Comparative Understanding of Caste System in India and Japan

Comparative Understanding of Caste System in India and Japan

The Madras School of Social Work, Centre for Social Justice and Equity conducted a public lecture on “Comparative Understanding of Caste System in India and Japan” for January 30, 2024 TAG Auditorium. Honourable Speaker – Prof. Jonathan Watts Moderator – Mr. Gouthama Prabhu were the public lecture special guests.
Public lecture begun with the welcome address by Dr. Pavananthi Vembulu, Director, Centre for Social Justice and Equity, Madras School of Social Work. Then, the speaker was felicitated by Dr. Raja Samuel, Principal, MSSW. Later, Mr. Gouthama Prabhu, President, Foundation of His Sacred Majesty (NGO) gave brief introduction about the speaker and his profile. After the introduction, the speaker Prof. Jonathan Watts delivered his lecture. The lecture consists four parts. In the first part the speaker discussed the concept of impure / taint / Kegare in the Japan society based the occupation related to death and blood. He has explained how the concept of karma and impurity has been established in the ancient Japan and how it has been carried through different cultural practices such as good funeral, name on the tomb etc. he also explored how section of people and women were considered impure. He stressed on how such practices have been institutionalised through Buddhist priests.

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One Day Civil Society Consultation on Social Justice and Equity – Erode

One Day Civil Society Consultation on Social Justice and Equity – Erode

A one-day Civil Society Consultation was organized by Centre for Social Justice and Equity, (MSSW) at Stanley Hall, Near Nalli Hospital, Opp to Bus Stand, Erode on 23rd Jan. 2024. The consultations were attended by thirty-six members from NGOs, Local Government members, academicians from six districts (Erode, Coimbatore, Tiruppur, Salem, Nilgiris, Namakkal).
Mr. R.Karuppasamy, Director, Rights Education and Development Centre, Erode. This district is the birthplace of Periyar, hence it is growing in terms of education, employment. In Tamil Nadu reservation is for all communities. Dalits and tribals have a bit more and that’s it. But there is a misconception that Dalits and tribals have more reservation. Dalits and tribals constitute 20.23% of all over India. 1700 cases per year against Dalits and tribals. But only 1% get justice for them. Currently they are growing in education and economy but this is not enough. Still need to grow the dalit and tribals. Are there Dalits and Tribals in any big corporations in India? If so, you have to say no. 3000 children are dropout of school after Corona in Erode district, mostly dropout student dalit and tribal children. Tribal children do not go to school because the school is 3 kilometres away. The road is not safe, so those children do not go to school. Therefore, it is not possible to study for higher education or graduation. Health is not available to them, there is no hospital or primary health care Centre in the places where they live. So, they are lagging behind in health.
Presently, more people are migrating to Tamil Nadu from outside the state. Most of them come from Jharkhand and West Bengal. They come because of poverty and we have to look at them from a human rights perspective. Their children do not go to school. I should take note of that.
People from the state of Jharkhand are mostly Dalits and tribals. They should not be treated as belonging to another state.
Social justice entails granting everyone access to the economy, health care, and education. could consider that to be growth. While hand scooping is not practiced in Tamil Nadu in scooping the drain is, and continues to be, a deadly habit. We must ascertain the degree to which a project will alter individuals. So, a plan should to be a tool. We are not a big political party or big organisation, but a small organization, so we have to work together with the government.

One Day Civil Society Consultation on Social Justice and Equity – Tirunelveli

One Day Civil Society Consultation on Social Justice and Equity – Tiruchirappalli

A one-day Civil Society Consultation was organized by Centre for Social Justice and Equity, (MSSW) at Sree Bharani Hotel, Tirunelveli on the topic Social Justice on 23-01-2024. The consultations were attended by 12 members from NGOs, Local Government members, academicians of four districts (Tirunelveli, Thenkasi, Thoothukudi, Kanniyakumari).
Ms. R. Revathi, Special Districts Revenue Officer We need to monitor children in health education etc. In 2011, the number of child marriages was 400. I was shocked by this. Only educated people supported the system of child marriage. A woman died at the age of 28 while giving birth to her 6th child, so we found out that she had a child marriage. So, we took steps to prevent child marriages. Maternal deaths have decreased due to continuous monitoring. And the number of child marriages has decreased due to the save girl child mission. A girl is 17 years old. She is a commercial sex worker, and when she was rescued, she said she got into this sex work at the age of 11. We were all shocked to hear that. As she came to sex work at the age of 11, she faced many trauma in the society.
Mr. M.A. Britto Director Vanmugil Organizations that act very fast, even with a small number of participants in this discussion. I am thankful to the college for conducting this program. Professors working in colleges are not socially conscious, but only 5% of teachers are socially conscious. Ambedkar said “The only danger to the world is the educated.”
There are two types of intelligent beings
20 years ago, UGC was started in the name of Social Justice and Equality. But there is no output. The Annual Status of Education, Report released its 2023 report last week. It says that the children do not know Tamil, English and Mathematics. There are very few people who do this type of research.
Now unorganized workers are getting wages of 8000 to 10000. But there is no study about them. We say government for social justice but not so at lower level. Caste determines everything.
In India,
Marx says that caste and land ownership are intertwined. So, caste cannot be abolished. That’s why I say caste determines everything. IIT Chennai is the number one place in the world and 67% of the people using its resources are Brahmins. The Constitution says that “the resources in India shall be distributed and utilized equally by all.” But not so in this country. The number of rich people in India rise from 102 to 120 during the Covid period, but at the same time the number of poor people also increased. How is that possible? Disasters and floods affect everyone but not everyone is equally affected. There is no social justice. The impact and loss of natural disasters varies from person to person. We should talk about equity, not equality.
The incident at Tirunelveli Nanguneri still scares us and makes us lose hope. As far as India is concerned, caste and patriarchy are intertwined. So, we need to work faster. We don’t have many studies, for example, there are no studies on women’s labour, women’s well-being, women’s health, young women, menstruation and sanitation workers. Caste and patriarchy are the reasons why even though many studies have not received attention. We have to think about what we can do to restore the rights of marginalized people and what is our mission.
They have been fighting for social justice and equality in this land for many years, and we are working in continuation of that. We need social justice in times of dire crisis. Social change does not happen in 4,5 towns or villages, it has to happen all over the world. Let’s work together.

State Level Consultation on Drug Dependency and Children Come paining

State Level Consultation on Drug Dependency and Children Come paining

A state level consultation on drug Dependency and children was jointly organised by Tamil Nadu People’s Forum for Tobacco Control (TNPFTC), Centre for Child Rights and Development (CCRD), Centre for Social Justice and Equity (CSJE), Madras School for Social Work (MSSW) on 10th Jan. 2024 in Hotel Veston Park, Chennai.
Directors of various Civil Society Originations, Academicians, Doctors, Government Officials and Students participated in the consultation. The purpose of this conference is to prevent tobacco Prevention should be done closely, among school students. Exposure to smoking and their knowledge level should be identified and their lives improved. Tobacco Control in Tamil Nadu. The use of drugs by students in schools and colleges in Tamil Nadu has been discussed in great detail.
The training methodology was interactive, as the trainer ensured that knowledge was not only disseminated but accurately perceived and understood by the participants. trainer engaged participants in discussions and kept the forum open for feedback, queries, and suggestions. These discussions and interactive sessions were supported through training material.

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