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The Centre for Social Justice and Equity (CSJE) at the Madras School of Social Work is a new addition to the wide spectrum of innovative centres created in the institute recently. The CSJE has been established under the financial grant-in-aid of the Adi dravidar and Tribal Welfare Department of Government of Tamil Nadu by its G.O No. (MS).No. 87 Adi Dravidar and Tribal Welfare (PA2) Department dated 12.07.2023. The Honourable Minister N. Kayalvizhi, Adi Dravidar and Tribal welfare inaugurated the Centre on 16th August 2023.
At the CSJE, our mission is to make social justice as the crux of public policy engagements in Tamil Nadu. We’ve discerned that the key to unlocking game-changing policy interventions is to bring forth and echo the voices of deprived and discriminated. Because it’s there that we not only uncover some of India’s biggest problems, but also find the best solutions.
Message from our Principal
In this Centre, we strive to understand the complexities of social issues and develop effective strategies to address them. Our programs and initiatives are designed to foster a deep understanding of social justice issues and equip stakeholders with the skills necessary to effect positive change in society. We offer a range of programmatic, research and documentation activities that delve into the nuances of social justice and equity, with the objective of providing a comprehensive understanding of these critical issues and also the way forward.
Director Note
We are proud that the Department of Adi Dravidar and Tribal Welfare, Government of Tamil Nadu has zeroed in on Madras School of Social Work to establish a model centre that would set momentum in public policy making in Tamil Nadu. The Centre for Social Justice and Equity (CSJE) has meticulously built out a network of scholars and institutions particularly some specialist working groups on tribal forest rights, and Dalit entrepreneurship. The CSJE is unique among other centres of MSSW in its support for promoting social justice not only through sustained social work at the grass-root level but by exploring the uncharted terrain of social policy making. The Centre’s mandate has never been stronger, as those most marginalized and deprived in this country face even tougher times ahead. This warrants us to drive social justice to the heart of public policy making.
Objectives of the Centre
- To increase the awareness of the principal forms of exclusion in the society and promote the need for Social Justice and Equity.
- To build the capacity of Adidravidar and Tribal communities and Civil Society Organisations to become aware of existing laws, policies and programmes that promote Social Justice and Equity.
- To promote legal/ policy frameworks towards social Justice and Equity and carry out evidence based research and action.
- To generate and maintain documents such as research reports, policy papers, academic literature and all relevant reports and serve as one-stop centre for all information needs pertaining to social justice and equity.
Scope
While the Centre will attempt to cover in its scope varieties of marginalized communities and people groups, the primary focus will be on Adidravidar and Tribal communities of Tamil Nadu
Activities of the Centre
- Conduct academic Programmes (Diploma and Certificate) on Social Justice and Equity.
- Creating a database through collection information on social exclusion, discrimination, and inequality. Later it will function as a ‘Resource Centre’ for students, research scholars, civil society organisations and faculty members.
- Carry out research activities using existing data generated by government agencies.
- Policy level advocacy through research and consultation.
- Organising public lectures by eminent scholars on the subject theme.
- Regularly publishing the research findings of faculty and students.
- Conducting training programmes and workshops for enhancing the understanding of Social Justice and Equity
- Reaching out to scholars from other universities and colleges through different programmes such as visiting faculty
- Establishing a network with Civil society organisations working in the field of social justice and inclusion.
- Short-term orientation courses for political leaders, government officials, trade unionists and media personalities on the issues of Social Justice and Equity.
- Offer fellowships to take up projects/research and also provide internship opportunities.
Advisory committee
Mr. T. Anand, IAS
Director,
Directorate of AdiDravidar Welfare,
Government of Tamil Nadu.
Mr. KM Acharya IAS (Rtd.)
Former Secretary m Ministry of Social
Justice and Empowerment
Prof. C. Lakshmanan
Former Professor, MIDS, Chennai.
Prof. N. Manimegalai
Director, Centre for Women’s
Development Studies,
New Delhi.
Dr. Nadarajah Manickam
Loyola Extension Service,
Trivandrum, Kerala
Mr. N. Paul Divakar
Convenor Global Forum of Communities Discriminated on Work and Descent
Dr. Murali Shanmugavelan
Researcher, Fairwork, Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford Research Affiliate, Data and Society, Race, Tech and Labour. New York.
Mr. K. A. Mathew IAS (Retd)
Chairman, MSSW
Dr. S. Raja Samuel
Principal, MSSW
Dr. Pavananthi Vembulu
Director, Centre for Social Justice and Equity
