social workers
While there is great demand for social workers throughout the country, social work itself is not a recognised profession, making it a complicated career choice.
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“I do not believe social work is as sufficiently respected as it should be here in India since it is not recognised as a profession, and due to this lack of status, we are not paid enough,” says Dr Dey, an assistant professor from the Dept of Social work at Assam University, in India.
Vinoba Bhave was an Indian social reformer who advocated non-violence and human rights. On top of that, he had led many popular movements like Bhoodan Movement. According to the information available, he was the spiritual successor of Mohandas Gandhi because of the act that Vinoba Bhave closely followed his ideals.
Contribution: Vinoba Bhave played an important role in Indian Freedom Struggle and was closely associated with Mahatma Gandhi for all social reforms. His major contribution came from the Bhoodan movement in 1951 when he began giving land to the poor so that they could farm the land and make a living.
Baba Amte
The next on our list is Baba Amte and he was known to help many poor people. On top of that, he has a popular lawyer who has fought many battles against British rule. Baba Amte was born in December 1914 and died in February 2008 due to natural causes. He has received numerous awards in his life for his contribution to society. Contribution: Baba Amte was involved in the struggle for freedom in India and played a major role in the Quit India movement. He received a name of Abhay Sadhak which means Intrepid Seeker of Truth. Apart from that, he has also helped India in the fight against discrimination against people suffering from leprosy.
Jyotiba Phule and savitribai phule
Jyotiba Phule is another popular social reformer in our list and his work revolves around anti-caste campaigns. He is also known as Mahatma Phule and formed a group called Society of Seekers of Truth. The members of this group fought against society to ensure equal rights for every person.
Contribution: Jyotiba Phule has always pleaded for equal rights for every man and therefore fought against social ills such as untouchability . In addition to that, he also worked for the remarriage of widows. Apart from that, Jyotiba provided a place of birth for widows and finally, he also established an orphanage to reduce the rate of infanticide.
Medha Patkar
Medha Patkar is a social activist based in Mumbai, who has been recognized for her key role in Narmada Bachao Andolan . She practiced continuous fasting, to oppose at an increase in the height of the Narmada Dam.
Contribution: Medha Patkar has been associated with many movements that have certainly changed the course of Indian history. She was involved with Narmada Bachao Andolan and Ghar Bachao Ghar Banao Andolan . On top of that, she was one of the key people for the protest against Tata Motors by creating a factory in Singur . Medha also fought against land grabbing in West Bengal. Apart from that, she has contributed to society in many other ways.
Anna Hazare
Anna Hazare has become a leader among social reformers in the country, with her contribution in the fight against corruption in the country. He is also known for his service to humanity and works for the improvement of the condition of the poor and rural people of India.
Contribution: Anna Hazare played a major role in the creation of the Grain Bank and the elimination of untouchability in her village. In addition to this, he also called for the fight against corruption, the right to information technology, the movement of the draft law Lokpal and the electoral reform movement
“We do not receive the recognition we should for the specialist training we have.
“There is great demand for social workers because there are lots of issues that require social workers but there is insufficient core research conducted on important issues like the problems our children are experiencing in education. There is an urgent need for more action- orientated research and for the profession to be taken more seriously.”
Dr Dey knows of what she speaks; her diverse humanitarian work has taken her to work in some of India’s most deprived communities
And while the processes and systems of social work vary from country to country, there are some truths that are the same no matter where in the world you are.
“As social workers, our communities and families are at the heart of what we do here.
“Paperwork is much less important than being out there with the people who need us,” Dr Dey says with a firm nod.
“Vigorously involving ourselves within the family is the most important thing we can do - above paperwork and meetings.
“Indianised systems of social work intervention are incredibly unique. Community organisation is an extremely popular method here, in comparison to casework, as India lives as a community and the sense of belonging is really strong among its people – this is truly the best thing about social work in India.”
While there are a number of professional bodies in India - including The National Association of Professional Social Workers and Indian Society of Professional Social Work - there are no accredited councils; something social work forums across the country are now fighting hard for, in their battle to see social work finally recognised as a licensed profession.
Dr Dey adds: “Without a regulated body it’s difficult to deal with the core issues that social work practitioners are facing in practice as there is no bargaining capacity.
“Our social work courses are also unregulated and there is a problem in designing uniform
curriculum for social work since we don’t have a council and licensing therefore our social work curriculum has its direct reflection of Western society and indigenous social work issues are not being properly dealt with by social workers in India. Local and global needs need to be properly included in our curriculum in Indian practice theory and research.”
Dr Dey admits that many people in the country do not truly understand what the role of a social worker is, and what their work involves.
“If any tragedy happens, the blame is usually put on political leaders rather than social workers and the latter are rarely, if ever, seen in the news,” she says.
“Since we do not have a proper association that unites us as social workers, our voices are not united and therefore not as strong as they could be.”
Dr Dey has a long history in social work, practising since 2011 after she secured a first class for her integrated masters in social work at Assam University in Silchar, where she is now an assistant professor.
“I am enormously proud to have studied and now to be working at Assam University as it is a pioneer institute of social work in the entire North-eastern region of India,” she says.
“Initially working as a practitioner at the end of my studies, I entered the research field as a junior research fellow in the latter part of 2012 as a research fellow and began my PhD.
“I have now practised all over India, including Tripura and Delhi.
“My time as a student saw me visit lots of diverse communities and NGOs, each with their own social welfare issues, and I visited other places for field work including west Bengal which has experienced extreme poverty, acute disaster, floods, and human trafficking - specifically girl child trafficking.
“Then in my final year I completed a paid internship with Oxfam, doing challenging work in an incredibly distressed and undeveloped community in west Bengal, where there were significant issues with child marriage, trafficking, and flooding.”
In 2010, Dr Dey witnessed firsthand the horror of Cyclone Aila in west Bengal, working with NGOs and victims who had particularly suffered.
“I stayed with women and children who had anaemia and malnutrition, providing advocacy and empowerment, shelter and youth rehabilitation for youths,” she explains.
The following year she became district coordinator with a family planning promotion trust, promoting new contraception measures for female sex workers, and working to educate pimps on the importance of using contraceptives.
Dr Dey says: “The global political scenario in India is vastly different from western society. While the UK and USA have their western foundations in India we have our own very unique history. Social work thinkers here have failed to relate social work with Indianised geopolitical concepts so it is very different from other countries. We have issues that are not the same as other countries and so our curriculum needs to be revised and made unique to our individual issues and problems. Most research is lacking concentration on core concepts instead of the lighter aspects of social work. We need to do much more in India. So for instance instead of a descriptive study on how slum children’s education can be improved we need to use real social work models and action-orientated research when researching issues like this. This is where we are going wrong and need to change.
“As a social worker who is also involved in academia you need to be a practitioner and a clinician all at once and there are academics that are distracting themselves from the field and practice by lecturing. Before joining my current role I gave more time to my practice but this should not be an excuse not to give time to the field. Social work is a two -way practice and we must learn from what we are seeing in the community and what we are imparting in the classroom - that can be lacking when we are joining the academic world.
“A clinician must be a good practitioner first and foremost in order to be a great academic.
Today, Dr Dey has acquired her PHD and, after more than a decade working in her home country, is keen to explore international social work.
“I am looking to pursue further training and a potential future as a post-doctoral teaching fellow in Europe or the UK or coming over with a scholarship,” she explains.
“There is still so much important work to do.”
But while she recognises there is a big wide social work world, Dr Dey is the first to advise young Indian social workers entering the profession to spend time practising at home first.
“India is a multicultural society, and its societal problems are plentiful, so it is always advisable for young social workers to practice in India for some time to understand cultural diversity, power dynamics within communities, rural community issues and the problems that exist for slum dwellers,” she says.
“There are also some volunteering sponsorship cross country programmes where foreign students can come and work in India and experience distressed and deprived communities to gain a better understanding of the concepts of poverty, inequality, child labour, child marriage, and malnutrition that coexist here.”
As opposed to keeping women’s roles in the shadows, we constantly promote the duties and services performed by men. However, it is accurate to say that women played an important part in building Indian freedom and the men of this generation believe they are capable of performing significantly better than women. This perception has shifted, and Indian women are no longer left behind.
Indian women have always been an icon of beauty, Sacrifice, Compassion, and Affection. From the early ages to the contemporary world, they have fought a long battle and proved themselves to be very deserving of their reputation across various occupations. Their tremendous dedication led to women’s emancipation in several fields such as education and social work and has brought a source of inspiration and hope for many social improvements
Here we are discussing the inspiring lives of 20 female social reformers of India. This article includes famous social reformers, pre-independence social reformers, and some post-independence social workers or activists. These women deserve a standing ovation from all of us for their dedication to their struggle to empower women and fight to bring societal change in India.
Kiran Bedi
Born on 9th June 1949, Kiran Bedi was a law student at the University of Delhi before she became a social reformer. She later received a PhD from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi. Her PhD thesis focused on domestic violence against women and drug abuse. She became the First woman in India to join the Indian Police Service in 1972. Kiran is a well-known woman social reformer as well as an athlete.
She first came to public attention when her sub-inspector towed away a car, that belonged to the Prime Minister’s office, on a crane. The incident recognised Bedi as a powerful woman and earned the nickname ‘Crane Bedi.’
reference https://www.firstpost.com/politics/bjps-delhi-cm-candidate-story-of-kiran-crane-bedi-is-more-myth-than-fact-2056451.html
She made many reforms during her tenure as an IPS officer.
- She implemented changes to the Tihar jail that turned it into a model prison, such as providing dangerous criminals with their own barracks to prevent them from engaging in illicit activity there.
- To help the other prisoners obtain employment following their release, Bedi set up vocational training with credentials. She also established open school centers in Jail.
- She started Yoga/meditation classes, a de-addiction center, a bank, a bakery, and some small manufacturing units like carpentry and weaving unit in prisons.
- Due to her efforts, a bank was also established, inside the prison. The jail was equipped with a bakery as well as small production facilities, including ones for weaving and woodwork. The sales revenue contributed to the fund for the welfare of the prisoners.
- She involved many NGOs, civilians, women activists, and volunteers, in Social Services. Such as Navjyoti Delhi Police Foundation with the aim of residential treatment to drug addicts and India Vision Foundation for reforms in police, prison, women empowerment, and rural and community development
Bedi co-founded the Navjyoti India Foundation (previously Navjyoti Delhi Police Foundation). The organization helped approximately 20,000 drug and alcohol addicts by providing them with residential treatment. It helped the vulnerable sections of society by starting 200 single-teacher schools, vocational training centres, and facilities for health and counseling centres.
She established the India Vision Foundation (IVF) in 1994. IVF works for the police and prison reforms, the upliftment of women, and rural development.
Kiran Bedi launched her website in 2008. This website was set up to help such people whose complaints were not being registered by the police.
She also participated actively in the nationwide campaign to end crimes against women. Bedi was a prominent ally of the India Against Corruption movement and later joined Aam Aadmi Party. Among her accomplishments, Bedi’s life has been defined by her passion for social justice.
Tarabai Shinde
Born in 1850, Tarabai challenged Hindu belief systems in her writings and disproved the notion that women are immoral or controlled only by men. She exposed the destructive effects of patriarchal values, deeply rooted in Hindu culture. Tarabai was one of the first feminists that addressed gender and caste inequality against women. She was instrumental in many changes in Indian society and continues to influence the world.
Tarabai’s most important book, Sri Purush Tulana (1882), was her most important work. It raised awareness about and criticized the patriarchal views and social barriers of gender. She played a major role in addressing caste oppression, which she believed was a controlling factor in women’s lives. She also questioned religion’s role in oppression. Her writings were used to define caste oppression in modern India and gender inequality.
While fighting for women’s rights, Taraba Shinde co-founded the Satyashodhak Samaj along with Jyotirao and Savitribai Phule. Tarabai Shinde also worked with upper-caste widows for their rehabilitation.
Ramabai Ranade
Ramabai, a social activist, established a girls’ high school in Pune, India, in the middle of the 19th century. Ramabai, who was born on 25th January 1862, spent her childhood in the Sangli district, of Maharashtra. Her father wasn’t interested in her education as it was taboo for girls to be educated at the time. However, her husband, Mahadev Govind Ranade, devoted much of his time to teaching her.
Ramabai has many achievements in the social realm despite having a modest background. She started the first Bharat Mahila Parishad and chaired the first session of the India Women’s Conference. However, she got tremendous support and encouragement from Justice Ranade.
She gave her life to the cause of women. She used to visit women’s cells in prisons to instill self-esteem among the inmates. She organized relief for famine-stricken people and took care of them and helped them. She was also made the president of Seva Sadan. The institution intended to teach various life skills to women.
Under Seva Sadan, a women’s training college and three hostels were developed. Here Ramabai Ranade helped poor women and widows and trained them to be financially stable. Her efforts led to the institution’s spread to eight branches in Maharashtra.
Sister Nivedita
Sister Nivedita was an Indian social reformer and woman political activist. Born on 28th October 1867, a Christian woman Margaret Elizabeth Noble, embrace the name “Nivedita”, which was given by Swami Vivekanand. She was a vocal opponent of British rule and supported Indian public resistance.
She started a school for educationally deprived women. She used to go from door to door to educate women and girls about the importance of education. She not only had girls as her students but also adult women and widows. She spent all that she earned on her writing and lectures. She worked for the upliftment of all women regardless of their caste.
She worked relentlessly for the patients during the plague epidemic. Sister Nivedita even cleaned the rubbish and encouraged the youth to be volunteers. She also raised awareness for preventive measures among people.
She helped to design a version of the Indian flag and introduced Vande Mataram as a national prayer in her school. She supported social reform, advocated for national arts and culture, and promoted it.
Sister Nivedita was widely known as a feminist. She stood for equality for women, regardless of their castes. She was also a strong advocate for India’s independence. She was a powerful woman, who was active in the Nationalist movement and worked with many prominent leaders such as Mahatma Gandhi.
Pandita Ramabai
Born in present-day Karnataka, Pandita Ramabai became the first woman to be awarded the title of Pandita as a Sanskrit scholar. She was born on 23rd April 1858. Her progressive parents defied traditional social norms that restricted education for girls. Pandita Ramabai was born to a wealthy and privileged family.
Ramabai spent her entire life as an educator and social reformer. She learned Sanskrit through her father. She later traveled throughout India and was conferred her title of Pandita and Sarasvati by the University of Calcutta.
Ramabai is today remembered as a social reformer who inspired many distressed women to pursue education.
She established the Arya Mahila Samaj to promote women’s education and work against child marriage and rescue victims of it. The Brahmo Samaj, Hindu reformers, and Jesus Christ all had an impact on society’s goals.
She is regarded as an instrumental figure who took up the cause of women’s education and medical education for women to become doctors. Her effect was such that her voice reached Queen Victoria and the Women’s Medical Movement was initiated by Lady Dufferin.
By giving speeches and building a large network of followers, Ramabai was able to gather approximately 60,000 rupees to start an Indian school for child widows.
She established the Sharada Sadan school for child widows in Pune in 1889 with the help of numerous Hindu reformers, together with M.G. Ranade. The Mukti Mission was the name she later gave it.
In 1896 amid a severe famine, she saved and helped thousands of needy ones. She translated the Bible from the original Hebrew and Greek into the Marathi language. She was a well-educated woman who spoke seven languages.
Chandramukhi Basu
Along with Kadiambini Ganguly, Chandramukhi Basu is remembered in history as the first female graduate in British India. she was one of the first two female graduates during British rule. She was born in Dehradun in 1860. It was a huge move at the time because gender discrimination was at its peak and girls being educated was still a distant possibility. For her higher education, she had also fought a rigorous battle with college administration.
She also got her MA degree from the University of Calcutta, and after that, she was the only one to get it in that period. She began teaching at Bethune College in 1886, and when she rose to the position of the college president, she once again established herself as a prominent figure by becoming the first woman to lead a college. In 1891 she got retired from the principal post due to her health issue. Her academic journey has inspired other female students to complete their education.
Usha Mehta
The police detained Usha Mehta for linkages with secret Congress Radio, which was assisted by veteran leader Ram Manohar Lohia, and imprisoned her at Yeravda Jail. Morarji Desai, the interim government’s home minister at the time, gave the order for her freedom, making her the first political prisoner to be released in Bombay.
She promoted Gandhi’s principles post Independence and was awarded the Padma Vibhushan in 1998. Mehta resumed her studies upon independence and graduated with a Ph.D. from Bombay University. She grew to be a specialist in Gandhi’s ideology and thought. She wrote numerous essays and books in Gujarati and English. Mehta took part in every anniversary of the Quit India movement. On August 11, 2000, she died, At the age of 80.
