debater

Ajita, Mary. Women’s Empowerment from a Subaltern Perspective. With a             foreword by Sister Sabeena. New Delhi: Media House/IGSS, 2010. ISBN:       978-93-7495-300-6. Pp. 118. Rs. 125. The book under review is the result of Sister Mary Ajita’s sixteen long years of commitment in training women and adolescent girls to create a just, humane and transparent society in which women become agents of change and transformation. Sister Mary Ajita, the author, holds a master’s degree in social work from Mumbai University. She is the key trainer as well as a state level resource person for Bihar Mahila Samakhya Society since 1994. The book aims to be of aid to those involved in the cause for empowering women. The book could well be divided into two parts; first and foremost the author presents the reality of the status of Indian women and what she means by empowerment; in the latter part of the book she discusses the methods that she employs to awaken a critical consciousness in wome

Anyone who critically follows the developing news in Tamil Nadu will laugh at us. It is saddening to see our people being cheated in public. Despite the number of educated people and those being educated, we still  do not comprehend the ways of our politicians. Politics, it seems, has nothing to do with the life of a common man more so the true yearnings of the citizens. It is a special business done to get the consensus of people to rule them for a period of time. I am saddened to see that not many of us criticize what happens around. People are not animals their needs are higher than that of fulfilling than which is immediate. No amount of rice, no number of free television sets and  flocks of sheep and goats can give us human dignity.  In fact no one can give dignity but every one can help us be aware of our basic inalienable right to be human. I think this is one of the prime duties any leader. Dear Sir and Madam of "good-will" can you ensure that? Can you face the hones

Paulo Freire is one of the luminous intellectuals of the 20 th century whose words and deeds are closely intermingled with his experiences of poverty, hard work, oppositions, and exile. He is concerned with humanization of man, which is to be brought about through the process of conscientization. [1] Freire’s encounter with different systems of thought in his early years, such as catholic liberation theology, marxism, personalism, phenomenology and existentialism influenced him in forming a humanistic outlook towards man and the world. Though his immediate concern was the reality of oppression in the Latin American countries, he did share the aspirations of the oppressed sections in the third world. [2]             Education, for Freire, is never neutral. [3] It is a subversive activity, and is beyond just learning to read. He envisages education in terms of the development of critical consciousness for social transformation. It must lead us to ‘make and re-make’ ‘name and re-name

Pain is not wanting in life. Naturally we have aversion towards pain and attracted towards things that are pleasurable. However pain is indispensable whether or not we will it or not. Reflecting on Lent I think pain can be creative. Our blessed Lord came to this earth to save us from sin and restore our relationship with God the Father. For this the price He paid was pain, physical and mental torture by men and women whose sin blinded them to commit the most horrible act ever recorded in the history of humankind. By His death we are restored and by precious blood our iniquities are washed away. In short the pain we went through created in us life and love.  We, Christians, resolve to do or not to do a list of things during this season of Lent but hardly we think of accepting all the hardships and struggles come on our way. There is a great stress on revenge and violence in our times than in the way of the cross, to suffer for my neighbour, to accept him or her as he or she is. As the