 Though I am not a very regular user of WhatsApp I have opened my WhatsApp today in the evening soon after paying gratitude to the several emergency workers as warriors/ fighters against Coronavirus spread. During Janata curfew, I read a message on one of the WhatsApp group titled as social work professionals comprising of 145 members. I believe all of them are professional social workers. While there were many congratulatory messages on Janata Curfew suggested by Prime minister on 22nd March and also the expression of gratitude towards emergency workers from almost all parts of the country at 5 p.m., of course by members, I was stuck up with one message from a social work educator. The message reads like ‘while offering my respect to all people those who work in an emergency, how the social work profession can be a part of this list. Please guide us for professional visibility, identity, and credibility’. None of the members except one has made any comment on this post in the past 24 hours. I believe that members of this group may have different reasons for finding the question as not so significant or many others have their explanations.
Mr. Barnabas has thrown a great deal of light on the question of loka-sakti and I think the conclusions that he has arrived at, after analysing some action projects in different parts of the world, and the ways he has shown how peoples' enthusiasm is generated for loka-sakti, could be taken up for discussions as we proceed. Now, I shall very briefly try to give you the concept of loka-sakti as understood in the Gandhian movement.
To the members of the Working Group of Gandhian and professional social work this is a familiar subject. Therefore, I am only listing some of the impediments to the growth of social work in India in outline, as points for discussion, without any attempt to explain or elaborate them.
The Concept of Social Work There is a lack of clarity in the meaning of social work, a peculiarity to India. Like God, each beholder has his own vision of it and like the Scriptures each devotee interprets it in his own way. In Gandhian era, the political worker and social worker became interchangeable terms, and even after that era is over, the aroma continues to confuse individuals and groups, to the advantage of the politician and the detriment of the social worker. The process of clarification must begin from within, from where the confusion started. Attempts at sifting from "outside" are likely to be less successful and may set in motion defence mechanisms. Abstract
A poor man feels he is out of sight of other, groping in the dark. Mankind takes no-notice of him. Gandhi was very much concerned with the plight of the common man. He felt that we must change the current state of affairs so that the poor man too can raise his head with dignity. He found three ways to do this first; the gospel of love should be followed in place of that of hate. Second, violence should be preplaced by self-suffering. Third, do put soul force against that of brute force. Therefore, replace greed by love and everything will be all right. If this is followed in the truth sprit it will enhance the value of professional social work and enthuse others engaged in similar task to work with the people. Preliminary Note
It is nearly 65 years since Mahatma Gandhi was taken away for ever from our midst. But what was taken away was only his mortal physical body, while the ideology he propagated, the causes he stood and worked for, the values he held and the numerous tasks that he had taken up and left behind are all of eternal value and of eternal need for the good of humankind.  Value based education and morality are important to mould our children.
Education is a process of teaching and learning -Education for right livelihood and integrated human development should promoter harmonious relationship between individuals and family and between man and nation. Education should build character of students. Without good character of people we cannot build a good society and good nation. Though India become politically independent in 1947. Indian education system continues to be a prisoner of the colonial legacy left by the British. Dr. Banerjee was the architect and builder of Medical and Psychiatric Social Work in Tata Institute of Social Sciences. She was the one who asked in 1946 the million dollar question: "What is Medical and Psychiatric Social work?" It was the occasion when Dr. Kumarappa, the then Director asked Dr. Banerjee to start the specialization of MPSW in response to the recommendation of the Bhore committee. After asking the question, she herself set about finding an answer and shaping MPSW over the next 24 years.
If I am allowed to use biblical language, I can say that Dr. Banerjee planted and nurtured the plant of MPSW for 24 years and it was my privilege to maintain and just water it for the next 13 years and I am happy about it. Abstract
Juvenile delinquency is a global issue which is a serious issue of concern. There is no exception in case of juvenile delinquents' presence either in developed nations, developing or under developed nations. This is a major issue of social concern which affects the very basis of our society. Social problems that exist in our society like broken families, illiteracy, unemployment, alcoholism leads to emergence ofJuvenile delinquency. These children are future citizens of the country thus it becomes very important to reform them so that they become valuable citizens. These children are either homeless, runaway ana- have no one to take care of. Thus it is very important to intervene with them so as to bring them up as good citizens. Abstract
Participation. in the context of development has two distinct interpretations. They are: a) participation as an input to development; and b). As a means of empowering the rural poor to play an effective role in rural development. Thus, participation is re cognised as an intrinsic part of the process of development rather than merely facilitator. This paper discusses the importance & process of people's participation, different stages. In the process of People's Participation, and various factors affecting people's participation In the context of development process. Key words: Conscientisation, resources. For many years India has worked on establishing a democratic decentralised system of local government with the intention of devolving political and administrative powers to the people. The system of local government is called Panchayati Raj, and it has existed for many decades. However, it has undergone several reforms - the latest of which took place in 1992 and resulted in a constitutional amendment act. The members of the local-governments in the Panchayati Raj system of 1992 have ended their first five-year term. With the evolution of the reforms in mind and the political intentions manifest, it is interesting to focus on the essential aspect of the local governments - peoples' involvement in local government and how they respond to the opportunity of running their own affairs. This chapter takes a close-up of popular participation in ~cal government in India. It reviews the evolution of India's system of local government, and, in order to illustrate some of the complexities concerning popular participation in local government, it presents the results of a specific case study . The study was carried out by the author in the state of Karnataka, in South India, in the summer of 1998. Kamataka was the first Indian state to introduce a system of decentralised government according to the 1992 amendment act. It was also the first state to implement the policy of one third of the seats being reserved for females in all local bodies.
Karnataka has a hoary past. The prehistoric culture of Karnataka viz., the Hand-axe culture, compares favourably with the one that existed in Africa and is quite distinct from the pre-historic culture of North India. The ragi grain is found commonly in pre-historic sites of Africa and Karnataka. Parts of Karnataka were subject to the rule of the Nandas and the Mauryas. Fourteen Ashokan (10 minor and 4 major) Rock Edicts found in Karnataka (two each at Nittur and Udagolam in Bellary district; one at Maski in Raichur district; one each at Gavimutt and Palkigundu in Koppal district; one each at Brahmagiri, Jattinga Rameshwara and Siddapura in Chitradurga district; and four at Sannati in Gulbarga district) testify to the extent of the Mauryan Empire. The Shatavahanas(circa 30 8.C to 230 AD.) of Paithan have also ruled over extensive areas in Northern Karnataka; some scholars even argue that this dynasty hailed from Karnataka , as in early times, Dharwad and Bellary districts were called Satavahanihara (or the Satavahana region). Some of their rulers were called kings of Kuntala. At Sannati in Gulbarga district, Vadgaon- Madhavpur near Belgaum and Brahmagiri in Chitradurga district, remains of their period have been found. Banavasi in Uttara Kannada has an inscription of their queen, and at Vasana in Nargund Tq. remains of a brick temple of Shaiva order are noticed. Later, Karnataka fell into the hands of the Pallavas of Kanchi and the Chutu Satakarnis, the Shatavahana feudatories, ruling from Banavasi after the fall of the Shatavahanas, also seem to have accepted the overlordship of the Pallavas.
 SR Hiremath is known in as the man who brought down a politically powerful mining mafia. His full story is even more inspiring: It tells of a bright boy who overcame crushing poverty to become a high-ranking corporate professional in the US, only to relinquish all comforts to return to India and crusade against corruption and champion rural regeneration.
With files and sheets of paper scattered all around, the small room in a lodge in the Majestic area looks hardly impressive. Clad in simple clothing, its elderly inhabitant seems at peace here. You may be forgiven for assuming he is a retired government official fighting cases to get his pending dues. For 67- year-old SR Hiremath has indeed been a tireless fighter of cases, except he has been doing it on behalf of the public. Abstract
This paper is based upon primary, secondary data, review of literatures and own field observation. It accumulated our past and present experiences in social development sector. While we were student of social work we found some isstes related to parenting/ responsibilities of fatherhood for a healthy family, child support etc. during field practicum. Similarly, during professional carrier we gather so many information from the fields through unstructured interviews with school going and non-school going children (age 10-19/20 years old), parents / care givers/ guardians on 'concepts of fatherhood, 'Role of father in a family; 'child support' etc. This paper attempts to explore that the ideal father is a person involved in childcare, who sacrifices himself (like the mother) placing more value on bringing up the child and spending time with him/her than on his own goals and life aspirations. More realistic expectations require that the father should provide psychological support, care and security, and take decisions concerning the child. In their own and their wives' opinion, however; fathers more often take the responsibility for participating in shared pleasures, transportation (driving/fetching children to/from kindergarten, school, after-school activities), more rarely for going for walks or doing homework. It also focuses on the rationale of national policy on family in India and the United Nations Commissions for Child Rights (UNCRC). At the same time this paper has suggested some recommendations to overcome the issues regarding fatherhood and rights of child. Key Words: Fatherhood, Rights of Child, Child Support, Care, Security As I picked up Sri Shankar Pathakji's book "Social Work And Social Welfare" my thoughts ran down memory lane, to the time when I left my college in 1974 with an incomplete masters in social work behind me. I had my own reasons way back then, even as just an eighteen year old, for not completing the MSW-because I felt that much of what they taught us in theory had absolutely none or very little relevance to reality, and within me began a rebellion to book learning of social work, and I left following my craving to be in the field. So when Ramesh and shri.Pathakji asked me to be a part of to days programme, I asked myself over and over again if they had made a mistake, and if I was the right person to be given the task for which I stand before you today. Of course I had not read the book at that time. Now that I have read it, let me say that had I been asked to study this book perhaps 35years ago, in 1974, I would have completed my MSW without questioning the relevance of theoretical knowledge - knowledge such as what I gained in this book, that would have lent itself to strengthening my practical. social activism quest. Anyway, it is not I too late and I therefore thank you Sir, Sri Shankar Pathakji and Ramesh for giving me this golden opportunity to become a student, to feel empowered by relevant knowledge one has learnt reading this absolutely revealingly written and brilliantly documented book. I also bow in salutation to one we have all revered as our role model icon, shri. Doreswamyji, and completely humbled, stand before as one in awe.
 "Sahitya - Samaja Sangama" is an excellent felicitation volume in honour of Prof.Shekhar Pujar, an avantgarde, multifaceted personality. A professional social worker, creative writer, poet, singer, theatre artist, researcher, teacher, and mentor; Prof. Pujar is a rare combination of all these roles. He is the first Indian social work scholar to explore the intersection between folklore and social work. In a country with the majority of the population being rural and tribal, oral tradition of the people has not been given due recognition by social scientists and social work professionals neither in research nor in practice. Prof.Pujar's research study and the book "Social Work in Kannada Folk Songs" are pioneering efforts by a tenacious scholar without a research guide and against vicissitudes which do not merit mention here.
I have known Dr. S.F. Pujar for a year and a half. Majestic in personality, composed in thoughts and combination of both literary and social endeavours is a rich source of knowledge to the students. He is a person of simple living and noble thinking.
Once I was invited to the Department of Social Work for inaugural function of social work association where I listened to his speech for the first time. Further all the senior students who were well aware of Dr. Pujar's multifaceted personality, pleaded him to sing a song. He obliged and sang, "Giri Giri Gindi Ibatti Undi" I was delighted and thrilled about a person above seventy years keeps such a great grip and enthusiasm. It cautioned me of my future life and I addressed myself, "if you live above seventy live like Dr. Pujar and build a robust health and happy life. Children of prisoners in general do not enjoy any special rights. Children's needs are not considered when a parent is sent to prison. When this happens the child's life might be turned upside dov n. Whether people who are arrested or stand trial are parents or not is not a big issue in criminal law. Also, given prison inmates' legal position, their family ties are scarcely recognised. For the public at large, prisoners in the first place are lawbreakers. It is difficult to picture them as mothers and fathers who might want to care for their children. So, the children are, in a way in double jeopardy: they lose out on being parented and they are confronted with stigma and neglect.
Advocacy for the protection of child rights and its importance in the present scenario and advocacy measures to promote child rights.
Paper presented at the National Seminar on "Human Rights Advocacy: An Avenuefor Social Change" 25th and 26th September 2012, Dept of Social Work, St. Aloysius College (Autonomous), Mangalore Abstract This paper introduces the Indian situation in which advocacy for the protection of child rights is relevant. It focuses on the need for application of social work principles and methods in advocating for child rights to bring about changes in practices at the grassroots level interventions and in social policy and legislation. By practice, it is established that social policy and legislation is extremely important to en-sure that benefits reach the needy. Added to it, advocacy measures or movements are necessary to guard that the state does not abdicate itself from its responsibilities, inspite of having social welfare policies and programmes. Malnutrition has been plaguing India's children for decades, and even during the recent periods of 'shining' growth. The situation in Karnataka is very similar to the national picture. When the statistics are revealed through studies and surveys, or when starvation deaths among children are reported, there is much breast-beating and strident calls for action. Then, as surely as the uproar rises, it dies down. It is just the flavour of the moment and the government, the media and the public continue business as usual.
The first relief and rehabilitation work by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) can be traced back to 1948 when, after Partition, a batch of students worked in the refugee camps in Kurukshetra.
Excerpts from the interview of a former student, who was part of the second batch on the Deonar campus and later went on to head the institute, reveal that back then students took a "rattle truck bus", run by a private individual, to go to Sion. "The footboard was so weak that we afraid we would fall. We had to climb in somehow and get to Sion if we couldn't catch the institute bus, says professor Armaity Desai as she reminiscences about her student days. That Karnataka desperately needs a rural development strategy is amply clear from two recently released reports. The Census 2011 report on the state population highlights the enormous migration deluge into Bangalore and other cities. The other report 'Injury and Violence in India: Facts and Figures', jointly authored by NIMHANS and WHO, provides a stark picture on the increasing number of suicides in cities due to high levels of stress experienced by people, especially teenagers and women. The rapid deterioration in the standard of living in cities across Kamataka should compel the state government to map out a comprehensive rural development strategy that will boost job creation and development in rural areas while ending migration into cities.
Disadvantaged Rural Communities
'Farming is becoming an unreliable livelihood. Failure of crops shattered my hope. Could not repay the loan; instead interest and interest-on-interest increased which came to a point where I could not at all repay it. Gone are the olden days where there was mutual support and concern in our villages. Now no one can help anybody during distress. This economic orphanhood combined with social orphanhood pushed me to Bangalore - the only option for the survival of my family', this is the statement of 45 year old Parasappa who has migrated to Bangalore and is now working as a construction worker here. In India, around 13 to 14 per cent of all School Children suffer from Specific Learning Disability as per 2000-2001 censuses of India statistics. The disability is acquired during the pregnancy itself. But it will come to light only after 2 years of birth. Early detection, regular treatment and good family support play a crucial role in dealing with this problem. If it is not so, it will be prolonged throughout their life cycle.
 The venerable Dr. D. Veerendra Heggadeji is a personification of benevolence and altruism. The 'Dharmadhikari' of Dharmasthala is a leader, philanthropist, educationist, Social Reformer, and an emissary of art and culture.
Veerendra Heggadeji's first major act upon becoming Dharmadhikari was to realise his father's dream by completing the carving and installation of the Bahubali statue at Dharmastala. ETHICAL CONSEQUENCES OF USING SOCIAL NETWORK SITES FOR STUDENTS IN PROFESSIONAL SOCIAL WORK PROGRAMS4/3/2020 Abstract
The use of Web 2.0 media such as Facebook and Myspace by social work students can result in unanticipated ethical dilemmas. This paper identifies potential areas of concern related to unprofessional behaviors, conflicts of interest, and protecting confidentiality of clients, colleagues, instructors, and agencies as students interact on social network sites. Key Words: Ethics, Social Work, Social Network Sites, Internet, Web 2.0. |
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