SOCIAL WORK PROFESSION UNIT-4

1. SOCIAL WORK PROFESSIONUNIT-4

2. NATIONAL POLICY ON VOLUNTARY SECTOR, 2005 ..now 2007 1.Preamble This Policy is a commitment to encourage, enable and empower an independent, creative and effective voluntary sector, with diversity in form and function, so that it can contribute to the social, cultural and economic advancement of the people of India. The voluntary sector has contributed significantly to finding innovative solutions to poverty, deprivation, discrimination and exclusion, through means such as awareness raising, social mobilization, service delivery, training, research, and advocacy. The voluntary sector has been serving as an effective non-political link between the people and the Government. This policy recognizes the important role that the voluntary sector has to play in various areas and affirms the growing need for collaboration with the voluntary sector by the Government, as well as by the private sector, at the local, provincial and national levels.

3. 2. Scope of the Policy In the Policy, voluntary organizations (VOs) mean to include organizations engaged in public service, based on ethical, cultural, social, economic,political, religious, spiritual, philanthropic or scientific & technological considerations. VOs include formal as well as informal groups, such as:community-based organizations (CBOs); non-governmental development organizations (NGDOs); charitable organizations; support organizations; networks or federations of such organisations; as well as professional membership associations.

4. To be covered under the Policy, VOs should broadly have the following Characteristics: a) They are private, i.e., separate from Government b) They do not return profits generated to their owners or directors c) They are self-governing, i.e., not controlled by Government d) They are registered organizations or informal groups, with defined aims and objectives.

5. 3. Objectives of the Policy The specific objectives of the policy are listed below: • To create an enabling environment for VOs that stimulates their enterprise and effectiveness, and safeguards their autonomy; • To enable VOs to legitimately mobilize necessary financial resources from India and abroad; • To identify systems by which the Government may work together with VOs,on the basis of the principles of mutual trust and respect, and with shared responsibility; and, • To encourage VOs to adopt transparent and accountable systems of governance and management.

6. INDIAN CONSTITUTION AND ITS IMPLICATION FOR SOCIAL WELFARE • Indian Constitution is the lengthiest written constitution in the world. This constitution has been in operation for over years. This shows the strength of the Indian democracy and the faith of the people in the constitution. The knowledge of the Constitution of India is important as it lays the foundation for citizenship training.

7. THE PREAMBLE • The Preamble is an introduction to the constitution. It sets out the goals, the values and the ideals for which our country stands. The objectives specified in the Preamble contains the basic structure of our constitution, which can not be amended in exercise of the power under article 368 of the constitution.

8. The preamble is a part of the constitution which reads as: “WE THE PEOPLE OF INDIA, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a SOVEREIGN, SOCIALIST, SECULAR DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC and to secure to all its citizens: JUSTICE, social, economic and political; LIBERTY of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship; EQUALITY of status and of opportunity; and to promote among them all; FRATERNITY assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity and integrity of the Nation;In our constituent assembly this twenty-sixth day of November 1949, do hereby adopt,enact and give to our selves this constitution”.

9. FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS • Fundamental rights are the political and civil rights meant for all the citizens. Kept in Part III of the constitution, Fundamental Rights are borrowed mainly from the UDHR (Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948) and Bill of Rights enshrined in the American constitution. The fundamental rights are provided to protect the dignity of the individual and to create conditions in which every human being can develop his or her personality to the fullest extent possible. The constitutional remedies make the fundamental rights active, alive and functional.

10. CLASSIFICATION OF FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS: Broadly fundamental rights can be classified, based on nature, in six groups. a) Right to Equality (Arts. 14-18) b) Right to Freedom (Arts. 19-22) c) Right against Exploitations (Arts. 23-24) d) Right to Freedom of Religion (Arts. 25-28) e) Cultural and Educational Rights (Arts. 29-30) f) Right to Constitutional Remedies (Arts. 32-35)

11. Right to Equality (Arts 14-18) • Article 14 - The State shall not deny any person ‘equality before law’ and ‘equal protection of laws’ within the territory of India. • Article 15 - directs that the State shall not discriminate against a citizen on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth or any of them. It prohibits discrimination but permits state to make special provisions.

12. Article 16- creates the right to equality of opportunity in public employment which explains that no citizen shall be discriminated against or be ineligible for any employment or office under the State on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth, descent or residence. Article 17 Abolition of Untouchability : Our Constitution abolishes untouchability and forbids its practice in any form.

13. Rights to Freedom (Arts. 19-23) Article-19 All citizens shall have the right to freedom of speech and expression, peaceful assembly without arms, unionization or forming association, free movement and freedom to settle anywhere within country. Article 22 guarantees four rights to the person who is arrested under an ordinary law. • The right to be informed as soon as, may be the ground of arrest. • The right to consult and to be represented by a lawyer of one’s own choice. • The right to be produced before a magistrate within 24 hours. • The freedom from detention beyond the set period except by the order of the magistrate.

14. RIGHTS AGAINST EXPLOITATION ARTICLES 23 -24 Article 23 - prohibits trafficking in human beings, beggar, slavery, and other similar forms of forced labour. Art.23-Clause (2) permits the State to impose compulsory services for public purposes. Trafficking in human being means selling and buying men, women and children like marketable commodities. The traffic in human beings include slavery, immoral traffic in women and children for immoral purposes like sex work and other forms of forced labour. Article 24 - The Constitution clearly prohibits employment of Children below 14 years of age in factories and hazardous employment The government has enacted several laws to prohibit children from working.

15. Right to Freedom of Religion(Arts. 25-28) Article - 25. The term ‘religion’ is not defined in the Constitution whereas it also guarantees secularism as one of the ideals of the Constitution. It guarantees a) freedom of conscience, b) freedom to profess, practice and propagate any religion. Reasonable restrictions to this freedom are religious liberties subject to public order, morality and health. Further subject to public order, morality and health every religious denomination or any section should have the following rights to establish and maintain institutions for religious and charitable purposes: a) to manage its own affairs in the matters of religion. b) to own and acquire movable and immovable properties. c) to administer such properties in accordance with law. Article. 27 -In order to ensure the secular character, provides ‘no one shall be compelled to pay any tax for the promotion or maintenance of any particular religion or religious denomination’.

16. Cultural and Educational Rights (Articles. 29-30) Article - 29. State has been entrusted responsibility of protection of interests of minorities, It also confers minorities right to establish and administer educational institutions and provides following four distinctive rights : • a) Right of any section of citizens to conserve its own language, script or culture • b) Right of all religion and linguistic minorities to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice • c) Right of an education institution not to be discriminated in matters of State aid on grounds that it is managed by a religious or linguistic minority [Art. 30 (2)]. • d) Right of the citizen not to be denied admission in to any State maintained or State aided institutions on grounds of religion, caste, race or language [Art. 29 (2)].

17. Right to Constitutional Remedies (Articles. 32-35) • Article 32 guarantees to a person the right to move the Supreme Court directly for the enforcement of their fundamental rights. The Supreme Court can issue various kinds of writs for the enforcement of these rights. The right to Constitutional remedies shall not be suspended except as otherwise provided in the constitution that is during emergency under Article 352. Article 32 has been called the cornerstone of the entire edifice set up by the constitution. Dr. Ambedkar called it “the very heart and soul of the Constitution”.

18. ONE CAN SEEK REDRESSAL THROUGH FOLLOWING PETITIONS. The Writ of Habeas Corpus: It means “To have a body”. It is a powerful safeguard against arbitrary acts not only on private individuals but also of the executive. This writ can be filed by any one including the arrested person, his relatives, friends etc. This petition will force the arresting authorities to produce the person bodily in the court. The Writ of Mandamus: Literally means ‘we command’ This writ commands the person to whom it is addressed to perform public or quasi public legal duty which he has refused to perform and the performance of which cannot be enforced by any other legal remedy. The Writ of Prohibition: It simply means to forbid or to stop. The Supreme Court or High Court issues directions to an inferior court or institution of governance, forbidding the latter to continue proceeding in a case in excess of its jurisdiction or to encroach on jurisdiction with which it is not legally vested. The Writ of Certiorari: It means ‘to be more fully informed of’. It is issued to a lower court after a case has been decided by it denouncing or abolishing that order. The objective is to secure that order. Jurisdiction of an inferior court does not encroach the jurisdiction which it does not possess. The Writ of Quo warranto : The writ of Quo warrranto means ‘by what warrant or by what order’. It is a proceeding by which the court inquires into the legality of the claim, which a party asserts to a public office and to remove from his or her employment if the claim is not found.

19. DIRECTIVE PRINCIPLES OF STATE POLICY Socialist Principles • Equal distribution of wealth and material resources among all classes of people so as to prevent its concentration in a few hands. (Art. 38 and 39) ii) Provision of adequate means of livelihood to all the citizens. (Art. 43) iii) Equal pay for equal similar work for both men and women. (Art. 39) iv) Right to work, education and public assistance (Art. 41)

20. FUNDAMENTAL DUTIES The fundamental duties are incorporated by the 42nd Amendment to the Constitution in 1976 as Article 51-A in Part IV-A. India is the only country having in the constitution rights and duties side by side. Rights and duties are correlated. The following ten are the charter of duties for the citizens of India: a) to abide by the Constitution and respect its ideals and institutions, the National flag and the National Anthem; b) to cherish and follow the noble ideals which inspired our national struggle for freedom. c) to uphold and protect the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India; d) to defend the country and render national service when called upon to do so; e) to promote harmony and spirit of common brotherhood amongst all the people of India transcending religious, linguistic and regional or sectional diversities; to renounce practices derogatory to the dignity of women;

21. Charter of duties for the citizens of India:……… f) to value and preserve the rich heritage of our composite culture; g) to protect and improve the natural environment including forest, lakes, rivers and wild life, and to have compassion for living creatures; h) to develop the scientific temper, humanism and the spirit of inquiry and reform; i) to safeguard public property and to abjure violence; j) to strive towards excellence in all spheres of individual and collective activity so that nation constantly rises to higher levels of endeavour and achievement.

22. VOLUNTARY ORGANISATIONS/VOLUNTARY AGENCIES IN PROMOTING SOCIAL WELFARE VOLUNTARY ORGANISATION A voluntary organisation, properly speaking, is an organisation which whether its workers are paid or unpaid is initiated and governed by its own members without external control. The independence of voluntary action does not however mean a lack of co-operation between it and public action. But the term voluntary action means that the agency undertaking it has a will and a life of its own. DEFINITION AS defined by the National Council of Social Service, a voluntary social service is interpreted generally as the organisation and activities of a self-governing body of people who have joined together voluntarily to study or act for betterment of the community.

23. Objectives of Voluntary Organisations The following are the main objectives for which various organisations are working: • Protection and development of children • Welfare of women in the rural areas. • Services for youth. • Community welfare. • Promotion of educational facilities. • Promotion of public conscience on social problems. • Promotion of moral standards and family. welfare. • Prevention of disease, health care, etc. • Protection and welfare of the handicapped. • Eradication of social handicaps for certain groups. • Spiritual upliftment • Prorogation of international brotherhood. • Promotion of natural interests through voluntary effort. • Training of workers for fieldwork. • Protection of nature, animals, etc.

24. VOLUNTARY ORGANISATIONS IN INDIA At present in India quite a large number of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are working for various causes. They help groups and individuals with diverse political and other interests, contribute to the strengthening of a feeling of national solidarity and promote the participative character of democracy. They have a role to play not only in areas which are accepted as state responsibilities, they can also venture into new fields, work in new areas, unveil social evils and give attention to any unattended or unmet needs. Many of the NGOs act as a stabilizing force by welding together people into groups that are not politically motivated and are not concerned about the fortunes of any political party or in capturing political power, but are above party politics and are interested in other areas of nation-building and thus contribute to national integration and a focus on non-political issues. EXAMPLES: Non -Government ORGs Examples:World Vision,MCCSS,Action AID There are also government-organised NGOs such as Mahila Mandal, Youth Clubs,Co-operative Societies, National Service Scheme, n e h r u Y uva Kendras and government sponsored organisations in the form of Trusts setup in the name of diseased leaders, for example, the Kasturba Gandhi Trust, Gandhi Smarak Nidhi,Nehru and Kamla Nehru Trust, Indira Gandhi Trust, and the recent Rajiv Gandhi Foundation.

25. Role of Voluntary Organisations in Social Welfare In fact, the social and economic development programme, enunciated in the fourteen point constructive programme of Gandhiji, was used as a spring-board to accelerate the process of political struggle for independence and a way to activate the underprivileged and down-trodden masses to develop themselves economically and socially, on a "self-help through mutual help" basis. A network of voluntary agencies was created to promote different constructive programmes like village industries, Khadi, Nai Talim, Leprosy Work, Harijan Seva, etc. with the help of thousands of selfless and dedicated workers. This was the basis of social welfare programmes by the voluntary organisaticms in the post-independence period. The main objective of planned development is to mobilise the known as well as the hidden, material and human resources in such a way as to improve the socioeconomic living conditions of the people to the maximum at a given time. In general,voluntary organisations have a role.to play in the economic and industrial development of the country and also to motivate people to eliminate the evil influences'of the industrialisation. Though the voluntary organisation do not have much of a role to play in transport and communication, they did play ai important role in the construction and maintenance or fielded and village roads.

26. IMPACT OF VOLUNTARY SERVICES IN SOCIAL WELFARE Voluntary organisations play an important role in social welfare through the development of education, health, housing and providing welfare services for the weak, underprivileged and handicapped sections of the population and through efforts aimed at the social development of people, in terms of a change in their physical, intellectual, emotional, social and moral composition. Social development increases peoples capacity to provide and contribute in greater degrees for the own well being as well as for the good of society. It is here that voluntary organisations have played and will have to still play an even more effective role in pushing the programmes of social development forward. While voluntary organisation have traditionally worked in the field of social welfare certain state welfare organisations have also supplemented voluntary efforts, particularly in the field of beggary, prostitution, juvenile delinquency, etc. However, in all the fields,voluntary organisations emphasize the welfare aspect, particularly because state policy focuses primarily on giving financial and legislative assistance to the state welfare organisations.

27. ROLE OF GOVERNMENT AND VOLUNTARY ORGANISATIONS IN PROMOTING SOCIAL WELFARE The government has accepted it as a major means of social welfare and is providing financial assistance without directly being involved in the functioning of voluntary organisation. The Government of India has recognized that voluntary organisations are not able to carry out the welfare programmes to a great extent and moreover the government bureaucracy being rule bound and essentially conservatives, it may not be advisable to entrust development work to the bureaucracy. So a shift has come about in government thinking regarding inductment of NGOs in development since the Sixth Plan period. While the voluntary agencies have been involved in the government's welfare programmes for a long time, the idea that the scope of this co-operation should be widened has been gaining ground for a few decades. In October 1982, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi wrote to all the Chief Ministers that consultative groups of voluntary agencies must be established at the state level. The document of the Seventh Plan (1985-90) made this resolve clearer when it is said that during this plan, serious efforts will be made to involve voluntary agencies in various development programmes of rural development. Significant for the voluntary social services, is the constitution of the central social welfare board. Finally, of the greatest potential significance is the constitution of a Division of Social Security in the Central Government.

28. The problem of coordinating the activities' of government and non-governmental agencies is in some ways more difficult than the problem of coordinating the activities of central and state governments. The need as well as the difficulty of co-coordinating government and NGOs are much greater. Particularly within the field of Social Welfare, as different from the areas of health and education, The Planning Commission attempts to establish a liaison between these two efforts in three ways: • By associating NGOs in the process of planning. • By entrusting some government sponsored programmes to NGOs for implementation. • By promoting the growth of NGOs through a programme of grants-in- aid. There are two ways by which the government could help the existing agencies to function effectively and grow in response to changing situations. One is by offering direct help in terms of finances and equipment. Another way is in the manner in which the existing agencies may continually be associated with statutory action. Yet another important way in which the government can help the voluntary agencies in through legislation. Voluntary agencies, if they are worth the name, must be born of voluntary endeavor. However, it is possible for the government to create conditions under which people may be encouraged to organize new voluntary agencies.

29. IDEOLOGIES OF VOLUNTARY ORGANIZATIONS As the limitations of state-sponsored, project-based, top-down development became apparent, the 1980s and the 1990s saw increasing attention focused on private, professional development organizations called non-government organizations (NGOs) NGO is a United Nations term coined mainly to indicate the difference between the organizations of the states, which are its direct members, and the organizations that do not belong to the state. Privatisation and globalization catapulted the NGOs onto centre stage, often according them a major role in dealing with the new social, economic, political and environmental concerns (Voluntary Action Network India,). The founding members of the NGOs that came up in the 1980s and the 1990s were still the middle calls or lower middle class professionals and quasi-professionals.

30. The Seventh Five Year Plan (1985-90) granted formal recognition to NGOs. The 1980 and the 1990s also saw growth in the size and the number of NGOs, and diversification of its roles into three types: • NGOs that concentrate on development while acting as intermediaries between donor agencies (indcluding the government and foreign) and the poor. • NGOs that concentrate on empowerment, which take initiatives to form community-based organisations (CBOs), help the poor obtain their rights from the state, organize them around issues that adversely affect them, and lobby for them at various levels of the state, form networks around popular issues and campaigns around issues such as energy, environment, housing or women’s rights. • NGOs as development consultants which provide training to smaller NGOs and CBOs, consulting services to governments and foreign agencies and conduct documentation and research.

31. VOLUNTARY ACTION Meaning of Voluntary Action The term voluntary action refers to the initiatives undertaken by people independently towards the achievement of common goals and objectives. Lord Beveridge describes voluntary action as that action which is not directed or controlled by the state. He calls it a private enterprise for social progress. Thus, a voluntary organisation or agency is one, which is not initiated and governed by any external control but by its own members. Definition of Voluntary Action According to Lord Beveridge: " The term voluntary action as used here, means private action, that is to say, action not under the directions of any authority wielding the power of the state."

32. Nature of Voluntary Action As regards a voluntary worker, Lord Beveridge points out that a voluntary worker is someone who gave unpaid service to a good cause, and the group, which was formed to run this good cause, came to be known as a voluntary organisation. He firther adds that in recent years there has been a significant shift of meaning in these concepts. Nowadays, many of the most active voluntary organisations are staffed entirely by highly trained and fairly well paid professional workers. The distinctively voluntary character of such bodies is the product not of the kind of workers they employ but of the manner of their origin and method of government.

33. SOCIAL WORK AND VOLUNTARY ACTION Social work has also ensured the protection of human rights through various social legislations. This enhances the happiness of the entire community by protecting from injustice and by punishing those who do not conform to the social interest. Besides ' social legislations tackle social problems like untouchability, child marriage. The dowry system, sati, the devadasi system and various other social problems, thus helping to build a wholesome community. The emerging new notion of social service as a force and instrument in the promotion of planned social change and development enlarges the scope or professional social work activity, which traditionally, has been associated with such fields of practice as child and family welfare, medical and psychiatric social work, school social work, correctional and group services. Social work has also taken up new responsibilities by tying up with other disciplines to fight poverty and the problems of modern society.