November 2014Rally

November 2014Rally

November 2014Rally

Prof. Julia Pradeepa

FROM WOMB till tomb, what rights do women have? This is a question highly debated in a class-room setting very often. And when youngsters talk about women being superior in most aspects andadam teasing etc, we wonder if women all over the universe have been empowered and have equalrights.

From the time a female foetus is formed in the womb it undergoes various forms of violence anddiscrimination. It starts with female foeticide; if the girl child is by mistake born then we have femaleinfanticide; when the child grows up, it faces abuse, eve teasing, harassment, molestation, rape,domestic violence and the list is endless. I can hear some of you saying that it happens only in ruralparts of our country and only a few are affected. Is that really true?

If so, why is that one out of every four women experiences domestic violence in her lifetime?.Oneout of every six women is sexually assaulted and/or raped in her lifetime. Even in the 10 top payingjobs for women, females earn less than men. The World Economic Forum’s 2009 report on theGlobal Gender Gap ranked 134 countries for gender parity. Women have come out of the four wallsbut that does not mean women are given equal rightsin all aspects.

We find women who cannot or not permitted totravel alone in our country even today. They are notuneducated rural women but women who are edu-cated and living in the metros. Working women areconsidered to be independent and liberated but the realscenario is different. We find them suppressed at homeand at work places. Sometimes these women are notable to balance their tasks at home and work placeand undergo a lot of stress. Some of them do not evenhave time to take care of their health that they end upwith chronic illness in their life.

We live in a world where men are talking of gen-der equality and are taking up equal responsibility at home and child care. But not all men treat womenequally. Sometimes women lose touch with their friends after their marriage. There are men who donot allow women to talk to their male friends at work place or outside. Women do not have equal rightsthough we claim to be so.

Is it because of the societal structure or the stereotypical images we have of women in our soci-ety? Can we as AICUFers change the society and the mindset of people? We need to change our-selves and create awareness about ‘Women Rights’. As Nelson Madela once said, “Freedom cannotbe achieved unless the women have been emancipated from all forms of oppression”. Let us create asociety where men and women are aware of their rights and roles in the society.

“Human Rights are Women’s Rights, and Women’sRights are Human Rights” - Hillary Clinton

The Rights We want:We want to Choose our Husband,We want to Own the Land,We want to Go to School,We don’t want to be cut Anymore,We want also to make Decisions,We want Respect in Politics,To be Leaders,WE WANT TO BE EQUAL.

- Rebecca Lolosoli

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November 2014Rally

Fr. S. Emmanuel SJ.National Adviser

‘WOMEN’ is the major theme of November ‘Rally. whichfocuses on the positive and negative dimensions of womenrelated issues from different angles. AICUF having estab-lished a separate commission for Women, is taking initia-tives to strengthen women leadership. In this context it willbe good to reflect on the unique qualities of educatedwomen leaders, who are employed in different walks oflife. There are four important research findings. The firstone is that women leaders are more assertive and per-suasive, have a stronger need to get things done and aremore willing to take risks than male leaders, accordingto a study conducted by Caliper, a Princeton-based man-agement consulting firm. The strong people-skills pos-sessed by female leaders enable them to read situationsaccurately and take in information from all sides. This will-ingness to see all sides of a situation enhances their per-suasive ability. They can zero in on someone’s objectionsor concerns, weigh them appropriately, address them ef-fectively and incorporate them into the grander scheme ofthings when appropriate. These female leaders are ableto bring others around to their point of view or alter theirown point of view—depending upon the circumstancesand information they uncover. They can do this becausethey genuinely understand and care about where othersare coming from. This allows them to come at a subjectfrom their audience’s perspective, so that the people theyare leading feel more understood, supported and valued.The second unique quality of women leaders is that theyare found to be more empathetic and flexible. The fe-male leaders were in the mid-range on ego-strength (re-silience), which was lower, though not significantly, thanmale leaders. But they possess stronger interpersonalskills (empathy, flexibility and sociability) and are moreassertive than their male counterparts. This combinationof traits enables the women in our study to express a uniqueapproach toward dealing with disappointment, rejection orsituations that don’t work out their way. Dr. Greenberg ex-plains, “They will feel the sting of being set back. They mayeven dwell on it, and tend to be a little self-critical. But thenthey will muster their assertiveness, shake off any nega-tive feelings, learn what they need to carry on and a voice inthe back of their heads will say, ‘I’ll show you.’”

The third unique quality describes that women lead-ers have an inclusive, team-building leadership style ofproblem solving and decision making. The women lead-ers according to a study were more interested in hearingall points of view, then making the best possible decision.The final decision did not necessarily have to be their ini-tial point of view. They were able to read situations accu-rately and take in information from all sides, then make themost informed decision possible. The fourth quality ofwomen leaders points out the fact that women leadersare more likely to ignore rules and take risks. The womenleaders are more likely to push back when they are overlybound by regulations and rules, engage in more risk tak-ing and come up with innovative solutions. They tend tohave a greater need to get things done than male leadersand are less likely to hesitate or focus on the small details.

Having discussed the leadership potential of edu-cated women, AICUF insists that we need to take care ofdeveloping the leadership qualities of women in the vil-lages. Most of the social work organizations are makingconcerted effort to build up the transformational leader-ship qualities of rural women. AICUF stands by them andgives solidarity and support.

In my capacity as National Adviser I was privileged toattend the Jesuit Hinger Education Commission of SouthAsia at XLRI, Jamshedpur on October 24th to Oct 26th andI was given 15 minutes to address the Jesuit principals ofSouth Asian institutions and thank them for the supportthey are rendering to AICUF. The theme of the conventionwas Justice and faith interventions in Higher Education.AICUF has doing the difficult aspect of preparing leaderswho will stand for justice. I also had the opportunity tomeet the AICUF leaders at St.Xavier’s Kolkatta, who hadjust arrived from their PUJA camp at Siliguri. AICUF is alsoproud of our woman national convenor Crislyn Rozario,who is the leader of the AICUF National team. At this junc-ture I make an appeal to the Unit and State advisers tostrengthen women commission with leadership trainingprogrammes and workshop. Let AICUF march ahead toempower men and women leaders of AICUF and willbecome eventually creators of socio, economic and politi-cal change in this country.

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November 2014Rally

Is the World born cruel? Is it too selfish that light does not shine?

Darkness soiled to bloom,Brightness watered to drown.

Feet made to stumble,Hands made to tremble.

My joy devoured,My peace destroyed,And my right rugged.Will I walk the green?Will I swim the blue?

Will my stars ever twinkle?Or will they never show?

My mind don’t rest; my thoughts don’t stop.My sight is but bound.My choice is but blind.

Well, I live not in the World,but in a world; my world.

A world not born but a mortal’s made.

Was I born or was I handmade?Am I living I doubt.

I live beneath-Beneath the living’ life.Right I never will,

Ever I’ll doubt to have,Dream I’ll ever have to.

Well,I live not in the World,but in a world ;my world.

A world not born but a mortal’s made.

Beneath the Living.Joshua Lalremruot.

St.Joseph’s College,Bangalore

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November 2014Rally

EMPOWERMENT strategies are varied and refer to those strategies which en-able women to realize their full potentials. They consist of greater accessto knowledge and resources, greater autonomy in decision making, greaterability to plan their lives, greater control over the circumstances that influ-ence their lives and finally factors which world free them the shackles ofcustom beliefs and practices. Though Government has come forward withso many schemes, implementation of these projects must enhance theliteracy rate of India. An educated girl will always have aroma of confidencearound her. In the words of our former president Abdul Kalam, “ in this era ofknowledge boom uneducated women should not be left behind”.

Economic empowerment constitutes one of the fundamental buildingblocks in efforts towards the overall empowerment of women participationin formal economic activities on terms and conditions which reflect theproductive capacity of women and their control over their own incomes aresome of the important dimensions of economic empowerment. Althoughthe increasing work participation of women has been viewed as part of thegeneral employment boom created by the export led economic expansion,female labour-force participation rates have tended to increase more thanthose men in the Asian and Pacific region, suggesting that women’s eco-nomic participation has been a critical feature of the region’s quest for theeconomic empowerment of women.

Economical empowerment: Economically women today are more in-dependent than they were some years ago. Woman is also less subordi-nate to the authority of men both in the house and in public life. In India, inan atmosphere of patriar-chal society, man all thetime dominates women.Women also accept ithumbly as the right wayof living. Father, is thehead of the family whohas all the decision mak-ing powers in the family.Mothers have only to lis-

Empower womenand

Transform SocietySr. A. Nirmala Josphin OSM

ten quietly. In some families when-ever decision making takes place,women are asked to keep off. Wifehas to surrender all her money evenif she is an earning member. Everywoman can command respect onlywhen she is economically powerful.Hence it is of paramount necessityto hold a job and earn money. Sec-ondly in some of the Indian Stateslike Andhra pradesh,house pattasand land site documents are givenin favour of women. In such caseshusbands can neither sell the prop-erty nor will they easily desert thefamily. One can not deny the fact thateconomic powers and land rights areessential for women to hold theirheads high.

Economic empowerment ne-cessity a will promise better socialstatus for women in India. If oneanalyses women in different strataof society, the women belonging to

the lower and middle in-come group experiencelow level of social status,as opposed to the rich. In-dian proverbs seem to ex-press the idea that womenare secondary and theyhave to develop lot of pa-tience to accept the faultsof men. They seem to re-

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November 2014Rally

inforce the idea of women’s subjugation. Whatever maybe the problems in their families, women are asked tosuffer silently. Norms and customs must be the same formen and women. One set of rules for men and another setof rules for women can not be tolerated in our Indian soci-ety. Women have more religious sentiments than men.More number of women go regularly to temples andchurches. They are more god fearing than men. Indianculture conditions women to be dependent beings. Girlsall the time seek the support of her father. Married womenare so much dependent on her husband. Widows have to become depen-dent on their sons. At least in recent times in modern religious movements,women priestess is permitted to offer puja to Gods. Things are changing,but change takes place very slowly.

Women and politics: India can boast of more number of womenpoliticians than any other country in the world. There have been womenchief ministers such as Mayawathi, Jeyalalitha, Rabri Devi, . Even nowthere are women leaders who can bring about social and economic trans-formation in India. Women leaders must be honest and selfless, shouldshow sincere love for the people.

Women and social movements: It is consoling to see lot of womensocial workers who toil day and night for the upliftment of the poor in India.Chipco movement, a well known environmental movement which was ledby a group of tribal women. When the contractors came to fell the trees,the women embraced the trees and were ready die for the cause of protect-ing the environment. Their courage has been written in Indian history. Antiliquor movement was led an uneducated woman in Nellore , Andhra prasdesh.Though the movement was weakened, the women have realized that theyhave tremendous power to bring about lasting transformation.

Mahatma Gandhi’s quote on women says , “ Woman is the incarna-tion of Ahimsa”.Just India gave a Mahatma Gandhi to the world, She hasalso given Mother Teresa to the wolrd. Mother Teresa, the great lover of thedestitute is a model for all of us. Tagore says, “ Women is the builder andmoulder of a nation’s destiny”. Being an educationist, who has spent morethan 30 years in imparting girl child education, I want to offer the followingsuggestions to our girl children.

1. Girls must develop their personalities by making use of all availableopportunities in the schools and colleges.

2. Born to be a leader: Assert yourself and take initiative to organizeprogrammes and lead teams. Leader should know how to talk effectively.Developing your communication skills must be given importance.

3. Free from fear psychosis: Girls should take effort to become coura-

geous. Men should not take advan-tage of the fears of girls and come tohelp them. Awareness exercises andNero linguistic programming canhelp us to get rid of our fears

4. Listen to the agony of poorwomen ; Wherever there are suffer-ings of women, let us listen to thecry of agony and actively do some-thing to offer solace.

5. Justice delayed to women isjustice denied: We must participatein all the issue based struggleslaunched in favour of women.

6. Women must be employed.Only then we will be able to achievedecision making power.

7. Education of girls: Girl childliteracy must become higher. All thegirls must be encouraged to go forhigher studies.

We may be able to producewater from desert.

We may succeed in produc-ing oil from red sands

With the help of technology im-possible things are becoming pos-sible. However it is impossible toproduce a glorious India withoutwomen’s empowerment. Socialtransformation is directly propor-tional to Women Empowerment.

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November 2014Rally

IN OLDEN times, women were not given much importance and were considered inferior tomen. But in today’s world, women have evolved and advanced to a whole new level. Today, theyhave greater freedom; freedom of thought and speech, freedom to be educated and achievethings in life and freedom to follow the profession of their choice. They are strong willed andindependent in all aspects of life. An Indian woman today, aspires for her bright future and followsher dreams with great dedication.

Indian women have proved to be successful in their careers and have also been successfulin moulding beautiful families. They not only aspire for self advancement but also inspire otherswith their success stories. Today, women have attained equal status along with men and havemanaged to overcome all unnecessary bondages that would have otherwise curbed their ambi-tions. Careers that were once considered exclusive to men are

now witnessing equal or in some cases evenmore participation of women. Be it engineering,medicine, astronomy: women have learnt to conquerthe world.

As an urban Indian girl, I feel that all these years ofgood education and freedom of speech and expressionhave now made me well equipped and capable enoughto chase my dreams and aspire for a brighter future. AnIndian woman is bound by many insecurities and fears.‘Am I Safe?’ is a question that troubles us the mostwhen we step out of our homes. The increasing rate ofcrimes against women is what has led to this fear. Theinfamous ‘Delhi rape case’ shook the country and raiseda question about safety of women in the country. Buthas it stopped since then? This kind of a fear, to a cer-tain extent, has led to the freedom of women beingcurbed. The fear of being a victim to sexual harassment,eve teasing or acid attacks either at work, or elsewhere creates a certain discomfort in women’sminds. In spite of being well educated and having the capability to live independently, the fear offacing such scenarios is a constant hindrance to the success of women.

Safety of women is a sensitive issue today. As an Indian womanI wish for the betterment of women in my country and also wish forevery girl child born here to be well educated in order to attain abrighter future and contribute greatly to the development of the coun-

try. We as Indian women must leave all our insecurities behind andfight against all wrongs. All women are blessed human beings and all of us

in our own ways have the ability to contribute immensely for the development ofour nation and the world.

BE THE WOMEN YOU WOULD LOVE TO SEE

A

WOMAN’S

WORLD

Marilyn MosesFYBA, St.Xavier’s Mumbai

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November 2014Rally

Right the Wrong!!!!!!!!Adv. Aileen S. Marques

MumbaiWhen we see the many laws that are en-

acted to protect women, children, senior citizens andother socially and economically backward classes, the only

thought that crosses one’s mind is that these must promote equal-ity, non-discrimination and non-violence. Understanding the thousands

of laws at a stretch especially if you have a non-legal background is a chal-lenge. While preparing for my recent workshop on “Women, Law and Rights”,

some thoughts that surfaced are worth sharing.The Indian Constitution is the supreme Law of the Land. All our laws find that intent,

purpose and source from the Constitution. The Indian Constitution is still relevant evenmore than 60 years later. Hence the laws that relate to the empowerment and development of

women broadly cover the following rights:1. Right to Equality.

2. Right against discrimination.3. Right to live (without violence and with education)

4. Right to shelter and property.5. Right to maintenance.6. Right to information.7. Right to medical assistance.8. Right to work and employment (in humane conditions)9. Right to family and custody of children.10. Right to humane existence.

All the laws enacted under the benevolence of Article 15(3) of the Indian Constitution cater to atleast one of these rights.

What is the connection between laws and rights???If you ever wondered what is the connection between laws and rights, let your imaginations and

theories rest. Most often laws are enacted to protect rights. So if I enjoy a right, there surely are laws toprotect and promote that right. In alternate if there is a particular law it means that a particular right isbeing violated.

Remembering all the laws available is difficult for the many women I reach-out to through mylegal awareness workshops. Most of them have been denied their rights to life and information andso breaking the law in to simple terms makes legal empowerment easy for them. When I meetthem, even months later... there so confidently recollect their rights and I feel content.

On a practical note, its easier to say “I have a right to life which includes education andviolence-free”, rather than saying “Under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution I have a right

to live and under the Domestic Violence Act I have a right to live without violence andunder Article 21A I have a right to education”.

Know your rights and this is a sure way to Right the Wrong.

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November 2014Rally

You say that I am the weaker sexYou say that I need protectionBut you seem to be forgetting few thingsLet me put you in the right direction

It is a norm that women like meDon’t get to see what all you seeIs it because it will hurt me?Or rather,because your ego will hurt thee?

In the name of protectionI am confined to the four walls of a houseBut when you get back from work,Your frustration and anger is taken out on me.I feel more like a chased mouseAnd much less like your spouse.

I too have aspirations!I too have dreams!I am not sure if I will get thereBut not being provided the opportunity ,To try and reach outIs definitely unfair.

You need my gentle careTo comfort you and supportYou in your times of needBut my constant pleas for freedomIs something to which,you pay no heed.

Are my words inaudible?Are my appeals to you of no avail?Well, so be itToday,I will break freeAnd be what i want to be!

AM I NOTYOUR

EQUALNishanth Nandakumar, Loyola College

What is to be a TibetanWoman in India?

I was born and brought up in India. I do speak Hindi as fluentlyas my mother language ‘Tibetan’. Living among the Indianneighbours I never felt that I am a foreigner because I got loveand affection from people. I have never seen my own motherland Tibet, so I always feel India is my home until I grew up tobe a woman. When I left my comfort world and started explor-ing outside my small world I realized that I am a ‘Refugee’.Being a Tibetan girl in India, it’s very clear that I do not belongto the culture, religion, tradition, language and most impor-tantly the skin-colour. These differences always ring a bell inmy ears that I am a stranger to this country.

Like anyone else, I too face discrimination because I ama woman. The worst is I am discriminated because of my skin-colour. To give a vivid and fresh example: during the North EastExodus from Bangalore in 2012, one of the Tibetan youth wasattacked with a knife, assuming that he was an Assamese. Itwas a horrible incident. This is one example among the thou-sands. In many parts of India, the Mongoloid features is notaccepted and welcomed; even if they hail from one of the of thenortheast states of India. For many people, they are not Indi-ans. Although, I am not a northeasterner, people identify meas one of them because of my physical appearance. Peoplegive us names like “Chinkies” “Chowmein” “Chinese” and soon.

According to the Law, an act of atrocity against people ofScheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atroci-ties Act), and calling “Chinky or Chinkies” can be sentenced toa “Five Year of Imprisonment”. But unfortunately, laws are justwritten in the books and hardly practiced. We are discrimi-nated by people in authority, police, teachers, fellow students,colleagues and the common people like landlords, shop-keep-ers, bus conductors or auto-rickshaw drivers, etc. Discrimina-tion is my daily cup of tea. It is the daily cross carried by allthe people like me. As for me, I will not stop. I will not let mydream shatter or my life be destroyed. I will fight for it in everysmall or big way to be respected and treated as a human being.

Tenzin Choezom (III Yr Vis Com)St. Joseph’s College, Bangalore

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November 2014Rally

THE PROCESS of women empowerment in Indiahas had a long and rich history. Women have faced alot of challenges during the medieval era but this waschanged overtime by vigorous campaigns from reform-ers and activities, which lead to the promotion of equalrights and reduction of violence against women in India.It is said that the position of women in a society is thesociety’s index of cultural and spiritual attainment. To-day, women struggle to pursue respectable careers andwork to survive like their male counterparts. However,women still have challenges that have led to the emer-gence of numerous women empowerment groups to fightsocial injustices that inhibit women prosperity. Thesecampaigns mainly focus on fighting illiteracy, sexual ha-rassment etc. lately, there has been a more focusedviolence against women campaign aimed at educatingwomen to know more about their rights.

The women organizations in India today are not freeagents or autonomous; they inherited a particular areaor field and its accompanying social relation then pre-side over it and within it. Women in India have held someof the top jobs in the land including that of presidency.Even then, they still continue to face atrocities and vio-lence cases such as like rape, forced prostitution, dowrykillings and brutality. According to a report by ThomasReuters, India is ranked fourth among the most danger-ous countries for women among the G20. This is thereason why violence against women in India is becom-ing one of the government’s major goals.INDIAN WOMEN DURING THE BRITISH RULE

Early European scholars discovered that the Indianwoman of the 19th century had a natural glamour andwas more vigorous than the rest. It is during this periodthat many women empowerment groups and reformerssuch as Ram Mohan Roy emerged and fought for therights of women. Peary Charan Sarkar set up the firstfree school for female students in India in 1847 in Barasat.She was a former student of Hindu collage calledCalcutta. Even though one could argue that there was

Violence Against Women in IndiaCompiled and Edited by AKSHAYA

little support from the British Administration during theRaj era, the contrary was the case. British missionar-ies’ wives deserve that respect they enjoy to date forthey pioneered the education and training of girls in In-dia. Their intervention was received with fierce resis-tance from the locals in the early stages as it was seento defy their traditions.

Later, reforms, which touched on marriage and poli-tics among the women, began to take effect. Women inIndia played a major role towards the attainment of itsindependence. Women such as Kittur Chennamma,queen of the state of Kittur Karnataka led armed rebel-lions against the British rule. The queen of Jhansi namedRani Lakshmi is widely considered a national hero forleading the 1857 rebellion against the British. In 1929,the Child marriage Restraint Act was passed that en-forced fourteen as the minimal marriage age for a girl.Finally, Sarojini Naidu, Indian poet, became the first In-dian woman to be the president of the Indian NationalCongress and governor of Uttar Pradesh state. Her birth-day is celebrated as Women’s Day in the entire Indiatoday.INDIAN WOMAN IN MODERN INDIAN

Women in Indian today fully participate in all areaslike education, politics, science and technology andmany more. The violence against them is reducing andmore women are beginning to realize their rights in thesociety. In short, it is no longer a man’s world. The In-dian constitution guarantees all Indian women equalitywith no discrimination by the state. It stipulates equalopportunities and equal pay for work. It further advo-cates for affirmative action that provides special provi-sion for women and children by the state. The law re-nounces cultural practices, which are derogatory to thestatus of the female figure by ensuring a humane envi-ronment for work and maternity relief.THE PROCESS OF WOMEN EMPOWERMENT

Women in India are still facing obstacles due to amale dominated culture despite efforts made by differ-

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November 2014Rally

ent organizations to reverse the norm. However, theyare gradually getting empowered in areas like educa-tion, politics, professional and eventual in their house-holds. It is agreed that women need to gain more powerto equal their male counterparts in this contemporaryworld. The value of social development and civilizationcan be entire arbitrated by the role of women in a soci-ety.

Today, women take active roles in politics and man-agement positions in world-class companies. India hascome of age in enhancing the position of women throughlaws that protect their rights. They majorly focused oneliminating women suffrage, feminism, improving theirproperty rights and advocating for equality in terms ofopportunities.

The result has been loud with increased reportsshowing the girl child competing vigorously in academ-ics and other areas. It means that the girl child is nowconfident and can get well-paying jobs as their malecounterparts. This development is a complete reversalof how the situation was in the olden days.

However, the single but more worrying problem thatcontinues to thrive in India is the negative sexual atten-tion attached to the Indian Women. Women are hassled,stalked, raped and trafficked for sexual immorality. Fur-thermore, the heinous practice of female feticide andinfanticide, where over 10 million infants have been killedin the last two decades. It is now the responsibility oflaw enforcing bodies to avert crime against women.

http://www.womenempowermentinindia.com/women-rights-in-india/

A DESTINATION

Aprajita SrivastavaSt. Xavier’s Mumbai

Trains have always enchanted me, and I’ve devel-oped a particular affinity for the Mumbai Local. More

than half the population of Mumbai travels in the local trainsevery single day. The ladies compartment of the Mumbai locals

is always jam-packed!! However, if you are a regular commuterand a keen observer, you will realize that these compartments of the

Mumbai local trains have thousands of stories to tell every day, everyminute.

All life plays out here. Tired after a long day at work, women squeeze into what-ever space is available to them. In one corner are three women sifting through trays

of jewellery and hair clips as if shopping were a competition. Seated on the floor aretwo others shelling peas. Squeezed on a bench across the way is a gaggle of teenagers

commuting to college, each balancing a notebook to finish the previous day’s homework(unlike me!!). In another corner you’ll find the grumpy macchiwali aunty. Here ladies eat, work,

pray, nap, shop, and occasionally get into full-on physical fights. Most importantly, here ladies talk—about everything.

On the outside, it’s just another description of any other ladies compartment. However, take a closerlook you realize that each of these women represents what women are today and where they are

headed.The modern Indian woman has broken down gender stereotypes. From the well-defined

boundaries of her home, she has entered schools, colleges and has made a mark ather workplace as well. She effectively juggles her work life, her social life, her

home, family life, traditions and festivities. She is strong, worldly-wise, opinion-ated, independent and economically self-sufficient. She has her own share

of insecurities and worries. She has aspirations. But in the end all she isreally asking for is respect and support for the choices she makes in

her life.

I TOO HAVE

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November 2014Rally

“HEY, READ this book. It’s an amazing story!”

“I have no time. Stuck with my physics notes!”“Come along with us for this movie.”

“Sorry, I have an assignment due tomorrow. Have to complete it. I don’t have the time

these days! So hectic.”“It’s been ages! “Let’s play a game of badminton.”

“Can’t. Busy with work. No time.”

This seems to be a common phrase amongst us youngsters, right? And it is true in away. Our daily routines include hours spend in travelling, attending those never ending lec-

tures, studying, eating, studying and studying! There really seems to be no time for our-

selves in our daily strenuous lives. But I would like you to just pause for a minute and think ofyour mother. Has she ever responded to you with the ‘no-time’ statement? And when you

think about it, she has the right to do so! Her day

begins much earlier and ends much later. Withbarely four to five hours of sleep, she works through-

out the entire day, be it wak- ing us up in the morning,

preparing meals for the family, washing, cleaningup our rooms, stitching.... The list is endless.

And if she’s a working mom, she’s all the more

burdened. Yet when we ask her for anything, shegladly gives it to us. Despite her immensely hectic schedule, she makes time for us. She

tries her best to help us with our studies and even sings us to sleep if necessary. (So what

if you’re in college, there’s nothing more comforting than resting your head on your mama’slap and listening to her soothing voice). Basically, she’s our SUPERWOMAN. She always

makes time for us. No matter what. No one can be a substitute for mommy dearest. So to

show her your appreciation, why not do a little something for her each day? A back mas-sage every evening, or a hug to say bye before going to college, or even a simple ‘I Love

You’ can make a huge difference. Not only that, you’ll feel awesome throughout the day if

you treat her specially. Somehow, MAKE TIME for her. Remember always, she’s dedicatedher life to you.

DON’T HAVE THE TIME!Wynola WilliamsSt.Xavier’s Mumbai

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November 2014Rally

OUR SOCIETIES continue to experience crimeagainst women in India despite the efforts of the govern-ment to toughen bills that prosecute men who attemptto rape women and also criminalize offenses like stalk-ing and voyeurism.

On 16 of December 2012, a 23 years old paramedicstudent in India’s capital-New Delhi was brutally as-saulted and gang-rapped, shading a spotlight on crimesagainst women in the country. For the first time, therewas a furious outrage, emotional outburst as the gen-eral public, both men and women demanded safety andprotection of women in the country. They were demand-ing changes to be made, a change in attitude towardswomen and a change in the demeaning gender lawsthat have not favored women for decades, plus theywanted a speedy justice to be executed on rapists sothat they could be brought to book as soonest. Yet still,other protesters wanted offenders of this nature pun-ished through a death penalty.

A young woman based in Bengaluru was quotedsaying “that rapists in India are certain that they canalways get away with such crimes” (which is evidencethat there are no strict laws that protect women), andunless laws are put in place to bring wrong-doers tobook and deliver justice speedily, crimes of that naturewill continue to escalate.CRIMES AGAINST WOMEN

According to statistics from the National CrimeRecord Bureau, gender-based issues are getting worse.Women have been relegated with secondary statuswithin the community and households. Even the literacylevel of women is only at 54%, compared to that of menwhich is at 76%. Crime is one of the main reasons thathinders women empowerment in India.

The negative effects of the oppressive societal val-ues are as follows: Women are forced to get married at a tender age They are expected to fend for themselves while

taking charge of the domestic chores

Crimes against Women in IndiaComplied and Edited by Arthi

They become malnourished since they are alwaysexpected to serve themselves last, after everymember of household has received their potion

They suffer from unfair and biased inheritance anddivorce laws

Women are not able to accumulate any substantialamount of asset, making it pretty difficult for them toestablish their own financial security

Stop Crime Against Women in India Stop Crime Against Women

And worse still, studies conducted as from the year2010 show that crimes against women have risen in therecent past by 7.1%. Again, there has been a sharpincrease in the number of rape case recorded each year.The National Crime Record Bureau recorded 24,206 caseof rape in 2011 alone, which indicated a rise of 9% fromthe previous year. It still indicated that more than half ofthe victims of such rape incidences appeared to fallbetween 18-30 years of age.

These figures continued to point out that 10.6% ofthe victims of rape were young girls under the age of 14,while 19% were teenagers between 14 and 18. Shock-ingly, in the 94.2% of the cases reported, offenders wereknown to the victims. They included their family mem-bers, relatives and neighbours.

According to the Indian Penal Code, crimes againstwomen include rape, kidnapping and abduction, homi-cide for dowry, molestation, torture, sexual harassmentand importation of girls.

In 2011, over 200,000 cases of crimes againstwomen were reported. At the time, the North Easterncity of Tripura recorded the highest number of thesecrimes at 37%, compared to the national average crimerate of only 18.9%.

During the same period, both kidnappings and traf-ficking rose by 19 and 122 percent respectively.

And how about those crimes against women thatgo unreported? One might ask. It’s not a surprise that‘eve teasing’ or harassment, heckling and sexual innu-

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endos against Indian women in public places like cin-ema halls, public transport, alongside rape of womenand minors in the villages go unrecorded.

Going by the records, Madhya Pradesh, a state inIndia with a large population of tribes recorded over 3000rape cases, which was considered the highest numberof such offence in 2011.

Generally, what has been happening in India hasattracted the attention of the world as a whole, and onlystrict measures implemented by both the governmentand external forces can bring the change that womenhave yearned for.

It’s a fact that many rape incidences go unreported,and that’s according to legal experts in the country. Dueto what is called “family honour”, several complaint filesare withdrawn and in most cases, the police don’t givea fair hearing. Again, medical evidences go unrecordedmaking it easy for criminals to pass scot free under theprevailing conditions.

But it’s quite alarming that outside the legal roomsof India, it is very common for Kangaroo courts to ad-vise victims to marry off the criminals in an attempt to“preserve them” honour. And in some cases, rape isused to settle local disputes and caste issues.

What’s worse, the maximum sentence of a rapistcontinues to remain unclear under the prevailing laws.It’s a challenge because there’s a huge debate onwhether or not to introduce death sentence for rape of-fenders. One side argues that it could bring down therate of rape crime against women in India, while theother side says this will lead to massive killings of rapevictims in an attempt to escape the death penalty. How-ever, protesters all over the country are demanding thatthe government should amends the Archaic laws.REFORMS NEEDED

In an effort to curb the problem of rape and otherviolent activities against women, the government formeda 3-member panel of legal experts to amend the laws.And this time, India’s capital city-Delhi, become thecentre of focus. In fact, it has even been nicknamed“rape capital of India”. Some of the measures that the

government has put in place to tame these criminalsinclude:

Carrying out night patrolsThorough supervision and checks on public utili-

ties such as the transport system, bus drivers and theirassistants.

Vehicle with tinted windows or curtains have alsobeen banned

Posting of photos of people convicted with suchcrimes on official government website to deter peoplewho may want to commit such crimes.

The Delhi government has also set up a committeethat is responsible for the task of speeding up casesrelated to sexual assault against womenTHE CULTURE OF PATRIARCHY

While reforms and affirmative action to deal withviolence against women may be a feasible solution,these crimes are strongly associated with traditions ofpatriarchy and repressive attitude that prevail across themasses.

Rahul Roy, in his blog “kafila” says that masculini-ties provide an ideological basis for impunity to be le-galized and practiced. That way, crimes against womenhave to be much easier because men believe that theycan only express their masculinity by bringing fear andhatred to the feminine close to their heart.WOMEN RISING

Thanks to the NGOs who are working hard to ad-dress the problem of crime against women in India andmake women rise amid such chaotic conditions. As aresult of the massive protest that followed the killing ofthe medical student, the agitation by the crowd sparkedpublic debates in the media about how both the govern-ment and policymakers should find ways of stoppingsuch crimes. The societal changes in India are beingengineered by women getting access to better educa-tion and jobs. They are also taking it to the streets to de-

mand their rights of being able to walk freely without the

fear of men.

http://www.womenempowermentinindia.com/women-rights-in-india/

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WOMEN’S LIBERATION - A CHIMERA OF 21ST CENTURYBy Antony Lourduraj. A, II year, M.A (SW), Loyola College, Chennai

IN THE 21st Century, we have wireless scientific gad-gets, fireless cooking, keyless vehicles, fatless foods,faceless Facebook friends, tubeless tyres, sleevelessdresses, waterless rivers, jobless youth, shameless poli-ticians, serviceless bureaucrats, justless judiciary, law-less police, truthless science, ethicsless profession-als, valueless education system, meaningless humanrelationships, careless human attitude, and heartlesshuman. Everything is becoming less, but still we arehaving endless hopes. These are the typical character-istics of shrinking society.

On August 15, 2002 in a Mumbai train, a youngmentally challenged woman was raped in a compart-ment; Imrana case in 2006; Delhi Gang Rape in a busin 2013and on 12th November 2014, Puthiya ThalaimuraiNews Television reported a mentally challenged womanwho was raped in Pallavaram. All these shocking in-stances depict the remarkable animalistic behaviour ofhuman beings on women folk.

The Constitution of India guarantees to all Indianwomen equality (Article 14), no discrimination by theState (Article 15(1)), equality of opportunity (Article 16)and equal pay for equal work (Article 39(d)). In addition,it allows special provisions to be made by the State infavour of women and children (Article 15(3)), renouncespractices derogatory to the dignity of women (Article51(A) (e)), and also allows forprovisions to be made by theState for securing just and hu-mane conditions of work and formaternity relief (Article 42). TheIndian Constitution has amplenumber of provisions that voicesout the Women Rights, but inreality women are not completelyfree from problems. On the con-trary, the changing situation iscausing them new problems.

The Child Marriage Restraint Act stipulates 18 asthe minimum age of marriage for a girl. Lingayats fromKombaiyur village in Sathiyamangalam practice childmarriage. For them the minimum age is 12 years. Thisshows that child marriage remains the most commonphenomenon in rural parts of India, although it is illegalunder Indian law. Equal pay in construction sector isyet another conflict that the women construction work-ers face today. In fact comparatively they do more workthan the male workers, but unreasonably they receiveless pay. Santhanam Comedies in Kollywood is abso-lutely against (Article 51(A) (e)) of the Indian Constitu-tion. In the name of comedy he portrays women in themost derogatory sense. Pointedly he has more womenfans than other comedians in Tamil film industry, whichgives an upsetting picture.

A global poll conducted by Thomson Reuters con-cluded that India is “the fourth most dangerous coun-try in the world for women” and “the worst countryfor women among the G20 countries.” It gives a shock-ing image on the status of women in India.

Crime against women is a social disaster, whichneed to be addressed as seriously as possible. Thisproblem has been rising upward more and more severeduring the recent years in India. Crimes against womeninclude violence against women, rape, molestation, acid

attacks, dowry harassment, pros-titution, wife-battering, kidnappingfemale children to be sold intobrothel homes, forcible embrace-ment, cheating young womenwith a promise to marry them orfetch them a job and various typesof sexual harassments andabuse of women including eveteasing.

The Immoral Traffic (Preven-tion) Act was passed in 1956.However many cases of traffick-

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ing of young girls and women have been reported. Thesewomen are either forced into prostitution, domestic workor child labour. Bhuduwarpet in Pune, Kamathipura inMumbai and Sonaganj in Kolkata are the places in Indiawhere prostitution is licenced devastating women andthe society at large. There is a proposal yet to be signedand approved by the higher officials in Tamil Nadu thatKodambakkam soon may turn to be a legal abode ofprostitution like TASMACs in Tamil Nadu.

In the Indian social context even today male chil-dren are preferred to female children. Hence, femalechildren are subject to discriminatory treatment. Malepreference and female negligence has almost becomea working policy especially in India after enactment ofThe Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Pre-vention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013.

Even after enactment of Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act, 1994, the sophisti-cated scanning and sonographic equipment is still be-ing misused to find out the sex of the child and thisleads to abortion if the foetus is found to be female.

Most of the Indian families are patriarchal in na-ture. Therefore, the principle of equality of sex is unac-ceptable to them. Domestic works are branded as“women’s work”. Seldom men perform these works. Butwhen the question of exercising power comes, it is al-ways the man who dominates and shows ‘omnipotenthegemony’ over every affair of household. His decisionsare final and his orders are ultimate. The female voice isalways bottled-up.

Humanity atleast today ruminates boldly theseatrocities on women as crimes, but olden times thesewere considered as ceremonies and customs colouredby social institutions of Indian society.

Traditions such as Sati, Jauhar, Purdah andDevadasi System among some communities have beenbanned and are largely defunct in modern India. How-ever, Sati is still found in remote parts of India and thepurdah is still practiced by Indian women in some com-munities.

In 1852 Vidya Jyothi Savitribai Phule, along withher husband Mahatma Jyotirao Phule, opened a schoolfor untouchable girls in Pune, India. She became the

first woman teacher in India. She played an importantrole in improving women rights in India during BritishRule and also considered to be the pioneer of modernMarathi poetry.

Moovalur Ramamirdham Ammaiyar and Dr. MuthuLakshmi were the pioneers of eradicating the Devedasisystem in India. Irome Sharmila is fasting for the past13 years fighting against injustice. Lifelong hungerstriker sacrificed her personal life. She denied NobelPrize. The Government is insensitive towards her de-mand.. These are the women with par excellence, whosacrificed their entire life for a greater cause of bringingsocial change and transformation, but they are leastrecognised in the pages of History of India. These womenare supposed to be awarded Bharat Ratna.

Men are portrayed as villains, but in history we haveevidences that men are heroes, who also urged them-selves for women’s liberation. Raja Rammohan Roy’sefforts led to the abolition of Sati under Governor-Gen-eral William Bentinck in 1829. Ishwar ChandraVidyasagar’s crusade for improvement in the situationof widows led to the Widow Remarriage Act of 1856.Bharathiyar, Bharathidasan and many other poets acrossour country courageously wrote plenty of poems onwomen empowerment and gender equality.

We end up most of the time blaming society, butwe fail to understand that we are society. The longestdistance in the world is 8 inches from the head to theheart. Humanity need to keep a balance between thesetwo entities to avoid crime against women.

Women Liberation is possible through radical so-cial change, which has its firm roots in mass socialaction. Everybody dreams about transformation, well,that is really an easy task when we collectively partici-pate in it. We may fall down seven times, get up for theeight. Dear readers it is a time to falsify the statementWomen’s liberation is a chimera of 21st century. Alwaysremember the last three rules of Saul Alinsky from hismasterpiece ‘Rules for Radicals.’ Let us jointly pushthe negative side deep enough by voicing out continu-ously by applying progressive strategies tactically, soas to bring women liberation in a more constructive way.Let us together make a difference.

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Fr. P. A. Chacko SJDumka, Jharkhand

DEAR AMMAYou were so generousFrom the coffers of the StateYou opened your treasuresThe poor and the hungry you fed themWith subsidized foodYou clothed them with cheap sarisYou gave them TV sets to watch in blissCinemas, serials and sleazeThat they may forget their agony!

To cap it all, reports say154 of them died in your nameSome by hanging,Some by throwing before vehicular trafficSome by heart attackSome wavered between life and deathDid they all have to die, Amma,While you liveHoping for your second comingWhile the pundits ogle at your footwear collectionWhile the catwalk damsels eye your sarisWhile many a guyScheme to steal your goldWhile crooks creep in for your crores?

The bereaved and the widowsBreak forth in screamsIn their shattered dreams!

Will our sympathy console them?Will our empathy resurrect their dead?Can cash and power arrest their sorrow?Can our benevolence wipe outRoots of poverty and misery?Can our window-dressing sopsLiquidate deep rooted historical injusticesOf cast and class?

Can we take the poor and the marginalised for a ride?Because they are not empoweredBecause they lack power and mightTo grab and to assertBecause their voice is stilledWith gimmicks & lullabies?

Who will resurrect their dead ones?No politician has ever done such an actBut many have done the kind actOf sending them to the netherworld!That is the power of their magicThat is the power of the wizard!

Whether one drinks from a golden cupLike the Roman emperor NeroOr whether one drinks from a ceramic cupLike the commoner on the footpathIsn’t it water all the same, Amma dear!(chackoanthony827@gmail.com)

D e a r A m m a

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THIRTY THREE years old ManjumaIqbal and 65 year old Duiji Amma are women of courage, grit anddetermination. Not one to be daunted by circumstances these two women from Uttar Pradesh have faceddanger and challenge bravely to come out trumps. They both present before the world the true face of woman-hood. The fact that they hail from disadvantaged groups makes their efforts all the more laudable.

Varanasi resident Manjuma is the recipient of 2008 President’s UttamJeevanRaksha medal for saving fourchildren from meeting a watery grave. Duiji, one of the 1000 women who were nominated for the 2005 NobelLaureate award is a ‘Kol’ tribal who has fought against exploitation of her tribe by mobilizing her communityagainst caste-based oppression and injustice. Both these women are trend-setters in a state besieged withmany ills.

Manjuma still shudders whenever she recalls that hot afternoon of May 27, 2004. She had just finished hercooking when some neighborhood boys rushed in, “Aunty please come out, Shahid is drowning…” She rushedout only to find her nine year old boy and six other boys being washed away into River Varuna. The hand pulledrickshaw that they had been sitting on and playing was being sucked in by the powerful waves. There was no

time to think or call for help, Manjuma just rushed to their rescue. With aHerculean effort, she managed to save four of them: Shahid, her son wasunfortunately not among them.

With tears rolling down her face and the pain still lurking in her eyesManjuma says, “Memories of my son still haunt me. I often sit up at nightand cry. I have so many times said sorry to him for failing to save him,” hervoice breaks off.

But to the families of the four children she saved, Manjuma will remainGod’s messenger. DuijiAmma can inspire anyone. An illiterate, tribal woman, who has in 12 years changed herentire village.

An agricultural labor, Duiji lived a life of slavery and hunger. Kols were treated as sub-human by the uppercaste. She was married off at seven, bore ten children, and was widowed at 27. She worked as a laborer,digging, breaking stones, spading the land to fend for her family. She protested against the low wages.

In 1998, Duiji met members of the Mahila Samakhya programme who taught her about legal rights and thelaw. This empowered her to take on the land owners. Soon other laborers joined her and together they suc-ceeded in getting their wages raised.

Today caste-based sexual violence is practically non existent in her village. The Kols are no longer afraidof approaching the police and courts for redress. The literacy rate has shot up and the women participate moreactively in community affairs. Duiji has arranged for hand pumps and the women receive a 15-day trainingcourse on how to repair them. Furthermore, most children now attend school. The community’s overall eco-nomic situation has also improved. Duiji stays updated on various welfare schemes for the old and the handi-capped, and helps people access welfare schemes that the government periodically announces.

“First health then education” is her guiding line. She is now training women to exercise power and clout. Atrue king-maker, Duiji is now going all out to ensure that more and more village headmen are women.

WomenWho Brought about Change

compiled by Anton

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We all know the story of the Indian woman who is subjugated and held down as she is forced toconfine to several oppressive gender norms. We feel for her and her story is a strong testimony tothe crippling state of women in our country. But what about us? What do we feel? Does the story ringthrough for every Indian girl in our country? Is their story the same as ours? AICUF-Mumbai asked afew college going women a series of questions to find out what they think.

THE OTHER STORYCompiled by

Dr. G. John, National Animator

Are you happy being an Indian woman?Yes, I am happy being an Indian woman. We havea certain way of functioning as a society and weface the age old domination of a patriarchal sys-tem which isn’t a bad system as I don’t mind if myauthority comes from my father or mother. How-ever, it’s the general mindset of the Indian peoplethat makes our society what it is and I believe thatis what needs to be changed.(Pratiksha, JNU)

Are you happy being an Indian woman?No, I am not pleased being an Indian woman. Thereare just so many things people tell you that youcan’t do. Women are required to be meek andobliging. But not me! I’m a rebel and it’s my wayof saying, “Oh no society. I’m not going to behavehow you think I should!”(Grace, St. Xavier’s College)

Your dream India for women wouldbe?I want every woman to be able to standup for herself and not fear anyone. Idream of an India where women are trulyrespected.(Ann, VVP College of Engineering)

Where do you see yourself in 10 years?Ten years from now I see myself as someone who hasbrought a change to the Indian society through design.(Minal, MIT)Ten years from now I see myself as a successful and happydoctor.(Shreya, AMC Medical College)

What are the insecurities you face as a col-lege girl?I think it’s related to the uncertainties you facewhen you wear certain clothes and then ultimatelybecome the victim of stares and whistles.(Ashwarya, B. K Majumdar Institute of BusinessAdministration)

If there was one thing you could changeabout the status of Indian women what wouldit be?I hate the fact that women are used as an instru-ment of pleasure. I would really like to changethat and would want men to really respect women.(Amrita, St. Xavier’s College)

How far do you think we’ve come from our mother’s time and where do you think we’re headed?I think the answer would differ depending on your social class, religion and cultural upbringing. For mepersonally it’s been very different. My mother was married off young while I am being encouraged tochoose the career of my choice and marriage only comes after I’m financially secure.(Crislin, St. Xavier’s College)

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IntroductionFor thousands of years, women have been con-

fined to the four walls of home. They have been pres-surized by the household chores like bringing up chil-dren, attending family rituals and other domestic activi-ties and only a very few break through the barriers andbecome successful. Even in the modern era of “equal-ity”, women are far from being treated as equal partnersin the society. The national movement under the lead-ership of Mahatma Gandhi was one of the first attemptsto draw Indian women out of restricted circles of do-mestic life. Writing in “Youth Indian” in 1918, Gandhisaid woman is the companion of man gifted with equalmental capacities. She has the right to participate inthe minutest details of activities of man. She has thesame right of freedom and liberty as the other genderhas. A nation will prosper only when its women folk areliberated from bondages and evils that suppress anddominate the women for unwanted reasons. The Indiangovernment is also keen on working towards the up-liftment of status of women. The modern positive selfimage comes handy for women to take up new respon-sibilities and risks which are a must for entrepreneurs.The entrepreneurial trait or activity will lead women tobe self sustained with income generating capacity andservice to the society. Entrepreneurship is the purpose-ful activity of an individual or a group of associated indi-viduals undertaken to initiate and maintain profit by pro-duction or distribution of economic goods and services.It is based on purposeful and systematic innovation.Entrepreneurship today has become an important pro-fession among the women at various levels of the soci-ety both in urban and the rural areas as there is morescope to market their products easily well in the devel-oping market and market economy.

Women EmpowermentThrough Entrepreneurship

Dr.M.Julius CeasarDean of Arts,

St.Xavier’s College, Palayamkottai

Concept of women EntrepreneurshipWomen Entrepreneurship is the process where

women take lead and organize a business or industryand provide employment opportunities to others. Thoughwomen Entrepreneurship is a recent phenomenon inIndia which came into prominence in late 1970’s nowwe see that more and more women are venturing asentrepreneurs in all kinds of business and economicactivities and service sector.

Though earlier women concentrated much on tradi-tional activities due to the spread of education, favor-able government policies towards development of womenEntrepreneurship women have changed their attitudesand diverted towards nontraditional activities 100Definition of Women Entrepreneur

According to Government of India “An enterpriseowned and controlled by women having a minimum fi-nancial interest of 51 percent of the capital and giving atleast 51 percent of the employment generated by theEnterprise to women”

According to kamal singh “A women Entrepreneurcan be defined as a confident, innovative and creativewomen capable of achieving self economic independenceindividually or in collaboration, generates employmentopportunities for others through initiating, establishingand running the enterprise by keeping pace with herpersonal family and social life.PROBLEMS FACED BY WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS

Apart from the tacit assumption that women arefrail and indecisive, women entrepreneurs encountermany problems in their efforts to develop the enterprisesthey have established. The main problems faced by thewomen entrepreneurs may be analyzed as follows: Shortage of Finance: Women and small en-trepreneurs always suffer from inadequate financial re-sources and working capital. They are lacking access

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to external funds due to absence of tangible securityand credit in the market. Women do not generally haveproperty to their names. Owing to the lack of confidencein women’s ability, male members in the family do notlike to risk their capital in ventures run by women. Thecomplicated procedure of bank loans, the inordinatedelay in obtaining the loans and the running about in-volved determines many women from venturing. Womenentrepreneurs also face the problem of obtaining work-ing capital for financing day-to-day operations of theirenterprises. Banks discourage women borrowers be-lieving that they will leave their business and becomehousewives again. Women entrepreneurs rely often onpersonal savings and loans from family friends. Most ofthe women enterprises fail due to lack of financing. Inefficient Arrangements for Marketing andSale: For marketing their products/women entrepreneursare often at the mercy of the middlemen who pocketlarge chunk of profit. Although the middlemen exploitthe women entrepreneurs, the elimination of middlemenis difficult because it involves a lot of running about fur-ther. Women entrepreneurs find it difficult to capture themarket and make their product popular. This problem isall the more serious in the case of food production pro-cessing ventures. Shortage of Raw Materials: Women entre-preneurs find it difficult for procure raw materials andother necessary inputs. The failure of many women co-operatives in 1971 such as those engaged in basket-making was mainly due to the inadequate availability offorest-based raw mate-rials, the prices of many rawmaterials are quite high. Stiff competition Many of the women enter-prises have imperfect organizational setup. They haveto face severe competition from organized industries andmale entrepreneurs. For example, women cooperativesengaged in hand pounding rice in Kerala confrontedheavy competition from mechanized rice mills whichresulted in the liquidation of many units in the tradi-tional sector High Cost of Production: Another problem whichundermines the efficiency and restricts the developmentof women enterprises is the high cost of production.

Government assistance in the form of grants and subsi-dies to some extent enables them to tide over this diffi-culty. However, to ensure their ultimate survival, it isnecessary to increase efficiency, expand productivecapacity and thereby reduce the cost. Low Mobility: One of the biggest handicaps forwomen entrepreneurs is mobility or traveling from placeto place. Due to primary household responsibilities to-wards their family, their time gets divided between thetwo worlds. Women haven restricted timings for workdue to which, they are not in a position to travel fre-quently and be away for longer periods. Thus, their mo-bility is restricted. This also has an implication on busi-ness. Family Responsibilities: In India, it is mainly awomen’s duty to look after the children and other mem-bers of the family. Her involvement in family leaves littleenergy and time for business. Married women entrepre-neurs have to make a fine balance between businessand home. Their success in this regard also dependsupon supporting husband and family. Without the sup-port and approval of husband, the female entrepreneurscannot succeed. There arises a role conflict in manywomen entrepreneurs. Such conflict prevents them fromtaking prompt decisions in business. Social Attitudes: The biggest problem of awoman entrepreneur is the social attitude and the con-straints in which she has to live and work. Despite con-stitutional equality, there is discrimination againstwomen. In a tradition-bound society, women suffer frommale reservations about a woman’s role and capacity.i. Low Ability to Bear Risk: Women have compara-tively a low ability to bear economic and other risksbecause they have led a protected life.j. Lack of Education: In India literacy among women isvery low. Due to lack of education, majority of womenare unaware of technological developments, marketingknowledge etc. Lack of information and experience cre-ates further problems in the setting up and running ofbusiness enterprises.k. Low Need for Achievement: Need for achievement,independence and autonomy are the prerequisites forsuccess in entrepreneurship. But women are proud to

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bask in the glory of their parents, husbands, sons etc.Their preconceived notions about their role in life inhibitachievement and independence. In the absence of therequired urge to achieve few women succeed as entre-preneurs. In addition to the above problems, inadequateinfrastructure, shortage of power and technical know-how and other economic and social constraints haveretarded the growth of women entrepreneurship in India.REMEDIES TO SOLVE THE PROBLEMS OFWOMEN ENTREPRENEURSWomen are better half of the society. Without developingthe women, we cannot develop the society. So, it is theduty of all to find out the ways and means to solve theproblems of women entrepreneurs. Now we can discussthe remedies to solve the problems of women entrepreneurs.a. Finance Cells: In various public financial institutionsand banks special cells may be opened for providingeasy finance to women entrepreneurs. These cellsshould be manned by women officers and clerks. Ef-forts should be made to provide finance at the local level.Finance to women entrepreneurs may be provided atconcessional rates of interest and on easy repayment basis.b. Marketing Co-operatives: Encouragement and as-sistance should be provided to women entrepreneursfor setting up cooperatives. These cooperatives will poolthe inputs of women enterprises and sell them on remu-nerative prices. Such cooperatives will help to eliminatethe middlemen. Central and state governments shouldgive priority to women entrepreneurs while purchasingfor their requirement.c. Supply of Raw Materials: Scarce and imported rawmaterials may be made available to women entrepre-neurs on priority basis. A subsidy may also be given tomake the products manufactured by women entrepre-neurs cost competitive.d. Education and Awareness: Educating women isabsolutely essential in strengthening her personality.Education gives more awareness and confidence to thewomen. Educated women deliver brilliant result. It isalso necessary to change negative social attitudes to-wards women. Unless the social attitudes are madepositive not much progress can be made by womenentrepreneurs.

e. Training Facilities: Training and skills are essentialfor the development of entrepreneurship. Trainingschemes should be so designed that women can takefull advantage. Training facilities will attract more womento acquire skills and to become progressive women en-trepreneurs. Women have the potential and the will toestablish and manage enterprises of their own. Govern-ment and public enterprises should offer ancillary unitsto women entrepreneurs on priority basis. With the as-sistance of family members and the Government womencan join the main stream of national economy andthereby, contribute to the country’s economic progress.Factors Influencing Women Entrepreneurs

The following are the major factors influencingwomen entrepreneurs. Economic independence Establishing their own creativity Establishing their own identity Achievement of excellence Developing risk-taking ability Equal status in society Greater freedom and mobilityConclusionEquality in education is the key to meeting other re-quirements for a culture of peace. These include: fullrespect for the human rights of women; the release andutilization of women’s creative potential in all aspects oflife; power sharing and equal participation in decision-making by women and men; the reorientation of social.and economic policies to equalize opportunities andnew and more equitable patterns of gender relations pre-supposing a radical reform of social structures and pro-cesses. New and innovative tools in the technologicalrealm have allowed women business owners to suc-cessfully move forward on all these fronts more effi-ciently. The increasing trend developed among thewomen to be self-employed suggests that time is notfar away when women factor would also have an impor-tant role in the economic growth of the country. Pos-sessing the natural gift of politeness, women entrepre-neurs, and if provided the level ground, are expected tobring new milestones to this country.

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YOU MIGHT be listening to news, reading newspaper or magazine, youwould have gone through incidents and accidents with women in India. Whileany other article on women’s empowerment in India will take a look at our richheritage and enlightened societies of the past where women were treated asequals, the concept of “India” itself evolved quite recently, relative to the sum ofits parts’ histories. But the TRUTH is that in the modern India, the woman hasalways been a second grade citizen, no matter what its esteemed leaders havesaid or done.

It is hard to fathom how slow moving the cultural exchange of the world iswhen you find out that there are several places across the country where harm-ful customs of the ancient world coexist with modern appliances and thought.However that may come as hardly any surprise to anyone who has lived in India– the dichotomy of society is something that can only be explained by a refrainfrom an old Bollywood song: “It happens only in India!”

Yes, it is only in India that glaring and brutal gang rapes occur frequently ina state that is headed by a woman Chief Minister. Gender discrimination is theleast of worries for women in India, known otherwise as the fourth most danger-ous country in the world for women. Other instances of violence against womenhas an astonishing and grim variety to it – with acid throwing, domestic violencestemming out of dowry, rape, harassment and an assortment of others.WHAT IS WOMEN EMPOWERMENT?

In the simplest of words it is basically the creation of an environment wherewomen can make independent decisions on their personal development as wellas shine as equals in society.

Women want to be treated as equals so much so that if a woman rises tothe top of her field it should be a commonplace occurrence that draws nothingmore than a raised eyebrow at the gender. This can only happen if there is achannelized route for the empowerment of women.

Thus it is no real surprise that women empowerment in India is a hotlydiscussed topic with no real solution looming in the horizon except to doublyredouble our efforts and continue to target the sources of all the violence and ill-will towards women.

THESTORYOFINDIANWOMEN

Compiled and Edited byIniyan , National Full timer.

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A total of 2,44,270 incidents of crime againstwomen (both under IPC and SLL) were reportedin the country during the year 2012 as comparedto 2,28,650 in the year 2011 recording an increaseof 6.4% during the year 2012. These crimes havecontinuously increased during 2008 – 2012 with1,95,856 cases in the year 2008, 2,03,804 casesin 2009 and 2,13,585 cases in 2010 and 2,28,650cases in 2011 and 2,44,270 cases in the year2012. West Bengal with 7.5% share of country’sfemale population has accounted for nearly 12.7%

Sl No. Crime Head Year2006

Year2007

Year2008

Year2009

Year2010

Year2011

Year2012

PercentageVariationin

2012over2011

1 Rape (Sec.376 IPC) 19,348 20,737 21,467 21,397 22,172 24,206 24,923 3.0

2Kidnapping &

Abduction (Sec.363 to 373 IPC)

17,414 20,416 22,939 25,741 29,795 35,565 38,262 7.6

3Dowry Death

(Sec 302/304 IPC) 7,618 8,093 8,172 8,383 8,391 8,618 8,233 -4.5

4Torture

(Sec. 498-A IPC) 63,128 75,930 81,344 89,546 94,041 99,135 1,06,527 7.5

5Molestation

(Sec. 354 IPC) 36,617 38,734 40,413 38,711 40,613 42,968 45,351 5.5

6Sexual Harassment

(Sec. 509 IPC) 9,966 10,950 12,214 11,009 9,961 8,570 9,173 7.0

7

Importation ofGirls

(Sec. 366-B IPC)67 61 67 48 36 80 59 -26.3

8Sati Prevention

Act, 1987 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 -100.0

9Immoral

Traffic(Prevention)Act, 1956

4,541 3,568 2,5632,4352,4992,4742,659 5.3

10

Indecent Represen-tation of Women(Prohibition) Act,

19861,562 1,200 1,025 845 895 453 141 -68.9

11 Dowry ProhibitionAct, 1961 4,504 5,623 5,555 5,650 5,182 6,619 9,038 36.5

Total 1,64,765 1,85,312 1,95,856 2,03,804 2,13,585 2,28,650 2,44,270 6.8

CRIMESAGAINST WOMENThe crimes against women fly directly against orchestrating women empowerment in India. A report on the

crimes against women by the National Crime Records Bureau comes up with some alarming statistics:-

of total crime against women by reporting 30,942cases during the year 2012.

To understand what it is that drives suchcrimes against women is an essay on its own, ifnot a PhD thesis. There are a vast number of driv-ers for such behaviour in the Indian citizenry, butthere are some acute reasons that such behaviourcontinues despite the apparent movement to-wards civilisation.CHALLENGES

There are several challenges that are currentlyplaguing the issues of women’s rights in India. A

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few of these challenges are presented below.While a lot of these are redundant and quite basicissues faced across the country, these are con-tributory causes to the overarching status ofwomen in India. Targeting these issues will directlybenefit the empowerment of women in India.EDUCATION

While the country has grown from leaps andbounds since its independence where educationis concerned, the gap between women and menis severe. While 82.14% of adult men are edu-cated, only 65.46% of adult women are known tobe literate in India. Not only is an illiterate womenat the mercy of her husband or father, she alsodoes not know that this is not the way of life forwomen across the world. Additionally, the normsof culture that state that the man of the family isthe be-all and end-all of family decisions is slowlyspoiling the society of the country.

Data Source: Census of India 2011As said in a study conducted by the Centre for theStudy of Society and Secularism,In spite of the UN Charter of Human Rights andthe provisions of the Indian Constitution, women

continue to be victims of exploitation. The viewthat the future generation of a family is carried onand preserved by boys-only has degraded theposition of women in society. Similarly, it is no-ticed that majority of the women are lacking in thespirit of rebellion. If careful attention is not paidand major steps are not taken, the situation willbecome extremely critical.

Eradicating this gap and educating womenabout their real place in the world is a step that willlargely set this entire movement rolling down thehill to crash and break the wall of intolerance, neg-ligence and exploitation.POVERTY IN THE COUNTRY

Data Source: WikipediaAbout a third of the country’s population lives

on less than 1.25USD per day. The GINI indexkeeps rising slowly over the years, indicating thatthe inequality in the distribution of wealth in thecountry is increasing, currently hovering a littleclose to 33.9.

Poverty is considered the greatest threat topeace in the world, and eradication of povertyshould be a national goal as important as the eradi-cation of illiteracy. Due to abject poverty, womenare exploited as domestic helps and wives whoseincomes are usurped by the man of the house.Additionally, sex slaves are a direct outcome ofpoverty, as unearthed by Davinder Kumar:-

Andhra Pradesh accounts for nearly half of allsex trafficking cases in India, the majority involv-

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ing adolescent girls. According to police estimates,a shocking 300,000 women and girls have beentrafficked for exploitative sex work from AndhraPradesh; of these just 3,000 have been rescuedso far.

The state is relatively prosperous, rankingfourth in terms of per capita GDP in India, but it isalso home to some of the poorest people in thecountry.

If poverty were not a concern, then the girl childwill be able to follow her dreams without concernsof sexual exploitation, domestic abuse and no edu-cation or work.HEALTH & SAFETY

The health and safety concerns of women areparamount for the wellbeing of a country, and isan important factor in gauging the empowermentof women in a country. However there are alarm-ing concerns where maternal healthcare is con-cerned.

In its 2009 report, UNICEF came up withshocking figures on the status of new mothers inIndia. The maternal mortality report of India standsat 301 per 1000, with as many as 78,000 womenin India dying of childbirth complications in thatyear. Today, due to the burgeoning population ofthe country, that number is sure to have multipliedconsiderably. The main causes of maternal mor-tality are:- Haemorrhage: 30% Anaemia: 19% Sepsis: 16% Obstructed Labour: 10% Abortion: 8% Toxaemia: 8%

While there are several programmes that havebeen set into motion by the Government and sev-eral NGOs in the country, there is still a wide gapthat exists between those under protection andthose not.

Poverty and illiteracy add to these complica-tions with local quacks giving ineffective and down-right harmful remedies to problems that womenhave. The empowerment of women begins with aguarantee of their health and safety.ACTIONS TAKEN TO EMPOWER WOMENMILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOAL

The United Nations DevelopmentProgramme constituted eight Millennium Devel-opment Goals (MDG) for ensuring equity andpeace across the world. The third MDG isdirectly related to the empowerment of womenin India. The MDGs are agreed-upon goals toreduce certain indicators of disparity across theworld by the year 2015.

The third MDG is centred towards promotinggender equality and empowering women: “Elimi-nate gender disparity in primary and secondaryeducation, preferably by 2005, and in all levels ofeducation by no later than 2015”

While India’s progress in this front has beenbrave, there are quite a few corners that it needsto cut before it can be called as being truly revolu-tionary in its quest for understanding what iswomen empowerment. As UNDP says:-

India missed the 2005 deadline of eliminatinggender disparity in primary and secondary educa-tion. However, the country has hastened progressand the Gender Parity Index (GPI) for Gross En-rolment Ratios (GER) in primary and secondaryeducation has risen. Given current trends, India ismoderately or almost nearly on track. However,as the Government of India MDG Report 2009notes, “participation of women in employment anddecision-making remains far less than that of men,and the disparity is not likely to be eliminated by2015.” Achieving GPI in tertiary education also re-mains a challenge. In addition, the labour marketopenness to women in industry and services has

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only marginally increasedfrom 13-18 percent between1990-91 and 2004-05.

MINISTRY FORWOMEN & CHILD DEVEL-OPMENT

The Ministry for Women& Child Development was established as a de-partment of the Ministry of Human Resource De-velopment in the year 1985 to drive the holisticdevelopment of women and children in the coun-try. In 2006 this department was given the statusof a Ministry, with the powers to:-

Formulate plans, policies and programmes;enacts/ amends legislation, guiding and coordi-nating the efforts of both governmental and non-governmental organisations working in the field ofWomen and Child Development.

It delivers such initiatives such as the Inte-grated Child Development Services (ICDS) whichis a package of services such as supplementarynutrition, health check-ups and immunisation. Asmentioned earlier, the empowerment of womenbegins with their safety and health and this Minis-try is committed to providing them.Swayamsidha Programme

Additionally, the Ministry is also implementingthe Swayamsidha programme – an integratedscheme for the empowerment of women at a to-tal cost of Rs. 116.30 Crores. Core to thisprogramme will be the establishment of women’sself-help groups which will empower women tohave increased access to all kinds of resourcesthat they are denied, in addition to increasing theirawareness and skills. This programme will ben-efit about 9,30,000 women with the setting up of53,000 self-help groups, 26,500 village societiesand 650 block societies.National Commission for Women

The National Commission for Women is a De-

partment within the Ministry ofWomen and Child Develop-ment. It was set up exclusivelyto help women via the Consti-tution – by reviewing Legal andConstitutional safeguards forwomen, recommending reme-

dial legislative measures, by facilitating quickredressal of grievances and by advising the Gov-ernment of India on all policy matters affectingwomen.

The website allows for online submission ofcomplaints and fast redressal exclusively forwomen. Additionally it is also a good resource ofinformation for women and the Commission iscommitted to helping out women in need.THE ROAD AHEAD

India as a country is still recovering from yearsof abuse in the time of the Raj and more years ofeconomic suffering at the hands of the LicenseRaj. It is only now that globalisation, liberalisationand other socio-economic forces have given somerespite to a large proportion of the population. How-ever, there are still quite a few areas where womenempowerment in India is largely lacking.

To truly understand what is women empow-erment, there needs to be a sea-change in themind-set of the people in the country. Not just thewomen themselves, but the men have to wake upto a world that is moving towards equality and eq-uity. It is better that this is embraced earlier ratherthan later, for our own good.

Swami Vivekananda once said “arise awayand stop not until the goal is reached”. Thus ourcountry should thus be catapulted into the horizonof empowerment of women and revel in its glory.

We have a long way to go, but we will get theresomeday. We shall overcome.http://www.womenempowermentinindia.com/women-rights-in-india

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2 at Unteshwari along with the 44th annual feast, we were gettingready to invite you for this great event for we hear from your ownstudents and you yourself have told me many times that you as ascholastic spent your week end ministry in the midst of Kalol boys’boarding. To me you were one of the forerunners who paved theway for my future ministry. Somehow this kept you alive and youoften told me – “Remember Girish Bapu, before you, I was there!”Well, your liking for North Gujarat never got diminished. Somehowonce again you came back and from BSC Ahmedabad you wereconducting your programme in Danta and Vadgam, the civil NGregions! In spite of your physical disabilities you could move every-where in the South, Central and North Gujarat, namely Surat,Baroda, Vidhyanagar, Ahmedabad, Kalol, Danta, etc. and you movedeveryone of your contacts spiritually and socially to soul searchtheir inner and outer movements. Truly you were attuned to the lifeof converted Ignatius and you could draw inspirations from him toface the ‘challenged life’ as a Jesuit - Scholastic, Priest and SocialActivist! amDg!

What a joy for me to witness your priestly ordination in the cam-pus of Madurai St. Mary’s Cathedral on May 2nd 1982. I was a can-didate for Gujarat to attend the vocation camp. There I was glad tosee you getting ordained with your vibrant Gujarat companionsStanny Jebamalai and M.I.Raj. At one moment, at that time, I wasstunned to see you limping, yet with the firm footing! I saluted atthat moment only for the caring and understanding Society of Jesusand I wanted to belong to this Society which accepts all kinds of‘persons with disabilities’ with an unconditional motherly love! VivaMadre Compaña de Jesus! Today the mother Society is proud ofyou dear AMAL, for you were PURE true to your name and havemade a real difference in the Society to labour always for God andHis peoples without seeking for rest. Truly your strengths have overpowered your weaknesses! Thanks to your past Provincial’s rightdiscernment to accompany you till the end. Hence, Our option isvery clear Amal to accompany the marginalized, poor, weak andvikalang (disabled) as a life-long Mission! You so well experiencedthe spirit of the Society, in turn you, as a differently-abled, were atthe side of the disadvantaged and displaced! Thanks be to God!

In the Society, I always ad-mired you Amal for your charmand enthusiasm! Whenever andwherever we met, we met as lov-ing companions of Jesus. Agewas not barrier, for we both werebarrier-free in our interest for theMission in Gujarat. This was ourtalk when I met you along withFr. Jerry Sequeira, your caringRector, 10 months back in yourroom at Vidhyanagar. How can Iforget your encouraging words?How can I forget your humourousnature? How can I forget yourexpressed dreams for the Youthof the entire three Latin rite Dio-ceses of Gujarat?

Your external transparencyhas revealed your inner disposi-tion to be ever open to all at alltimes. Thanks for being a men-tor to serve the persons in need.Truly, like St. Paul, I could noticein you: When you were weak,you were strong Amal! Thanksfor your friendship and compan-ionship!

Looking forward to meet youone day at an appropriate time!

In Christ Jesus,Girish, SJUnteshwari – Kadi Note: AICUF is thankful to

FR.AMAL for his committed ser-vice as AICUF State Adviser

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INDIA is known for its culture, democratic values, geo-graphical features and rich diversity. It is a home to one ofthe oldest civilizations in the world. It is the land of manyreligions and languages. India enjoys rich cultural historyand has beautiful landscape and greenery that attract mil-lions of tourists around the year. India is a home to manyholiday resorts like Ooty, Kodaikanal, Shimla, Darjeeling,Kulumanali, etc. Millions of foreign tourists visit India’s ar-chitectural wonders at different places of historical impor-tance. Despite all these remarkable features India suffersfrom one serious defect, that is ‘cleanliness’. This puts usin a poor light.

India is already known as one of the filthiest and leastlivable country in the world. In a recent survey of the livingability index of 150 world cities, Delhi, Mumbai and otherIndian metros were all listed below 130, only ahead ofsome West African cities. Even though the river Ganges isconsidered to be a holy river, we could find that the river isswathed in gutter. The roads leading to the famous monu-ments like the Taj Mahal are an eyesore. Varnasi is filledwith tourists from different parts of the world throughoutthe year, but it is considered to be the most dirtiest city ofour country with no proper waste management. In simplewords, there is no difference between slums and metrocities.

It is indeed a pitiful situation for the tourists usingpublic toilets. We could find streets and roads, even met-ropolitan cities, strewn with litter. Stinking toilets and publicplaces are a common site. Worse is our foul smellingstate run hospitals and other public utility services. Andthat is why Prime Minister has embarked upon the idea of‘clean India for a better tomorrow’.

Cleanliness refers to the habit of being clean or keep-ing our things clean. It is both the ab-stract state of being clean that is freefrom dirt and achieving and maintainingthat state in all places as much as pos-sible. “Cleanliness may be defined tobe the emblem of purity of mind” saysJoseph Addison. As such it may refer toa) mental cleanliness and b) physicalcleanliness. A man who has bad habitsis far away from the civilization. With the

Clean India for a Better TomorrowChris Nehal

St.Joseph’s, Trichy

development in the civilization, man cleans his body. Healso cleans his mind, his heart, his actions, and man-ners. This will lead him to the highest form of the civiliza-tion. Both the types important because “cleanliness isindispensable to our modern notion of social perfection”according to Jacob Burckhardt.

Cleanliness is important for preventing illness andspread of communicable disease. We have a moral dutyof keeping ourselves and our homes clean. One has theresponsibility to keep his/her body and mind clean in allrespects. A man can be neglected because of his bad orfilthy ways. “Character must be kept bright as well as clean”says Lord Chesterfield. If a person cannot keep himselfclean, he is not trusted by others and people no longer liketo work with him It is quite hard to go long ways withoutcleanliness. Hygiene and Cleanliness should go hand inhand which is the better of the best.

A child should be taught about this great value of clean-liness from tender age onwards. This idea should be fur-ther nurtured by schools. “Better keep yourself clean andbright; you are the window through which you must see theworld” says George Bernard Shaw. Personal cleanlinessis keeping ourselves clean. By doing so, many diseasesand infections can be prevented. This involves the cleanli-ness of skin, hair, nails, teeth and clothes which is neces-sary. Cleanliness is half your health.

It is no secret that India has the largest number ofpeople defecating in open areas even when toilets areprovided which is the main reason for the spreading ofcommunicable diseases. Many people die due to unhy-gienic and unclean ways. The Government of India spendsa large amount of money on providing medical facilities asthe number of patients are increasing day by day. But thiscan be avoided if the people follow proper hygienic ways

and stay clean. By doing so, the amountspent on medical facilities can be re-duced which in turn can be used for thedevelopment of our country. Part of themoney thus saved could be utilized forproviding toilets and drinking water to mil-lions of children studying in improvisedschools.

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MAHATMA GANDHI is no doubt one of the greatest souls ever walked on this planet earth.

Gandhi touched the lives of people, worked towards the transformation of the society and organizedthe masses for a cause. The name Gandhi- inspired the multitudes then and inspires us today.I would love to share with you seven qualities that I admire in Gandhi.Honesty: When Gandhi was offered to copy in his early childhood, proved his mettle by plainlyrejecting it. This little incident tells us that, even at the early age, external image or opinion didn’tmatter him much. I believe his honesty was grounded on his strongly inbuilt convictions.Constructive use of anger: We are aware of the humiliation Gandhi went through in South Africa.It’s quite natural that he felt angry. But what I admire in him is the constructive use of that anger. Thehumiliating experience helped him to work systematically, against the societal injustice and oppression.Isn’t this a beautiful way of expressing one’s emotion?Visionary: If Gandhi succeeded in organizing people to fight against the mighty army of Englishmen,it’s because he could give them a clear vision - free nation. The fruit of the clarity of vision thatGandhi had, is experienced by us Indians today.Self knowledge: Gandhi did have his own struggles as a person. He knew that he was a fragilehuman. Amidst the active and vibrant life outside, he also learnt to harmonize his inner world. Thustoday it is not only what he did for India inspires us rather, Gandhi as a person.Innovative and creative: His methods were different. When the world thought of peace and liberty,through violence, Gandhi introduced non violent Satyagraha. What the bloody bullets couldn’tachieve, the nonviolent means of Gandhi did. His life was a journey of experiments and these tell usthat Gandhi was unique in his thinking.Man of Inner Silence: When the whole nation was rejoicing, at the independence, he spent time ina far way place alone. The praise, the slogans, the honour, did not matter him much. Freedomstruggle must have been an external journey for Indians, but for him it was a silent inner journeytowards Truth.Gandhi was spiritual: Gandhi dealt with the outer world with his rich innerresources. History tells us that, before he undertook any major decision, hewould spend days together in prayer and fasting to make sure that he hadachieved purity of intention devoid of any personal interest. This kepthim going without attaching himself to rewards.On the eve of Independence, on the Red Fort, Jawaharlal Nehrurecalled the dream of Gandhi, ‘....to wipe every tear from everyeye....and as long as there are tears, our work will not be over...’As we remember this noble soul, we are invited to continue the workof forming a humane and a just society. Let Gandhi – the man

of the millennium, inspire us.

MAHATMA –An InspirationRayan Lobo, SJ

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TRAVEL HELPS. Especiallyif one travels by the Indian Rail-ways! It helps you to learn manya lifetime lesson. If you are oneof those uninitiated or if you in-tend to travel by the Indian Rail-ways, a few points in your infor-mation kitty will be very helpful.These points are culled from sea-soned travellers who have hadexhilarating experiences as youwill learn soon.

I start with the senior citizen.If you intend to take a trip by theIndian Railways (IR), first of all,remember that you have to tickthe appropriate column on thereservation application slip toavail of the concession for seniorcitizens. For males, minimumage is 60 and, for females, it is58. Be it noted that ‘the IR doesnot believe in male-female equal-ity,’ as one traveller put it. Whenyou enter the compartment allot-ted to you, be prepared to be sat-isfied with the berth or seat near-est to the latrine. It is a commit-ment of the IR to senior citizensand a rewarding compliment be-cause the IR believes that theyare supposed to have a leakageproblem or polyuria at this ageor prostrate or diabetes mellitus

WELCOME TO THE INDIAN RAILWAYS!P.A.Chacko S. J.

Dumka, Jharkhand Email: chackoanthony827@gmail.com

or they are prone to diarrhoeawhich requires them to frequentthe latrine to empty their systemumpteen times. Such a conve-nient seat/berth is allocated toyou for another reason too. Be-cause you may have to run to thelatrine after consuming the foodsupplied in the train. But also re-member to carry some bucketsof water if you use water in thelatrine. In fact the IR will behappy if the passengers cooper-ate with the e-cleaning or drycleaning system introduced aspart of ‘Clean India’ Project. Itsaves water and protects youfrom water pollution, thanks tothe IR wisdom. Another hint: havesome cotton sprinkled with goodscent for your nostrils to help youto stonewall the perfumes ema-nating from the unclean latrines.And, remember to be a patientdoor closer of the air conditionedcompartment as the auto-hingemay have become much moresenile than you.

The matter of water facilitiesis applicable to a passenger ofany age. And, once you are in thelatrine, a notice will bump intoyou saying: Flush before and af-ter use. Actually, there is a spell-

ing mistake. What is meant is,‘Blush before and after use.’ Infact, some clever Johnny did agood turn, gratis, by correctingflush into blush. What he meantwas: it will make you blush if youare not prepared with your ownwater reserve. In case you can-not carry all that water neededfor your ablutions, the IR comesto your aid by arranging the sup-ply of mineral water at a verycheap rate, ranging from Rs.15/- to Rs.20/- per litre, dependingon the sources supplied from.Since the Mom (Mars Mission) issuccessful, we shall be supply-ing water to the railways by si-phon system. You may haveenough reason to get blushedalso because you may noticesome Khajuraho sketch art,gratis, by some sex-starvedprowling youngsters who mayhave scribbled also some mobilenumbers to reassure you thatthey are genuine. Ordinary tapwater is also available as bottledstuff for Rs.5 or so. This is to en-courage the unemployed to pickup a trade.

If you are travelling bysleeper coach, have a good re-serve of skill in martial arts to

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push your way to yourallotted berth. The IRTime Table remindsyou that ‘Martial Artswere first created inIndia, and later spreadto Asia by Buddhistmissionaries.’ Keralacan help you inKalaripayattu. Your seat or berthwill be already occupied. Ask theinvaders politely if you also canbe adjusted beside them be-cause you have that seat re-served. If they object, do notwaste your time looking for theTT because, in most cases, youwill not get one. If you happen tospot one, he may even tell you: ‘Ican’t help. Try to adjust.’ If youask him for a complaint book, hewill tell you to contact the TrainGuard. You may have to run fromone end of the train to the otherand get back in frustration.Sometimes you may spot a no-tice marked: Complaint book isavailable with the Guard.’ But, insome cases, you will see thenotice thus: The Guard has a............ book. If any complaint,please call for it. The word com-plaint may be missing. The Tilakexpress, Tr.no.15648, runningfrom Guwahati to Mumbai, dis-plays one such message with-out the word complaint on thedoor of an ac compartment.

As for the latrines in sleepercoach or in the general compart-ment, you will need all martialskills to reach there. You mayfind the stuffed with the luggageof unreserved passengers. Thewater taps usually take a holidayby going dry. A lady traveller hadto buy bottled water for her wash-ing needs. It is not uncommonfor passengers to buy bottledwater for toilet needs. So be pre-pared to face any eventuality.

You can be woken up by thechaiwalla at midnight hour topresent you with a hot cup of tea.If you are travelling in air-condi-tioned compartments, carry amouse trap. You will haveenough fun trapping rodents. Thetraps, which are available in themarket, are ‘Make in India’ prod-ucts and are too clumsy to carryaround. But be patient, thecheaper variety of pocketsizetablettraps, affordable, foldableand stretchable, equipped withtintillating music to entice ro-dents, will soon be arriving from

Mainland China aswe have outsourcedtheir supply viaSiachen. In case ro-dents and cock-roaches have funcreeping over you,just imagine that youare the hero or hero-

ine in a Hollywood animationmovie.

Intending to travel in an accoach? Remember this: to relaxin the cool atmosphere of the accoach you will need bed spreadsand blankets. Carry your own be-cause in the bed sheet folds youmay find some alien stuff like longpieces of hair as Ms. Julie gotwhile travelling by Cochin Patna.Public-Private Partnership is notonly in the air but it is here in re-ality. In the blanket fold you mayfind spittle of some pan orkhainieaters or TB patients aspassengers are not supplied withspittoons in the compartmentsfrom the Railways. Having spit-toon facility is the prerogative ofonly Mr.Laloo Prasad! It is use-less to complaint that you getunwashed bed sheets, recycledvia neatly folding, or blankets withunhygienic items in their folds.Their supply is outsourced. Re-member we are in the world ofPPP. If you have to complain,complain to the company and it

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will send its musclemen to sortit out with you amicably.

Do not look for a railway doc-tor in the train. Some passen-gers are expected to be doctors.In case you find one, he or shemay advise you to exit at the nextstation to be admitted to theemergency ward of the nearestmedical college. It is advisableto carry your own portable medi-cine kit or have your own doctorwith you imagining that you arethe railway minister. Yet anotherchoice: send a quick SMS to YogRishi Swami Ramdev who willprescribe some appropriate e-yoga such as pranyamaorshavasana as the case may be.

For compartment cleaning,child labour is preferred becausethe IR believes that the poor kidsneed to earn something to addto the daily collection of the toutswho employ them in the trains. Itis part of ‘Clean India’ project.

If you are a young male, youwill be happy to be entertainedor tickled by those clapping visi-tors just for a ten rupee note.Senior citizens need not feel jeal-ous about it and should be pre-pared to suffer in silence thesneering look of those clappingvisitors.

If you are a tatkalseeker, donot worry as there are manytouts who will easily help you to

get one. They are well placed tohave the right connections. It isPPP all the way. If you need tobook your luggage in the luggageroom at the station, be happy tohave your luggage returned laterwith bullet holes, like a Kargilmartyr’s body, because everyluggage booking room has a bat-talion of rodents to tackle anyborder issue. If you intend tocarry food items in your luggage,make sure to carry some extrafor the Railway rodents who lookafter the safety of your luggagein the compartment.

Be patient. Do not look forescalators or trolleys at railwaystations. Railway stations are notairports. However, we are plan-ning to outsource the supply ofescalators from American com-panies which are working in col-laboration with our NRIs. LalooPrasad is volunteering to makea master plan, without cuts, topropose a project in this matter.

Remember you are travel-ling by the Indian Railways in In-dia and not by Thai sky train inBangkok. However, bullet trainsare planned and the first trial runbetween Siachen and Kargil willtake place in the year 2019. Ifsuccessful, it will be introducedin every village, town and city.And something more exciting iscoming. Following the success-

ful launch of our Mangalyaan,there will be an Inter-Planet Ex-press service connecting NewDelhi and all State Capitals withMarsh Island on the Red Planetfrom the year 2040. Early birdcatches the prey. Hence, earlybooking will attract ten percentdiscount. Senior citizens will begiven a one way ticket with 60%discount. A senior citizens’ Para-dise Resort will be establishedthere in collaboration with theTatas. Those senior citizens,who will have completed travel-ling a distance of one lakhkilometres by train, will be offeredfree pass to the Paradise Resort.Services like Tata sky, Tata solarservice, Tata Servicing Parlours,Tata Sumo, Tata Hot Water Gen-eration System, Tata Salt, TataTea, etc. will be available therewith Swiss technology. Yog RishiSwami Ramdev and SwamiNityanand will have a combined5000 acre Yoga Resort Centreon Marsh Island with e-yoga ani-mation facilities meant exclu-sively for NRIs.

Thus, the services of theIR are pitted to be exhilaratingand rewarding.

For more useful information,please visit:www.indianrailway.gov.in

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Visit to Old Age HomeOn 27 August 2014, 37 AICUFers assembled at AICUF room,

St. Joseph’s College. P V Joseph Buan Sing, President of AICUFSt. Joseph’s College, gave them a brief introduction about the peopleliving in old age home. After the introduction, Florit A. Shimray & P VJoseph, taught a few action songs to the AICUFers. After learningsongs, the AICUFers then marched on foot to the old age home.They interacted with the in-mates and learnedthe wisdom of the oldpeople. They alsosaw and heard theproblems faced bythe elderly people.This has increasedthe AICUFers’ love andcare for the elderly people. Dur-ing the meals, the AICUFersserved them food and then theysang some action songs while theywere eating. After their meals, theAICUFers assembled and had a shortsharing of their experiences. It was ended with a prayer and allreturned home with a deep sense of joy and gratitude in their hearts.Talk on Environment

On 30th August 2014, 27 AICUFers of St. Joseph’s College, at-tended a talk by Dr. Vandana Shiva, a well-known environmentalist.She challenged the audience to be “true stewards of the creation.”Her inspirational talk inspired the AICUFers to be the care-takers ofthe environment. The talk was organized by the Department ofSocial Work students of St. Joseph’s College, Bangalore. Therewere many students and staff from different colleges of the citywho attended the talk.

KARNATAKA AICUF REPORTSt. Joseph’s College, Bangalore

P V Joseph Buan SingAICUF President

St. Joseph’s College, Bangalore

Rally to Revoke Cr PC 144On 6 th September 2014,

more than 65 AICUFers of SJCjoined the rally organized by theNaga Students Union, Bangaloreon 6th September 2014 at TownHall, Bangalore. The rally was toprotest the recent killing that tookplace in Ukhrul Town, on 30thAugust 2014 and to ask the gov-ernment to revoke Cr PC 144from Ukhrul town.Bangalore Blind Walk

It was an event to createawareness about the dailystruggle of those who have tonavigate without a vision. It wasorganized by the Project VisionMore from MG Road toBalBhavan on the Cubbon Parkpremises.

Forty four AICUFers of St.Joseph’s College joined thegroup of more than 600 partici-pants in the event. The partici-pants were divided into groups.Each group was led by a visu-ally challenged person and fol-lowed by six or seven partici-pants and a volunteer to instructthe group.

NoleZonu Sophie, anAICUFer said, “More than everbefore, I came to know the im-

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portance of my eyesight. This event has opened my eyes to knowthe daily struggles faced by our sisters and brothers who are visu-ally challenged.” It was on 24th August 2014 that the First Banga-lore Walk was organized.‘Black Sunday’ observed to offer solidarity for Christians in Iraq

A protest rally was held on September 14, 2014 from St Patrick’sChurch on Brigade Road at 2:30 p.m. to the St Joseph’s IndianSchool ground at Vittal Malaya road. The day was observed as ‘BlackSunday’ to express solidarity with the persecuted Christians andother minorities in Iraq, Syria and some African countries.

More than 300 AICUFers from different units of Bangalore ac-tively participated in the rally. It was organized under the joint ban-ner of the All Karnataka United ChristiansForum for Human Rights (AKUCFHR) andthe Federation of Karnataka Catholics andChristians Associations (FKCCA).AICUFers Blind Walk

On 17th September 2014, the AICUFof St. Joseph’s College, organized“AICUFers Blind Walk.” This event washeld to bring about a social change amongthe students and create awareness andsupport the cause of eye donation. Morethan 130 students participated. They wereled by six visually challenged of the col-lege itself. They walked from the quad-rangle across the college and returned tothe quadrangle. After the walk, two of thevisually challenged students sang andplayed keyboard. N. Shreyas, (I Yr BA), avisually challenged AICUFer, said, “At St.Joseph’s College nobody is isolated, we are one family, we don’twant sympathy rather we want empathy from people.”

Fr. Brian Pereira SJ, Rector of the college and AICUF KarnatakaState Advisor, showed solidarity with the cause and shared howdifferent he felt about such events that happen on the campus andthat this experience inspires the students grow for the better.Being With Differently Abled Children

On 19th September 2014, the AICUFers of St. Joseph’s Col-lege, invited 17 differently abled children from Baldwin Opportunity

School, Richmond Road, to thecollege. In Loyola hall, they hadan interactive programme for thechildren with various games andaction songs for them.Cancer AwarenessProgramme

On 26th September 2014, ateam of medical experts fromCancer Care Foundation, orga-nized cancer awarenessprogramme in Xavier hall, St.

Joseph’s College. There were 78AICUFers. The programme im-parted the causes and effects ofcancer. It also included remedialsteps to prevent it. The AICUFerswere truly enlightened by theprogramme and determined tobe messengers of creatingawareness on cancer.

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WE STARTED the leadership program with a medi-tation and relaxation session conducted by our NationalFull-Timer Iniyan Roy. We broke for breakfast which wasthen followed by an ice-breaking session where weplayed the game Peoples Bingo to get to know oneanother. By the end of the ice-breaking session Meghnafrom Patna managed to name all the participants alongwith Rhea and Crislin. We then had the formal inaugu-ration of the camp which began by the lighting of thelamp. The lamp was lit by Fr. S. Emmanuel (NationalAdvisor), Prof G John (National Animator), CrislinRozario(National Convenor), Larissa Vas (NWC Convenor),Prince (NDC Convenor) and Mayur (Representative ofthe participants). Fr. Emmanuel then, formally declaredthe National Leadership Program open. He spoke aboutthe AICUF Legacy and history and its affiliation to theInternational Movement Pax-Romana.

Dr. Gladston, H.O.D of Social Work from LoyolaCollege, Chennai gave the inaugural address on Lead-ership. It was a pace setting session where he explainedleadership through group activities and interactive ses-sions. We learned adaptability, risk taking ability, con-structive criticism and creating and utilizing opportunitythrough the session. We then had a short break afterwhich DrGladston continued his leadership session. Hespoke about Cadre Training and how we as leaders needto be change makers, self-driven and motivated. He thengave us a small exercise by asking us to reflect onthree questions :1) What do you want to change in society?2) Why do you want to change?3) What will I do to change it?Dr.Gladston was then felicitated by Prince (NDCConvenor).

The National Team Members divided the participantsinto five groups to facilitate inter- state interaction. Nextsession was conducted by Fr Emmanuel our National

AICUFNATIONAL LEADERSHIP PROGRAM 2014

Advisor on the topic “Maximize Your Personality”. Hespoke about the qualities of leadership, communicationskills, knowledge skill and competency, turning theweakness into strength, learning from experience, pri-oritizing your work and communicative competence.

We then broke for lunch after which Prof G Johnour National Animator explained about The Rally whichis the mouth piece of AICUF and motivated the studentsto read, write and subscribe to The Rally.

Fr. S. Emmanuel then took a session on the im-portance of reading the newspaper, the importance ofkeeping ourself updated by reading the newspaper andalso how to critically process the information given outby the print media. Prof.John then conducted a groupactivity where he divided the participants into four groups.Through this activity he explained the need for trust,morality and the importance of ethics in the life of theleaders. He then spoke about The Rally and gave outthe theme for this month which is- “Women And ChildRights”.

The next session was on organizing skills whichwas conducted by John Sir where the five groups weregiven five different situations which they had to plan indetail and present at the end of half an hour. The topicsgiven were1) Organization of a Seminar2) Event Management3) Presentation of a welcome address and vote of

thanks4) Master of Ceremony5) How to conduct a indoor and outdoor camp.

After tea break the presentation of the groups wasmoderated by Prof.John and Fr Emmanuel throughquestioning and interaction. They explained the impor-tance of planning the minutest details and divided theplanning into three sections of state, people and things.

We then had a short break and then the AICUF

28.10.2014 – 30.10.14

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Karnataka Team led the participants in a fun action songToe Knee Chest Nut that helped in energizing the stu-dents. Fr Emmanuel then continued DrGladstons lead-ership session. He spoke of styles of leadership likeautocratic, democratic and delegative. He also spokeof trust and confidence and effective communication asbeing the two most effective keys to leadership. He con-tinued with principles of leadership and the attributes ofleadership. Fr also spoke of the process of becoming agreat leader and the seven ways of decision making.This was an effective theoretical session where partici-pants were trained in becoming a effective leader.

We then broke for dinner after which Amal from StPatrician College sang antamil awareness song and thenthe AICUF Karnataka team led the participants in anaction song Rise and Shine. This was then followed bythe screening of a documentary on Nelson Mandela calledLeader for Peace. We ended the day with an evaluationsession where the students put forth their suggestionsand critically reviewed the whole day. Grace fromMaharashtra mentioned that she liked the food providedwhile Deekshith from Karnataka liked the group activityand session and Vivek from Maharashtra likedDr.Gladstons leadership session and John Sirs discus-sion about The Rally. John Sir congratulated the NTs forgood time management and appreciated the participantsfor good discipline. Azil from Kerala suggested that thereshould be more games. The MC for the day was Gracefrom Maharashtra and the report was written by Rheafrom Maharashtra and Meghna from Patna and editedby the NT Members.

Day 2 started at 06:00 am when all the AICUFerswoke up from a great slumber. At 07:00 am, all of usassembled in the Seminar Hall. All of us experiencedGod’s presence through a spiritual session conductedby our National Advisor – Fr. Emmanuel, where we hadpraise and worship. Thereafter at 08:00 am we fresh-ened up for breakfast and coffee.

At 09:00 am, we prepared ourselves for the firstsession on Indian Social Reality conducted by Fr. LouisA. SJ – Director of AICUF house. Fr. Louis explained tous the realities of Indian society through various casestudies that revolved around 3 aspects: a) Caste Sys-

tem, b) Corruption and c) Communalism. He said, “In-dia is not poor and still has resources.” Through hispresentation he emphasized on the statistics that provedthat various social ills like poverty, discrimination, ha-tred, illetracy still affect the poorer sections of societyespecially the marginalized groups who are continuouslyfaced with oppression. He briefly described about eachof the 3 concepts explaining to the AICUFers about theexisting deep-rooted caste system that creates discrimi-nation, its hierarchical nature – also mentioning notablesociologist G.S Ghurye; about the ever-growing prob-lem of corruption – that it still exists today in rural andurban areas and challenging AICUFers by this ques-tion: “Can AICUFers say NO to bribes” and also theincrease in communalism in various states giving ex-amples of the various riots that took place. At the endof the session, Koshy had Crislin (National Team Mem-ber of Maharashtra) felicitate Fr. Louis with a token ofappreciation

From 10:00 to 11:00, we had another session basedon ‘Women Leadership’ by Prof. Renita Aloysius LoyolaCollege, Chennai. Through her short, yet interactivegame, she effectively brought out the qualities of a youngwoman leader. She explained to us about the SWOT(Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats)analysis and PLOT (Potential, Limitations, Opportuni-ties and Threats) analysis giving prominent examplesof women leaders in today’s society. It was indeed aproductive and informative session. After the session,Larissa Vas, the National Women’s Commissioner(NWC) convener felicitated Prof. Renita by giving her atoken of appreciation. We had a short tea break there-after.

By 11:15, we gathered for a session by Fr. HenryJerome – International Chaplain of IMCS where Fr. Henrybriefly explained the importance of basic human funda-mental rights and duties. He conducted an interactivesession that made us aware of the Universal Declara-tion of Human Rights (UDHR) through discussions, ob-servations, reflections and our important role asAICUFers – as leaders in society.

After the session on Human Rights, we all gath-ered in front of AICUF house for a group photograph.

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At around 01:00, we gathered in the dining room forlunch break.

After lunch, at around 02:00, we gathered in groupsof 7 for an exposure visit and analysis to the variousslums across the city. A National Team (NT) memberand an LOC member that helped in translation and com-munication accompanied the AICUFers. This exposurevisit aimed at observing the realities of Indian societythrough study and critical analysis of the environmentand the interactions of the slum dwellers. Many of theAICUFers got the opportunity to experience this realitythat these slum dwellers face today. Witnessing poorhealth conditions to poverty and poor economic status,from little or no food sources to no proper sanitation andhealthcare facilities, these groups were the poorest ofthe poor in the society. The exposure visit was till 04:30pm

By 05:00, all of the groups returned to Loyola Col-lege after which we gathered for a hot cup of Tea andrefreshments.

After the tea break, at around 05:30, we had formalpresentations of our observations during the exposurevisit. This was in the form of interactive methods thatthe groups put up in the form of charts documentingtheir observations throughout the whole exposure visit.The reports that the groups made (of 5 mins each) andthe pictures that they clicked really captured the es-sence of what the poor and the marginalized groupsexperience and face today. It was a great learning ex-perience for all the AICUFers as well as for the NationalTeam. The presentations from the various groups wenton till 06:30.

At around 06:30, we had a short documentary thatportrayed the true Indian reality of divide among soci-ety. The documentary made us aware of the gap thatexists between the rich and the poor. This was accom-panied with reflections from multiple groups after whichFr. Emmanuel enlightened us through his experienceswith the rich and the poor. The session went on till08:00.

At 08:00 sharp, we all gathered in the dining hall fordinner. Dinner was till 09:00 pm.

After dinner, all of the groups were given the task ofperforming for cultural night through the knowledge theyhad gained throughout the whole day by way of ses-sions, group discussions and the exposure visits. Ataround 09:45, the cultural program commenced wheremany of the groups performed on various social themessuch as women leadership, dignity of a human being,and the plight of the common man in the hands of MNCs.The cultural program was indeed pleasant and a memo-rable one, as groups also performed through singing,dancing and solo performances. The cultural programwent till midnight.

Day 02 of the AICUF leadership camp ended withmixed feelings of joy and of sadness, of happinessamongst all the AICUFers.

We started day 3 of the program directly with break-fast that energized all of us to pursue the final day ofleadership training with enthusiasm. After breakfast, Fr.Emmanuel continued the session conducted by Dr.Gladston on Day 1. He spoke more of the theoreticalaspects of leadership that we needed to keep in mind.We then had a short break following which we had asession on Hindutva conducted by Fr. Kumar. He startedoff by explaining the word communalism and then wenton to critically analyze Hindutva, its roots and its mani-festations in the current political and social scenario inIndia through the RSS and the BJP and such other or-ganizations. The session taught us again to be criticalwhile reading and how not to take things just at facevalue. After this session, we had a session by Prof.John on the ideology, vision and mission of AICUF. Afterthe training in leadership this session explained to ushow to AICUF leaders, to lead in the AICUF way andhow to take this movement forward and create studentleaders. It was a perfect closing session to the threeday program. Fr. Emmanuel then celebrated mass whichwas combined with English, Konkani, Hindi, Tamil andGuajarati hymns. We then formed one circle represent-ing the AICUF family and sang the traditional AICUFsong “We shall overcome” in multiple languages thatshowed our diversity of place and language and yet unitedus in the movement. Fr. Emmanuel then officially de-clared the leadership training program closed. We then

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broke for lunch afterwhich the participantswere taken to theDocumentation Centreto see the wonderfulresource that AICUFhas built over theyears.

The three day pro-gram was an invaluablecourse on every singleaspect of leadershipmixed with hardcoresessions, cultural pro-gram, dose of fun andlaughter, action songsand great resourcepeople that we had theprivilege of interactingwith. We went in asleaders from our statesbut we were refined,polished and trained tobe national leaders andsocial change-makerswho would not leave theunjust society just theway it was. We all leftthe program with a de-termination to changewhat we could and liveby our motto.

STILL A LONG WAY TO GO

Ajith Kumar, II BSc Comp Sci,Loyola College.

WE TALK much about discrimination and untouchablity. I have heard of such inci-dents but this time I witnessed it. Let me share with you my experience. It was a brightmorning and I was going to college as usual. I boarded the public bus which will takeme to my college ….

I got into the bus and I got a place to sit next to a window. I have the habit ofobserving others in the bus and also on the road side. I saw that a seat was empty inthe bus but no one was sitting over there; but people were standing and waiting for aseat. When there was an empty seat why were they not ready to sit in that seat? It wasvery strange especially in a MTC bus in Chennai. I saw a woman sitting alone in thatseat and people refused to sit beside her. I got up and went to that seat and sat next toher and I found that that woman was a leprosy patient and she was stinking too. So thiswas the reason for the people not to sit next to her and the seat was empty.

I started a conversation with her and asked her where she was going. But insteadof replying she asked me WHY ARE YOU SITTING NEXT TO ME????” I thought that Ihad done a mistake and asked her why and she said “Everyone hates me; No one sitswith me; Everyone treats me like an alien; why are you talking with me?” I wasdumbstruck. I asked about herself and she told me her name and she was 21 years old.I asked where she was going now and she said that she had taken a ticket for the laststop of the bus route and I asked if she stays there. She said that she left her home andboarded this bus. I was shocked. She said she did not know where to go and that shewill die soon

I told her not to worry as she will be alright soon and told her that I will find a leprosyhome where she can go and be treated for her leprosy. She refused to listen and saidthat she does not need a life where the society, family, friends and the public separateus, ill-treat us. She wanted a new life and kept saying I will die soon. I was in tears. Itried to console her but what moved me was when she said “I won’t forget you thambi(brother). You had the courtesy to talk to me considering me as also a human.” I founda smile on her face.

I said I will meet you again soon healthy sister. She thanked me and was askingmy details and finally said “IF YOU SEE ANYONE LIKE ME, JUST TALK TO THEM.THEY WILL BE HAPPY FROM HEART AND WILL BLESS U.”

She blessed me and I had to get down at my stop because I had no other go thangetting down as I had my semester exam. I wish I would see her again.

And now my questions:· Is our society really lost its heart in electronic devices or have hearts became

hard as a stone?· Why are they ostracized by their family and the society?· Every text book has the saying “Untouchablity is a CRIME”. Are they just mere

words?

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STARTED as an initiative to prepare young people forthe World Youth Day celebrations through prayer, activitiesand sharing; MAGIS has over the years become a move-ment of young adults committed to living faith actively, toprayer, sharing and social justice. MAGIS 2014 held at St.Joseph’s College, Banga-lore from 1st- 4th November was a gathering of about 700young people from all over India to share this experience,not just as a camp but as a life altering moment. The themefor Magis2014 was “A FIRE THAT KINDLES OTHER FIRE”.The theme was chosen as a hope that we may light the firewithin others, so that we may help put our lives into orderand to achieve a spiritual balance which enables us to befree to choose what is more conducive to our praise, rever-ence, and service of God. This gathering of the Ignatian Family of Youth andYouth Animators commenced with the Holy Mass with MostReverend Fr.Bernard Moras, the Archbishop of Bangaloreas the main celebrant. Day one continued with numerousice-breaking sessions organised by Fr.Brian. The crowdwas divided into groups for further activities and group dy-namics were held to allow the MAGIS participants to get toknow each other better. MAGIS 2014 also saw praise andworship led by Praisim and Group who had sung the MAGIStheme song for this year “It’s a beautiful day”. Fr. Divya Paul,a dynamic speaker held a session on Christian Leader-ship and the opportunities, challenges one faces whiletrying to follow the path of our Lord Jesus Christ. Adorationof the Blessed Sacrament was led by Fr.Paul Kallan andthe participants were given the chance of reconciliation withpenitential service held by the different priests. Various col-leges that were participating in MAGIS also performed inthe cultural program held in the evening which includedperformances from the Gospel Addicts and the Indian Danceteam of the host college. The second day started with the holy mass and atalk by Fr.George Kannadanam, who is associated withProject Vision, an NGO that is working round the clock toencourage people to donate their eyes so that another mayget a chance to see the world. Following the principle of“Let everyone see”,he spoke extensively on the plight of theblind people who are treated as a burden and the hard-ships they have to undergo. Trying to understand the per-spective of the blind, the participants took part in a BlindWalk from Richmond Road to the St.Joseph’s Indian Highschool. For most it was a surreal experience as they werehindered by their lack of sight and couldn’t believe they hadwalked blindfolded. The MAGIS family got an opportunity tohear Akai, a transgender who was honoured by the Presi-dent of India to attend the swearing-in ceremony of the newChief Justice of the Supreme Court. Akai, who was born asa man but identifies herself as a woman spoke about theharsh conditions in which the LGBTQ community survives.Considered unnatural, they face persecution at the hand of

Rahul PaisReport on MAGIS 2014

the society who either mock and ridicule them or turn themas sex objects for their pleasure. Akai begged the audi-ence to atleast let them be, to give them a fair chance tochoose whom they love and to work. Condemning the dra-conian law of Section 377, Akai asked the people to con-sider them humans, fellow creations of God in a societywhere they are considered criminals. After having takenthe Group pictures in front of Vidhana Soudha, the groupsdispersed to different parts of the city for the Human Rightscampaign which sought to raise the level of conscious-ness of the people on various issues such as those againstchild labour, sexual harassment, Pollution, etc. Later thatday, Mr.John Devraj screened a documentary directed byhim on manual scavenging “Angels of Hell”. Accompaniedby the children of Born Free Art School, Mr.Devrajendeavours to bring back the numerous homeless streetchildren back to school so that many more child liberatorswould be created. Mesmerized by the talents oozing out ofthem, the Born Free Art School received a standing ovationfor their efforts. On the third day, the crowd assembled for morn-ing meditation and prayer service. The groups went fortheir Magis experience to various places which includedOld age homes, orphanages, mental institutions, cancerhospital, etc. Some groups were even asked to interviewthe citizens of Bangalore and the beggars. This was anopportunity for the Magis participants to interact directlywith the different elements that make up our society. Magisis about deliberating on what to choose so that we maycontribute our love and service for the better of the society.The Magis experience was an eye opener for most as welistened to the discarded and the oppressed. For us whoenjoy comfortable positions in the society, it becomes ourmoral responsibility that we work towards the upliftment ofthese sections of the community. Games were organisedby the Ignitors, where the participants played as groupsand relied on their coordination and cooperation. Duringthe campfire, the groups released fire paper lanterns intothe sky to reaffirm their pledge of acting as agents of changefor the better. Just as the fire lanterns spread their light, sowould the Magis participants spread unity and harmonythrough service. The last day was about recollection of the expe-riences of the different groups through power point pre-sentations, dance, drama, etc. The groups shared theirfeelings on the whole MAGIS 2014 experience and thepledges they have taken. The Magis Circle was alsoorganised where the members of the group wrote abouteach other in cards to have everlasting memories of these4 days. The experience came to a close with the Magisdocumentary being screened. It may have been just fourdays, but Magis was the start of a journey, our journey intothe wide world to continue the work of our Lord.

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Dr. G. JohnNational Animator

ACTALYLST is actuallyl a deliberate spellilng mistake of ‘CATALYST’. It just invites usto ‘act as catalyst’. These stories could be of great use for uniting the units in focus

IN GIVING we receive. Many may consider ‘giving’ aslosing, but the fact is that giving is getting or gaining. Aresearch conducted in the States by Harvard with 30,000American families concludes that for every dollar theygave the giving-family earned $4 more. The study alsoprecludes that people who have more are able to givemore.It is an attitude with multiplier effect

The most successful people, be it in business orelsewhere, have this attitude of ‘giving without expect-ing’ ingrained in their personality. Oftentimes times theygive without even asked for. This attitude stems fromthe mind. There are evidences to suggest that givingmakes people happy- both the giver and the receiver.This happiness translates into success for the individual,business and institutions. Business houses and insti-tutions that understand this virtue will be very success-ful. It is said “if you want to have a productive business,if you want to be a productive person, work on yourhappiness. Happy people show up for work more, theywork longer hours, they work joyfully, they’re happierwith every aspect of their productive lives. Happiness isthe secret to success, and if that’s true, here’s the an-swer.”Can we give selflessly?

Some say ‘yes’ and others say ‘no’. Both seem to

The most successful people have the attitude of ‘giving’ ingrained in their personality.People with this attitude never feel shy of asking for anything when they are in need.They are able to get easily what they want. They are more approachable, friendly andwarm towards the needs of others. They are very successful in life and relationship.They are the people who are happier than others. That which you give today will comeback to you, manifold, at the most appropriate time.

GIVING IS GETTING !

be logical to me. What does ‘selfless giving’ mean? Is itlike giving without expecting? Is it giving just for thesake of giving? Don’t you expect anything while giving?There is no ‘giving’ without ‘getting’. There is alwaysquid pro quo- something in return. Even in selfless giv-ing there is something in return. It gives you happinessand joy. In general, we should not expect anything inreturn while giving, for it to be meaningful. That is realgiving.

We should not get anything in return. But when itgives you happiness and joy, can you just reject it. Canyou just avoid the feeling that ‘I have given something tosomeone’? We can never escape the joy and innerfeelings associated with giving. Is it the purpose thatmotivated you to give?

When you give a gift, for instance a birthday gift, itmakes her/him very happy. And in turn, you becomehappy. The moment you become happy, the reciprocityis over. Your have received your ‘quid pro quo’. Thatmeans there can be no giving without the receiver re-ceiving something in return. Then how can we call some-thing as ‘selfless giving’?

We must so condition our minds to let go off thefeeling of ever expecting to get anything in return, di-rectly or directly. The very thought of ‘being a giver’ andenjoying its aftermath feeling nullifies the act of true

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giving. But it is easier said than done. You have to be inthe highest realm of self realization and self actualiza-tion. It requires purity of heart, purity of intention andpurity of mind.

Buddha says “If you light a lamp for someone elseit will also brighten your path.” Is the lighting of the path,in the first instance, the real motive or the expectantresult of that action – the real motive? Which one is thecause and which one is the result? Whether the ‘result-ant consequence’ drives your act of ‘giving’, like ourpoliticians. Our politicians give freebies so that they canreap greater dividends in the field of democracy. Hiddenis their ‘greater future dividend’ behind such acts of char-ity. But if you ask them, they will stump you with theirrhetoric skills making you believe that there is no suchhidden agenda.

Also, giving creates an obligation. I know whenevermy daughter gives a birthday present to her new friend,her friend eagerly waits for the occasion to reciprocate.Sometimes the chain is lost with one giving and get-ting. Why doesn’t the second chain start? Wheneverwe send X’mas cards we are sure to get a reply in ex-change. Don’t we expect the person to reciprocate? Ifthe person doesn’t reciprocate, will we send the greet-ings next year? But the real giving should not createany sort of obligation on the part of the person getting itand the giver should not expect in return.

We always remember people (and never forget) whogave even when we did not ask them. These people willalways smell what we need and give it even before youask for it. This attitude is strongly ingrained in them thatthey always take the first step, and you don’t have toask for it. Conversely, people with this attitude never feeshy of asking for anything when they are in need. Theyare able to get easily what they want. They are moreapproachable, friendly and warm towards the needs ofothers. They are very successful in life. They are thepeople who are happier than others. They may not havefat purses and bank balances, they may not have cozybungalow, and they may not have stylish cars and bikes,but the attitude of giving makes them lead a life of con-tentment. It is a pure joy and happiness. People whogive get more in life, more than what they have given.‘Giving’ makes them eligible to receive. That is why

St.Francis of Assisi said “For it is in giving that we re-ceive”.

That which you give will come back to you, mani-fold, at the most appropriate time. When you give youare making a deposit which might mature with unex-pected interest and at the most wanted circumstances.Anything that is given today will come back to you later,but we may not know when.Art of Giving

One day, in 1969, very early in the morning, about5.00 A.M. a small boy, about 4 years old, could notunderstand why all of a sudden members in the familyburst into a loud wail and looked crestfallen. Not know-ing what to do and what not to do, the child lookedinquiringly at the grief stricken faces. Soon he came torealize that his father had died, though the word deathwas beyond his understanding. His father had died in atragic train accident leaving seven siblings and the wid-owed wife behind. The youngest sibling was about amonth old and the eldest 17 years. The deceased fatherwas a petty worker in an industry and had left no sav-ings for the 8-member family to survive on.

All the siblings, including the small boy, had to growup in the midst of severe poverty in a very remote villageof Odisha in India. The boy did odd menial jobs hereand there voluntarily and helped his widowed mother.The early childhood and fate forced the boy to fend forhimself and was thus self-made right from the age ofabout 5 years.

He gave his mother the solace by wiping her tearsand he gave his little sister the comfort of his lap tosleep on. By about 7 years of age the boy was alreadysharing his hard earned money from his work with class-mates. He kept one rupee out of his wage earned forthe day just to give tea and snacks to his four friends ata tea shop near the school where they studied. He alsohelped the village folks and friends by giving his timeand energy to fetch groceries and provisions from thenearby market every now and then.

The boy grew up to be a youth in due course. Oneday, while he was doing his Master’s Programme inUtkal University, Bhubaneswar, he gave away the 300rupees given to him by his eldest brother for joining thecollege picnic to one of his friends who had no money

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and helped the friend to join the picnic while he himselfstayed away from it.

After completion of his Master’s Degree in Chem-istry, this young man landed himself in a teaching job ina local college. Besides the job he did private tutoringand with the income he supported his needy friends andhis poor family members ignoring his own comforts (1987-1997).

This young man soon thought of and ventured toset up two institutions with only Rs. 5000/- (100 USD)in a rented building in 1992-93. Today, while one ofthese institutions has become the most promising uni-versity of the country with 25, 000 students from acrossthe globe, the other institution has become the beautyof the world which nurtures and gives a decent life to20,000 poor indigenous children of the country providingfree education from Kindergarten to Post graduation andprofessional education with fully free residential andboarding facility.

The small institute that started with only 100USD in 1992 has been instrumental in giving smilesdirectly and indirectly to 1 million people by 2013and looks forward to giving smiles to 10 millionpeople by 2020.

He has also given back to his remote village turn-ing it into a model village having all amenities of a city.He has also greatly contributed towards enriching art,culture, films, literature, spiritualism and many otherfields. He has been giving financial assistance everymonth to around 40 poverty stricken school friendsand has given employment to another 40 of his friendsin his two institutions.

The same person, after creating so much for thesociety and people and after achieving so much, livesthe simplest-of-the-simple life in a two-room rented housewithout any personal property and has chosen to re-main a bachelor. His only hobby is to bring smiles tofaces of thousands of poor children irrespective of caste,creed and religion.

This boy of yester years who has now grown big instature, gives credit for all of his accomplishments inlife to the “Art of Giving”, which he had silently learnedsince his childhood. It has been the ethos of his life.

He passionately believes in the potent of the term

“Art of Giving” which ultimately brings peace in theminds of people in the society. He has institutionalizedthe concept since 17th May 2013.

He is none other than Achyuta Samanta, thevisionary social entrepreneur, social worker, educa-tionist and the Founder of KIIT and KISS , the KISSFoundation India and the KISS Foundation U.K.

(Source: www.artofgiving.in.net)Learning and Discussion

1. Giving has multiplier effect. When we start giving

it grows and grows and its effect is manifold.

2. Giving is loving. There can be no giving without

loving.

3. Pure love is willingness to give without expecting

to receive anything in return.

4. There are lakhs of individuals and institutions in

this world who give day in and day out. It is

because of them sufferings and agony of millions

of people is wiped out. They light up the lives of

many individuals and families.

5. Still, there are millions of individuals and families

yet to see the light of the day. Even a small act of

charity can bring smiles on their faces.

6. Giving builds a lasting relationship. The more you

invest in relationships the more you will get when

youneed.

7. God loves a cheerful giver. Our life and other re

sources are a gift of God. He gave us as a gift and

we must also show Him the same generosity by

loving others. When we love others we give for there

can be no love without giving.

Note: Anecdotes, cases and stories are not mine andmost of them are found while wandering in the ‘net world’.I have incorporated a few changes in them to match thecontext. You are most welcome to add anything to itand give feedback so that we can enlarge and expandour learning experience. Send them to the Editor or tome [dnjohn@rediffmail.com] only by email.

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November 2014Rally

November 2014Rally