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 di...

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...

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. I...

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 s...

Beware the Semester is coming! This is what I came across  a couple of  weeks back as I was making my way back home from my ministerial place. For more than one reason it has food for thought on the educational practices carried out through out the length and breadth of our great country. These days we are quite familiar with sign posts that say "Beware Dogs In." But not so something like that I am mentioning right now. What does that mean "Beware the Semester is coming"? Obviously it means, come on students you have to score high in your exams; remember it is going to determine your life. To make your way through in life you have to mug up. The educational sector has become a  promising money-making enterprise in India.  What makes me wonder at this statement is its hidden meanings. Is the semester something to be feared? What if  I don't score as every one thinks I should? May be it's worth asking what if I score high as every one thinks I should? Does...

Introduction   Common sense means paying attention to the obvious. In other words it is the practical know-how knowledge that governs our everyday-communication process. We all know how to act in certain circumstances with certain people not so much through scientific theories but through common sense learning. This is not as easy as it sounds; for common sense, as many say, is uncommon these days. We all have vivid imaginations, and we tend to get lost in our fantasies. When fantasy replaces common sense, communication becomes farcical and even tragic. Life is a series of ordinary events that follow the laws of logic and probability. These ordinary events are indifferent to our fantasies and require the careful, accurate steering of common sense. Lonergan who is concerned with authentic communication between human persons notes: “To err is human, common sense is very human.” This is rather an interesting statement of Lonergan to be noticed. No doubt common sense ...

Political parties are busy working out a plan for the upcoming state elections in five of the sates: Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, West Bengal, Kerala and Assam. Sooner you will hear political rhetorics in these states the ruling governments praising their performances and the opposition parties criticizing the government and promising to reform. Often the reformations will include new allowances, free-schemes, and alike. Basically, I think there should be motive stronger than the so called good will of the politicians to develop the country. It is filling their pockets; for we are not unaware of the scams and scandels in Indian Politics. I don't deny that there are sincere politicians even today. I am concerned about the policy makers and those who have direct control over our national interests.  Often the generosity of our leaders are false-generosity with a hidden motive behind. We the citizens seldom realize this fact. The disparity between the haves and have nots is ev...