APPENDIX L- SCOPE OF SOCIAL WORK IN INDIA AND ITS ORGANISATIONAL SET-UP
In 1948 an ad-hoc committee for considering the establishment of an All India Council of Social Service and an institute was appointed and representatives of various institutions were invited to attend the meeting. The Committee recommended that the All India Council of Social Service should be set up as an Advisory Body with the following aims and objects :
(i) to collect and disseminate data concerning Social Service and to act as a clearing house of information for Social Service Units, Associations and Organisations;
(ii) to provide opportunities Ad facilities to social Welfare Workers to come together for discussion of their problems and for suggestions on the lines of Social Service;
(iii) to devise methods and means of Social Welfare Services;
(iv) to recognise Social Welfare societies;
(v) to consider applications and to recommend disbursement of grants-in-aid to Social Welfare Societies, Organizations and Institutes;
(vi) to advise Government on matters relating to Social Welfare;
(vii) to recommend to the Government of India names of repre- sentatives for International Conferences, such as UNESCO.
On the recommendation of the Committee a Council consisting of representatives of the Provincial Governments and certain Social Service Institutions has been set up.
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At the present moment Social Welfare Work is being conducted by certain societies and organizations such as the Indian Conference of Social Work, Bombay, the United Council for Relief, Delhi and other agencies. The Government of India have been taking active interest in the work of these organizations and have in certain cases given grants-in-aid to them. There are also four important schools which impart training in Social Welfare Work. These are:- (i) Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Bombay; (ii) The National YWCA. School of Social Work, Delhi; (iii) Department of Social Welfare, Calcutta University ; and (iv) Institute of Social Service, Kashi Vidyapith, Banaras. These institutions have their degree and diploma courses. The Ministry of Education in consultation with the Ministries of Labour, Health and Rehabilitation, has recently undertaken to co- ordinate the courses of these institutions and have suggested the
allocation of fundamental and specialized courses among them.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE MEETING OF THE AD-HOC COMMITTEE TO CONSIDER THE
QUESTION OF SETTING UP OF AN ALL-INDIA COUNCIL OF SOCIAL SERVICE, HELD
ON THE 26TH JUNE, 1948. A meeting of the Ad-Hoc Committee to consider the question of setting up of an All-India Council of Social Service was held in Com- mittee Room 'A', North Block, Central Secretariat, New Delhi, oil Saturday, the 26th June, 1948, at 3-30 P.M.
The following were present:-
CHAIRMAN Dr. Tara Chand, M.A., D.Phil (Oxon),
Educational Adviser to the Government of India.
MEMBERS 1. Sri S. R. Bhartya,
Representative of the All-India Seva Samiti, Allahabad.
2. Sj. Jyoti Prasad Bhattacharyya,,
Representative of Visva Bharati, Shantiniketan.
3. Mr. C. Leslie Cross,
Representative of the Friends Service Unit,
Wood Street, Calcutta.
4. Mr. K. D. Gupta,
Representative of the All-India Village Industries Associa- tion, Wardha, C. P.
5. Mrs. Usha Halder,
Representative of the National Council of Women in India.
6. Dr. W. M. Hume, M.A., Ph.D.,
Representative of the National Council of Y.M.C.A., India, Burma and Ceylon.
7. Prof. Humayum. Kabir, M.A. (Oxon), M.A. (Cal.),
Joint Educational Adviser to the Govt. of India..
8. Mr. S. R. Kidwai,
Representative of the Jamia Millia Islamia, Delhi.
9. Dr. J. M. Kumarappa, M.A., Ph.D., S.T.C.,
Representative of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Bombay.
10. Swami Punyananda,
Representative of the Ramakrishna Mission.
11. Mrs. Ansuya Bai Kale, Representative of the All-India Women's Conference, Bombay.
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The following officers of the Ministry of Education also attended:-
1. Dr. R. M. Halder,
Assistant Educational Adviser to the Govt. of India.
2. Dr. N. Mukerji,
Officer on Special Duty, Govt. of India.
3. Mrs. D. Madhavi Amma,
Educational Officer, Government of India.
Mrs. D. Madhavi Amma acted as the Secretary to the meeting.
The Representatives of the following Institutions were unable to attend:-
1. Mysore University, Mysore.
2. Sarvodaya Samaj, Gandhi Ashram, Wardha.
3. Kasturba Trust Fund Wardha.
The Chairman, Dr. Tara Chand, opened the meeting with the following remarks:-
As early as 1937, a Memorandum submitted to the Government of
India stressed the need for establishing a Social Service Unit in India under the aegis of the Government. in 1940, a sub-Committee ap- pointed by the Central Advisory Board of Education recommended that a central body called the All-India Council of Social Service with an Institute for research and training school for social workers should be brought into existence. On account of the War, no action could be taken on the recommendation. The Central Advisory Board has again considered this question and recommended that these recommendations should now be implemented. The Chairman pointed out that the AdHoc Committee would have to consider two questions:-
1. The desirablity of establishing an All-India Council of Social Service to stimulate and co-ordinate the activities of the existing Social Service Organisations, official and voluntary.
2. The necessity for a Research Institute to undertake enquiry and research into the problems of Social Welfare and coordinate the functions and activities of those Departments of the Government of India which are concerned with Social Welfare. This Institute should , have a Department or a School for training of Social Welfare Workers.
The Chairman pointed out that in every Province there are a number of organisations which are doing useful welfare work, e.g., Y.M.C.A.'s, Y.W.C.A.'s, the Seva Samiti, the Ramkrishna Mission and other Institutions. The present Council would aim at the coordination of the work of these organisations and societies scattered all over India.
As for the Institute for Social Service, the Central Advisory Board had suggested that it should do the kind of work which the London School of Economics does. The Chairman pointed out that it was difficult to decide the relations between the Council and the Institute. Should it be a Social Welfare Department or an Institute for investigation and research ?
After the speech of the Chairman a general discussion ensued The Committee came to the conclusion that the All-India Council of Social Service should be an advisory body. It should bring together the representaives of the various Institutions and organisations doing Social Service in different areas so that they would gain by one another's
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experience. It would also act as an incentive to workers in the Provinces and serve as a guiding and advisory body for Institutions which are already in the field. The Committee expressed the hope that
it would also lead to the formation of Social Service Organisations in areas where at present they did not exist.
The Committee's recommendations may be summarised as follows:-
1. NAME The Committee recommended that an All-India Council of Social Services should be established with the following OBJECTIVES :-
(i) to collect and disseminate data concerning Social Service and to act as a clearing house for Social Service Units, Associations and Organisations ;
(ii) to provide opportunities and facilities to Social Welfare workers to come together for discussion of their problems and for suggestions on the lines of Social Services ;
(iii) to devise methods and means of Social Welfare Services
(iv) to recognise Social Welfare Societies ;
(v) to consider applications and to recommend disbursement of grants-in-aid to Social Welfare Societies, Organisations and Institutes ;
(vi) to advise Government on matters relating to Social Welfare;
(vii) to remommend to the Government of India nominations for representation of International Conferences, such as UNESCO.
2. The Council should consist of:
Nominees of the Govt. of India (of whom at least two
should be women). 6 (six)
Nominees of the 'A' States 9 (nine)
Nominees of the 'B' States 3 (three)
Representatives of the Universities, nominated by the Inter-
University Board 2 (two)
Nominees of the various bodies of Social Workers already in
the field. 5 (five)
An Officer of the Ministry of Education should act as
Secretary of the Council.
3. The Council should meet at least twice a year; extra meetings may be held at the request of a majority of members or at the instance of the Chairman.
4. Membership of the Council should be for a period of four years.
5. Government should place at the disposal of the Council funds for disbursement to Institutions and Societies in the field.
It was decided that the question of the establishment of an Institute for Social Service Research and a School for Practical programme of activities should be left to the Council, when formed.
The meeting dispersed with a vote of thanks to the Chair.
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