Art for all: TISS offers its stage to Bahujan artistes

First Bahujan Art Festival at TISS to promote marginalised communities, Odisha-based Dalit rapper Sumeet Samos and poet Dhiren Borisa among participants from 10 states

The stage was awash with blue light as young rap artist Sumeet Samos belted out the lines, “All you know is five words/Dalit, merit, caste, Ambedkar, reservations.” The 26-year-old Odisha-based Dalit rapper, purportedly the first one from a marginalised community to rap in English, wrote the lines in response to caste discourses on campuses getting confined to these five words. Sumeet was among the 30 Bahujan artistes from 10 states who had gathered at TISS on Sunday for the first Bahujan Art Festival. They represented communities such as the SC, ST, OBC, VJNT and minorities “The festival aims to promote and amplify voices from the marginalised communities. It was important to host this festival on the campus. This is because, you get space for elections and movements at educational institutions, but not for art and artistic discourses and access to artistes,” Aroh Akunth, cultural secretary of TISS Students’ Union, told Mirror. The TISS quadrangle and main campus was abuzz with filmmakers, writers, singers, poets, painters who consciously create art from an anti-caste perspective. “Today, we clearly identify our politics and don’t want to narrate the victim’s story. We have content which is global, which upper caste filmmakers do not have. We will tell our own stories,” said documentary filmmaker and TISS student Somnath Waghmare, whose documentary ‘Battle of Bhima Koregaon: An Unending Journey’, was made much before the January violence. Filmmakers at the fest also underscored the challenges that came with a lack of access to resources and supportive community networks. “We are telling stories that have never been told before. Narratives have always been with the upper castes,” documentary filmmaker Jyoti Nisha said. Poet Dhiren Borisa recited his verses that placed experiences of love and gender within the frame of anti-caste politics. According to him, bahujans, through their art, had “weaponised their fears and memories”. Kadubai Kharat, an Aurangabad-based singer who croons songs of Ambedkar and has become an Internet sensation of sorts among bahujan netizens, also took the campus by storm with her robust contralto notes sung to the ‘dotara’ (a string instrument). Well-known names such as Marathi writer Urmila Pawar and poet Usha Ambore were also a part of the festival. An assortment of paintings by Warli artists and other painters, photographs chronicling occupational inheritance, books and an array of merchandise were the other draw.

Source: Mumbai Mirror, 17/12/2018

 18 TISS students fined 1,000 each for trespassing

 Committee says they disrupted administrative work in March; students say protest was legitimate.



 The Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai, has imposed a fine of Rs 1,000 each on 18 students for forcibly entering the registrar’s office and disrupting administrative work during a protest on March 23- 24 against the institute’s decision to withdraw financial aid to SC/ST students eligible for the Government of India Post-Matric Scholarship Scheme. According to a memorandum issued on Thursday, the institute has found 22 students guilty of trespassing and breach of peace. The memorandum – of which Mirror has a copy – is based on the findings of an independent committee set up in August to look into the students’ roles in ‘violating rules’ of the institute. Of the 22 found guilty, charges against 18 have been found to be ‘serious and even criminal in nature’. The fines collected from the students will go towards Students’ Aid Fund. The rest of the students have been let off with a warning. A massive student protest had rocked all the four TISS campuses – Mumbai, Tuljapur (in Maharashtra), Guwahati and Hyderabad – in February after the institute decided to withdraw financial aid to existing and future SC and ST students eligible for government scholarship. The institute continued to waive the tuition fee but eligible students had to pay the hostel and dining hall charges upfront. Earlier these costs were borne by the institute. However, the institute claimed that there was no reimbursement from the Centre and it was turning out to be a financial burden. With the new policy kicking in, students had to bear the hostel and dining hall costs and later apply to the central government for refund under the Post-Matric Scholarship scheme. The students’ union had demanded that the 2016-18 and 2017-19 batch be exempt from this decision. They had demanded a dialogue with the institute but when the negotiations with the TISS management had failed, they had called for a massive bandh in March. The protesting students had blocked the administrative building, stalled work and boycotted classes. On May 12, the institute had issued show cause notices to 27 students for ‘forcefully trespassing and occupying the office of the registrar’. They were asked to tender an explanation against the show cause notice. In August, an independent committee was set up to look into their role in disrupting the academic decorum of the institute. The committee had found 22 of these students guilty, said sources in the institute. While the institute officials were unavailable for comment, students told this newspaper that the fine was unfair and that the institute was targeting protesting students. “This is hypocrisy on part of the institute. We have been fighting to mobilise aid for students from marginalised communities and now the institute has pitted students against each other,” said Fahad Ahmad, former general secretary of the student union. He, too, has been fined by the institute.

Source: Mumbai Mirror, 30/11/2018

Research scholars rally for better grants

#HikeResearchFellowship gains momentum; TIFR scientists start signature campaign; to hold protest

A restrained social media campaign is calling out some eminent educational institutes for inadequate grants to research fellows. Under #HikeResearchFellowship, hundreds of students from the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) and the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) have been tweeting to the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Department of Science and Technology and University Grants Commission (UGC). Taking a leaf from this nationwide campaign, some TIFR researchers started a signature campaign last week and charted out their demands that include hike and uniformity in grants and an end to ‘fund cuts’ in research. “The last time the grants were hiked was in 2014. We were told that the grants would be revised once in four years but that hasn’t happened. So we have started a signature campaign within the institute to bring the matter to the attention of the administration,” said Dibyasankar Das, a second-year PhD scholar at TIFR and one of the campaigners. The demands will be presented to the TIFR director following a demonstration early next week outside the campus in Colaba. As per UGC norms, a Junior Research Fellow earns a stipend of Rs 25,000 a month and a Senior Research Fellow gets Rs 28,000 – both released from any of the national funding agencies. However, the salary for ‘scientific assistant’ grade employees (with a BSc degree) is Rs 45,000 at these institutes. For S R Laskar, a fifth-year PhD scholar at TIFR, a stipend of Rs 28,000 was not enough to care for his ailing father back in West Bengal. “My father had Parkinson’s disease and was paralysed. Sometimes I had to buy medicines worth thousands of rupees in a month. There was barely anything left for me,” said Laskar, adding that at times he was forced to cut back on his meals and borrow from friends. Since his father’s death in September, he has been supporting his family. When a signature campaign demanding a hike in the fellowship grants began, Laskar was one of the first to sign up. Rohini Karandikar, a PhD scholar from Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education in Govandi, became part of the campaign after she heard of the protest by research scholars at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research in Pune last month. She told Mirror, “There is no incentive to engage in research, given the pay is so low. Our peers, who take up jobs, are paid much better and their salaries grow by the year. Meanwhile, we struggle to make ends meet. Many drop out midway because of this pressure.” Mohammed Usman, a second-year MPhil student at TISS, has not been able to pay his fees for the past two semesters; fee for each semester is about Rs 50,000. The first generation learner from Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh, Usman has therefore decided not to pursue PhD and instead take up a job. “I am eligible for the Maulana Azad National Fellowship for Minority Students but haven’t received the grant in a year now; this totals to Rs 3 lakh. I haven’t told my parents about my financial situation yet,” said the 27-year-old. TIFR director Sandip Trivedi agreed that stipend for researchers needed revision. Speaking to Mirror, he said, “The salaries of government employees and scientific staff have been revised after the seventh pay commission but there hasn’t been a corresponding revision in the stipend of scholars and post-doctoral students. The institute is aware of the situation and is taking necessary steps to address the matte

Source: Mumbai Mirror, 20/11/2018

TISS report ‘not hostile’ to Dhangar demand: CM

Says the state govt will send ‘appropriate’ reccomendations to the Centre based on it

The report submitted by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) with regard to the Dhangar community’s pitch for a scheduled tribe (ST) status is “not hostile to the demand”, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has said. Fadnavis said the state government would make “appropriate” recommendations to the Centre based on the report, which he added, is being currently studied. He said the report mentions several aspects which strengthen the case of the Dhangars. He, however, did not divulge details of the report. Dhangars are currently included in the Vimukt Jati nomadic tribe category, but they have been demanding the ST status for long. The chief minister also said his government expected the State Backward Class Commission to submit its report in connection with the Maratha community’s demand for quota in jobs and education by November 15. The Marathas form 30 per cent of the state’s population, and the Dhangars nine per cent. On the Dhangar community’s demand, Fadnavis said a call would have to be taken by the Centre and not the state government. On the Maratha community’s demand, he said the government “will act per timeline”. MMB

Source: Mumbai Mirror, 31/10/2018

Shalini Bharat appointed new Director of TISS

Mumbai: Professor Shalini Bharat has been appointed as the new Director of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), the institute announced on Monday. She had been the acting Director ever since the resignation of former director S. Parasuraman in February.

S. Ramadorai, chairman of the governing board, TISS, said, “I am happy to welcome Prof. Bharat as Director. As TISS gears up to cement its position as an institution of excellence in higher education, I am sure that Prof. Bharat, who brings with her a wealth of experience and vision, will take the initiative and ensure that TISS meets the challenges with passion and commitment.”

Prof. Bharat has been with TISS since 1984, when she joined as a lecturer. She was the first dean of the School of Health Systems Studies and was subsequently the deputy director (academic), when she was given the additional charge as the acting Director.

She is also a member on the governing body of the Public Health Foundation of India and was the National Coordinator of Global Fund Project – Saksham. She has been associated with the National Rural Health Mission and has been on the governing board of the National Health Systems Resource Centre, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

Source: The Hindu, 25/09/2018

TISS gay community angry over ‘queerphobic’ remark

Queer Collective slams students for personal attack on cultural secy | Mitaksh.Jain@timesgroup.com TWEETS @mitakshjMIRROR Days after rejoicing the Supreme Court’s order on the abolition of section 377, the LGBTQIA+ community from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences castigated another section of students who allegedly passed a “queerphobic” remark. Called the Queer Collective, the institute’s gay community issued a statement on Tuesday, expressing anger over the comment directed at the cultural secretary of the Students’ Union at a gathering on September 7. “The personal attack by a research scholar included references to the person’s family, caste and economic background. There was a lack of acknowledgement of the student’s identity as an openly queer person, besides using an aggressive manner of speech and violently occupying the space and disrupting scope for meaningful engagement,” read the statement by the collective. It all started when at the students’ general body meeting consensus could not be reached over budgetary allocation to Gender Amity Cell, SC/ ST Cell, and Equal Opportunities Cell. “However, some general body members took it upon themselves to coerce the union to pass the budget in its current form despite a lack of quorum,” the statement from the students’ union said. “This is a classic case of cisgender heterosexuality oppressing people who do not bow to the binaries of gender,” said the statement, adding that the episode was an attempt to silence marginalised voices. “We firmly believe that such behaviour does disservice to the cause of creating a safe space for students from practicing their politics,” the statement from the Queer Collective concluded.

Source: Mumbai Mirror, 12/09/2018

Waive dining, hostel charges for SC, ST students: Panel to TISS

After a massive protest by students in February against the institute across all campuses over improper implementation of the Government of India Post-Matric Scholarship scheme (GoI PMS), the NCST had recommended the institute to waive off the dining and hostel charges for ST students.

The National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) has directed the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai, to waive off dining and hostel charges for students from the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes categories. The commission, which visited the Mumbai campus of TISS in June, reiterated its recommendations made in February following protests by students.

In its review report dated July 25, the NCST said: “The commission reiterates and strongly recommends that the Tata Institute of Social Sciences should come forward with a plan for arranging funds from various sources to meet the requirement of funds for dining and hostel charges of students of SC/ST category… This needs to be done urgently to protect the interests of poor students.”

After a massive protest by students in February against the institute across all campuses over improper implementation of the Government of India Post-Matric Scholarship scheme (GoI PMS), the NCST had recommended the institute to waive off the dining and hostel charges for ST students.

On June 5, a 10-member team of the NCST, including the chairperson, visited the campus to review the implementation of reservation policy and other measures for protection and social welfare of students from the ST category. The team found that its earlier recommendations had not been implemented.

The commission has now recommended that the institute also reduce its fee in the interest of students and prepare its fee structure in line with other deemed universities.

During its visit, the NCST also found that reservation rosters for various posts among employees were not filled as per central government norms. It has asked TISS to fill up all backlog ST vacancies in a special recruitment drive and submit an action plan for the same to the commission.

While acting Director Shalini Bharat was unavailable for comment, a spokesperson from the institute said the report was received last week. “We are evaluating the recommendations made by the NCST and are in the process of preparing an action plan,” said the official.

In February, students began protesting the institute’s decision to withdraw aid to GoI-PMS students and charge dining and hostel fees from eligible students. Following the protests, the institute agreed to waive off the fees for existing students until the 2017-18 batch. It, however, asked SC/ST students of the 2018-2020 batch to pay Rs 12,500. It asked OBC non-creamy layer students to pay Rs 30,700 at the time of admission. Both amounts are inclusive of hostel fee, dining hall charges and caution money, among others. The National Commission for Scheduled Castes, too, is hearing the matter.

Source: Indian Express, 13/08/2018

New students’ union seeks meeting with TISS officials

Issue is showcause notices sent to protesting students

The newly elected students’ union of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) has sought a meeting with the officials of the institute this week over showcause notices sent to students who participated in the months-long protest over the withdrawal of financial aid to students from marginalised groups.

Aa decision taken to approach the administration was taken at a general body meeting on August 4.

“Engagement is of priority right now, as the students are adversely affected. We will seek a meeting this week itself. The administration is yet to get back to us,” said Jit Hazarika, president of the students’ union.

He said that the union would demand that these notices be rescinded, and ask for a dialogue on the issue of aid to Government of India Post-Matric Scholarship (GOI-PMS) students.

Several students had commenced a protest against the withdrawal of financial aid to students belonging to socially disadvantaged groups like Schedules Castes and Schedules Tribes, among others. After the institute filed a suit in the civil court, it restricted the protests within a 100-m radius of the institute.

The institute had sent showcause notices to several students, asking them to explain their position. A disciplinary inquiry was also initiated against the students by an independent committee, and students eligible for a Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) were told that it had been withheld.

Since the committee was conducting its inquiry, the PhD registration of Fahad Ahmad was also stalled, which was communicated to him in a letter dated July 25. Ahmad is the former general secretary of the students’ union in 2017-18, and was one of those spearheading the protest.

“I have been denied registration because I was fighting for social justice. I didn’t quit when other student union members left. It’s easy to target a Muslim in the current scenario. I challenged the undeclared emergency in TISS and in our country. I and several other students are facing the brunt of participating in the protest as the administration has even stalled JRF forms for all of us,” Ahmad said.                                                                                                                                  

TISS group condemns attack on students in Chembur building

The Progressive Students’ Forum at TISS on Tuesday condemned the alleged attack on a group of students from the north-east and Jharkhand at a building in Chembur last week, terming it racist.

Mirror had reported that a group of students was roughed up on August 4 by residents of a building where they had come for a get-together.

“The nature of the attack was so frightening.... One student suffered an eye injury and was severely beaten up in this attack. Racial slurs and abuses were also made by the mob,” the group said in a statement.” MMB

Source: Mumbai Mirror, 8-08-18

The Koshish That Paid Off

How TISS Team Blew the Lid Off Bihar Sexual Abuse Case

We spoke to them like a friend and they opened up to us: Team Leader

When a seven-member team of young psychologists of the ‘Koshish Project’ of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) landed in Bihar last October for a social audit, they had little idea they would end up exposing a sordid tale of sexual abuse of the scale that has surfaced.

I am sure nobody, the Bihar government or us, knew that this scale of sexual abuse would be prevalent at the institutions in Muzaffarpur. We built confidence with children, spoke to them like a friend and they opened up to us,” Mohd Tarique, who headed the team, told ET.

The three women members of the team interacted at length with many of the nearly three dozen girls against whom sexual assault has been proven now. The team camped in Bihar for almost seven months, travelling to 110 institutions over 38 districts.

It was the report from TISS in May that blew the lid over the sexual abuse case. The team had also met main accused Brajesh Thakur. “One must credit the Bihar government for having this social audit, which is not compulsory under law...,” said Tarique.

“The most critical part is having a conversation, individually, and in groups,” said Tarique. “Sexual abuse is something that especially the children are not very vocal about. It wasn’t upfront that all the children spoke about it but there were some children who shared that this was happening. Some used another girl’s name saying that it happened with that person. It was indicating more like a pattern or the environment of the place.”

He said that the most important part how team members carry themselves in the institution. “Like if you sit in the superintendent’s office and two children bringing in tea for you notice you are comfortable with him, they take the message to the barrack that there is no point in telling these people anything. We avoided that – no refreshments were accepted,” he said.

Tarique said that when the TISS team spoke to the children in private, they strictly disallowed any institution member to enter the room on any pretext. “We had to warn the staff that if they come in on any pretext, we will have to complain to the government. This gave children the confidence to speak up,” he said. The TISS team would also never counter-check what children told them with the staff there immediately in front of them.

The key was to be realistic with the children. “We told them we may not be able to change everything, we did not make tall promises. But we assured them that whatever they would tell us, we would report it and it would go to the highest authority. Our mandate was not to investigate a crime – it is something we stumbled upon,” Tarique told ET.

Source: Economic Times, 1/08/2018

TISS elects new ‘pro-student’ council

5 of the 7 elected members were part of the protests demanding aid for marginalised students

With a new ‘pro-student’ council in place, the protest against TISS’s decision to stop student aid to those belonging to marginalised groups has possibly gained momentum.

In polls held last week on Friday, the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai, elected a students’ union with five of the seven positions going to those who had participated in the protests that rocked the institute’s campuses across the country since February.

The new council has also vowed to take-up up the fight for the 27 students who were barred from contesting these elections for their alleged misconduct during the months-long protests.

“It is a significant victory as it signals the larger democratisation of the institute. Students are more conscious now of their rights especially after the events that unfolded in the last few months. They have started to assert their rights and their interests,” said Jit Hazarika, the president-elect of the union, adding that the access these positions bring will aide in the fight of the less privileged - especially those from the marginalised sections.

“It was important to build a strong student union this year. No one will be equipped to deal with the situation other than the students who were a part of the protest,” averred Hazarika, a doctoral student at the institute.

Elections were held for the seven posts — President, Vice President (Vidya Wakchaure), General Secretary (Alpha Toppo), Treasurer (Harshita Jha), Cultural Secretary (Akunth), Literary Secretary (Yaniam Chukhu), and Sports Secretary (Rupakshi Mathur). The new body will take charge on Wednesday.

The union has its hands full as they navigate through what only promises to be an onerous year.

“We chose to enter electoral politics as it seemed the only way to put forth our demands and ensure the safety of our fellow students who have been unfairly targeted,” Hazarika told Mirror.

One of the biggest tasks facing the council will be to initiate dialogue with the institute – an exercise which has been suspended for some time.

A win for everyone

Protesting students who had been barred from elections were elated with the victory, terming it as a boost to their endeavour.

“The move to restrict us from contesting the elections evidences an atmosphere where critical voices are being suppressed by the institute,” said one of the students who spearheaded the protests.

He said that the union will ensure that the rights of the students remain intact.

“The union will also work constructively on one of our larger demand — fee waiver to students from marginalised groups,” he told Mirror on condition of anonymity.

The students’ union-backed protests began simultaneously on February 21 at all four TISS campuses – Mumbai, Tuljapur, Hyderabad and Guwahati – against the institute’s decision to stop student aid to those belonging to Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST) and Other Backward Classes (OBC) from 2016 onwards.

Source: Mumbai Mirror, 30/07/18

Tata Institute of Social Sciences prepares cadre of 39 master trainers on ICT in education in Assam

Guwahati, June 1, 2017: The Tata Institute of Social Sciences today felicitated and issued certificates to 39 government school teachers and DIET faculty in Assam for completing the one-of-a-kind ICT and Education course. Completion rate of teachers was 93 percent. As a part of the Integrated Approach to Technology in Education (ITE) initiative by Tata Trusts, the course provides hands on experience of designing lessons integrating Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in curriculum and pedagogy. The certificate recipients, now called ‘master trainers’, have shown great commitment and already trained other 740 teachers in ITE, as part of the course assignment. The course was of four months duration during which the teachers participated in F2F workshop, trained other teachers at district, practiced exemplary ITE lesson plans in their classroom, took two online tests, and continuously reflected on chat forums, moodle and made an electronic portfolio consolidating their learning.

The ceremony was attended by, Prof S Parasuraman, Director, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, R C Jain, Commissioner & Secretary, Govt. of Assam, Secondary Education Department, Prof DK Srivastava Deputy Director TISS, and Ms Krishna Baruah, OSD RMSA, Assam and Amina Charania, ITE-Lead, Tata Trusts and Course faculty and Associate Professor, CEI&AR, TISS.

The convocation ceremony celebrated the certificate recipients’ program completion, with six awards given for outstanding performance, best trainer and mentor, and most active online participant. NGO, volunteers, who completed the course, were also felicitated. The courses seeks to develop a deeper understanding of the role of technology in teaching and learning while critically evaluating value of ICT applications and programs in schools. Designed for in-service teachers in upper primary, and secondary government school teachers.

S Parasuraman, Director, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, said, “When the certificate course was presented to the academic council, the academic council for the first time felt this is an amazing experiment. An experiment whereby we are reaching the teachers who are the most critical and are the backbone of our schooling system and if they are empowered, trained and motivated then their teaching children will become far easier and enjoyable. Today, I have seen the output of this initiative, where we have already reached four districts in the state of Assam and from now other parts of the North East. The certificate course was developed to support integrating teaching under ITE and that is what is being done. The Government of Assam is fully committed to make school education a grand success and we are joining them to make this possible. “
Speaking at the event, Amina Charania, ITE-Lead, Tata Trusts and Course faculty and Associate Professor, CEI&AR, TISS said, “This is unique certification course of TISS under Tata Trusts’ Integrated Approach to Technology in Education initiative where the completion rate is 93%. The course has become a scaling mantra. We have been able to scale up in Assam from 50 schools to 200 and then 600. Teachers have been very participative. Through this, they got the opportunity to update their knowledge on contemporary concepts in ICT in education. The kind of commitment and rigour they have shown is commendable. Giving them an opportunity which is also blended in nature has really empowered government teachers to engage at their own space. What was really amazing was these 39 teachers within the course has trained 740 more teachers.”

R C Jain, Commissioner & Secretary, Government of Assam, Secondary Education Department, said, “The concept of model school was started by the Government of India and that concept was brought to Assam and was re-designed in a different way with the help of Tata Trusts. The aim and objective of the program is to create good faculty and through them expand to more and more schools. For this, the teachers’ role is much more. We are providing them with a teaching system and a methodology that did not exist before. ICT based education is the only module that can make classrooms attractive.”

He also said, “TISS will provide in-service training to teachers in Assam especially on ITE and education and extend the service on the new campus in order to become a teacher training hub for Assam Government school teachers. He added, this course can be added to the Diploma in elementary education course.” Prof. S Parasuraman said, “We will give full support and will join hands with the Education Department in scaling up the program.”

The course draws on contemporary concepts, models and standards in the area of teaching and learning with technology, with the objective of making the learning authentic for students by weaving it into their curriculum. It also encourages teachers to continue using technology in their practices by using virtual and blended platforms, thereby enabling their continued professional development.

ITE has reached 120 government schools/model schools intensively and 600 government schools as outreach schools in Assam. In close coordination by RMSA each master trainer will continue to handhold a group of 15 teachers whom they have trained in the course. Next six months’ program will be prepared by ITE-TISS to be implemented in local school clusters. Also, an ITE mentorship program will be launched for 10 master trainers to strengthen the capacity and leadership ability in ICT and Education. This plan is in sync to scale up and mainstream ITE within the system and develop new leadership in the area.

About Tata Trusts

Celebrating its 125th anniversary this year, Tata Trusts is amongst India’s oldest, non-sectarian philanthropic organisations that work in several areas of community development. Since its inception, Tata Trusts has been a pioneer in transforming traditional ideas of philanthropy to make impactful sustainable change in the lives of the communities served. Through direct implementation, co-partnership strategies and grant making, the Trusts support and drive innovation in the areas of education; healthcare and nutrition; rural livelihoods; natural resources management; enhancing civil society and governance; and media, arts, crafts and culture. Tata Trusts continue to be guided by the principles of its Founder, Jamsetji Tata and through his vision of proactive philanthropy, the Trusts catalyse societal development while ensuring that initiatives and interventions have a contemporary relevance to the nation.

Source: Indiaeducationdiary, 2-06-2017

What’s in a unique number?

Linking of Aadhaar to a growing number of government entitlements is misguided

LAST week the Union food ministry issued an unprecedented diktat. It has insisted that each family member must possess an Aadhaar number within four months, to be eligible for subsidised foodgrains under the National Food Security Act. This ties in with the larger plan for all ration shops by 2019 to verify Aadhaar biometrics at every transaction. So, not only must 210 million families possess unique numbers for each member, they must also queue up every month to prove their thumbprints. But does this make any logical sense?

First, the ration dealer can still give less grain than the printed receipt. Only in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu are electronic weighing scales connected to stem “quantity deception”. But they too work only when there is electricity. Besides, the greatest pilferage occurs from godowns, not ration shops.

Second, to weed out ghost cards and “identity fraud,” a one-time exercise to match ration cards with the population
census would have been more than sufficient. Already, every single card nationwide has been digitised and two-thirds Aadhaar-seeded to purge 20 million fake cards.

Finally, if the aim was to ensure that unsold foodgrains are not siphoned off with “accounting dodges”, there are far simpler alternatives. Bihar’s barcoded coupons have reduced leakages from 91 to 24 per cent within six short years. Previously, Tamil Nadu had relied on offline handheld billing devices (similar to those with bus conductors). Andhra’s ration shops now use iris scanners, with a lower error rate than biometrics. Instead, the insistence on Aadhaar biometrics has already wreaked havoc. The Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan estimates that in the last few months, 38 per cent of households in Rajasthan have not been able to match fingerprints. In Madhya Pradesh, 20 per cent of devices have malfunctioned and have been returned to vendors. Similarly, in Jharkhand’s capital, at the outset almost half the cardholders were not able to prove their identity. Five hundred leprosy survivors without fingers in Ranchi were insensitively denied foodgrains for three months — for want of fingerprints.

The ouster of these eligible, impoverished families is often then heroically projected as savings. But even the best of technologies are often no match for large-scale insider fraud. Recently, across Karnataka, 45,000 bogus
ration cards linked to fictitious 12-digit Aadhaar numbers were discovered. Biometrics are not foolproof — the calloused fingers of labourers and the elderly frequently throw up errors. Aadhaar also requires continuous access to mobile signals or the internet, which is a tall order in rural areas that barely have electricity.

A decade ago, the British Parliament passed the Identity Cards Act. The intent was to create a National Identity Register database of all citizens with biometrics, iris, face scans and longitudinal records of residence. But after public outcry and escalating costs, in 2010, a new coalition government repealed the law and the nascent database was permanently destroyed. Australia and New Zealand too have abandoned the idea of national biometric archives.
India’s Aadhaar project, however, has ballooned since its birth. From April, Aadhaar will also be a must to demand work under the MGNREGA. The Karnataka government plans to track the progress of every school child with fingerprints. Soon newborns in Maharashtra will also be enrolled for the magic numbers in hospitals. Never mind that their fingerprints and irises are yet to be fully formed.

In this “Big Brother” Aadhaar mania, the HRD ministry has finally sounded the alarm bell. It has questioned the Centre’s push to link these unique numbers to student scholarships, which is in clear violation of earlier Supreme Court orders. Despite the furtive enactment of the Aadhaar Act through the backdoor as a money bill, the apex court has repeatedly pronounced that the unique number must be “purely voluntary” and cannot be made mandatory for any government entitlement, till the matter is sub judice.

India ranks 97 of 118 countries on the Global Hunger Index. Two of every three Indians are guaranteed foodgrains under the National Food Security Act. One of every five rural households depends on MGNREGA work. Let an increasingly Orwellian “Digital India,” in the guise of Aadhaar, not eat into these lifelines.

Written by Swati Narayan

The writer is a visiting research scholar at the London School of Economics and Political Science from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences

Source: Indianexpress, 14-02-2017

Ramadorai Resigns as NSDA, NSDC Chief

Rohit Nandan, secy at Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, will head these skill development agencies as of now

S Ramadorai, the former chief at Tata Consultancy Services, has resigned as chairman of two government skill development agencies, amid speculation that he may join the board of Tata Sons that last week ousted its chairman. Ramadorai had sent his resignation from the National Skill Development Agency and National Skill Development Corporation over a month ago -much before the Tata board removed Cyrus Mistry -and cited health reasons for the decision, Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Rajiv Pratap Rudy said. “We were happy with his work but since he had stated health reasons we couldn't stop him. The ministry has accepted his resignation,“ Rudy told ET.Ramadorai didn't respond to phone calls and a message.
Rohit Nandan, secretary at the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, will head the two agencies until a new chairman is appointed. The NSDC board is expected to meet on Wednesday to discuss the development.
Ramadorai was appointed to the position, which offers the rank of a cabinet minister, in May 2013 by the then Congress-led government.
The 71-year-old still has multiple engagements with the Tata Group.He is the chairman of the gover ning board of Tata Institute of Social Sciences and also heads the boards of Tata Advanced Systems, the unlisted defence entity of the Tata Group, and Tata Technologies. He had a long career with the Tata Group. In 1971, a young Ramadorai turned down a US Green Card to work with what was then a fairly small company, TCS.
When he took over as the CEO and managing director from FC Kohli in 1996, TCS had about $150 million in revenue. He oversaw its rise to India's biggest information technology company, as revenue grew to more than $6 billion and headcount to 1,40,000 during his 13 years at the helm.
The government awarded Ramadorai the Padma Bhushan, the third-highest civilian honour, in 2006. He received the Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2009 for his contribution to Indo-British economic relations.

Source: Economic Times, 2-11-2016

TISS students chafe at increased surveillance

Ankita Bhatkande





Students of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences have raised concerns over the increasing number of restrictions and security on the campus after the institute decided to bring in a biometric system for marking attendance from the next semester.In a letter sent to the institute management, students expressed concerns over the `increasing surveillance' in the form of the biometric attendance system that will be introduced from the next semester, more security guards and needing to obtain permissions from various government organisations to bring guests on campus.
The students' letter, a copy of which is with Mirror, stated that the increased surveillance served two purposes: to clear the path for privatisation of the institute and to control the movements and activities of the students.
The letter also stated, “When the University Grants Commission issued security guidelines which included installation of CCTV cameras, biometric identification for marking attendance of students in classes and hostels, setting up police stations inside the university campus, and having a `Student Counselling System' through which parents, teachers, and hostel wardens can exchange information about the `personal details of students, academic record, and behaviour patterns' TISS's response was that we have already been following these guidelines! Then, this semester we received a notification for procedures to be followed for inviting guest speakers wherein students need to not just inform the administration but also the local police, Crime Branch and other government intelligence organizations.“
Students said that such restrictions would not go down well. An internal survey revealed that 66 per cent of students did not want such security measures on campus. “We have asked the administration to consult us or at least take us in confidence before imposing such restrictions,“ one stu dent said.
Some TISS students also posted this message on Facebook: “We, as students of TISS, must come together and fight these attempts of the administration to sabotage and control activities and movements of students. This should be seen as part of larger scheme to promote privatisation and Brahminisation of higher education institutions. We must claim our democratic right to educate, agitate and organize and be part of the larger struggles for creating a more egalitarian and just society.“
In September, Mirror reported about how students, in the middle of a gender-sensitisation week, found themselves confronted with the very misogyny they were trying to fight after a blank poster put up on the campus for students to write about their experiences of sexual harassment had the following scribbled in bold, red script: “Sexism is an accusation sluts level against dissenting voices for recognising that a slut is a slut.“
Students said that since then, instead of looking at the larger issue of sexism and discrimination, the authorities have only hired more security guards. “There is surveillance at every step,“ a female student said, on the condition of anonymity. “Why doesn't the institute focus on real problems like scholarships and sensitivity training?“ While asked about the students' concerns, professor Shalini Bharat, deputy director, (Academics), TISS said that the biometric system was only to mark attendance and would not be linked to any database. “The acting director has constituted a committee to look into all the concerns and issues regarding the proposed biometric system. A decision on the process of implementation will be reached by a five-member committee comprising the deputy director (Academics), the registrar, a senior professor and two student representatives.No decision will be taken without the approval of this committee. The institute shall not give the data to any third party. At the end of the final semester, the fingerprint data will be deleted and that process will be overseen by the committee,“ Bharat said.

Source: Mumbai Mirror, 22-10-2016

TISS course for enhancing teachers’ skills

The curriculum will be derived from learnings from ITE which began with a pilot project at Murshidabad in 2012.

TEACHERS, ESPECIALLY from rural India, can improve their teaching skills through a certificate course at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai, from the next academic year. The programme will be conducted in association with Tata Trusts’ Integrated approach to Technology in Education (ITE) initiative that provides technology-based framework for education for the underprivileged. Amina Charania, adjunct associate professor at the Centre for Education Innovation and Action Research, TISS and Senior Programme Officer of ITE, said the curriculum is being planned and will be proposed to the academic council.

“The course has been approved. We are now working on a curriculum,” said Charania. Teachers taking the course will be awarded with certificates accredited by TISS.

The curriculum will be derived from learnings from ITE which began with a pilot project at Murshidabad in 2012. The initiative by Tata Trusts is a pedagogic framework for integrating technology in teaching and learning process, particularly in rural areas, said Charania. “Currently, more than 17,000 students and 500 teachers have been enrolled,” she said. The ITE framework, adopted by some state governments, aims at capacitating teachers to use technology in their teaching methodsAmong other methods, the teachers will be made to complete student projects themselves. “The aim is to make teachers empathise with students who may be using a computer for the very first time. We noticed in our workshops in ITE that teachers were more comfortable and innovative with technology by the end of the workshop,” said Charania.

According to Charania, who has also presented a paper on Integrating Educational Technology for Underserved Children in India, education-industry partnership model is a smart way of developing infrastructure in education. “Multi-stakeholder partnerships known as smart partnerships (SPs) may help development of educational infrastructure,” she said. The ITE, too, has partnered with non-governmental organisations and Corporate Social Responsibility Wings of companies. and promoting project-based learning.

Source: Indian Express, 16-09-2016

The Sociologist of Informal Labour: Sharit Bhowmik, 1948-2016

By eSocialSciences | Published: September 9, 2016

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Sharit Kumar Bhowmik

Sharit Kumar Bhowmik, sociologist well known for his studies in labor and especially on the informal sector, passed away September 8 in Bangkok. He was in a coma for some time, having collapsed as complication of undiagnosed pneumonia in his hotel room. His wife and partner, Meenakshi, and his family were with him.

Bhowmik received his MA from Mumbai University and earned his doctorate from the Delhi University. His early work was on plantation labor in West Bengal. Subsequently he consolidated his work in the area of labor studies focusing on informal labor and labor rights.

Ever an activist, Sharit’s scholarly positions on labor issues never wavered. He interacted closely with workers’ leaders and was never an ‘outsider’ in its sociological sense, to workers organizations, their core issues and the movement. He wrote extensively on workers’ cooperatives and workers’ organizations. While a supporter of the working class causes, he was also sharply critical of the functioning of trade unions, especially in recent times.

His career spanned a number of universities and institutions: He retired from the School of Labour and Management Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai. Before that he was at the Department of Sociology, University of Mumbai; Delhi School of Economics, University of Delhi; Indian Institute of Management Calcutta; University of North Bengal, Darjeeling District, West Bengal. Currently he was National Fellow with the Indian Council for Social Sciences.

His most important work, both in the scholarly world and as an activist, was his massive contribution to and leadership in the formalization of a policy on street vendors, which came about as a follow-through of his work on informal labor which began at a time when few labor scholars were focusing on this sector. Sharit wrote extensively, both in the academic press and in the media. For a time he co-edited with Professor Datta, the Labour Studies supplement of the Economic and Political Weekly. He had no hesitation in calling a spade a spade regardless of the fallout that it may prompt. Because of this, he was highly respected by his peers and labor leaders and activists, across the spectrum. Regardless of affiliations, he was always available to political, social and civil society activists.

Sharit was, more than anything else, a role model of a new generation sociologist who combined activism and scholarship seamlessly and effectively. He is mourned by his many students, whom he nurtured actively and sustainedly through their early careers; his colleagues and fellow workers who shared his space and vision, by the vast numbers of labor activists and workers whom he befriended and worked alongside. He will be sorely missed, especially in an environment that needs the broad-based, progressive vision, scholarship and activism of those like Sharit Bhowmik.

TISS Seeks HRD Ministry Help on Funding Tussle

Anubhuti Vishnoi

New Delhi:





OUT OF SYNC The institute, which is facing 46% cut in its non-salary grants, tells ministry there is a mismatch in the opening balance of accounts maintained by TISS and UGC

An escalating row with the higher education regulator has led the Tata Institute of Social Sciences to seek human resource development minister Prakash Javadekar's intervention in a 46% cut in its non-salary grants.The development comes barely a year after the Mumbai-based institute was forced to take bank loans to pay staff salaries while the government withheld grants.
The row over funding escalated so much that director of TISS wrote to the University Grants Commission in July , “There is no need to humiliate us. TISS is not asking any favours, we are only asking for rightful grants. And we have no one at the UGC to turn to demand to be treated in a dignified manner.“
At the heart of the row, officials said, is an “accounting problem“.While TISS claims that its opening balance on April 1 stood at about `14.36 crore, the UGC maintains it is not more than `2.48 lakh. In a communication sent to UGC on August 20, TISS termed UGC's assessment “incorrect“. It has put out statistics to claim that UGC failed to release the sanctioned amount to the institute, causing a shortfall of about `15.57 crore.
Professor S Parsuraman, director of TISS, told ET that the institute has written “several times“ to the UGC on the issue. While the HRD ministry has been supportive, “the UGC is not listening“, he said. The ministry, on its part, said the issue is being addressed.
“TISS has communicated to the ministry that opening balance of accounts of TISS does not match with that of accounts maintained in UGC regarding TISS. As a result TISS is receiving less grants from UGC,“ the ministry said in response to ET's queries. “There has been a meeting with TISS and UGC officials. UGC has called for more records from TISS to sort out the issue difference in OB. TISS is yet to provide the required records. It is purely an accountancy matter which is being reconciled between UGC and TISS,“ the ministry said.
The UGC did not respond to ET's queries despite repeated reminders.
In its August letter to the UGC, TISS said the non-plan grant approved by the UGC for 2015-16 was `4,515.02 lakh for meeting expenditure on salary of regular teaching and non-teaching staff. However, the UGC released only `3,212.75 lakh ultimately, a shortfall of `1, 188.76 lakh. For the new pension scheme, the UGC released `343 lakh against a sanctioned amount of `597.29 lakh, causing another shortfall of `229.81 lakh.
TISS described as a “double blow“ the “wholly incorrect and unwarranted deduction“ of `1556.56 lakh from the amount due to institute.

Source: Economic Times, 12-09-2016

Students accuse TISS of abruptly terminating prof's contract

Ankita Bhatkhande





Resentment is brewing among the students on the Deonar campus of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences after the administration decided to discontinue the services of an associate professor. The students on Thursday night started a campaign on social media to bring back the professor.The students have alleged TISS abruptly terminated the contract of Sanober Keshwar (in pic), who was handling modules on law and social work since 2009. In a post on Facebook, they said Dr Sanober was informed about the “termination“ only in mid-May. “Sanober's phone was disconnected, her email ID blocked by the administration without any written or spoken word. How are others putting up so silently? Is this how TISS admin is honouring hard working profs who have an ideology and a spine to speak up?“ wrote a student.
The students have demanded immediate reinstatement of the professor and appointment of an external committee to look into the “termination“. TISS administration cited fund crunch as the only reason for its decision and denied that Dr Sanober was terminated. An associate professor on contract is paid nearly Rs 90,000, said sources. Mirror could not independently verify the figure.The institute has issued a statement saying it did not renew the contracts of a few temporary faculty. “The authorities have spoken to the faculty members concerned before the contracts were allowed to lapse.“
It said the TISS campus also houses the Maharashtra National Law University. The authorities have not been able to renew the contracts of two law professors, read the statement.~

Source: Mumbai Mirror, 10-06-2016

HRD ministry sets new rules for award of MPhil, PhD degrees

The HRD ministry relaxed several rules for women candidates including allowing a 240 days break to avail maternity benefits within study period 
 For a female research candidate the course duration has been relaxed by two years for PhD and one year for M.phil courses. The human resource development ministry has set new rules for award of research degrees such as MPhil and PhD at Indian universities.
 The HRD ministry has also relaxed several rules for women candidates, including allowing a 240-day maternity break from their studies.
 The new rules are aimed at putting in place a “proper system” for doctoral studies and streamline their administration, duration and quality, said higher education secretary V.S. Oberoi. The rules are also intended to allow women greater flexibility in pursuing research.
 In 2013-14, some 107,890 students were pursuing PhD in India. That was less than 0.4% of the total student enrolment in the country. Of the students pursuing a PhD, only around 3,335 were women.
 Following are some of the key changes:
 (1) MPhil duration: Minimum two consecutive semesters or one year, and a maximum of four consecutive semesters or two years.
(2) PhD duration: Minimum of three years, including course work, and a maximum of six years. Extension beyond the limit to be governed by statute or ordinance of the individual institution.
(3) Number of PhD scholars per supervisor now has been fixed at 8/6/4 for professor/associate professor/assistant professor, respectively. It was eight per supervisor earlier.
(4) Number of MPhil scholars per supervisor now at 3/2/1 for professor/associate professor/assistant professor, respectively. It was five per supervisor earlier.
(5) Only a full-time regular teacher of the concerned university/college can act as a supervisor. It means an external, visiting, adjunct or part-time teacher in a university cannot be the core supervisor of a research scholar. However, a co-supervisor can be allowed in inter-disciplinary areas.
(6) Special provisions have been provided for women scholars. For a female research candidate, the course duration has been relaxed by two years for PhD and one year for MPhil courses. It also applies to physically handicapped candidates with 40% disability.
(7) The new rules allow the women candidates maternity leave, or child-care leave, once during the entire duration of their MPhil/PhD programmes for up to 240 days.
(8) Women candidates can now also transfer research data due to relocations to new institutions. It means that if a woman candidate shifts her place of work or residence because of any personal or professional reasons, she can shift her research work from one university to another close to her where she is moving.
 The rules will encourage more women to enrol in doctoral programs by allowing them to get married and build a family while pursuing their studies, said S. Parasuraman, director of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences.
 He said the HRD ministry’s new rules are also “progressive and will help address procedural issues related to administering the programmes”.

Source | Mint – The Wallstreet Journal | 26 May 2016