Areas of Social Work Practice

Avtar Sir
Unit-1: Disability and Social Work
1. Concept and meaning: Disability, Impairment, Handicap, and
differently abled
2. Causes of disability, Categories of persons with disability: Physical,
orthopedic, visual, motor & sensory, intellectual and multiple
disability
3. Needs and problems of persons with disability,
4. Prevention of Disability, Rehabilitation programs for the PWDs,
Mainstreaming PWDs as empowerment ideology
Unit-2: Elderly and social work
1. Needs and problems of elderly: physical, psychological, financial,
social and environmental, Changing family norms,
intergenerational gaps, Family relationships and care giving issues
2. Social security measures, Welfare programs/schemes for the
elderly, National Policy for older persons
3. Involvement of the elderly in community resource building; Role of
NGOs, police system, Empowering elderly: Counseling services for
preparation of old age, lifestyle management, retirement plan,
second career
4. Interventions for enhancing wellbeing of the institutionalized
elderly
Unit-3: Conflict mitigation and peace building
1. Understanding conflict: definition, concepts of violence, riots,
rebellion and genocide
2. Conflict in societies: Communal/ethnic/racial/caste- causes and
implications
3. Conflict induced trauma and social work interventions
4. Peace building steps, process and strategies: role of state and civil
societies
Unit-4: Environment, Sustainable Development and Social work
1. Environment: Definition and components, impact of environmental
degradation on marginalized groups, Environmental social work
2. Global environmental issues and concerns, Climate change: Social
implications and consequences such as disasters; food shortages;
migration; conflict
3. Sustainable Development: Concept, potentialities and challenges
4. Environmental movements and Role of civil society organizations
in environment conservation
 Unit 1
Disability and Social Work
Concept and Meaning of Disability
Person with disability are the poorest of the poor and weakest of the weak
who have been socially, educationally and economically advantaged; thus
having customarily denied their right to self-assertion, identity and
development.
Concept of Disability, Impairment and Handicap
Disability is not all alone sometimes impairment and handicap were used
interchangeably, but these terms have different meanings and describe
different concepts.
To promote appropriate use of these terms, in 1980 the World Health
Organization established the internal classification of impairment, disability
and handicap, which define these concepts:
➢ Disability: refers to an individual limitation or restriction of an activity
as the result of impairment.
➢ Impairment: refers to the less or abnormality of psychological,
physical, or anatomical structure of function at the system or organ
level that may or may not be permanent and that may not result in
disability.
➢ Handicap: refers to the disadvantage to the individual resulting from an
impairment or disability that presents a barrier to fulfilling a role or
reaching a goal.
Statistics on disabled person
As per 2001 census, 21.9 million or 21, 906, 269 people are disabled in India,
who constitutes 2.13% of the total population. Out of the 21, 906, 769 people
with disabilities, 12, 605, 635 are males and 9, 301, 134 are females. This
includes person with visual hearing, speech, locomotor and mental
disabilities. Seventy five percent of persons with disabilities live in rural
areas, 49 percent of disabled population is literate and only 34 percent are
employed.
Characteristics of Disabilities
1. Due to loss or abnormality of physical organs (e.g.,) mal-formation of
limbs, cleft lip, disfigured fingers.
2. Disorders due to dysfunction of organs of the body even though they
 may have normal anatomical structure.
3. Impairment of organs of the body. Due to genetic disorders,
developmental defects, accidents or diseases.
4. Due to the limitation of one’s functioning arising from impairment.
5. Due to the inability to undertake activities of daily life like others i.e.,
one’s functional efficiency getting affected.
6. The degree of disability could be reduced with the use of appropriate
equipment and appliances.
7. The handicap arising out of disability could be greatly reduced by
providing appropriate opportunities and facilities in the society.
8. Rehabilitation could be provided to the disabled by offering proper
educational climate and exercise.
9. Without motivation and exercise, the degree of disability is likely to
increase.
Causes of Disability
Some peoples have been disabled since birth. Some people become more
disabled over time. Some people become disabled suddenly, because of an
accident or diseases.
It is not possible to prevent all impairments. Some babies form differently
inside the womb and no one knows why.
But many disabilities in babies are caused by harmful conditions of women’s
lives. If women can get enough nutritious food to eat, can protect themselves
from work with toxic chemicals, and can get good health care, including care
at the time of childbirth, then many disabilities could be prevented.
1. Poverty and Malnutrition:Poverty is one of the biggest causes of
disability. Poor people are most vulnerable to disability because they
are forced to live and work in unsafe environments with poor
sanitation, crowded living conditions, and with little access to
education, clean water, or enough good food. This makes diseases such
as tuberculosis and polio and the severe disabilities they cause-much
more common because diseases get passed from one person to another
more easily.
Many babies who are born in poor families may be born with disabilities or
may die in infancy. This may be because the mother didn’t get enough to eat
when she was pregnant or when she was girl.
If a bay or young child doesn’t get enough good food to eat, she or he may
become blind or have trouble learning or understanding.
2. War: In today’s wars, mor civilians than soldiers are killed or disabled.
Explosions cause people to become, deaf, blind, and lose their limbs, as
well as causing other injuries. Their mental health is also badly affected
by the violence. The destruction of homes, schools, health centers, and
means of livelihood that results from conflicts and wars leads to
increased disability, poverty and disease.
3. Landmines, cluster bombs, bullets, and chemicals used in wars: It
causes more disabilities in the world today than anything else. They
often injure people who are carrying out their daily activities, such as
farming, or gathering water and wood.
Explosions and landmines cause many leg and arm injuries, and often a
child’s or a woman’s leg has to be amputated. But only about 1 of every 4
amputees gets an artificial leg to replace a lost leg, because they are usually
expensive or difficult to get.
4. Nuclear Accidents:Many people have suffered after being exposed to
massive amounts of radiation. This happened after accidents in nuclear
power plants at Three Mile Island in the USA in 1979, and at
Chernobyl in the Ukraine in 1986. And it also happened when the USA
dropped nuclear bombs on Japan in 1945. These incidents caused
widespread destruction and death from exposure to radiation.
The people who survived these accidents and bombing attacks have suffered
mainly from cancers-either tumors in various parts of the body, especially in
the thyroid gland-or leukemia (cancer of the blood), all of which bring and
early death. In communities where these nuclear incidents happened, there
has also been an increase in the number of children born with learning
difficulties, such as Down Syndrome.
5. Poor access to health care:good health care can prevent many
disabilities. Difficult labor and birth can cause a baby to be born with a
disability such as cerebral palsy. Many times, medicines, treatment
vaccines are not available or people who are poor or live far from cities
cannot afford them, or there are not enough for everyone.
6. Medicines and Injections:When used correctly, certain injected
medicines like some vaccinations are important to protect health and
prevent disability. However, there is worldwide epidemic of
unnecessary injection. Each year these unnecessary injections sticken,
kill, or disable millions of persons.
Giving injections with an unclean needle or syringe is a common cause of
injection and can pass the germs that cause serious diseases such as
HIV/AIDS or hepatitis. Unclean injections are also a common cause of
injection that can lead to paralysis or spinal cord injury or death. Also, some
injected medicines can cause dangerous allergic reactions poisoning, and
deafness to a baby in the mother’s womb.
7. Dangerous work conditions: People who work along hours without
enough rest are likely to have accidents. People who work in factories,
mines or on agricultural plantations can be exposed to dangerous
machinery, tools, or chemicals. Accidents, overwork can exposure to
chemical can all cause disabilities.
A growing number of women have also been permanently injured due to
violence at work. Supervisors sometimes use violence and threats to try and
make people work harder and faster.
8. Accidents: can lead to permanent disabilities that relate to the
circumstances and the severity of the accident involved including
paralysis caused by spinal cord trauma, complete or partial limb
amputation, sensory, deprivations, including deafness or blindness.
9. Poisons and Pesticides: Poisons such as lead found in paints, pesticides
such as rat poison, and other chemicals can cause disabilities in people
and cause birth defects in babies growing in the womb. Smoking or
chewing tobacco, breathing smoke, and drinking alcohol cause
 disability in person and also to child if it consumes during pregnancy.
Workers often use chemicals on the job or in the fields without being taught
how to use them safely, or without even knowing if they are dangerous.
Accidents in factories can release poisons into the air, water, or ground,
causing terrible health problems including permanent disabilities, e.g.,
Bhopal gas tragedy incident.
Problems/Needs of Person with Disabilities
Some of the challenges that is faced by disabled people.
1. Accessibility:The world around us is not a walk in the park. People
have to face several obstacles in every step we take. This is much
worse for physically disabled people. They mostly move around in
wheelchairs or use crutches. So, moving around freely is not a luxury
that they can afford. Moreover, the public places that we have, are
rarely made keeping in mind the comfort of people with disabilities.
There are no ramps, or the hallways are too narrow for them to move.
Nowadays, many wheelchairs are automated, and buildings are
constructing a private residential elevator to make the movement of the
disabled people a little bit easier.
2. Education: is a basic right for all human, in a perfect world education
would be free and available to everyone but the reality is far from it. A
large number of children with disabilities remain out of school and thus
they are deprived of basic education. They are not ableto run the race of
life like the other normal kids. To solve this issue, several education
institutions have been opened with focuses on the education of these
kids with special needs, they learn the Braille system and adaptive
technology helps them lead a better life.
3. Access to healthcare:Often, people with intellectual disabilities are
mistreated by the health workers and this makes matters worse. This
can be only solved by proper awareness and empathy. The disabled
people find the speck of good in these situations and help each other in
whatever way possible.
4. Myths and stereotypes:When we interact with people with disabilities,
we fall victims to certain myths that are born out of our lack of
knowledge and empathy towards such people.
5. Feelings of being ignored: When we interact with a physically
challenged person it doesn’t mean that, he is also suffering from visual
or hearing impairment. This thought process often stops us from
interacting and communicating with such people. These disability
barriers need to be torn down, which is only possible for more
awareness.
6. Lack of employment:When people are deprived of basic education,
they are bound to fall behind other candidates for that job. The
government has introduced schemes which should guarantee jobs for
disabled people.
7. Feeling of being incompetent:Disabled people need more time to do a
particular work than other normal people. The disability barriers stop
him from performing basic tasks with ease. This makes the person with
disabilities that he pulling his mates down and if filled with sorrow and
 anger.
8. Teased and Abused:People find superiority in bullying the weak and
underprivileged. Disabled people often find themselves at the receiving
end of such violent and disgusting actions.
9. Being Patronized:People with special needs often hear things like, “I
know what you are going through” or “I know this must be hard.”
These kinds of words never do justice to the problems those people
face and the troubles they go through every day. A normal person can’t
know exactly what that person is feeling.
10. Relationships: Human beings are complicated. They judge others on a
set of parameters that may or may not apply to all situations. These
prejudices are the root cause of all mistrust and misunderstanding. Most
disabled people are desired as life partners, this often brings sadness
and loneliness to their lives.
General legal provisions for disabled
The disabled and the constitution:
➢ The constitution secures to the citizens including the disabled, a right
of justice, liberty of the thought, expression, belief, faith and worship,
equality of status and of opportunity and for the promotion of fatuity.
(Article 15 (1); Article 21, Article 23)
➢ Article 24 prohibits employment of children below the age of 14 years.
➢ Article 29(2) right to education no citizen shall be denied admission
into any educational institution maintained by the state.
➢ Article 45, provide free and compulsory education for all citizen
including disabled population.
➢ Article 47 of the constitution imposes on the government a primary
duty to raise the level of nutrition and standard of living of its people
and make improvement in public health.
Succession laws for the Disabled
➢ Under the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 which applies to Hindus it has
been specifically provided that physical disability or physical
deformity would not disentitle a person from inheriting ancestral
property.
Income tax Concession (for Disabled Person)
➢ Section 80 DD provides for a deduction in respect of the expenditure
incurred by an individual or Hindu undivided family resident in India
on the medical treatment (including nursing) training and rehabilitation
etc. of disabled dependents.
➢ A new section 80 V has been introduced to ensure that the percent in
whose hand income of a permanently disabled minor has been dubbed
under section 64, is allowed to claim a deduction up to Rs. 20000 in
terms of section of 80V.
Inclusive Education and the person with disability (Equal opportunities,
Protection and full participation) act 1995.
➢ Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) asserted that education
was a basic human right. And ensure education for all Inclusive
education, disability and special educational needs.
 ➢ The 2002 sample survey conducted by the NSSO has estimated that
about 1.8% of the population of the country suffered from physical and
mental disabilities that includes visual, speech, hearing, locomotor and
mental disabilities. There are approximately 18.49 million disabled
persons in the country.
Managing the development on inclusive policies and practices.
1. Initiating changes
2. Developing a philosophy on inclusion
3. Inclusion as a system-wide development
4. Mobilizing opinion and building consensus
5. Developing a situation and analysis
6. The role of legislation
7. Changing administrative structures
8. Mobilizing resources for inclusion
9. Building partnerships
Professional Development for Inclusive Education
1. A whole-system approach
2. Supported School Development
3. Reviewing the structures of teacher education.
4. Making training systematic.
5. Education Assessment as part of Quality.
6. Mobilizing support in and around school.
7. Building support to schools and communities.
8. The establishment of resources centers.
9. Developing outreach capacity in special schools.

➢ Disability certificate is the most basic document that a disabled person

should possess in order to avail certain benefits and concessions. The
state governments can issue a disability certificate to any person with
more than 40% disability.
➢ People who are above 18 years of age, suffering with more than 80%
disability and are living below the poverty line are entitled to the
disability pension under the Indira Gandhi Nation Disability Pension
Scheme. Various NGOs are dedicated to this because i.e., they help
such persons with disabilities to get their disability pension.
Employment: In government jobs, 3% of the seats are reserved for
person with disabilities.
Person with Disability Act 2016
Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act. 2016 (RPWD) was enacted under the
Article 253 of the constitution of India read with item no.13 of the Union list.
Draft bill of the Act was created in 2011. The bill was passed by the Rajya
Sabha on 14 December 2016 and by Lok Sabha on 17 December 2016 Rights
of persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 came into effect on 30 December 2016.
It replaced the Persons with disability (PwD) act that was enacted way back
in 1995. This right came into force from 19th April 2017, disability has been
defined based on an evolving and dynamic concept.
United Nations Convention on the Rights of persons with disabilities in 2006.
Whereas India is a signatory to the said convention and India ratified the said
convention on the 2007. It is necessary to implement the Convention
aforesaid.
The Pwd Act 2016 fulfills the obligations to the United Nation Convention
on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD).
Salient features of the Act
➢ Disability has been defined based on an involving and dynamic
concept.
➢ The types of disabilities have been increased from existing 7 to 21 and
the Central Government will have the power to add more types of
disabilities. Here is the list of 21 disabilities that have been identified
under the RPWD Act 2016 of India:
1. Blindness:is defined as the state of being sightless. A blind individual is
unable to see. In a strict sense the word blindness denotes the condition
of blackness of vision with the inability of a person to distinguished
darkness from bright light in either eye.
2. Low-Vision:means a condition where a person has any of the following
conditions, namely: (i) visual activity not exceeding 6/18 or less than
20/60 up to 3/60 or up to 10/20 (Snellen) in the better eye with best
possible corrections; or (ii) limitation of the field of vision subtending
an angle of less than 40 degree up to 10 degrees.
3. Leprosy Cured Persons:Leprosy, also known as Hansen’s disease (HD),
is a chronic infections disease caused by a bacteria called
Mycobacterium leprae. The disease mainly affects the skin, the
peripheral nerves, mucosal surfaces of the upper respiratory tract and
the eyes. Leprosy is known to occur at all ages ranging from early
infancy to very old age. About 95% of people who contact M. Leprea
don’t develop the disease.
4. Hearing Impairment: is a partial or total inability to hear. It is a
disability which sub-divided in two categories of deaf and hard of
hearing. “Deaf” means persons having 70dB hearing loss in speech
frequencies in both ears. “Hard of hearing” means person having 60dB
to 70dB hearing loss in speech frequencies in both ears.
5. Locomotor Disability:Strictly speaking locomotor disability means
problem in moving from one place to another-i.e., disability in legs.
But, in general, it is taken as a disability related with bones, joints and
muscles. It causes problems in person’s movement (like walking,
picking or holding things in hand etc.)
6. Dwarfism: is a growth disorder characterized by shorter than average
body height.
7. Intellectual Disability:also known as general learning disability and
Mental retardation (MR), is a condition characterized by significant
limitation both in intellectual functioning (reasoning, learning, problem
solving) and in adaptive behavior which covers range of everyday,
social and practical skills.
8. Mental Illness:or mental disorder refers to a substantial disorder of
thinking, mood, perception, orientation or memory that grossly impairs
judgement, behavior, capacity to recognize reality or ability to meet the
ordinary demands of life.
9. Autism Spectrum Disorder:is a neurological and developmental
disorder which affects communication and behavior. Autism can be
diagnosed at any age.
10. Cerebral Palsy:is a disabling physical condition in which muscle
coordination is impaired due to damage to the brain. It occurs at or
before child birth.
11. Muscular Dystrophy:is a group of neuromuscular genetic disorders
that cause muscle weakness and overall loss of muscle mass. It worse
with a passage of time.
12. Chronic Neurological Conditions: Dystonia, ALS, Stroke, Epilepsy,
Alzheimer, Parkinson, Multiple sclerosis.
13. Specific Learning Disabilities:is a group of disabling conditions that
hampers a person’s ability to listen, think, speak, write, spell, or do
mathematical calculations. One or mor of these disabilities may be
hampered.
14. Multiple Sclerosis:The immune system of body attacks the CNS
which includes brain and spinal cord. As a result of this, the myelin
sheath covering on neurons gets damaged.
15. Speech and Language Disability:A permanent disability arising out of
conditions such as laryngectomy or aphasia effecting one or more
components of speech and language due to organic or neurological
causes.
16. Thalassemia:is a genetically inherited blood disorder which is
characterized by the production of less or abnormal hemoglobin.
17. Hemophilia:is a blood disorder characterized by the lack of blood
clotting proteins. In the absence of these proteins, bleeding goes on for
a longer time than normal.
18. Sickle Cell Disease:is a group of blood disorders that causes red blood
cells (RBCs) to become sickle-shaped, misshapen and break down. It is
genetically transferred disease.
19. Multiple Disabilities Including Deaf-Blindness:Multiple disabilities is
the simultaneous occurrence of two or more disabling conditions that
affect learning or other important life functions.
20. Acid Attack Victims:means a person disfigured due to violent and
assaults by throwing of acid or similar corrosive substance.
21. Parkinson’s Disease: is CNS disorder which affects movement. It is
characterized by tremors and stiffness. It worsens with time. There is
no cure available at present.

➢ Speech and language disability and specific learning disability have

been added for the first time. Acid Attack victims have been included.
Dwarfism, muscular dystrophy has been indicated as separate class of
 specified disability. The new categories of disabilities also included
three blood disorders, thalassemia, hemophilia and sickle cell disease.
➢ In addition, the Government has been authorized to notify any other
category of specified disability.
➢ Responsibility has been cast upon the appropriate governments to take
effective measures to ensure that the person with disabilities enjoy their
right equally with others.
➢ Additional benefits such as reservation in higher education,
government jobs, reservation in allocation of land, poverty alleviation
schemes etc., have been provided for persons with benchmark
disabilities and those with high support needs.
➢ The bill provides for grant of guardianship by District Court under
which there will be joint decision making between the guardian and the
persons with disabilities.
➢ Broad based Central and State Advisory Boards on Disability are to be
set-up to serve as apex policy making bodies at the central and state
level.
➢ Office of Chief Commissioner of Persons with Disabilities has been
strengthened who will now be assisted by 2 commissioners and an
advisory committee comprising of not more than 11 members drawn
from experts in various disabilities.
➢ Similarly, the office of State Commissioner of Disabilities has been
strengthened who will be assisted by and Advisory Committee
comprising of not more than 5 members drawn from experts in various
disabilities.
➢ The chief commissioner for persons with disabilities and the state
commissioners will act as regulatory bodies and Grievance Redressal
agencies and also monitor implementation of the act.
➢ District level committees will be constituted by the State Governments
to address local concerns of PwDs. Details of their constitution and the
functions of such committees would be prescribed by the State
Government in the rules.
➢ Creation of National and State Fund will be created to provide
financial support to the persons with disabilities. The existing National
Fund for Persons with Disabilities and the Trust Fund for
Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities will be subsumed with the
National Fund.
Rights and Entitlements
➢ Responsibility has been cast upon the appropriate governments to take
effective measures to ensure that the persons with disabilities enjoy
their rights equally with others.
➢ Additional benefits such as reservation in higher education (not less
than 5%), government jobs (not less than 4%), reservation in allocation
of land, poverty alleviation schemes (5% allotment) etc., have been
provided for persons with benchmark disabilities and those with high
support needs.
➢ Every child with benchmark disability between the age group of 6 and
 18 years shall have the right to free education.
➢ Government funded educational institutions as well as the government
recognized institution will have to provide inclusive education to the
children with disabilities.
➢ For strengthening the Prime Minister’s Accessible India Campaign,
stress has been given to ensure accessibility in public buildings (both
government and private) in a prescribed time-frame.
Penalties for offences
➢ The Act provides for penalties for offences committed against persons
with disabilities and also violation of the provision of the new law.
➢ Any person who violates provisions of the Act, or any rule or
regulation made under it, shall be punishable with imprisonment up to
six months and/or a fine of Rs. 10,000 or both. For any subsequent
violation, imprisonment of up to two tears and/or a fine of Rs. 50000 to
Rs five lakh can be awarded.
➢ Whoever intentionally insults or intimidates a person with disability, or
sexually exploits a woman or child with disability, shall be punishable
with imprisonment between six months to five years and fine.
➢ Special Courts will be designated in each district to handle cases
concerning violation of right of PwDs.
Case Law
➢ In National Federation of Blind vs. UPSC the supreme court held that,
UPSC may be directed to allow blind persons for appearing the
examinations for Indian administrative and allied services.
➢ In Government of NCT of Delhi vs. Bharath Lalmeena the dekhi high
court held that people with disabilities can be appointed as physical
education teachers provided, they have passed the qualifying
examination undergone the requisite training.
➢ Uttar Pradesh cabinet minister Satyadev Pachauri was the first one to
be booked under this new legislation when disability activist Satyendra
Singh (doctor) filed case against him on publicly humiliating a disabled
employee of Class 4th during a surprise visit.
➢ The supreme court has allowed the admission of a girl suffering from
thalassemia to a medical course in Chhattisgarh after a board opined,
she was eligible to get reservation under the Right of Persons with
disabilities Act, 2016. The girl was ranked sixth in the physically
handicapped category for Chhattisgarh and had cleared NEET. She said
the state didn’t recognize thalassemia as a benchmark disability despite
the law listing it as one.
➢ The Delhi High Court has ruled that temporary disability is not a
disqualification to avail reservation under the Rights of Persons with
Disabilities Act, 2016 and quashed the cancellation of admission
granted to a candidate suffering from a visual impairment which was
likely to improve.
 Unit 2
Elderly and Social Work
Socio Demographic Profile of Older Persons
➢ The number of elderly people worldwide will reach 1000 million.
➢ Europe would continue to be “oldest” region in the world with 25
percent of representation of world elderly.
➢ Out of 10 countries with largest population 60(+) will be from the
Asian continent-China (230 million), India (142 million), Indonesia (29
million) and Pakistan (18 million).
➢ According to the 2001 census, the total number of older persons in
India was 71 million and is expected to cross 173 million by 2026.
Elderly in India (by Help Age India in 2013)
➢ Second largest elderly (60+) population in the world 2011.
➢ 80+ would be fastest to grow 8 million in 2001 to 32 million in 2051.
➢ Life expectancy 31.7 years in 1941 increased to 66 years in 2011.
➢ 55% of the women of 60 years and above are widow. Older women are
more vulnerable.
➢ India acquired the label of “an ageing nation” with 9.9% of its elder
population.
Crime against senior citizen
➢ A total of 18, 714 cases of IPC crimes against senior citizens were
reported during 2014.
➢ Out of 18,714 IPC crimes under crime against senior citizens
maximum cases were reported under cheating (1,567 cases), followed
by robbery (1,184 cases), murder (1,115 cases) and grievous hurt
(1,069 cases).
 ➢ The national capital registered 906 cases of crime against senior
citizens last year, the highest among 19 metropolitan cities in the
country, according NCRB.
Types of Elder Abuse
1. Physical Abuse: use physical force with intention may result bodily
injury and confinement.
2. Sexual Abuse: sexual contact, assault like rape, coerced nudity,
sexually explicit photographing.
3. Emotional or Psychological Abuse: infliction of pain through verbal or
non-verbal acts.
4. Neglect/Self-neglect: may result in starvation, dehydration, over or
under medication, unsanitary conditions and refusal or failure to
provide basic requirement.
5. Abandonment: deserted from caregiver or who has assumed
responsibility (anybody violate sec 24 shall be punished under the Act
with imprisonment of either three months or fine up to 5,000rs or both).
6. Financial or Material exploitation: is the misuse of an elderly or
disabled person’s resources.
Factors instigating elder abuse
1. Social isolation: due to breakdown joint family system, migration,
social change, process of industrialization, modernization (LPG).
2. Stress: caregiver stress, unemployment, life cases, and economic
conditions.
3. Dependence: due to impairments lead to more dependent as well as
more vulnerable to be abused.
4. Negative Attitude: towards elderly looking them as unproductive,
useless and burden on the family and society.
Understanding Ageing
Ageing is a continued process and ‘the aged’ is a category. Tyagi says,
“Ageing means the effect of age i.e., the deterioration in physiological
capabilities” (1997:20). Becker define ageing in broadest sense “as those
changes occurring in an individual, as a result of passage of time.”
Approaches to Old Age
1. Psychological or Biological or functional ageing: gray hair, dry skin,
wrinkles and loss of energy-along with the fact of chronological age-
provide indisputable evidence of ageing.
2. Chronological ageing/calendar: Chronological age is the number of
years a person has been alive. It refers to one’s calendar age, which is
significantly associated with a decreased work ability, and early
discontinuation of working life.
3. Psychological Approach: decline in the mental abilities that accompany
old age. Mental abilities such as memory, intelligence, changing
emotional reactions and attitudes etc. (Tyagi:1997).
4. Socio-cultural ageing: is distinct from biological and psychological
ageing, refers to the stage in the life span of the individual that is
regarded as old by the social groups or community.
Needs and Problems
1. Mobility: is important to elderly, even if it is just within their own
surroundings. Make sure they are properly fitted for either a
wheelchair, motorized mobility chair, walker or cane. Everyday objects,
homes and communities not originally designed with longevity in mind
often became obstacles to movement, safety, independence and
socializing. There is a need for products, programs, and services that
enable people to maximize their safety, strength, balance, fitness,
independence and mobility as they age.
2. Psychological: The elderly has a basic need to remain connected to
family, friends, and like-minded seniors. This is psychologically
beneficial because such connections can minimize issues with
depression and loneliness and boost emotional stability.
3. Social and Environmental: Older adults tend to be in a better place
emotionally if they are able to remain active in familiar communities in
ways that are meaningful use of a local senior transportation service so
they can attend church services, go shopping or simply visit a local
park whenever he or she wishes to do so. While being more socially
involved with friends and family members can certainly be mentally
stimulating.
4. Financial: People are living longer and traditional models of work and
retirement have not kept pace. Financing longevity will require new
models, new tools and new norms. Now opportunities for later life
employment, new models for planning and financing care and better
ways to present scams and fraud are needed.
5. Caregiving: Care for older adults is provided by informal (unpaid) and
formal (paid) caregivers. Both groups are increasingly caring for people
with higher levels of acuity and complex condition. Family caregivers
who are often juggling other family and work responsibilities and
living remote from the care recipient need better support, training,
resources and tools to help them take care of their loved ones and
themselves.
6. Changing family norms: As number of older people increase in relation
to younger generations, daughters/extended family may become less
able to support sonless/childless individuals. Further, if roles adapt to
sociodemographic changes but norms do not, we may observe some
negative effects on older people’s well-being.
7. Family Relationship: Ageing can contribute to poor family
relationships in a number of ways. This, in turn, places significant
mental, physical and financial burdens on older people, caregivers and
extended family members. For an elderly person family is the most
important social group to which he or she is usually tied by a strong
emotional bond and mutual exchange of benefits. First and foremost,
family members are expected to support an elderly person when he or
she is in the adverse situations of life.
8. Transportation: can be lifesaving to an elderly person. If he can no
longer drive, sit up transportation so he can get to and from medical
appointments and physical therapy. Having a caretaker or assistant who
 visits on certain days to take an elderly person to run errand, to attend a
social function or to go to the doctor is beneficial.
Fears of Ageing
1. Loss of independence: can be isolating. Seniors who are isolated often
develop feelings of hopelessness and depression, and the negative
effects on their mental health can lower their quality of life.
Independence gives seniors a sense of purpose.
2. Decline health: In older age their physical health start to deteriorate.
The possibility of worsening health problems is scary in and of itself,
but ageing people also associate declining health with an inability to do
the things they have and the loss of their independence. They may be
afraid to talk about changes in their abilities out of fear of losing their
independence or their home.
3. Running out of money: A common fear for ageing people is running
out of money, no matter how much they have saved. They don’t want to
end up becoming a burden for their loved ones and often worry what
will happen to them if they run short on funds. It can be difficult for
them to talk about money with their children, but it’s a topic that should
be broached so that their fears can be assuaged.
4. Not being able to live at home: For most ageing adults, home isn’t just
a house; it’s a safe heaven, a storehouse of memories, part of their
identity. To many, their home is a part of who they are, and they don’t
want to give that part of themselves up. To help reduce the stress this
fear can cause, talk about it with your ageing people.
5. Death of loved ones: As peoples age, they will start losing more of their
loved ones. This sad fact of life reminds them of their own mortality
and creates a genuine sense of loss of relationships. They may lose
relationships that they have had for years or even decades, including
spousal relationships. This is part of the reason why most ageing adults
are more worried about losing a loved one than they are about their
own life. They often stress over the fear of losing a caregiver as well.
6. Losing ability to manage tasks of daily living: losing the ability to
perform normal tasks of daily living makes ageing adults feel that they
are losing independence and control over their lives. Requiring help
with things such as eating, bathing and dressing can remind them that
they aren’t as capable as they used to be.
7. Not being able to drive: Without a car, ageing parents will no longer be
able to come and go as they please and instead must rely on others to
take them places. Most people gain the freedom of driving as a
teenager, so giving up that freedom after driving for decades can feel
like a major loss. If ageing people have gotten to the point where it is
no longer safe for them to drive, people should make sure they have
access to other means of reliable transportation.
8. Feeling lonely or Isolated: It becomes more difficult to build new
relationships as we age, and the loss of loved ones and relationships is
inevitable. This decrease in relationships leads to increases in time
spent alone and can result in feelings of being unwanted. Additionally,
not being able to drive anymore further increases fears of loneliness
 and isolation. All of this can lead to depression in ageing adults.
Important fact on Elderly Population in India
➢ The elderly population (aged 60 years or above) account for 7.4% of
total population in 2001. For males it was marginally lower at 7.1%
while for females it was 7.8%.
➢ Among states the proportion vary from around 4% in small states like
Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya to
mor that 10.5% in Kerala.
➢ 2nd largest (60+) population in the world (2011).
➢ 70 and above projected to increase from 29 million in 2001 to 13
million in 2051.
➢ 80+ would be fastest to grow 8 million in 2001 to 32 million in 2051.
➢ Life expectancy 31.7 years in 1941 increased to 66 years in 2011.
➢ 55% of the women of 60 years and above are widows and older
women most vulnerable.
➢ Elderly poverty is a major risk of ageing in developing countries.
➢ Both the share and size of elderly population is increasing over time.
From 5.6% in 1961 it is projected to rise to 12.4% of population by the
year 2026.
➢ There is sharp rise in age-specific death rate with age from 20
(per1000) for persons in age group 60-64 years to 8- among those aged
75-79 years and 200 for persons aged more than 85 years.
➢ About 65% of the aged had to depend on others for their day-to-day
maintenance. Less than 20% of elderly women but majority of elderly
men were economically independent.
➢ The elderly person was asked as to whether they were suffering or not
from any chronic disease like heart disease, hypertension, diabetes,
cancer, problems of joints etc. in the NSSO survey (2004).
➢ About 64 per 1000 elderly persons in rural areas and 55 per 1000
elderly persons in urban areas suffer from one or more disabilities.
Most common disability among the aged persons was locomotor
disability as 3% of them suffer from it, next only to hearing disability
(for about 1.5%) and blindness (1.7% in rural areas, and 1% in urban
areas).
National Programs for Elder Care
The focus must be on Independence, participation, care, self-fulfillment and
maintain dignity of elder person.
1. Under the National Old Age Pension Scheme central assistance of Rs
200 for poor destitute and infirm persons above the age of 65 years.
This scheme is implemented in state and UTs through Panchayat and
Municipalities.
2. Indian Railways provide 30% concession in all classes and trains
including Rajdhani/Shatabdi for citizens who have attained a minimum
age of 60 years.
3. Annapurna scheme: 10 kg of rice/wheat is given to all elderly in BPL.
4. Tax rebate: certain percentage is fixed every year which is exempted
 from income tax.
5. Maintenance and welfare of parents and senior citizens act
(imprisonment, fine and disinheritance) 2007 must be implemented
without compromise.
6. Encourage dispute settlement such as mediation, instead of the penal
provision.
The maintenance and welfare of parents and senior citizens act 2007
➢ Maintenance is provision for food, clothing, residence and medical
attendance and treatment. Parents are father or mother where
biological, adoptive or stepfather or stepmother whether the parents are
senior citizen more than 60 years or not. If they cannot sustain
themselves in fulfilling basic requirement then the children must
provide.
Integrated Program for Older Person (IPOP)

➢ Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment is a nodal agency for

the welfare of elderly people. The main objective of the scheme is to
improve the quality of life of older persons by providing basic
amenities like shelter, food, medical care and entertainment
opportunities, etc.

Rashtriya Vayoshri Yojana (RVY)

➢ This scheme is run by the Ministry of Social Justice and
Empowerment. This is a central sector scheme funded from the Senior
Citizens’ Welfare Fund. The fund was notified in the year 2016. All
unclaimed amounts from small savings accounts, PPF and EPF are to
be transferred to this fund.
➢ Under the RVY scheme, aids and assistive living devices are provided
to senior citizens belonging to BPL category who suffer from age-
related disabilities such as low vision, hearing impairment, loss of
teeth and locomotor disabilities. The aids and assistive devices, viz
walking sticks, elbow crutches, walkers/crutches, tripods/quad pods,
hearing aids, wheelchairs, artificial dentures and spectacles are
provided to eligible beneficiaries.
➢ The scheme is being implemented by Artificial Limbs Manufacturing
Corporation of India (ALIMCO), which is a public sector undertaking
under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.
Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme (IGNOAPS)
➢ The ministry of Rural Development run the National social assistance
program that extends social assistance for poor households for the aged,
widows, disabled, and in cases of death where the breadwinner has
passed away.
➢ Under this scheme, financial assistance is provided to person of 60
years and above and belonging to family living below poverty line as
per the criteria prescribed by Government of India. Central assistance
of Rs 200 per month is provided to person in the age group of 60-79
years and Rs 500 per month to persons of 80 years and above.
Varishtha Pension Bima Yojana (VPBY)
➢ The scheme is run by the Ministry of Finance. The VPBY was first
launched in 2003 and then relaunched in 2014. Both are social security
schemes for senior citizens intended to give an assured minimum
pension on a guaranteed minimum return on the subscription amount.
The Pradhan Mantri Vaya Vandana Yojana (PNVVY)
➢ The PNVVY was launched in May 2017 to provide social security
during old age. This is a simplified version of the VPBY and will be
implemented by the LIC of India.
➢ Under the scheme on payment of an initial lump sum amount ranging
from Rs 1,50,000 for a minimum pension of Rs 1000/month to a
maximum Rs 7,50,000 for a maximum pension of Rs 5,000/month,
subscribers will get an assured pension based on a guaranteed rate of
return of 8%/annum payable monthly/quarterly/half-yearly/annually.
➢ The center will bear 75% of the total budget and the state government
will contribute 25% of the budget, for activities upto district level.
Vayoshreshtha Samman
➢ Conferred as a National award and given to eminent senior citizens and
institutions under various categories for their contributions on
international day of older person on 1st October.
Social Work Intervention at different levels
1. Health care
➢ We need to make existing primary health care system elder-friendly by
establishing new infrastructure.
➢ Re-targeting associated health services at primary, secondary and
tertiary levels making health care affordable, accessible and elder-
sensitive.
2. Social Concern
➢ The social structure of Indian communities is changing rapidly.
Implementation of value-based education among youth is important to
protect elderly population.
➢ Community based elder care by short- or long-term basis.
3. Financial Concern
➢ Financial independence decides much of our choices and options
concerning healthcare, food and social interaction. This is many times
more critical for the elderly, who struggle constantly with
disadvantages of old age.
➢ Gainful employment can be a highly therapeutic activity, especially for
the elderly population.
4. Empowerment
➢ Local support through SHGs, Peer support groups, like Alcoholics,
Anonymous etc.
Legal Aspects
➢ Despite constitutional rights and legal provisions in the Indian legal
framework, violence against elderly population still is increasing. There
are no strict laws in the country that specifically protect and promote
 the human rights and fundamental freedoms of older adults.
➢ Article 41, Directive Principles of State Policy has particular relevance
to old age social security. It directs that the State shall “make efficient
provision for securing the rights to work, to education and to public
assistance in case of unemployment, old age, sickness and disableness,
and other cases of undeserved want, within its limits of economic,
development and capacity”. It also reinforced that every person having
sufficient means is required to provide for his parents who are unable to
maintain themselves.
➢ Sec 20(2) of the Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act 1956 makes it
obligatory on the part of the person to maintain his aged or infirm
parents.
➢ Article 39(a) adequate means of livelihood; (b) right to ownership and
control of material resources to subserve common good; (c) ensure
equal pay for equal work; (d) citizens not being forced by economic
necessity to enter a vocation unsuited to their age or strength.
➢ Article 47 raising the level of nutrition and the standard of living of its
people and improvement of public health. The concurrent list covers
social security, social insurance, employment, invalidity and old age
pension.
Social Worker Task to be performed in prevention of elder abuse
➢ Social case work method: needs assessment; facilitate multi-
disciplinary assessment social and financial background.
➢ Diagnosis, assessment, intervention and treatment-counseling and
guidance and home visit.
➢ Social G Method: The social worker conducts group activities like
recreation so that they do not feel lonely.
➢ Community organization: Community development and empowerment
through various activities.
➢ Liaise with health care services such as hospital geriatric and
psychiatry of old age teams.
➢ Crisis intervention, conflict management and mediation skills is
required by social worker to deal elderly problems.
➢ Some legal action ultimately, if abuse is ascertained may be required
and the legal team be involved along with social worker.
Role of social workers in any setting
Prevention of social dysfunction, involves early discovery, control, and
elimination of conditions and situations that potentially could hamper
effective social functioning. The two main divisions of prevention of social
dysfunction are prevention of problems in the area of interaction between
individuals and groups and second the prevention of social ills.
The underlying assumptions of social work according to Boehm (1959:41)
are:
1. Social work, like all other professions has problem solving functions.
2. Social work practice is an art with a scientific and social value
foundation.
3. Social work as a profession came into being and continues to develop
 because it meets human needs and aspirations recognized by society.
Hence, it assumes some of the socialization and control functions of
society.
4. Social work, practice takes its values from those held by the society of
which it is a part. However, its values are not necessarily or altogether
those universally or predominantly held or practiced in society.
5. The scientific base of social work consists of three types of knowledge.
6. The knowledge needed for social work practice is determined by its
goals and functions and problems it seeks to solve.
7. The internalization of professional knowledge and values is a vital
characteristic of the professional social worker since he is himself the
instrument of professional help.
8. Professional skills are expressed in the activities of the social worker. It
constitutes his artistic creation resulting from three internal processes:
first, conscious selection on knowledge pertinent to the professional
task at hand, second, fusion of this knowledge with social work values;
and third, the expression of this synthesis on professionally relevant
activity.

Unit 3
Conflict Mitigation and Peace Building
Understanding Conflict
Not agree with opinion of others/due to difference of opinions self-conflict
due to wrong decision of yourself. Differences of opinion between two
people, group, community, family, society, country etc. Solve conflict by its
root cause. It is a broader term.
➢ Defined as a clash between individuals, arising out of a difference in
thought process, attitude, understanding interest, requirements and even
sometime perception. (Lehmann)
➢ Conflict results in heated arguments common physical abuses and
definite loss of peace and harmony. Conflict can actually be change
relationship and positive or negative in a given society. Sometimes
conflict makes a way to change living society.
➢ Conflict refers to more than just overt behavior. The perception of
threat, or actual occurrence of conflicts, is necessary for the initiation of
conflict prevention or management measures, and hence it is essential
to address the concept of conflict before exploring how to prevent and
manage such occurrence.
 ➢ George Simmel, insisted that “conflict is a certain amount of discord,
inner divergence and outer controversy, is organically tied up with the
very elements that ultimately hold the group together.”
➢ Kenneth Boulding defines “conflict as a form of competition in which
the competing parties recognize that they have mutually incompatible
goals”. (Kriesberg 1973)
➢ According to Robert C. North “a conflict emerges whenever two or
more persons (or groups) seek to possess the same object, occupy the
same space or the same exclusive position, play incompatible goals, or
undertake mutually incompatible means for achieving their purposes”.
(North: 1968)
➢ Conflict can be of many types like verbal, religious, emotional, social,
personal, organizational, community conflict and so on.
Phases of Conflict
A conflict has five phases.
1. Prelude to conflict: It involves all the factors which possibly arise a
conflict among individuals. Lack of coordination, differences in
interests, dissimilarity in cultural, religion, and educational background
all are instrumental in arising a conflict.
2. Triggering Event: No conflict can arise on its own. There has to be an
event which triggers the conflict. Jenny and Ali never got along very
well with each other. They were from different cultural backgrounds, a
very strong factor for possibility of a conflict. Ali was in the mid of a
presentation when Jenny stood up and criticized him for the lack of
relevant content in his presentation, thus triggering the conflict between
them.
3. Initiation Phase: is actually the phase when the conflict has already
begun. Heated arguments, abuses, verbal disagreements are all warning
alarms which indicate that the fight is already.
4. Differentiation Phase: It is the phase when the individuals voice out
their differences against each other. The reasons for the conflict are
raised in the differentiation phase.
5. Resolution Phase: A conflict leads to nowhere. Individuals must try to
compromise to some extent and resolve the conflict soon. The
resolution phase explores the various options to resolve the conflict.
Sources of Conflict
1. Inter-personal Conflict: occurs when two people have compatible
needs, goals or approaches in their relationship. Communication
breakdown is often an important source of inter-personal conflict and
learning communication skills is valuable in preventing and resolving
such difficulties.
2. Role conflict: involves very real differences in role definitions
expectations or responsibilities between individuals who are
interdependent in a social system. If there are ambiguities in the role
definitions in an organization or unclear boundaries of responsibilities
persist, then the stage is set for the inter-personal, friction between
persons involved.
 3. Intergroup conflict: occurs between collections of people such as ethnic
or racial groups, departments or levels of decision making in the same
organization, and union and management.
4. Multiparty Conflict: occurs in societies when different interest groups
and organizations have varying priorities over resource management
and policy development. These complex conflicts typically involve a
combination of economic, value and power sources.
5. International Conflict: occurs between states at the global level.
Competition for resources certainly plays a part, but value and power
conflicts are often inter-twined and sometimes predominate.
Violence
➢ Intentional use of physical force or power, threatened or actual, against
oneself, another person or against a group or a community, that, either
result in or has a high livelihood of resulting in injury, death,
psychological harm, mal-development or deprivation. (WHO
Definition of Violence)
➢ Violence is a global phenomenon resulting in the deaths of more than
1.6 million people each year, making it one of the leading causes of
death worldwide.
➢ Violence has also shown to be an incredibly costly issue, and in 2015
alone the total impact of violence to the world economy was estimated
at $13.6 trillion-a figure which is equivalent to 13.3% of world GDP.
➢ Violence has become increasingly interpersonal and tied with criminal
activity, particularly in urban areas.
➢ As a result of violence being such a complex phenomenon, there is no
clear definition for it. Therefore, it is often understood differently by
different people in different contexts-such as those from different
countries, cultures or belied systems.
Categories and types of Violence
On the basis of WHO’s definition of violence, an elaborate “typology of
violence” has been developed that characteristics different categories and
types of violence, as well as the links between them. It divides violence into
three broad categories according to who the perpetrators and victims are of
violence acts;
1. Self Directed Violence: refers to violence acts a person inflicts upon
him-or herself, and includes self-abuse (such as self-mutilation) and
suicidal behavior (including suicidal thoughts, as well as attempted and
completed suicide).
2. Interpersonal Violence: refers to violence inflicted by another
individual or by a small group of individuals. It can be further divided
into two categories:
➢ Family an Intimate Partner Violence: violence largely between family
members and intimate partners, visually, though not exclusively, taking
place in the home. This includes forms of violence such as child abuse
intimate partner violence and abuse of the elderly.
➢ Community Violence: Violence between individuals who are
unrelated, and who may or may not know each other, generally taking
 place outside the home. This includes youth violence, random acts of
violence, rape or sexual assault by strangers, and violence in
institutional settings such as schools, workplaces, prisons and nursing
homes.
3. Collective Violence: can be defined as the instrumental use of violence
by people who identify themselves as members of a group-whether this
group is transitory or has a more permanent identity-against another
group or set of individuals, in order to achieve political, economic or
social objectives. This can manifest in a number of forms, such as
genocide, repression, terrorism and organized violent crimes.
By looking more closely at the nature of acts of violence, these three
categories can be further divided into four, more specific, types of violence:
1. Physical Violence: is the intentional use of physical force, used with
the potential for causing harm, injury, disability or death. This includes,
but is not limited to: scratching, pushing, showing, grabbing, biting,
choking, shaking, slapping, punching, hitting, burning, use of a
weapon, and use of restraint or ones body against another person.
This type of violence doesn’t only lead to physical harm, but can also have
harm, but can also have severe negative psychological effects-for example, if
a child is frequently a victim of physical violence at home, he or she can
suffer from mental health problems and be traumatized as a consequence of
this victimization.
2. Sexual Violence: involves a sexual act being committed or attempted
against a victim who hasn’t freely given consent, or who is unable to
consent or refuse. This includes, but is not limited to: forced,
alcohol/drug-facilitated or unwanted penetration, sexual touching, or
non-contact acts of a sexual nature. A perpetration forcing or coercing a
victim to engage in sexual acts with a third party also qualifies as
sexual violence.
This type of violence can also lead to physical harm, and in most cases has
severe negative psychological affects too.
3. Psychological Violence: (also referred to as emotional or mental
abuse) includes verbal and non-verbal communication used with the
intent to harm another person mentally or emotionally, or to exert
control over another person.
The impact of psychological violence can be just as significant as that of
other, more physical forms of violence, as the perpetrator subjects the victim
to behavior which may result in some form of psychological trauma, such as
anxiety, depression or post-traumatic stress disorder. This includes, but is not
limited to:
➢ Expressive aggression (e.g., humiliating and degrading),
➢ Coercive control (e.g., limiting access to things or people, and
excessive monitoring of a person’s whereabouts or communications),
➢ Threats of physical or sexual violence,
➢ Control of reproductive or sexual health,
➢ And exploitation of a person’s vulnerability (e.g., immigration status or
disability).
 This not only leads to mental health problems, but also to severe physical
problems, such as psychosomatic disorders.
4. Neglect: or deprivation, is a type of abuse which occurs when someone
has the responsibility to provide care for an individual who is unable to
care for him-or herself, but fails to do so, therefore depriving them of
adequate care. Neglect may include the failure to provide sufficient
supervision, nourishment, or medical care, or the failure to fulfill other
needs for which the victim cannot provide them.
Neglect can lead to many long term side effects such as: physical injuries,
low self-esteem, attention disorders, violent behavior, physical and
psychological illness, and psychological illness, and can even result death.

Violenc
e

Self Interperson Collectiv

Directed al e

Suicid Self Social Politic Econom

e abuse al ic

Community
Family Riot: in criminal law, a violent offense against public order involving three or
1. Child
more people. Like an unlawful assembly, a riot involves a gathering of1.
Acquainta
persons for an illegal purpose. In contrast to an unlawful assembly, however,
2. Partner
a riot involves violence.
3. Elder nce
➢ A riot is a form of civil disorder commonly characterized by a2.group
Strange
lashing out in a violent public disturbance against authority, property,
or people.
Magnitude of the Problems
➢ Incidents of riots registered in Indian increased by around 12.2% in
2020 compared to the previous year, shows the National Crime Record
Bureau’s (NCRB) latest “Crime in India 2020” report. And, the number
of people who fell victim to such riots also saw an upsurge by 5.8%.
➢ In 2020 71,107 cases of offence against public tranquility were
registered under various section of the Indian Penal Code and rioting
accounted for 72.6% of these cases. The total cases of offences against
public tranquility have also increased by 12.4% in 2020 than the
previous year 63,762 cases in 2019.
➢ India witnessed 51,606 rioting cases in 2020, while the number of riot
victims stood at 61,907. This means that the country saw 141 cases and
169 victims of rioting everyday in 2020 of these, Bihar topped the list
with 9,422 cases, followed by Maharashtra 9,157 and Uttar Pradesh
6,126.
➢ About 5,19,589 cases in trial in 2020, 4,613 saw convictions,
 increasing the convictions rate from 19.4% in 2019 to 29.5% in 2020.
Rebellion: is when a person rejects culturally and society-defined goals and
means and actively replaces them with culturally unacceptable ones.
➢ Oppositions to one in authority or dominance
➢ Open, armed, and usually unsuccessful defense or resistance to an
established government.
➢ An instance of such defense or resistance.
Genocide: is the intentional destruction of a people, usually defined as an
ethnic, national, racial, or religious group.
In 1948, the United Nations Genocide Convention defined genocide as any
of 5 acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in par, a national
ethnic, racial or religious group, as such. These five acts were: killing
members of the group, causing them serious bodily or mental harm, imposing
living conditions intended to destroy the group, preventing births, and
forcibly transferring children out of the group.
1. Killing member of a group
2. Causing serious broadly or mentally harm on members of a group.
3. Deliberately inflecting on groups condition of life calculated to bring
about its physical distraction in whole or a part.
4. Imposing measures intended to prenent births within the group.
5. Forcefully transferring children of a group to another group.
Statistics
1. Estimated 1.5 million Armenians of the Ottoman Empire killed by
Turkey Government in the early 19th century.
2. Genocide of 1000 Tamil people of Sri lanka in 1983.
3. Estimated 8 lakhs of Tutsi minority killed in Rawandan (Africa).
Stages of Genocide
1. Classification: People are divided into us and them.
2. Symbolization: When combined with hatred, symbols may be forced
upon unwilling members of pariah groups.
3. Discrimination: Law or cultural power excludes groups from full civil
rights; segregation or apartheid laws, denial of voting rights.
4. Dehumanization: One group denies the humanity of the other group.
Members of it are equated with animals, vermin, insects or diseases.
5. Organization: Genocide is always organized. Special army units or
militias are often trained and armed.
6. Polarization: Hate groups broadcast polarizing propaganda.
7. Preparation: Victims are identified and separated out because of their
ethnic or religious identity.
8. Persecution: Expropriation, forced displacement, ghettos, concentration
camps.
9. Extermination: It is extermination to the killers because they don’t
believe their victims to be full human.
10. Denial: The perpetrators deny that they committed any crimes.
Communal Conflict/Violence
Communal Conflict is defined as a conflict between non-state groups that are
organized along a shared communal identity.
Communal Violence involves people belonging to two different religious
communities mobilized against each other and carrying the feelings of
hostility, emotional fury, exploitation, social discrimination and social
neglect.
Communal Violence is a form of violence that is perpetrated across ethnic or
communal lines, the violent parties feel solidarity for their respective groups,
and victims are chosen based upon group membership.
Communalism refers to a politics that seeks to unify one community around a
religious identify in hostile opposition to another community.
Features of Communal Violence
1. Communal violence are more politically motivated than fuelled by
religion.
2. Besides political interests, economic interests to play a vigorous part in
fomenting communal clashes.
3. Communal violence seem to be more common north India than in south
and east India.
4. The possibility of recurrence of communal violence in a town where
communal violence have already taken place once or twice is stronger
than in a town in which violence have never occurred.
5. Most communal violence take place on the occasion of religious
festivals.
6. The use of deadly weapons in the violence is on the ascendancy.
T K Ommen (1989) has suggested six dimensions of communalism:
1. Assimilations: communalism is one which small religious groups are
assimilated/integrated into big religious groups.
2. Welfarist: communalism aims at the welfare of a particular community,
say, improve living standard and providing for education and health.
3. Retreatist: communalism is one in which a small religious community
keeps itself away from politics.
4. Retaliatory: communalism attempts to harm, hurt, injure the members
of other religious communities.
5. Separatist: communalism is one in which one religious or a cultural
group wants to maintain its cultural specificity and demands a separate
territorial state within the country.
6. Secessionist: communalism is one in which a religious community
wants a separate political identity, and demands an independent state.
Ethnic Violence
Ghosh (2003) define ethnicity as a process of formation and reformation
consciousness of identity (real or supposed) in terms of one or more social,
cultural, political, symbols of domination subjugation of a group or
community by another, that engaged out of processes of assimilation,
acculturation, interaction, competition and conflict.
Forms of Ethnic Identity
1. Linguistic Ethnicity: Language has always has been a cornerstone of
ethnic identity. Every ethnic group has its own language and the
 members build their ethnic identity through their own language. For
example: Dravida Kazhagim Movement in Tamil Nadu in 1940s and
50s.
2. Communalism: The concept of religious assertion and communalism
has posed a great danger to the national integration. Bipan Chandra
holds that communalism in India is a modern phenomenon. There has
been a constant conflict between Hindus and Muslims in India owning
to the interest of both tha communities to establish their religious
dominance. E.g., 1984 anti-sikh riot, hindu-muslim clashesh in
Ayodhya in 1992.
3. Tribal Movement: Tribals are the indigenous groups who live in the
forest land. They have been historically neglected and ruthlessly
oppressed at the hands of the landlords money lenders and govt.
officials. They have been displaced from their land as a result of for
which they have lost livelihood. They have in a fight with the
mainstream people.
4. Ethno-Nationalism: A group develops a loyalty to its nation which is
marked by the desire of an ethnic community and the community to
have absolute authority over its own political, economic, and social
affairs. This denotes the pursuit of statehood on the part of an ethnic
nation.
5. Regionalism: refers to a blind loyalty towards one’s own region.
Regionalism helps to form ethnic groups and develop ethnic
consciousness to assert their right based on a particular region. India
has many ethnic differences and these create solid ground for regional
feelings which invites danger to national integration. Example:
Division of Andhra Pradesh into Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
6. Casteism: is a blind group loyalty towards one’s own caste or sub-caste.
It works for the social, economic, political and other interests of its own
group. The caste system may be viewed as a particular case of ethnic
differentiation. Caste plays a very important role in Indian politics. Eg:
Bahujan Samaj Party (a dalit based party)
Caste System
➢ The system which divides Hindus into rigid hierarchical groups based
on their karma (work) and dharma (the Hindu word for religion, but
here it means duty) is generally accepted to be more than 3,000 year
old.
➢ The caste system in India is a system of social stratification.
➢ Varna may be translated as “class” and refers to the four social classes
which existed in the Vedic society, namely Brahmins, Kshatriyas,
Vaishyas and Shudras.
➢ Jati may be translated as caste, and refers to birth. The names of jatis
are usually derived from occupations, and considered to be hereditary
and endogamous, but this may not always have been the case. The jatis
developed in post-Vedic times, possibly from crystallization of guilds
during its feudal area.
➢ In such a society, there is every possibility for caste conflicts to occur.
 These conflicts have their origin in casteism, which refers to the hatred
of one caste by the other, or the attempts made by the members of one
caste to gain personal advantages to the detriment of interests of the
other caste members.
➢ According to R. N. Sharma, ‘casteism is a blind group loyalty towards
one’s own caste or sub-caste, which doesn’t care for the interests of
other castes, and seeks to realize the social, economic, political and
other interest of its own group’.
Caste-Based Violence
➢ These groups have remained target to the crimes and atrocities at the
hands of the upper caste people mainly on account of their low-caste
identity.
➢ During the Marama village festival in Karnataka state, caste Hindus
force Dalits to sacrifice buffalo and drink their blood. They have to mix
the blood with cooked rice and run into the village fields without their
slippers.
➢ As reported by Human Rights Watch Dalit women existed at the
lowest end of genders class, caste hierarchies, and therefore upper caste
men have used sexual violence as a tool against dalit women.
Consequences
➢ Casteism perpetuates the practice of untouchability.
➢ Obstacle in providing social equality and justice.
➢ Threat to social order, stability, peace and harmony.
➢ Prevalence of casteism shows that the people are tradition-bound,
conservative and orthodox in thinking.
➢ Tensions between various segments hinder the development of the
nation and growth of nationalism.
➢ Political disunity.
➢ Caste politics and increased demands for reservations.
Solutions to Problems
➢ Providing value-based education to children.
➢ Responsibility reporting by mass media.
➢ Encourage inter-caste marriage.
➢ Provision of cultural and economic equality among different sections
of the society.
➢ Ensuring that reservation benefits the most poor and downtrodden.
➢ Fast trials and strict penalties for crimes against dalits and ethnic
groups.
Role of Social Worker
Approach: Preventive, Promotive, Rehabilitation

Method

Primary Secondary
1. Case Work 1. Social Action
2. Group Work 2. Social Welfare Administration
3. Community Organization 3. Social Work Research
Before Conflict:
➢ Awareness Campaign
➢ Peace Community
➢ Ban on Communal Organization
➢ Protecting Minority Community
After Conflict:
➢ Relief
➢ Rehabilitation
➢ Counseling
➢ Welfare
➢ Safety
➢ Guidance
➢ Welfare
➢ Safety and Security
➢ Social Action
➢ Social Work Research
Stakeholders: Government, civil society, NGOs, etc they all play significant
role in conflicts, violence, riots.
Role of State and Civil Societies:
➢ Role of police administration
➢ Install CCTV camera
➢ Administrative Reform
➢ Better law and order
➢ Encouragement of National and public festival
➢ Mutual trust and develop healthy public opinion
➢ Propagation of National History
➢ Promote education
➢ Unifying civil code procedure and social legislation
 Unit 4
Environment, Sustainable Development and Social Work
Environment
➢ It is divided from the French word environment which means
“surrounding”.
➢ Environment can be defined as a sum total of all the living and non-
living elements and their effects that influence human life.
➢ Environment has two elements: biotic elements are animals, plants,
forests, fisheries and birds (all living elements) and abiotic elements are
water, land, sunlight, rocks and air (non-living elements).
Ecology is a branch of science, including human science, population,
community, ecosystems, the environment and how the organisms interact
with each and their environment. It is studies at various levels, such as
organism, population, community, biosphere, and ecosystem.
Components of Environment
If we look at the environment, it is composed of three different components:
1. Natural Environment: Land, water, air, plants, and animals
compromise the natural environment.
a. Hydrosphere: domain of water is referred as the hydrosphere.
b. Atmosphere: thin layer of air that surrounds the earth. Gravitational
force of the earth holds the atmosphere around it consists of a number
of gases, dust and water vapor.
c. Biosphere: Narrow zone of the earth where land, water and air interact
with each other to support life.
2. Human-made components: roads, bridges, industries, weapons etc.
Pollutants
It is defined as any form of energy and matter that called degradation and
pollution in existing natural balance ecosystem.
A pollutant is a substance that is present in concentrated that may harm
organisms (humans, plants and animals) or exceed an environmental quality
standard. The term is frequently used synonymously with contaminant.
On the basis of sources of genesis pollutants are divided into two main types:
1. Natural Pollutants: are produced as a result of natural phenomena. Eg:
Volcanic eruptions and wild fires
2. Man-made pollutants: are produced as a result of human activities. E.g.,
Industrial pollution and vehicular emissions.
On the basis of name and state:
1. Solid Pollutants: which are not recycled or reused are dumped in a land
area usually as a land refill.
2. Gaseous Pollutants: Primary concern in urban settings include suffer
dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and carbon monoxide; these are emitted
directly into the air from fossil fuels such as fuel, oil, gasoline, and
natural gas that burned.
3. Liquid Pollutants: usually from liquid waste includes human excreta
(both faeces and urine), industrial waste waters and other forms of
waste from water-using activities.
Further divided into physical, cultural and biological pollutants.
Some Facts
➢ Environmental degradation costs India about Dollar 80 billion,
equivalent to 5.7% of the country GDP, on an annual basis according to
a World Bank report.
➢ Indian air pollution rate is one of the highest in the world making it
one of the most dangerous places to live with roughly 2.2 millions
people each and every year dying as a direct result of air pollution.
Pollution
Pollution is the introduction of harmful materials into the environment.
These harmful materials are called pollutants. Pollutants can be natural, such
as volcanic ash. They can also be created by human activity, such as trash
or runoff produced by factories. Pollutants damage the quality of air, water,
and land.
Many things that are useful to people produce pollution.
Cars spew pollutants from their exhaust pipes. Burning coal to
create electricity pollutes the air. Industries and homes generate garbage
and sewage that can pollute the land and water. Pesticides—
chemical poisons used to kill weeds and insects—seep into waterways and
harm wildlife.
All living things—from one-celled microbes to blue whales—depend
on Earth’s supply of air and water. When these resources are polluted, all
forms of life are threatened.
Pollution is a global problem. Although urban areas are usually more polluted
than the countryside, pollution can spread to remote places where no people
live. For example, pesticides and other chemicals have been found in
the Antarctic ice sheet. In the middle of the northern Pacific Ocean, a huge
collection of microscopic plastic particles forms what is known as the Great
Pacific Garbage Patch.
Air and water currents carry pollution. Ocean currents and migrating fish
carry marine pollutants far and wide. Winds can pick up radioactive material
accidentally released from a nuclear reactor and scatter it around the
world. Smoke from a factory in one country drifts into another country.
Types of Pollution
Air Pollution: Sometimes, air pollution is visible. A person can see
dark smoke pour from the exhaust pipes of large trucks or factories, for
example. More often, however, air pollution is invisible.

Polluted air can be dangerous, even if the pollutants are invisible. It can make
people’s eyes burn and make them have difficulty breathing. It can also
increase the risk of lung cancer.

Sometimes, air pollution kills quickly. In 1984, an accident at

a pesticide plant in Bhopal, India, released a deadly gas into the air. At least
8,000 people died within days. Hundreds of thousands more
were permanently injured.

Natural disasters can also cause air pollution to increase quickly.

When volcanoes erupt, they eject volcanic ash and gases into
the atmosphere. Volcanic ash can discolor the sky for months. After
the eruption of the Indonesian volcano of Krakatoa in 1883, ash darkened the
sky around the world. The dimmer sky caused fewer crops to be harvested as
far away as Europe and North America. For years, meteorologists tracked
what was known as the “equatorial smoke stream.” In fact,
this smoke stream was a jet stream, a wind high
in Earth’s atmosphere that Krakatoa’s air pollution made visible.

Volcanic gases, such as sulfur dioxide, can kill nearby residents and make
the soil infertile for years. Mount Vesuvius, a volcano in Italy,
famously erupted in 79, killing hundreds of residents of the nearby towns of
Pompeii and Herculaneum. Most victims of Vesuvius were not killed
by lava or landslides caused by the eruption. They were choked,
or asphyxiated, by deadly volcanic gases. Most air pollution is not natural,
however. It comes from burning fossil fuels—coal, oil, and natural gas.
When gasoline is burned to power cars and trucks, it produces carbon
monoxide, a colorless, odorless gas. The gas is harmful in
high concentrations, or amounts. City traffic produces highly
concentrated carbon monoxide.

Cars and factories produce other common pollutants, including nitrogen

oxide, sulfur dioxide, and hydrocarbons. These chemicals react with sunlight
to produce smog, a thick fog or haze of air pollution. The smog is so thick in
Linfen, China, that people can seldom see the sun. Smog can be brown or
grayish blue, depending on which pollutants are in it.

Smog makes breathing difficult, especially for children and older adults.
Some cities that suffer from extreme smog issue air pollution warnings.
The government of Hong Kong, for example, will warn people not to go
outside or engage in strenuous physical activity (such as running or
swimming) when smog is very thick.

When air pollutants such as nitrogen oxide and sulfur dioxide mix with
moisture, they change into acids. They then fall back to earth as acid
rain. Wind often carries acid rain far from
the pollution source. Pollutants produced by factories and power plants in
Spain can fall as acid rain in Norway.

Acid rain can kill all the trees in a forest. It can also devastate lakes, streams,
and other waterways. When lakes become acidic, fish can’t survive. In
Sweden, acid rain created thousands of “dead lakes,” where fish no longer
live.

Acid rain also wears away marble and other kinds of stone. It has erased the
words on gravestones and damaged many historic buildings and monuments.
The Taj Mahal, in Agra, India, was once gleaming white. Years of exposure
to acid rain has left it pale.
Water Pollution: Some polluted water looks muddy, smells bad, and has
garbage floating in it. Some polluted water looks clean, but is filled
with harmful chemicals you can’t see or smell.
Polluted water is unsafe for drinking and swimming. Some people who
drink polluted water are exposed to hazardous chemicals that may make them
sick years later. Others consume bacteria and other tiny aquatic organisms
that cause disease. The United Nations estimates that 4,000 children die every
day from drinking dirty water.
Sometimes, polluted water harms people indirectly. They get sick because the
fish that live in polluted water are unsafe to eat. They have too
many pollutants in their flesh.
There are some natural sources of water pollution. Oil and natural gas, for
example, can leak into oceans and lakes from natural underground sources.
These sites are called petroleum seeps. Human activity also contributes
to water pollution. Chemicals and oils from factories are sometimes dumped
or seep into waterways. These chemicals are called runoff. Chemicals
in runoff can create a toxic environment for aquatic life. Runoff can also help
create a fertile environment for cyanobacteria, also called blue-green
algae. Cyanobacteria reproduce rapidly, creating a harmful algal bloom
(HAB). Harmful algal blooms prevent organisms such as plants and fish from
living in the ocean. They are associated with “dead zones” in the
world’s lakes and rivers, places where little life exists below surface water.
Mining and drilling can also contribute to water pollution. Acid mine
drainage (AMD) is a major contributor to pollution of rivers
and streams near coal mines. Acid helps miners remove coal from the
surrounding rocks. The acid is washed into streams and rivers, where it reacts
with rocks and sand. It releases chemical sulfur from the rocks and sand,
creating a river rich in sulfuric acid. Sulfuric acid is toxic to plants, fish, and
other aquatic organisms. Sulfuric acid is also toxic to people, making rivers
polluted by AMD dangerous sources of water for drinking and hygiene.
Oil spills are another source of water pollution. In April 2010, the Deepwater
Horizon oil rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico, causing oil to gush from the
ocean floor. In the following months, hundreds of millions of gallons
of oil spewed into the gulf waters. The spill produced
large plumes of oil under the sea and an oil slick on the surface as large as
24,000 square kilometers (9,100 square miles). Buried chemical waste can
also pollute water supplies. For many years, people disposed of chemical
wastes carelessly, not realizing its dangers.
Sewage that has not been properly treated is a common source
of water pollution. Many cities around the world have poor sewage systems
and sewage treatment plants. Delhi, the capital of India, is home to more than
21 million people. More than half the sewage and other waste produced in the
city are dumped into the Yamuna River. This pollution makes the river
dangerous to use as a source of water for drinking or hygiene. It
also reduces the river’s fishery, resulting in less food for the local community.
A major source of water pollution is fertilizer used in agriculture. Fertilizer is
material added to soil to make plants grow larger and
faster. Fertilizers usually contain large amounts of the
elements nitrogen and phosphorus, which help plants
grow. Rainwater washes fertilizer into streams and lakes.
Garbage also fouls the ocean. Many plastic bottles and other pieces of trash
are thrown overboard from boats. The wind blows trash out to sea.
Ocean currents carry plastics and other floating trash to certain places on the
globe, where it cannot escape. The largest of these areas, called the Great
Pacific Garbage Patch, is in a remote part of the Pacific Ocean.
Top 10 Causes of environmental damages
1) High quantity of Exhaust gases: The biggest reason by far for all kinds
of environmental damage is the exorbitant amount of gases, harmful to the
environment, which is released by the various industries. Prime amongst
these gases are C02, S02 and NH3. Of course there are many more, and these
are the main culprits for ozone holes and global warming.
2) Deforestation: Close second comes the deforestation all over the world, to
harness forest resources, to clear land, for wood and for various other
reasons. Deforestation causes major problems for one simple reason; it
decreases the number of trees, which clean the environment, provide oxygen
and also affect rain patterns. This is the major reason why there are calls for
tree plantation; it is to make up for this loss.
3) High number of industries such as mining: Mining creates a lot of
pollution, mainly because it releases particulate matter, which qualifies as
Respirable Particulate Matter (RPM); the particulate matter which can enter
our lungs and can harm the entire respiratory system. This form causes the
most direct harm to humans, also particulate matter can come from indoor
pollution, as can be seen in cooking on traditional ‘choolahs’ and cottage
industries like ‘bangle-making’.
4) Chemical effluents: Effluents are another by-product of industries which
poses threat to the environment, leather and tanning industries, petroleum
industries and chemical manufacturing industries create major waste products
which are released directly into nearby streams without treatment, creating
river pollution and causing harm to aquatic life.
5) Transport: As the spending power of the population increases and as cars
become available more, the number of vehicles on the road increases. The
amount has grown exponentially in countries like India, Brazil and China and
this is a point form of pollution which directly affects humans. Smog is a
nuisance that is created because of vehicular pollution, and Hydro-Carbons
released from engines are the cause of creation of lower level ozone that is
harmful to humans.
6) Unprecedented Construction: Urban Heat Island is a direct cause of the
unprecedented construction activities that are being carried out right now, and
urban heat island causes trapping of pollutants. Urban Heat island is an effect
caused due to trapping of solar radiation by concrete and cement which are
materials which trap heat extremely well. Construction causes removal of
vegetative cover which usually allows for better exchange of heat. This heat
island effect causes constricted circulation of air, which traps pollutants
released in urban areas and does not allow for mixing of the air, thus
decreasing the air quality.
7) Secondary Pollutants: Secondary pollutants are ones that are not directly
emitted; however they get created when primary pollutants react amongst
themselves. Major amongst them is the creation of ozone from reaction
between non-burnt Hydrocarbons and Nitrous Oxides. There are various
other secondary pollutants and the reaction between these pollutants cause
reactions that lead to formation of ozone holes. Stratospheric clouds are the
main reaction sites for such pollutants.
8) Ruinous agricultural policies: Overloading the land with fertilizers,
overgrazing and shifting agriculture are ruinous agricultural policies that
degrade land, creating soil erosion that leads to silting in major rivers and
reservoirs. Soil degradation is a continuous cycle and it ultimately leads to
desertification and degradation of land quality by allowing the direct action
of eroding agents on cultivable land.
9) The Population Explosion: The increasing population creates a load that
the entire environment has to support, not only in terms of food and lodging,
but also in terms of the amount of waste that it generates and the ability of the
environment to sustain this growth. All major activities are carried out to
support this growing population, and whilst this is unavoidable, what is
required is the proper planning that should come with this explosion.
10) Unplanned Land-use policies: Land models are available these days
which help in proper planning and use of land resources. However, failure to
use these models and land management policies can lead to land pollution
and degradation of the worst kind. Extraction from mines renders them
unusable for habitation and if rehabilitation work is not carried out, the piece
of land is sure to lose all its value and become unusable. Land classification
is one of the major activities that help in proper land use, and it should be
followed with utmost care.
Environmental Degradation on Marginalized Groups
The poor’s exposure to environmental degradation is distinctive for two
reasons. First, locations inhabited by the poor are often environmentally
vulnerable or degraded (e.g. urban slums with inadequate water and
sanitation facilities are often most vulnerable to severe health hazards).
Second, being poor entails a lack of means to avoid the impacts of
environmental degradation i.e. a lack of resources makes it difficult for the
poor to buy out from their exposure to environmental risks (by investing in
alleviating the causes of environmental degradation as the non-poor can do).
Pollution damages the Health of the poor: Several types of pollution have the
most pervasive and serious consequences for the health of the poor. In order
of severity, the most important is pollution of water for disease causing
vectors rendering the poor vulnerable to infectious and parasitic illnesses.
Second is indoor air pollution from the use of biomass as a household energy
source, principally in rural areas. Third is outdoor air pollution, which is
mostly an urban problem.
Environmental Degradation lowers the Poor’s Productivity: In addition to
affecting their health and capacity to work, environmental degradation
depresses the poor’s ability to generate income through two channels: first, it
requires the poor to ‘divert an increasing share of their labor’ to routine
household tasks such as fuel wood collection; and second, it also ‘decreases
the productivity of those natural resources’ from which the poor wrest their
livelihood. Moreover, environmental degradation can lower the labor
productivity of the poor even when they are healthy. For instance, as fuel-
wood becomes scarce, poor households must spend an increasing amount of
time in collecting it. Where family labor is not abundant, greater time is spent
on fuel-wood collection reducing the time available for other productive
activities resulting in lower incomes. Further, environmental degradation
reduces the productivity of natural resources thereby perpetuating
impoverishment. Productivity declines of this kind are caused by a number of
factors, some of which are beyond the control of the common people.
Examples include: (i) destruction of inland and coastal fisheries by industrial
water pollution and municipal sewerage; (ii) degradation of wetlands and
flood plain soils as a result of upstream dam construction; (iii) deforestation
by settlers, loggers, and ranchers destroying the livelihoods of indigenous
forest dwellers and exposing them to the risk of uncertain incomes.
Climate change does not have a uniform impact across the globe: the truth is
that many marginalized groups on the planet are hit disproportionately harder.
Many of these vulnerable groups already possess weak adaptive capacities to
react to these climate changes, thus further exacerbating the adverse effects.
There are four salient categories of disparities in climate change impacts:
economic, racial, regional, and generational.
1. Economic Disparity: In the face of climate change, the poor possess a
relatively limited adaptive capacity; most lack the financial capacity to
adapt to the changes in lifestyle and living conditions spurred by
climate changes. A striking example of this can be observed in Hong
Kong, where its infamous subdivided flats, known colloquially as ‘cage
homes’, are becoming increasingly greater health risk factors as the city
faces higher temperatures in the warm seasons. Most occupants of
Hong Kong’s subdivided flats cannot afford ventilation or air
conditioning, thus posing a high risk to public health as the city gets
warmer over the years. With the most expensive housing market in the
world, most of the lower economic class in Hong Kong are forced
into unethical living conditions; subdivided flats are incredibly
cramped, housing up to six times the number of people they were
designed for. Occupants of these small flats have a very limited storage
space, making it very difficult to house air conditioning units.
Consequently, many poor Hong Kong residents end up suffering
through the warm temperatures in uncomfortable conditions with poor
ventilation, for months at a time. A study found that 50% of flats
surveyed in a local neighborhood had an indoor temperature over
30 degree Celsius, a temperature that can easily lead to dehydration and
overheating.
2. Racial Disparity: Environmental racism refers to the injustices suffered
by marginalised communities in terms of unequal distribution of
environmental resources and hazards, and discrimination in
environmental support and policy-making. In essence, the burdens of
pollution, natural disasters, and poisoned resources are distributed
unequally in society, with marginalised communities being hit
disproportionately harder. When it comes to severing climate change,
this means that racial minorities will be bearing the brunt of the
environmental impacts. One such case of environmental racism can be
observed in the United States, where people of colour suffer from a
multitude of environmental injustices.
In the US, air pollution is distributed unevenly among the different racial
groups, with people of colour being hit the hardest. An important ratio to
consider when assessing the distribution of adverse impacts of pollution is the
ratio of how much pollution one is responsible for relative to how much
pollution one is exposed to. Scientists have found that Hispanics and African-
Americans breathe in 63% and 56% more pollution than they make
respectively. On the other hand, Caucasians are exposed to 17% less air
pollution than they make. This means that relative to their contribution to
pollution, people of color in the US are disproportionately exposed to
pollutants. Across the country, people of colour on average are also exposed
to far higher levels of air pollutants (PM2.5), regardless of region or
household income. In short, people of colour in the United States are
disproportionately impacted by an increasingly polluted climate, both in
relative and absolute terms.

3. Regional Disparity: There is a large asymmetry when it comes to the

proportion of CO2 emissions from region to region. For example,
North America is home to only 5% of the world’s population, but it
emits 18% of the world’s total CO2. Conversely, Africa is home to 16%
of the world’s population, but emits only 4% of total CO2. Moreover,
in terms of aggregate income, 86% of global CO2 emissions are
emitted by the richest half of countries in the world, whilst the bottom
half only emits 14%. This inequality in global emissions renders the
issue of international climate change responsibility very delicate and
contentious. In light of this, the countries hit hardest by climate change
are coincidentally the countries with less relative responsibility for
climate change. For example, the Philippines consists of 1.41% of the
total world population, but it only produces 0.35% of total world’s
emissions of CO2. Yet, it has been hit disproportionately hard from
climate change; every year it suffers numerous casualties and damage
from typhoons, floods, and landslides of increasing frequency and
intensity. Just last year, the Philippines suffered 67 casualties in the
year’s deadliest cyclone, and in 2013 the country was hit by one of
the most powerful cyclones ever recorded, displacing over 4.1 million
people and causing over 6,300 casualties. Due to the region’s high
exposure to natural hazards and its location in the world’s most
cyclone-prone area, the Philippines is highly vulnerable to the impacts
of climate change, especially rising sea levels, extreme rainfall, and
extreme weather events. This increased vulnerability, combined with a
weaker adaptive capacity, means that the Philippines will likely
experience the consequences of climate change to a far higher degree
compared to other countries, and will therefore suffer increasingly
disproportionate damage as our climate becomes more and more
erratic.

In fact, the Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines announced in

2019 that 47 of the world’s biggest fossil fuel firms — known as the Carbon
Majors — could be held morally and legally liable for violating the human
rights of Filipinos in the direct effects of climate change. The Commission
found that the Carbon Majors played a clear part in anthropogenic climate
change and its related impacts. ExxonMobil, Shell, BP, and Chevron all top
the Carbon Majors list, and they’re Western companies (British and
American). This once again highlights the global asymmetry in climate
change effects and responsibility.

4. Generational Disparity: As climate change predictions cast ever darker

shadows over the future, it is becoming clearer that the burden of
climate change will inevitably fall on the younger and future
generations. The older generations may live to see the beginnings of
serious climate change, but it is the youth that will need to deal with
and live amongst the aftermaths of a crippled climate.

Climate distress has become a prevalent anxiety among youth as more people
are coming to terms with the threats of global climate crises, natural disasters,
and the very real possibility of a catastrophic future. As the grim outlook
settles on the youth of today, a sentiment of dispossession and wariness is
becoming commonplace. Many studies have shown correlations between
climate change indicators and worsening mental health. For example, higher
temperatures, humidity, and vapour pressure were associated with a
statistically significant increase in mental distress and emergency department
visits for mental health concerns.

Apart from mental health concerns, there is also the issue that youth-heavy
populations depend heavily on agriculture, a sector that is highly vulnerable
to climate change. Low income countries with high population growth, such
as Sierra Leone, Guinea-Bissau, and Mali all rely heavily on agriculture and
have high concentrations of young people. As climate change accelerates,
climate shocks will become more frequent: droughts, floods, fires, sea-level
rises, storms, and pests. The resulting agricultural impacts will be vast: crop
yields will fall, livestock will perish, and forest covers will diminish. Many
young people in these agriculturally dependent countries will depend on
agriculture, and most will remain on farms or rural areas in the decades to
come. In short, youth-heavy agricultural countries will be among the hardest
hit by climate change. The future climate will fully impact the livelihoods of
these youths, and they will be directly bearing the costs of climate change in
their lifetimes.
There are four main reasons climate change disproportionately effects poor
and vulnerable individuals.
1. Inequality creates a larger likely hood of exposure for disadvantaged
groups to climate disasters and climate hazards. Lower income
individuals normally live in the most vulnerable locations in a nation,
and have less developed infrastructure. As the majority of low-income
individuals are reliant on agriculture, it is highly likely they may live in
more isolated and remote locations, that are heavily surrounded by
nature.
2. Given the level of of exposure, disadvantaged groups there is an
increased level of susceptibility to damages caused by climate hazards.
It's simple, the more vulnerable you are to experiencing a climate
disaster, the more vulnerable you are of being negatively affected by
that climate disaster.
 3. Inequality decreases individuals and groups ability to cope and recover
from the aforementioned damages. This is largely because they have
less resources to begin with. Depending on the nation access to medical
care, shelter, food and water may be limited and not accessible without
a disposable income or other luxuries (ie. modes of transportation,
citizenship.) Without a disposable income their ability to cope with the
physical impacts to infrastructure, and to individuals bodies as well as
the phycological trauma may not be properly healed. The loss of
income coming from lost work, inability to access work, or other
circumstances can also put an intense burden on a individual who
experienced a climate disaster.
4. Many living in poverty have greater reliance on natural resources and
agriculture, so when disaster ensues they loose their livelihood/sense of
safety and are put further in risk of causes 1-3.
https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/bff12b5b6cb742a3a6dfb454200c3797
https://www.redpepper.org.uk/poor-and-marginalised-people-bear-the-brunt-
of-climate-change/
Global environment issues and concerns

1. Biodiversity: Biodiversity is the most complex and vital feature of our

planet. It is essentially every living thing and ecosystem that makes
up the environment. From the tallest giraffe to the smallest
microorganism, everything plays an important role in the
maintenance of our world.
But with the increase in global warming, pollution and deforestation,
biodiversity is in danger. Billions of species are going or have gone extinct all
over the world. Some scientists, in fact, are suggesting that we are in the
beginning of a 6th mass extinction, posing issues for our planet and ourselves.
Reducing our meat intake, particularly red meat, as well as making
sustainable choices can help to keep our planet running smoothly.

2. Water: Water pollution is a huge concern for us and our environment.

Not only is polluted water a huge financial strain but is also killing
both humans and marine life. With oil spills, an abundance of
plastic waste and toxic chemicals entering our waterways, we’re
damaging the most valuable resource our planet has to offer.
By educating people on the causes and effects of water pollution, we can
work together to undo the damage humans have caused. Laws also need to
change to make pollution tougher, consistently across national borders.

3. Deforestation: We need plants and trees to survive. They provide

oxygen, food, water and medicine for everyone, all over the globe.
But if deforestation continues at the rate it’s occurring, we won’t have
much of the valuable forestry left.
With natural wildfires, illegal logging and the mass amount of timber being
harvested for commercial use, our forests are decreasing at an alarming rate.
As well as reducing our supply of oxygen, the loss of forests is contributing
around 15% of our greenhouse gas emissions.
To help, you can buy more recycled and organic products, limiting the
amount of paper and cardboard you use.

4. Pollution: Pollution is one of the primary causes of many of the other

environmental concerns, including climate change and biodiversity.
All 7 key types of pollution – air, water, soil, noise, radioactive, light
and thermal – are affecting our environment.
All types of pollution, and environmental concerns, are interlinked and
influence one another. So, to tackle one is to tackle them all. That’s why we
need to work together, as a community, to reduce the impact that pollution is
having on our environment.

5. Climate Change: As pointed out by a recent UN report,

without ‘unprecedented changes’ in our actions and behaviour, our
planet will suffer drastically from global warming in just 12 years.
Greenhouses gases are the main cause of climate change, trapping
in the sun’s heat and warming the surface of the earth.
An increased ocean temperature is affecting the sea life and ecosystems
habituated there. The rise in global sea levels is shrinking our land, causing
mass floods and freak weather incidents across the world. If we continue as
we are, the world will suffer irreversibly.
Saying no to driving more will reduce your carbon footprint, as will
switching off electrical items when they’re not in use. More importantly, we
need to educate the world on the effects and severity of global warming,
before it’s too late.

Climate Change
Climate challenge is the defining development challenge of our time. More
than a global environment issue, climate change is also a threat to poverty
reduction and economic growth and may unravel many of the development
gains made in recent decades. Both now and over the long run, climate
change and variability threaten human and social development by restricting
the fulfillment of human potential and disempowering people and
communities, constraining their ability to protect and enrich their individuals.
Consequences
Disaster: Climate change is the defining crisis of our time and disaster
displacement one of its most devastating consequences. Entire populations
are already suffering the impacts, but vulnerable people living in some of the
most fragile and conflict-affected countries are often disproportionately
affected.
Refugees, internally displaced people (IDPs) and the stateless are on the
frontlines of the climate emergency. Many are living in climate “hotspots”,
where they typically lack the resources to adapt to an increasingly hostile
environment.
With increasing global surface temperatures the possibility of more droughts
and increased intensity of storms will likely occur. As more water vapor is
evaporated into the atmosphere it becomes fuel for more powerful storms to
develop. More heat in the atmosphere and warmer ocean surface
temperatures can lead to increased wind speeds in tropical storms. Rising sea
levels expose higher locations not usually subjected to the power of the sea
and to the erosive forces of waves and currents.

Migration: Migration in response to climate impacts may range from mobility

as a proactive adaptation strategy to forced displacement in the face of life-
threatening risks. This mobility may occur within or across international
borders. Although most people displaced or migrating as a result of climate
impacts are staying within their countries of origin, the accelerating trend of
global displacement related to climate impacts is increasing cross-border
movements, too, particularly where climate change interacts with conflict and
violence.
Migration may be temporary, seasonal, circular, or permanent and may be
forced by increasingly severe conditions or occur as a proactive strategy in
the face of climate impacts to livelihoods and wellbeing. Planned relocation
is, generally, a relocation of an entire community made by relevant
governments and, ideally, in partnership with affected communities.
Climate change related-migration, as used in this report, is an umbrella term
describing the spectrum of climate change’s relationship with human mobility
—including the circumstances of “trapped populations” for whom migration
is not an option despite exposure to climate-related threats.
In 2018, of the total new 28 million internally displaced people in 148
countries, 61 per cent were due to disasters. In comparison, 39 per cent were
due to conflict and violence. Experts believe that by 2050, more than 200
million people will be forced to flee their homes. They are referred as climate
migrants or climate refugees.
Since the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) started collating
data on persons displaced by disasters in 2018, this set of population has been
increasing. By the end of that year, some 1.6 million people displaced by
disasters were still in camps or places out of their homes.
This figure was exclusively for disasters happened in 2018. This was a
“highly conservative estimate” as it did not take into consideration the
displacement by disasters before this year. At 2.678 million people, India had
the highest number of people displaced by disasters and extreme weather
events in 2018.
It also states that in 2016, about 24 million people were instantly displaced by
the sudden onset of climate events like cyclones and floods but there is very
little evidence to inform about the number of people migrating due to slow
onset events like drought and desertification.
Displacement or rise in migration due to disasters has raised concerns on
increasing human trafficking. It is long that in countries like India there have
been clear evidence of linkage between disaster, migration and vulnerability
to human trafficking.
Food Shortage: One of the most significant impacts of climate change is on
our food system. It affects the way we produce as well as consume food. The
impact is even more on a predominantly agrarian economy like India,
creating ripple effects on the entire food production chain.
The damage caused to agriculture and food security by the ongoing heatwave
is multi-dimensional. It damaged the wheat crop, and affected the food
supply, prompting a phenomenal rise in the price of wheat products. The loss
to wheat is both qualitative as well as quantitative as besides the low output,
the grain is also of poor quality. It should be seen in the light of the fact that
food security is as much about the quantity of food, as it is about the
nutritional value.
The Global Food Policy Report 2022 by the International Food Policy
Research Institute has warned that climate change may push many Indians
towards hunger by 2030 due to a decline in agricultural production and
disruption in the food supply chain.
The report states that globally, around 65 million people are at risk due to
climate change-induced hunger, with 17 million people in India facing
hunger by 2030, the highest among all countries. The report further notes that
although global food production may increase by 60 per cent by 2050, 50
crores of Indians would still be at the risk of going hungry. Of these 50
crores, seven crore people would suffer from hunger due to climate change.
"Higher temperatures, changing precipitation patterns, sea-level rise, and
growing frequency and intensity of extreme weather events such as droughts,
floods, extreme heat, and cyclones are already reducing agricultural
productivity, disrupting food supply chains, and displacing communities,"
Another report by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
(IPCC), Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability,
predicted that India’s high vulnerability and exposure to climate change is
going to threaten food security and slow the country’s economic growth,
besides impacting health and the overall development process, making
poverty reduction even more difficult. India may not be facing an immediate
famine, but policymakers have a task cut out.
Providing food and nutritional security to an entire population needs some
serious planning and effective implementation. And we need to start now.
Climatic factors like increased temperatures and extreme rainfall will affect
productivity by causing physiological changes. In addition, they will affect
soil fertility, the incidence of pest infestation and the availability of water.
This will impact crops, animal husbandry as well as fisheries.
Conflict: Unlike politics and a history of conflict, the effects of climate
change are not the main predictors of conflict. However, they are considered
‘threat multipliers’ which intensify existing conflict patterns – such as
between migrating herders and farmers. Climate shocks like changes in
precipitation and rises in temperature can make it more likely for conflict and
violence to occur and to be more intense.
Furthermore, the relationship between climate change and conflict is
complicated by the impacts of climate change on poverty, mental health, food
security, and migration. While evidence is beginning to emerge, much more
research is needed on these fronts. Another important area for future research
is the role of climate adaptation in reducing the effects of climate on
conflict. Social protection and agricultural technology, for example, hold
much promise in helping countries adapt to climate change, and potentially in
mitigating climate-related conflict.
Rather, it suggests that countries enduring conflict are less able to cope with
climate change, precisely because their ability to adapt is weakened by
conflict. People living in conflict zones are therefore among the most
vulnerable to the climate crisis and most neglected by climate action.

In certain circumstances, a change in the crops being cultivated might be

sufficient. But adapting to climate change may also require major social,
cultural or economic changes. A whole agricultural system might need to
change, or diseases new to a geographical area might need to be dealt with.

Concerted efforts to adapt tend to be limited in times of war. In a conflict

situation, authorities and institutions are not only weak, but also preoccupied
with security priorities.

Too often, the natural environment is directly attacked or damaged by

warfare. Attacks can lead to water, soil and land contamination, or release
pollutants into the air. Explosive remnants of war can contaminate soil and
water sources, and harm wildlife. Such environmental degradation** reduces
people's resilience and ability to adapt to climate change.

The indirect effects of conflict can also result in further environmental

degradation, for example: authorities are less able to manage and protect the
environment; large-scale displacement places strain on resources; natural
resources can be exploited to sustain war economies. In Fao, south of Basra,
Iraq, people blame their water and farming problems on the felling of date
palms for military purposes during the Iran-Iraq war.

Conflict can also contribute to climate change. For example, the destruction
of large areas of forest, or damage to infrastructure such as oil installations or
big industrial facilities, can have detrimental climate consequences, including
the release of large volumes of greenhouse gases into the air.

Sustainable Development

“Sustainable Development is the development that meets the needs of the

present generation without compromising with the needs of future
generations.” This definition was put forward by the Brundtland Commission
in its report “Our Common Future” in 1987. It calls for a concerted effort to
build an inclusive, sustainable, and resilient ecosystem for the people and the
planet.
The main features of sustainable development include
1. Increase in per capita income
2. Judicious use of natural resources
 3. Preserving the resources for future generations
Goal 1 End poverty in all its forms everywhere
Goal 2 End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition, and
promote sustainable agriculture
Goal 3 Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
Goal 4 Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education, and promote
lifelong learning opportunities for all
Goal 5 Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
Goal 6 Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and
sanitation for all
Goal 7 Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern
energy for all
Goal 8 Promote sustained, inclusive, and sustainable economic growth,
full and productive employment, and decent work for all
Goal 9 Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable
industrialization, and foster innovation
Goal 10 Reduce inequality within, and among, countries
Goal 11 Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient,
and sustainable
Goal 12 Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
Goal 13 Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts
Goal 14 Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas, and marine
resources for sustainable development
Goal 15 Protect, restore, and promote sustainable use of terrestrial
ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, halt and
reverse land degradation, and halt biodiversity loss
Goal 16 Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable
development, provide access to justice for all, and build effective,
accountable, and inclusive institutions at all levels
Goal 17 Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the
global partnership for sustainable development

Challenges in Attaining SDGs For India

The four major challenges for attaining SDGs in India are discussed below:
1. Defining the Key Indicators: One of the major challenges for India is
to devise suitable indicators to effectively assess the progress of SDGs.
The key definitions for areas, such as poverty, hunger, safe drinking
water, education need to be revised in order to effectively implement
the SDGs.
2. Financing Sustainable Development Goals: Despite India’s best
 efforts and making poverty alleviation a priority since the Fourth 5-year
Plan, India has the highest number of people living below the poverty
line. At today’s level of investment, there is a huge funding shortfall
that hinders the progress of attaining SDGs.
3. Monitoring & Ownership of Implementation Process: Although
NITI Aayog is expected to play an important role in taking ownership
of the implementation process, the members of the Aayog have
expressed their concerns time and again about the limited manpower
they have to handle such a Herculean task.
4. Measuring the Progress: The government of India has admitted the
non-availability of data, especially from the sub-national areas.
Incomplete coverage of administrative data is yet another factor that
has hampered the measurement of progress for even the Millennial
Development Goals (MDGs) that were the precursor to SDGs.
For India, Sustainable Development Goals needed to be target for the
development and environment into a single set of target. But fault lies in the
global conferences where there is no balance between environment and
development goals. For development without the fruit sustainability we have
to suffer from negative externality. Natural resources are found to be decline
and undress stressed situation in many country, some 10% of countries
wildlife get threatened with existence, agricultural biodiversity has declined
over 90% in many regions, half over the available water bodies polluted and
is not useful even for agricultural purposes, 2/3 of the lands are degraded to
various levels of sub-optimal productivity, in several cities in India air
pollution is playing dangerous role, there is the excessive modern waste are
generated in the form of electronic and chemical waste. The most sorrowful
news is that India has already used its resources as twice the biological
capacity and it is also found that for some decades bio-capacity has declining
rapidly.

Environmental Movements
➢ An environmental movement can be defined as a social or political
movement, for the conservation of the environment or for the
improvement of the state of the environment. The terms ‘green
movement’ or ‘conservation movement’ are alternatively used to denote
the same.
➢ The environmental movements favour the sustainable
management of natural resources. The movements often stress the
protection of the environment via changes in public policy. Many
movements are centred on ecology, health and human rights.
➢ Environmental movements range from the highly organized and
formally institutionalized ones to the radically informal activities.
➢ The spatial scope of various environmental movements ranges from
being local to almost global.
Major Environment Movements
 1. Bishnoi Movements
• Year: 1700s
• Place: Khejarli, Marwar region, Rajasthan state.
• Leaders:Amrita Devi along with Bishnoi villagers in Khejarli and
surrounding villages.
• Aim:Save sacred trees from being cut down by the king’s soldiers for a
new palace.
What was it all about: Amrita Devi, a female villager could not bear to
witness the destruction of both her faith and the village’s sacred trees. She
hugged the trees and encouraged others to do the same. 363 Bishnoi villagers
were killed in this movement.

The Bishnoi tree martyrs were influenced by the teachings of Guru Maharaj
Jambaji, who founded the Bishnoi faith in 1485 and set forth principles
forbidding harm to trees and animals. The king who came to know about
these events rushed to the village and apologized, ordering the soldiers to
cease logging operations. Soon afterwards, the maharajah designated the
Bishnoi state as a protected area, forbidding harm to trees and animals. This
legislation still exists today in the region.

2. Chipko Movement
• Year: 1973
• Place:In Chamoli district and later at Tehri-Garhwal district of
Uttarakhand.
• Leaders:
Sundarlal Bahuguna, Gaura Devi, Sudesha Devi, Bachni Devi,
Chandi Prasad Bhatt, Govind Singh Rawat, Dhoom Singh Negi,
Shamsher Singh Bisht and Ghanasyam Raturi.
• Aim: The main objective was to protect the trees on the Himalayan slopes
from the axes of contractors of the forest.
What was it all about: Mr. Bahuguna enlightened the villagers by conveying
the importance of trees in the environment which checks the erosion of soil,
cause rains and provides pure air. The women of Advani village of Tehri-
Garhwal tied the sacred thread around trunks of trees and they hugged the
trees, hence it was called the ‘Chipko Movement’ or ‘hug the tree
movement’.

The main demand of the people in these protests was that the benefits of the
forests (especially the right to fodder) should go to local people. The Chipko
movement gathered momentum in 1978 when the women faced police firings
and other tortures.

The then state Chief Minister, Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna set up a

committee to look into the matter, which eventually ruled in favour of the
villagers. This became a turning point in the history of eco-development
struggles in the region and around the world.
 3. Save Silent Valley Movement
• Year: 1978
• Place:
Silent Valley, an evergreen tropical forest in the Palakkad district of
Kerala, India.
• Leaders:The Kerala Sastra Sahitya Parishad (KSSP) an NGO, and the
poet-activist Sughathakumari played an important role in the Silent
Valley protests.
• Aim: In order to protect the Silent Valley, the moist evergreen forest from
being destroyed by a hydroelectric project.
What was it all about: The Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) proposed
a hydroelectric dam across the Kunthipuzha River that runs through Silent
Valley. In February 1973, the Planning Commission approved the project at a
cost of about Rs 25 crores. Many feared that the project would submerge 8.3
sq km of untouched moist evergreen forest. Several NGOs strongly opposed
the project and urged the government to abandon it.

In January 1981, bowing to unrelenting public pressure, Indira Gandhi

declared that Silent Valley will be protected. In June 1983 the Center re-
examined the issue through a commission chaired by Prof. M.G.K. Menon. In
November 1983 the Silent Valley Hydroelectric Project was called off. In
1985, Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi formally inaugurated the Silent Valley
National Park.

4. Jungle Bachao Andolan

• Year: 1982
• Place: Singhbhum district of Bihar
• Leaders: The tribals of Singhbhum.
• Aim: Against governments decision to replace the natural sal
forest with Teak.
What was it all about: The tribals of the Singhbhum district of Bihar started
the protest when the government decided to replace the natural sal forests
with the highly-priced teak. This move was called by many “Greed Game
Political Populism”. Later this movement spread to Jharkhand and Orissa.

5. Appiko Movement Year: 1983

• Place: Uttara Kannada and Shimoga districts of Karnataka State
• Leaders:Appiko’s greatest strengths lie in it being neither driven by a
personality nor having been formally institutionalised. However, it does
have a facilitator in Pandurang Hegde. He helped launch the movement
in 1983.
• Aim: Against the felling and commercialization of natural forest and the
ruin of ancient livelihood.
What was it all about: It can be said that the Appiko movement is the
southern version of the Chipko movement. The Appiko Movement was
locally known as “Appiko Chaluvali”. The locals embraced the trees which
were to be cut by contractors of the forest department. The Appiko movement
used various techniques to raise awareness such as foot marches in the
interior forest, slide shows, folk dances, street plays etc.

The second area of the movement’s work was to promote afforestation on

denuded lands. The movement later focused on the rational use of the
ecosphere by introducing alternative energy resource to reduce pressure on
the forest. The movement became a success. The current status of the project
is – stopped.

6. Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA)

• Year: 1985
• Place:
Narmada River, which flows through the states of Gujarat,
Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.
• Leaders:
Medha Patker, Baba Amte, Adivasis, farmers, environmentalists
and human rights activists.
• Aim: A social movement against a number of large dams being built
across the Narmada River.
What was it all about: The movement first started as a protest for not
providing proper rehabilitation and resettlement for the people who have
been displaced by the construction of the Sardar Sarovar Dam. Later on, the
movement turned its focus on the preservation of the environment and the
eco-systems of the valley. Activists also demanded the height of the dam to
be reduced to 88 m from the proposed height of 130m. World Bank withdrew
from the project.

The environmental issue was taken into court. In October 2000, the Supreme
Court gave a judgment approving the construction of the Sardar Sarovar Dam
with a condition that the height of the dam could be raised to 90 m. This
height is much higher than the 88 m which anti-dam activists demanded, but
it is definitely lower than the proposed height of 130 m. The project is now
largely financed by the state governments and market borrowings. The
project is expected to be fully completed by 2025.

Although not successful, as the dam could not be prevented, the NBA has
created an anti-big dam opinion in India and outside. It questioned the
paradigm of development. As a democratic movement, it followed the
Gandhian way 100 per cent.

Role of Civil Society Organizations

We recognize three CSO roles that are important to reducing climate change:
advocacy, conservation, and conflict resolution.
1. Advocacy: Advocacy is a type of action that leads to active support in
the form of advocacy, support, or recommendations. Advocacy may
also be described as a method of attempting to influence public policy
 through various forms of persuasion communication. Advocational
CSO is a strategic and integrated action carried out by individuals or
groups to put an issue on the policy agenda. Finally, advocacy seeks to
find a solution to a problem by enforcing and implementing public
policy to address the issue. Face-to-face campaigns, social media
campaigns, marches, filing petitions, and persuading others to take
action are all examples of advocacy tactics. Advocacy strives to
mobilize facts, attention, and social action in order to effect substantive
change.
2. Conservation: Conservational CSO is a CSO that aims to preserve the
environment while also considering the advantages that can be
achieved at the time by preserving each environmental aspect for future
use. Conservation may also be referred to as preservation or protection,
and it is an attempt made by humans to conserve nature. The aim of the
conservation of living natural resources and their habitats is to ensure
that living natural resources and the balance of their ecosystems are
preserved so that they can sustain efforts to enhance community health
and human life quality.
3. Conflict Resolution: The conflict usually occurs between corporations
and society in controlling the land. In fact, resolving a dispute is a
difficult task, there are a lot of people who are opposed to it. As a
result, a strong mediator is required to assist in the resolution of the
issue. When the dispute resolution process is completed, CSOs
typically use empowerment programs to strengthen the conflicted
population.