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. T.K. Nair Rtd. Professor of Social Work, Chennai Social Work and Human RightsDr.T.K.Nair The United Nations (1994) stated that "social work has, from its conception, been a human rights profession". The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR ) was adopted by the UN General Assembly on 10th December, 1948 at the Palais de Chaillot, Paris. It was a watershed event in the long history of the struggle of humanity for dignity and social justice.The Preamble of UDHR states among others-
recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world. Healy (2008) observes that social work has been involved in all three generations of human rights.These include the 1966 International Convention on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the 1966 International Convention on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), the 1969 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD), the 1979 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), the 1984 Convention Against Torture (CAT), the 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), the 1990 Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families (CMW), and the 2006 Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). All these international conventions provide the basis for the human rights principles of accountability, transparency, non-discrimination, participation, self-determination, and freedom. All these human rights principles are also values of social work. The UDHR has 30 articles. Of these 14 are related to social justice, a key element of social work, and 10 articles relate to the social work value of dignity and worth of the person. In sum, social work and human rights are inseparable disciplines. This video provides an overview of the social work profession and the values, knowledge and skills needed. Samajakaryada Hejjegalu (Social Work Foot Prints) has completed five years. During the past five years, we are gratified with the growth of the social work journal along with our popular website www.socialworkfootprints.org and the Niruta Publications under the auspices of which many social work books have been published. |
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