Southern States
-
Karnataka-Bangalore
Move to evolve material for curriculum on human rights
By Our Staff Reporter
BANGALORE, DEC. 20. How many students of law or sociology are aware of the plight of dalits and the atrocities committed on them? How many people know about human rights in the context of unorganised labourers who form the majority of the workforce in the country?
The ``Technical Workshop'' on ``Indigenising human rights education in Indian universities'', organised by the Karnataka Women's Information and Resource Centre (KWIRC), a wing of the Singamma Srinivasan Foundation, in association with the National Law School of India University (NLSIU), here on Thursday, addressed these issues, and aimed at developing material to build a curriculum for human rights education, drawing from the experiences of people involved in human rights struggles in India.
Speaking on the objective of the workshop, Dr. Devaki Jain of KWIRC said a need for developing a curriculum for human rights education was felt by the University Grants Commission (UGC) since most of the experiences studied by students were not in the context of Indian situations but those of other countries. Responding to the need, the KWIRC came up with a proposal to record a few efforts in the struggle for human rights in India. ``...Bringing up cases from the ground from a country or a culture, revealing its journey through courts, its technique of using international covenants, and coming back to the ground, can be most useful learning for students who are studying human rights, as it will enlighten them to take interest in matters in the public domain,'' she said.
The dossiers prepared by persons working in different areas of human rights, for the purpose of discourse, would be fine-tuned and compiled, with introductory notes, linkages, and case studies. They would be handed over to the UGC Committee in Human Rights Education in India, she added.
Dr. G. Mohan Gopal, Director, NLSIU, emphasised the need for indigenising the approach to various issues of child rights, and recognising that most of the oppression took place outside the context of the State, in the social context. ``We need to go beyond human rights, and make it a struggle against violence,'' he added.
A dossier on ``SEWA and home-based workers in India'', presented by Ms. Renana Jhabvala, SEWA, threw light on the successful human rights campaign of the unorganised home-based workers led by the organisation, which led to the drafting of a national policy now awaiting Cabinet approval. It focussed on economic empowerment of women through self-employment.
Other dossiers were ``Migration in search of labour and other experiences of dalits'' by Mr. Martin Macwan, Navsarjan, Ahmedabad; ``Child rights'' by Ms. Mahrukh Adenwalla; ``Human rights and environment'' by Ms. Anuprita Patel, Kalpavriksh; and, ``Fisheries -- a natural resource and rights of fish workers'' by Ms. Nalini Nayak and others.
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Southern States
|
