Published here: http://practiceconnect.azimpremjiuniversity.edu.in/2018/10/08/the-role-of-non-governmental-organizations-in-the-education-of-scheduled-tribes-in-india/ Tribal groups in India speak their own languages and not the mainstream language of the state they live in, which is a major hurdle in the education of their children. MLE and other innovative practices are being attempted in Odisha by NGOs like Sikshasandhan.
Mental Health Week, 8-12 October
World Mental Health Day (10th of October) is a day for global mental health education, awareness and advocacy against social stigma. It was first celebrated in 1992 at the initiative of the World Federation for Mental Health, a global mental health organization with members and contacts in more than 150 countries. This day, each October, thousands... Continue Reading →
Certificate course on Agroecology
Inviting application for 30 days Certificate course on Agroecology starting from November 2018 at Kolkata byCentre for Agroecology and Pollination Studies, Calcutta University in collaboration with Norwegian University of Life Sciences and Welthungerhilfe. Highlights Peep in to farm and food systems through hands on sessions with farmers and experts. Will be particularly suitable for young professionals/NGO... Continue Reading →
Talk by author and painter, Kota Neelima at SLS
Kota Neelima, a novelist, painter and most recently, the author of Widows of Vidarbha will be doing a couple of talks at the School of Liberal Studies. I am copying the abstract for her two talks at the Humanities Seminar and Sonali's Critical Reading class. She will also be here at lunchtime on October 11th and so... Continue Reading →
The rationality in allowing women to visit Sabarimala
This decision of the Supreme Court of India is contested within and outside the court. The dissenting judge felt that the court should not assess the rationality of religious practices. The supporters and opponents have come out with the rationale of their positions. Let me also add to this cacophony.
I do agree with the view of the dissenting judge that it is difficult to assess the rationality of religious practices. However my position is that it is possible for the court to intervene in this issue without getting much into this question of rationality. My argument will not be based on legal principles. I don’t claim to have any serious understanding of law (though have written articles and a book on `law and economics’).
Let us start by taking a simple case. A person has a puja room in her house and she does not allow her lower caste…
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To be an Urban Naxal or Not
With a few colleagues, I was in Sukma – a district in the southern part of Chhattisgarh – last week. Needless to mention that it is a hotbed of Maoist insurgency. I was not brave or resourceful enough to go into the interior parts. However our limited exposure in the district headquarters and nearby areas gives certain insights on the limits and possibilities of this political extremism.
I am not getting into the history or roots of Maoist activity there, since there are many writings on the subject by well-informed people. It looks that the tribal people in this region have not been mobilized adequately and hence their issues have been neglected for a long-time. That has not been the case in certain other parts of India. The formation of the state of Mizoram was due to the political mobilization of the tribe living there. Leaders like Godavari Parulekar have…
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Vacancy with SNEHA, Mumbai
Sneha runs a project on domestic violence and mental health using an integrated stepped care model, which includes components of counseling, legal intervention, community mobilization and prevention, and working with duty bearers, and ties in the technology-based social innovation the Little Sister mobile application. It covers informal urban settlements of Dharavi ,Govandi, Malwani, Mankhurd and... Continue Reading →
VACANCIES IN CHILDLINE
CHILDLINE-1098 is a 24 hour, national, toll-free, emergency phone and outreach service for children in need of care and protection linking them to services for their long-term rehabilitation. The project is supported by the Ministry of Women and Child Development, Government of India We are in an expansion mode and looking out for committed Social... Continue Reading →
Politics and Gentlemen
I am neither a fan nor a serious adversary of Narendra Modi or BJP. I do think that the decline of the dominance of Indian National Congress is somewhat inevitable and that need not be due to the lapses of its leaders. As a citizen and social scientist, I value the mobilization of non-elites, deepening of democracy, and the emergence of a vibrant competitive politics. Hence I don’t see the need to be emotionally or ideologically close or averse to any party or leader.
Despite this position, I felt very happy recently due to certain attempts of Rahul Gandhi. He made a lot of noise about Rafale deal. He was quick to highlight the alleged talk between the Finance Minister and Vijay Mallya. I am almost sure that Rahul Gandhi does have some but not full information on any of these issues. He may not have verified whether Narendra Modi…
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Why is English so important in India?
Lower middle-class parents cannot afford better quality private schools and most government schools do not use English as the medium of instruction. Hence they use poorer quality private schools since they want their kids to study English. This is an important indicator of the importance of English in India, though there are many other manifestations of this phenomenon.
Conventional answers to the question posed as the title are the following: British colonialists imposed English education and the colonial mind-set persisted among Indian people even after the independence of the country. In my view, these factors cannot explain the high demand for English as the medium of instruction even among the lower-middle class and urban poor. We need to understand the demand for a language in relation to the nature of the economy or how it has evolved over time.
In order to understand the core argument of this essay, we…
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Azim Premji University 