual leader. The Art of Living Foundation ( AOL ) headed by him has been doing outstanding services to people in numerous countries in all continents. Sri Sri Ravishankarji has been held in high esteem by world leaders  irrespective of  their ideological orientations. Recently AOL organized a three-day mega cultural festival at the banks of river Yamuna. Prime Minister described it as the Kumbha Mela of Culture. True .As Indians we are proud of Sri Sri for organising such a great global festival of  cultural extravaganza.

But that is the fair side of Sri Sri's contribution. The other side is ugly. At the event site of the cultural festival, the Yamuna flood plains were flattened and vegetation removed. Environmentalists believe that the ecological damage may take years to repair. One of the main functions of the flood plains is ground water recharge . Having now been flattened, the area's recharge capacity could deteriorate considerably. The Yamuna is more likely to flood its banks. There were many violations of  Green Laws. And justifiably the National Green Tribunal passed strictures and fined  AOL ₹ 5 crore, without upsetting the festival.

Strangely,the usually sedate Sri Sri reacted like a politician. He said "I would rather go to jail, rather than paying the fine" He also made certain avoidable references to the NGT order. He behaved as if he was above the law. The NGT chided Sri Sri and observed that it did not expect a person of his eminence to make such statements. Finally AOL paid the first instalment of ₹ 25 lakh fine before the deadline and sought permission for deferred  payment ,which the NGT agreed. This was indeed an anti-climax.

Recently Sri Sri observed that the just concluded cultural festival indicates that India is capable of organising even Olympics or FIFA games. True Sri Sriji. But when China organised the Olympics millions became homeless . We hope Sri Sri would not like that to be repeated in India in the name of culture or sports. Ultimately Swamiji ! spirituality and sustainability should move hand in hand.

RUTH MANORAMA. : BORN TO LEAD DALIT WOMEN

  " Sub-continent's most effective organiser of and advocate of Dalit women, and for the commitment 

    over decades in achieving equality for Dalit women ,building effective and committed women's 

    organisations for their rights at national and international levels "

         This is from the citation to Dr.Ruth Manorama when she was awarded the prestigious Right Livelihood Award in 2006. This award is known as the Altrenative Nobel Prize. In 2005, she was chosen among the 1000 Peace Women for Nobel Prize.

    Ruth Manorama was born in Madras in 1952 in a Dalit Christian family. She was fortunate to have very supportive parents who gave her good education. She joined the Department of Social Work at Stella Maris College for MA in social work in 1973. I met Ruth in 1973 along with my student R.S.Anbarasan and Karuna David ,Ruth's classmate. This formal interaction soon became a close friendship ,which continues even today.

    Ruth has been in the centre stage of Dalit acivism and empowerment of Dalit women for nearly four decades. In 1977 ,she shifted her base to Bangalore. She founded the non-governmental organisation

Service Society  in 1985 to organise slum families, women and unorganised labour. During the 1980s and 1990s she led many agitations against eviction of slum families in Bangalore. Her Campaign Operation Demolition was a success. Ruth has been active in many national and international organisations. But two organisations stand out.

Ruth is General Secretary of  Women's  Voice. In 1995, she founded the National Federation of Dalit Women, the first most significant body of Dalit Women post Dr.Ambedkar era.  Ruth's  work has strong  roots in more than 120 slums in Bangalore where women are well -organised ,trained and empowered to take up leadership .

Ruth has been active in various government bodies both national and international for the improvement of the situation of Dalit women. She has been an effective member in various UN,and other international forums.Awards have come in the way of Ruth. The significant awards are Dr.B.R.Ambedkar Award in 2002  and the highly covetable Rajyothsava Award in 2005 by the Karnaka government. In 2007, the Banglore University conferred on Ruth the  Doctor of Letters ( Honoris Causa) by the Bangalore University.

It is difficult to subsume the phenomenal contribution of Dr.Ruth Manorama in a few paragraphs. She is an incomparable person born to lead the oppressed ,Dalit women to liberation.

MENTAL ILLNESS AND MEDIEVAL MINDSET

The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill,2014, is under review. In the report on the Bill ,Union Minister Maneka Gandhi is reported to have made the following observations: There is no difference between mental illness and mental disability in the bill. For instance, how can a person with Schizophrenia be given a job? What a jaundiced view of a high profile Union Minister on mental illness? Schizophrenia is like any other disease and the patient can be rehabilitated well with quality therapy, counselling, family care and social support. Mental illness is a taboo even now, and the mentally ill are ostracised, humiliated,ill-treated, and denied their basic human rights. A large number of mentally ill persons do not get treatment for a variety of reasons and many treatment centres like mental hospitals lack facilities for good quality treatment..Recently some new institutions like the Banyan in Chennai are adopting a holistic approach to treatment and rehabilitation of mental patients. But one problem staring at the medically rehabilitated person is the family and social rehabilitation as many families are reluctant to accept them back for fear of community resistance. Years ago, there was a poor,Dalit ,young student at the Madeas School of Social Work where I was a teacher. He had thirteen papers as arrears at the Final semester, Two  of his classmates, Mr.Keith Gomez of Loyola College (Lecturer and Psychiatric Social Worker),and Ms.C.K,Gariyali,IAS (herself  had MSW and whose husband was the famous Psychiatrist Dr.Raj Kumar) helped the young man overcome his illness. Surprising everyone he passed all the thirteen papers in one attempt. On completion of the social work course,he took a job as a Social Worker. Today Cancer survivors are treated as role models for others. But not the persons who have overcome mental illnes.. The mentally ill person has the right to study,to work,to marry, to vote and to enjoy life like any other person. Let not medieval prejudices of persons like Maneka Gandhi prevent them from expressing themselves fully. Let Indian society do not waste precious human resources.

MAN MADE DISASTER IN TAMILNADU

Tamilnadu had unprecedented  heavy rains during November-December 2015 after 1918 called  the rains of the century due to El Niño .In between there were heavy rains during El Niño years. Bu this is rated as the heaviest.But the flooding in Chennai city,Cuddalore district and other districts brought unimaginable  misery to people.Many lost their precious lives. Families belonging to all social classes suffered heavy losses. The worst period was from November 30 in Chennai city when water from the Chembarambakkam reservoir was released with almost no warning leading to unexpected flow of water with water levels raising every second. Numerous houses particularly those of the poor were submerged in water or washed away. Household properties were destroyed. Panic gripped the people. Power was cut and mobile connectivity was lost. Food and water were in scarcity. Army and National  Disaster Management Teams rushed to various places saving the lives of people trapped in water and in houses.Relief materials were dropped from helicopters  The state government also extended large scale relief operations with publicity and pictures of the Chief Minister for political gains.Political parties also arranged relief materials .But the role played by individuals,particularly the youth, and NGOs are commendable as they did without seeking publicity and in the most dedicated manner braving rains.

The flood is caused not by El Niño but by the politicians, officials and real estate mafia.Rivers were encroached upon.So also lakes and small ponds, and wetland . These water bodies which could prevent flooding were taken over for residential and commercial  buildings as well as for roads, other infrastructure and government buildings. Rampant corruption was the cause in approving illegal construction. There was total callousness in city planning by all governments during the last nearly fifty years. Whatever waterways were left were not maintained regularly. So also the drains were ignored. No lessons were learnt from the previous North East monsoons by the state and city corporation. The massive floods which entered houses even upto ten feet high ,and accumulation of chest or neck  level water  in many streets and roads even after ten days are in areas which were erstwhile wetland and water bodies.

Nearly six hundred people died in cruel circumstances.But this is official data. Real data will remain a mystery. Two instances are extremely painful. One,the drowning of a 72 year old retired Lt .Col of the Indian Army and his wife in their apartment in the Defence Officers Colony. The other is the death of 14 or 18 patients on ventillator support in the MIOT hospital due to lack of oxygen caused by flooding in the generator room. The lapses of the ruling class and the officialdom are unforgivable.

Ghost Written Dissertations and Fake PhDs

Doctoral research is a sacred work of academic excellence. But for the past many years, many get doctorate degrees for a price. No hard work needed, only good investment of money needed. From topic selection to dissertation submission, there are packages available. One need not read even a single page, he or she need to know the right sources. Often the research guides themselves arrange outsourcing. There are many instances where the research guides themselves undertake the responsibilty of the whole MPhil or PhD work. Besides the contractual amount for preparation of research tools, data collection, data analysis ,drafting the dissertation and the other work, gifts in various forms and gratifying the needs of research guides are a part of the research ritual. Women research scholars often have to deal with the " sexual"demands of the holy professors. Some women scholars who find such demands unbearable drop out.

Plagiarism is quite common among the research fraternity. A senior Professor who found his work copied in a dissertation without any acknowledgement of his name sent a circular to many academics including me accusing of ACADEMIC PIRACY.Times of India,in an article on "Poor Quality Profs?", writes that many doctoral candidates pay 1 to 2 lakh rupees to English teachers to fine tune their dissertations.The article adds that the Internet is teeming with companies that supply anything from 1000- word essays to 10,000-word treatises on any topic. Plagiarism is a serious breach of academic ethics and IF DETECTED degrees can be withheld and even the research scholars can be debarred. But the IF is a very BIG IF. Former AICTE chairman and retired Director of IIT (Madras) Prof.R.Natarajan says that there are only a few PhD holders of true quality today.

PhD degrees are in great demand these days because of the UGC /AICTE requirement of research degrees for higher academic positions with the sole aim of improving the quality of higher education in India. But, AlAS, many ,if not most, of the teachers possess fake PhD degrees. They ,in turn, teach aspiring students.What do they teach ?What can they teach? These are any body's guess.

SOCIAL WORKERS WITH A MISSION(4):DISCOVERY

Discovery : A Teaching Revolution

As a young student at the MSSW, the twenty-one year old J.M.Sampath was always found immersed in thoughts about " human values and value conflicts", which I thought was too serious an issue to be handled by him at that time.But I was proved wrong. His thoughts ,in later years, turned to be the development of a series of tools for individual and organizational change widely applied in India and in other countries.

At the age of 29, Sampath left an executive job and decided to pursue his passion. He identified a set of stories from various classics and developed into a story book with a series of questions for behavioural change . It was titled DISCOVERY. In its 6th edition,Discovery has been acclaimed as a " Teaching Revolution "by critics in India and abroad.

Dr.Sampath and his highly talented wife Dr.Kalpana Sampth are managing Arpitha Associates which has offices in India and in other countries. And many top companies have been on the client list of Arpitha Associates, and more than 25000 individuals have been benefitted by the Sampaths. Arpitha Associates have constantly been on developing "Value Clarification Tools".  Sampath's another well-known volume is the "Inner Realities of Life".

Sampath and Kalpana have founded EFIL (the reverse of LIFE ) to promote Life Education among school children in the 5th to 10th standards. The EQube series of EFIL have been outstanding in sensitizing school children. At 55, the social contribution of Dr.Sampath has only a few parallels,

SOCIAL WORKERS WITH A MISSION (3): HELPING HANDS

On completion of his social work course, young Stephen Vidyaakar  decided to dedicate his whole life for caring for the " wretched on the streets" of Chennai city to borrow a  part of the title from Frantz Fanon's book "Wretched of the Earth ", while his contemporaries were craving for high paying corporate jobs. One day in 1983 ,a rickshaw-puller took a tiny ,wailing, dehydrated infant boy ,found abandoned in a cinema hall after the late night show, to Stephen. The young social worker received the baby with open arms and that was the beginning of a long and challenging journey in his mission of caring for the orphans and destitutes by founding  the Uthavum Karangal ( Helping Hands) , an NGO. He and his organization have given succour and a new life to hundreds of abandoned babies, neglected aged men and women, destitute children , the disabled, the mentally challenged, the sexually abused, the sick with HIV and other illnesses and disabilities , the dying destitutes, and others  found thrown in the dirty streets of the city.

No social worker has attempted to raise funds the way Stephen has done in the early part of his work : he used to stand on the Marina beach with a collection box to seek alms to meet  the pressing needs of the human lives under his care.. A dedication of extreme rarity. Slowly Uthavum Karangal attracted volunteers to join Stephen in his multiple responsibilities . Funds also started flowing, though not to the needed extent. Today, Uthavum Karangal extends residential care, educational support, vocational training, rehabilitation services , etc. Stephen sacrificed personal happiness like marriage . But he is immensely happy to belong to an extended family of many generations with many children having Vidyaakar as the surname calling him appa or pappa ( father ). It is heart-warming to see Stephen doing Kanyadanam of his daughters who grew up in his arms with all the stipulated rituals .

Stephen's social contribution can be compared with that of Mother Teresa without any hesitation.  Born in Macedonia,she settled in Kolkatta and cared for the abandoned  patients and the dying destitutes . Stephen ,born in India , has been caring selflessly for the well-being of the unwanted humans in Chennai . Mother Teresa had enormous support from the state and central governments, and international sources. But Stephen has been struggling for funds. Awards, including the Nobel Prize and the Bharat Ratna , were conferred on Mother Teresa. At the same time, the Indian state is yet to recognize the precious Indian GEM :Stephen Vidyaakar.

The Story of Madras School of Social Work : Part 2

School of Social Work Sabotaging Social Work 

An unimaginable action from the authorities of MSSW in 1999. To terminate the MA (SW) course. South India's first school of social work tried to destroy social work education. People who took this dangerous step was a former President of the Association of Schools of Social Work in India and his associates. It is like the child trying to kill the parent. Mary Clubwala Jadhav's historic contribution and the outstanding performance of the hundreds of social work graduates of MSSW for nearly 50 years were to be undone by a reckless attempt for purely personal and other unacceptable reasons. The attempted disruptive effort was resisted by students and some former students. They succeeded in stalling the academic homicide. Some of the former students were co-opted into the Board of Management of MSSW. This period will remain the darkest period in the history of social work education in India.

Another undesirable action was starting an MBA programme during the same period in association with the Missouri University of USA: one year course in MSSW and one year in Missouri. A self-financing or money making enterprise in crude language! Madras School of Social Work was the only school of social work to start an MBA in the country.The ethos, philosophy,orientation and thrust of social work are at variance from those of business administration. A school of social work cannot be a business school. An International School of Management Studies (ISMS) was created to hoodwink the gullible onlookers.But the All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) did not recognise this course. Then the MSSW management applied for permission to start an MBA " in the name and style of MSSW" to the AICTE in June 2006,which was rejected. MSSW management ,then,filed a writ petition before the Madras High Court in 2007. The High Court asked AICTE to reconsider the request of MSSW.A committee of experts visited in 2007 and found the MSSW proposal unacceptable. MSSW approached AICTE again stating that the deficiencies pointed out were rectified. AICTE sent another Inspection Committee in 2008 which also did not favour the MSSW proposal. So another writ petition was filed in March,2011 to quash the AICTE order ,which is now pending before the High Court. Instead of wasting time and resources of the MSSW for an undeserving cause,the present controllers of the school could have spared some time and funds for humanitarian service. That is what social work is about.

Mr. K.N.George needs to do some serious introspection regarding his prominent role in initiating the decline of MSSW. It is an irony that the institution builder has become the institution destroyer . Sir, social work history in India will not forgive you.

The Story of MSSW : Part I

MSSW was founded on 5th August 1952. But it was neither a trust nor a society. In order to overcome this defect a society known as Society for Social Education and Research was formed in October 1960 under the Societies Registration act before the District Registrar and the serial number was 102 of 1960 to "take over and manage the Madras School of Social Work" besides other objectives. However, the constitution of the society suffers from serious legal infirmities. The first Governing Body of the Society consisted of 19 members.

Mrs. Mary Clubwala Jadhav, Mr. D.C.Kothari, Dr. N.Vasudeva Rao, Dr. H.M.Sharma and Mr. S.R. Venkataraman served MSSW till their last days. Mr. D.C. Kothari was the perfect choice for the position of Chairman of MSSW. Being a highly respected industrialist, his association brought prestige to MSSW. He never interfered with the administration of the School during the 40 years he was Chairman. Despite being chairman of a big corporate group, he found time to attend all the meetings and functions of MSSW whenever he was present in Madras. He was courteous to the faculty and knew each one of the faculty well. He was meticulous in observing the protocol expected of an industrialist-chairman of an educational institution. Mary and Decee (that was how he was addressed in close circles) were an excellent team. Dr. D.C. Kothari passed away in 1992. Dr, N. Vasudeva Rao was always conscious of his rotary membership and the three-piece suit which he wore even during the hottest days in Chennai. He succeeded Mrs. Jadhav as Honorary Secretary after her demise. Mrs. V.T. Lakshmi and Dr. A. Jayalakshmi Rao served MSSW as part-time Honorary Directors during the initial years. Dr. P.T. Thomas and Dr. K.V. Sridharan were academics. Mr. K.N. George, on the other hand, never claimed any academic distinction. He was a gregarious and easily accessible Director of MSSW. He was outstanding in public relations and could get any work done with the bureaucracy. He was friendly to the students and helpful in placement. He was, undoubtedly, the most popular teacher in MSSW. In the development of MSSW, particularly during the first four decades, the contribution of Mr. George has no parallel.

Looking back, I have great pride and immense satisfaction with the phenomenal performance of the alumni and alumnae of MSSW. MSSW is neither like an IIM, nor like an IIT. It attracted students with average academic record without CAT or JEE. But they on completion of the social work course have been doing outstanding service in alleviating human misery and suffering on the one hand, and in developing and managing human resources on the other which is comparable in scale, intensity and magnitude with those who passed out from institutions with a Brand. In community service and corporate leadership, they have reached great enviable heights. They also excel as top class academics in India and abroad. World class institutions in treatment and rehabilitation of substance used disorders, and in mental health have been created by two alumnae. Many are social innovators and social entrepreneurs . In the field of Human Resources Management their contribution has been path breaking. One alumnus has given global leadership in ageing. Some are highly rated motivational speakers and trainers. Some have written good quality ,authoritative books on different subjects. Some are successful in business. One became Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha) and another is politically active as Councillor and party representative in Australia. One was honoured with Padma Shri in India, while another was decorated with the prestigious title Dato in Malaysia. I can go on narrating their achievements which are legion.

What MSSW did was to trigger the innate abilities of its students who brought out their full potentials with the passage of time and life experiences. One important contributory factor was the very nature of social work education itself with its thrust on field work as much as on class room instruction. In other words learning by observing and doing. The teachers taught less and the students learnt more. Another factor was the learning and co-curricular environment where students of both sexes were never discouraged from interacting freely, and where the learners were never inhibited from expressing themselves. Individual conferences of students and teachers, and joint evaluation of field work by the students and the faculty also were enabling factors.

I completed the postgraduate Diploma in 1963 and worked some years at the Department of Social Work at Karnataka University. In September 1967, I joined the Madras School of Social Work. Mrs. Radha Paul at that time was looking after the short-term training programmes besides teaching responsibilities. I was entrusted with the research activities, curriculum development and all academic matters, preparation of different project proposals, etc besides teaching work. At that time Mr. N. Ram of The Hindu used to visit me .MSSW was struggling to get itself affiliated to the University of Madras. He wrote a good feature on MSSW "A Postgraduate Institution Outside the University".

Mrs. Radha Paul organised various training programmes for government officials (Probation Officers, Jail Officials, etc).She was also the National Service Scheme (NSS) Co-ordinator. A major training programme was the one for Judicial Officers like judges. She managed the training programmes in an admirable manner.

MSSW secured research grant from the US Govt, UNICEF, FAO, govt of India, Tamilnadu govt, and other bodies for different research studies. The earlier generic Diploma course was converted into a specialisation programme. Most state govts recognised the Diploma for employment. Tata Institute of Social Sciences recognised it as equivalent to its MA (SW). This was followed by the visit of a govt of India team resulting in the recognition of DipSSA equivalent to the Master's degree of Indian Universities by the Ministry of Education and the Inter-University Board. The only elusive academic issue was the affiliation with the University of Madras,

The physical infrastructure of MSSW was built with funds from two German donor organisations for training for social causes. The Catholic donor agency MISEREOR (now a part of Cordaid) funded the construction of the men's and women's hostels with residential quarters for Wardens, and the purpose was training youth welfare workers and other grassroot welfare personnel. The school building with four floors, an auditorium and a conference hall was constructed with financial support from the German Protestant donor organisation EZE. The objective was training personnel for poverty alleviation programmes. Some former students associated closely with MISEREOR and EZE helped secure the funds, and Mr. George did effective follow-up communication.

Late Dr. Malcolm Adiseshaiah, famous educationist and economist, set up the Madras Institute of Development Studies (MIDS) with his personal money after retiring from the UNESCO as its Deputy Director General, which later became an institute of national importance. Dr. Adiseshaiah was fully aware of the problems of MSSW. At that time AIR organised a discussion on caste disabilities. Dr. Adiseshaiah was the key speaker. I was also invited. Unexpectedly there was some technical problem causing delay of more than an hour. Dr. Adiseshaiah spent that time to discuss MSSW and its needs. He heard me patiently. At that time, I did not know that he was chosen Vice-Chancellor of the Madras University. Soon he took charge as VC. In his three-year action plan, one announcement was the affiliation of the MSSW with the Madras University. It was an unusual step by an unconventional VC. Soon the University appointed a three-member committee to inspect the MSSW and give report on the eligibility of MSSW for affiliation with the Madras University. Soon the Syndicate approved the affiliation of MSSW and the first batch of students for the MA (SW) course was admitted in 1977. At that time the status of the DipSSA was left unresolved. I met Dr. Adiseshaiah with a representation of the management and presented the case of the hundreds of Diploma holders. He promised quick action and the following Syndicate meeting resolved that DipSSA would be treated equivalent to MA(SW) of the Madras University for teaching, research and employment purposes.

Mary Clubwala Jadhav and MSSW

Mrs Mary Clubwala Jadhav was a legendary social worker who was awarded the Padma Shri and Padma Vibhushan for her outstanding humanitarian service. Settled in Madras, Mary Clubwala, a Parsi by birth, was keen to start a school of social work in Madras on the lines of the Sir Dorabji Tata Graduate School of Social Work at Bombay (later renamed the Tata Institute of Social Sciences). Thus the MSSW came into being on 5 August, 1952 and it was housed in thatched sheds in the Harrington Road area and offered the two-year Diploma in Social Service Administration (DipSSA). At the time of starting MSSW, the great statesman C.Rajagopalachari humorously teased Mary : "it is mechanised charity". The school was subsequently shifted to its present premises at Jarret's Gardens with an old imposing two-storied structure and two thatched sheds in the midst of many trees. MSSW was founded by a group of persons led by Mary Clubwala and not by an organisation. As she was the chief of the Madras branch of the Indian Conference of Social Work (later renamed the Indian Council of Social Welfare) and the Guild of Service (Central), MSSW was declared as a school under the auspices of these two organisations. MSSW functioned as a special school under the Directorate of Public Instruction and the head of the school was designated Director. But Mary Clubwala was advised the need for a registered body and thus she with a team led by the famous industrialist late Mr.D.C.Kothari founded the Society for Social Education and Research (SSER) under the Societies Registration Act to run the MSSW. There were legal flaws in the society and its relationship with MSSW which remained unquestioned. In the early years the position of Director was occupied by voluntary social workers. The first professionally qualified Director was the late Dr.P.T.Thomas. The late Dr.K.V.Sridharan was Director for a brief period. Mr. K.N. George was the third and the last Director. Joined as a lecturer in 1955, Mr.George helped Mary Clubwala in developing the MSSW.

Mrs. Mary Clubwala Jadhav, born in 1909 at Ootacumund, made Madras her home. Married to Clubwala, she married Major Jadhav after the demise of Clubwala. Philroy, her house at the Sterling Road junction, was the nerve centre of social work in Tamilnadu from where she guided the numerous projects and activities. Almost all social problems that people faced were her concerns and she tried her best to address these. Her approach was mainly institutionalising social work services. She, therefore, created some excellent institutions like Seva Samajam Boys Home, Seva Samajam Girls Home and Bala Vihar (For the mentally retarded) to mention a few. Many retired Civil Servants like N E S.Raghavachari ICS (Retd), former Chief Secretary of Kerala, and M.A. Vellodi , IFS (Retd) were actively involved in the administration of the Guild of Service (Central), the oldest voluntary organisation in India. Involvement of many highly placed persons in the working of the Guild was the key to her success besides appointing professional social workers to head the various institutions. Two characteristics of her style of functioning are worth emulating. First, regular meetings of the committees of all the institutions and drafting of minutes in detail ; all meetings were preceded with the preparation of notes on agenda and circulating in advance. Sending notice much in advance and confirmation of participation are other elements of the meetings. She personally monitored the follow-up. Second, dictating letters to all persons after a function and signing all the letters. It was unbelievable that she personally dictated and signed letters of gratitude to all persons concerned after the sudden demise of her only son Phil in his forties. A rare human being.

Mary Clubwala was appointed Sheriff of Madras in 1956 ; the first woman Sheriff of the city. She was also a member of the Legislative Council ( MLC). During World War II, Mary Clubwala formed the Indian Hospitality Committee with volunteers drawn from the Guild of Service to support the war efforts and to look after the soldiers injured in the War. General Cariappa, C-in-C of the Indian Army, called Mary Clubwala the "Darling of the Indian Army". She involved political leaders, civil servants, businessmen, judges, well-placed women and other influential sections in the diverse activities of the Guild of Service in different roles. She was on first name relationship with Mrs. Indira Gandhi and many prominent personalities in India and abroad. She was obese and diabetic, and yet she was a workaholic for sustaining various social causes. Her fundraising skills were amazing. The International Evening of the GOS every year in February was a wonderful fundraising programme with music, dance, skits, food stalls and many other attractions. Social work at that time was elitist and Mary Clubwala cleverly brought together the elites for promoting social work by assigning them important positions of responsibility in the GOS units. At the same time she maintained close relationship with the destitute children, women, the differently abled, and other residents of the GOS institutions. She knew many of them by name. She raised enormous funds in India and abroad to develop the GOS institutions with good infrastructure. The land at Casa Major Road, Egmore, where the GOS head office and Seva Samajam Girls Home are located, has been bought for MSSW and GOS through her efforts.

The energy of Mrs.Jadhav was breathtakingly unlimited and she found time to pay attention to all institutions. She used to visit MSSW regularly and monitored its activities through her Secretary Ramamoorthy, who was also the Manager of MSSW. Even Mr.George was careful in keeping Ramamoorthy in good humour. She treated the faculty with respect. Whenever I visited her at Philroy, she used to sit by my side and make me eat the snacks and cakes fully. She used to walk upto the door and say "come again". She was a wonderful hostess to all visitors . Except when she had other important exigencies, she used to give farewell parties to the outgoing students and the faculty at Philroy every year. Her parties were lavish and she used to mingle with the students freely. Her parties were memorable. Among the faculty she was close to my teacher and later my colleague Radha Paul. Mrs.Jadhav was invited to various functions and seminars in India and abroad. Radha Paul was her speech writer. Once when she was on leave, the responsibility fell on me at the suggestion of Mr.George. I wrote a good speech. But she did not read it. She told "Nair's speech was good, but very technical. I did not understand some parts of the speech. Radha understands me". That was the first and last time I wrote her speech. Twenty three years of stewardship of MSSW came to an abrupt end in 1975. She had cancer and a part of one leg was amputated. She had the best of treatment, but God's will was different. When she was admitted at the Wellingdon Nursing Home, I used to visit her. One day I sent her a get well card. The next day I got a thanks letter signed by her. When I met her later on, she told that the flower on the card was her favourite flower and she would preserve that. That was Mrs.Jadhav even when she was seriously ill. Finally she was taken to Bombay. That was the last time I saw her alive. The 1975 Republic Day awards included Mrs.Jadhav's name also. The nation conferred the second highest national award Padma Vibhushan on her and she bid adieu to social work and the mortal world the same year. Till she breathed her last social work was the sole content of Mrs. Jadhav's life. She was an incomparable person.