JEA NL 9 VOL JULY 2016

JEA Newsletter Vol 9 June - July 2016

JEA Newsletter Vol 9 �1

JESUIT EDUCATION 2020 A creative and informative News Letter of the JEA for Jesuit Educators

(For Private Circulation Only)

ICAJE Members at the chapel of St. Ignatius in Rome, on the concluding

day of the ICAJE Meeting 2016

EDITORIAL TEAM Sunny Jacob S.J. Bob Slatery S.J.

Jennifer Dias Ant Robert Ekka ( CZEB )

Stephen Lourd S.J. Amrit Rai S.J.

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“…….. Dear brothers, let us turn again to Our Lady, to her who bore Christ in her womb and accompanied the first steps of the Church. May she help us to always

put Christ and His Church at the centre of our lives and of our ministry. May she, who was the first and most perfect disciple of her Son help us to allow

ourselves to be conquered by Christ in order to follow Him and to serve Him in every situation. May she that answered the announcement of the Angel with the most profound humility: “Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it done unto me according to thy word” (Lk 1:38), make us feel the shame for our inadequacy before the treasure that has been entrusted to us, in order to live the virtue of

humility before God.

May our journey be accompanied by the paternal intercession of Saint Ignatius and of all the Jesuit saints, who continue to teach us to do all things “ad

majorem Dei gloriam.” (parts of Pope Francis’ homily on the Feast of Loyola at GESU, 2013)

HAPPY FEAST OF ST. IGNATIUS OF LOYOLA


Dear friends, St. Ignatius of Loyola’s major contribution is the total transformation of the person, a deep realization that our God is a loving God. He is constantly and pro actively inviting each of us to comprehend this divine quest of the loving, laboring and caring God. We Jesuits in all our apostolates strive towards this awareness. Every educational institutional institute is a testimony to our Jesuit legacy.

The present political scenario of our country seems grim. The Hindutva forces have seized the political opportunity for more than two years and forged ahead with their vindictive agenda. Their constant and systematic goal seems to suggest that we Christians, (the minority community) does not matter. They have craftily drafted the New Education Policy (NEP), which will be implemented very shortly. The NEP is basically aimed at offering skilled force for the global market. It’s commercial gimmicks at play. Never before did we experience such animosity and upheaval, since our independence. But the bad news is, that much worse is expected in the coming years. Complacency may overwhelm us, if we choose to ignore it. It may depict a grim picture as we read the above para! Hopefully, this is a passing phase. We need to realize that Education has a powerful transformative influence. Each of our students is God’s gift to mankind. His grace is forcefully operative in our institutions. Not only our students, but also our alumni who are presently influential offices all the world over, will not allow this evil to prevail over the goodness of God. Many NGO’s and people of goodwill will surely join hands with us. We have a huge responsibility!! We are called now more than ever before to be innovative and concentrate on the rich Ignatian legacy. The content we disseminate need not concentrate on the cognitive domain alone, even though it is vital. We need also to sensitize our students on the Socio – Economic – Political – Religious - Communal realities that cripple us. All our Educators must collaborate collectively in envisaging this endeavor. In the recent education meeting, in New Delhi our POSA, Fr. George Pattery, has urged the JEA core team to evaluate their present performance and urged them to concentrate on ‘Animation rather than Administration.’ Perhaps, this could trigger more productive networking and foster lay collaboration. Join with JEA and give a new thrust to our education in the South Asian Assistancy.

May the blessings of the Feast of our Founder St. Ignatius be always on all of us!

Robert Das SJ Core Team Member JEA Principal Loyola School, Pune


EDITORIAL


Highlights: New Education Policy 2016 TSR Subrahmanian headed 5 member Commission has submitted the final Draft Policy on Education to the MHRD. Here is a critique of it by JEA.

The Draft Submitted by the Commission has many good things. The first part is a well documented study on the past and present state of Education in India. It also beautifully brings out the constitutional provisions for education in the country. We think there are many good points in the NEP and the report has been honest in saying that “education is in disarray”. It correctly says that in funding, education must be given the highest priority. It also points out the corruption in the system. Many things we discussed and the Secretary brought out during the meeting of the CBCI on the 1st July are valid. In addition to that our findings are here.

We agree with the following:

• Change the no detention policy but rather than have detention from class 6, have it from class 3.

• The suggestion is good saying that standards forced on private schools need first to be forced on government schools.

• Having for class 10 different standard papers for subjects depending on whether the student will continue in class 10 or not is a good idea. Moreover some students are very weak in maths but very good in humanities, do not want to do Maths in class 11 but are forced to do Maths at a high standard in class 10.

• Mid Day meal suggestions are good especially extending it to secondary level. But it should be available for unrecognized schools or at least those applying for recognition.

• Non viable one teacher schools should be amalgamated in bigger schools. • Mother tongue at the pre primary level. • Amend the RTE to make recognition easier. (Actually our problem in Jharkhand is

corruption, not the norms. Huge sums are being asked to get schools even to the first stage of recognition)


TSR Subrahmanian


We are not happy with

1. Suggestion to introduce either Hindi or English in class 1. Both can be taught as we are doing.

2. Need to review the exemption of minority schools regarding 25% economically weak students being admitted to minority schools. This is aimed at undermining the Constitutional Rights of the Minorities.

3. Remedial teaching by teachers after class... or will they be paid? 4. Over stress on Sanskrit. 5. No political activity, not even political discourse among students in the campus? Is in’t a

realistic expression of a democratic state? 6. Value education is good, however, it must not be religious or cultural specific. 7. Too much of a stress on Indian culture....is it a composite culture? If so let there be

Adivasi, Dalit and indigenous culture part of the curriculum. 8. Who will frame the curricula?

It is said that there was even one to one consultation. Was the Church consulted in this way or only through written suggestions?

By JEA Secretariat

GENERAL :

• NEP is a policy. It is not mandatory, nor is it legal. Its guidelines. • Each state is free to adopt it according to its convenience. • But the GO / GR is mandatory. • ‘Quality’ this word is mentioned 874 times.

MINORITY INSTITUTIONS :

• The word ‘minority’ is mentioned just 4 times. (implications) • Overtones of elitist thinking trend … • Stress not on quality education rather on marks. • Lacks professionalism and openness, rather its prejudiced and politically motivated.


A CRITICAL RESPONSE TO THE DRAFT NEP 2016 CORE TEAM HEADED BY ROBERT DAS SJ (PUN)

FOR JEA SECRETARIAT.


SKILLS MORE IMPORTANT THAN COMPREHENSION / ASSIMILIATION:

• It lays stress on employability rather than academics. • Attempts to turn Education into an Industry. • Examination of class 10 into A & B

• A = Maths / Science / English. • B = Social studies, languages, basic Maths.

• Only the intelligent /rich will reach there….poor and average students, have no choice, may have to do inferior jobs…lower strata in society.

• Unhealthy segregation and it’s too early.

TEACHERS TAKEN FOR GRANTED: (A COMMODITY)

• HM’s and teachers are accountable for learning outcome…

• If the students fail…Tr. Can be terminated…Perform or out you go.

• Merit based recruitment and disciplinary powers to SMC’s

• Only those graduates who have 50% will be eligible for B. Ed.

• TET (Teachers Eligibility Test.) a must to teach.

• 4 yrs integrated (Graduation + B. Ed.)

• 5 yrs integrated after class 12.

• Every 5 years Trs assessment…certificate will be reissued.

• Minority Rights : For all the Christian unaided RTE is applicable.

• Violation of our Constitutional Rights.

• Higher Edu: No Religious coated political activities – So the AICUF, YSM, etc…will have to be non – functional.

CRITIQUE (CONTINUES)

1. SYSTEM THINKING

a. NEP is not learning centered, rather it is system centered.

b. It is not a policy….

c. Model is a Dictator model.

2. ADMINISTRATION POINT OF VIEW

a. It’s not an educationist point of view, rather it’s a scholar’s point of view.



3. QUALITY

a. Who decides…like an IAS officer, who decides…

b. There is no content in it.

c. Teaching pedagogy is missing. (details)

4. VALUES

a. Being Indian / Nationalism…

b. Christians, Muslims, Minority have no place.

c. Pseudo Nationalism…reflects in NEP strongly.

5. HINDU AGENDA

a. Guru Shishya

b. Skills

c. Job oriented.

d. Hindu voice (Nation Building)

6. ELITIEST

a. Over use of Technology.

b. The poor & marginalized are neglected…perform or perish….

c. Girl child and women also neglected….perhaps coz Hinduism is against women.

7. RESTRICTS FREEDOM

a. Social gatherings in colleges..Prohibition…

b. So also the Religious gatherings / formations of leaders will be hindered.

c. Associations like AICUF / YSM / ETC, will be prohibited.

8. NO VOICE OF THE MINORITY

a. The minority intuitions / their contribution / experience goes unacknowledged.

9. NO SCHOLARS ONLY ADMINISTRATORS

10.ONLY RSS – NRI’S WILL RULE THE EDUCATATION HUBS.

a. They are trying to ape the west and USA

11. ABSENCE OF SOCIAL SCIENCE:

a. Importance given only to Maths / Science

b. Humanities, history, geography, languages no importance.



WAY TO RESPOND

1. Create awareness in our institutions. (Teachers, Parents, etc)

2. Send letters to PM and the new HR Minister.

3. Conduct discussions on NEP in school and colleges.

4. Demand discussions with us (Minority Institutions)

5. Conduct massive rallies in each state.

Sunny Jacob SJ, JEA Secretary


EXCELLENT RESULTS

All our schools have very good academic results during the Board exams. JEA congratulates all our schools for their wonderful Academic Performance (ICSE, CBSE

and State Boards).



JEA Secretary Fr. Sunny Jacob SJ, was in and out for various seminars and meetings. He was the resource person for the Two Day national conclave of the MSFS principals at Delhi. He also visited Nepal and met the teachers of 4 Jesuit schools. He was there in Arunachal Pradesh, visited all the Jesuit schools and conducted seminars for the teachers on latest trends in education. As a member of the ICAJE he visited Rome for ICAJE Annual Meeting in the Curia and came back with a lots of new ideas and information. He conducted seminars in Jaipur too. He attended the JEA Keral province meet recently at Kozhikode. While in Kerala he addressed the teachers of AKJM School, Kanjirappally too. He attended all the CBCI Education meetings in Delhi and significantly contributes to the CBCI.

Seminars by JEA Secretary for Educators



ICAJE Annual Meeting in ROME

The annual meeting of the ICAJE held at Rome from 23rd May till 28th May. The meeting discussed the forth coming new Document on Jesuit Education. The increased international collaboration through www.educatemagis.org and JESEDU-Rio 2017 etc were pondered over. All the commission members were present for this important meeting.

http://www.educatemagis.org

http://www.educatemagis.org


JAMSHEDPUR Dr. (Fr.) P. Tony Raj, SJ is appointed as the new PCE of Jamshedpur. He was teaching at the B Ed college in Jamshedpur and Patna. He was the founder principal of Loyola Bhubaneswar. He has a PhD in Education. JEA looks forward his positive contribution to the innovative efforts of JEA with newer ideas and visions. JEA welcomes him in its 9 member Core Team too. On July 16th the new PCE has called the meeting of the heads of schools for a days reflection.

KERALA

Kerala JEA had its annual meeting of the Heads of educational Institutions. Fr. Provincial and JEA Secretary Fr. Sunny were present and enlightened the group. There was also a 3 days teachers in service training at Kozhikode. JEA Secretary addressed them too.


News From Provinces


KOHIMA J E A S e c r e t a r y v i s i t e d a l l t h e schools in Arunachal P r a d e s h a n d conducted Seminars for teachers. There is a n e w t h r u s t i n education in our s c h o o l s i n t h e remote areas too. Thanks to the new PCE.

RANCHI A seminar for the Ranchi province Heads of schools was organized at Ranchi last month. JEA Secretary Sunny and Bob Slattery of H a z a r i b a g h w e r e t h e resource persons. Ranchi province has come out with a very comprehensive Education Policy for the province.



NEPAL Fr. Sunny visited Nepal, Kathmandu and Debonia and met the Jesuits and the Teachers.

DELHI Delhi province recently organized a days meeting for the Teachers and collaborators at St. Xavier's Delhi.



MSFS Educators National Conclave


Sunny was the resource person for the two days MSFS Educators national Conference at New

Delhi.


Vatican Radio interviewed Sunny and broadcasted in two parts his interview. The interview was on ICAJE, JEA and Indian education in general. The questions were on student centered education and how Jesuits contribute to the South Asian education.


Vatican Radio Interviewed the JEA Secretary



The Feast Day of St Ignatius Loyola is 31st July.

Jesuit schools in South Asia must celebrate the feast on a suitable day before or after the Feast

day in all our schools.



Kindly display the following in an appropriate manner in our school for all to see.

Ignatius Loyola , born (1491) of a Basque noble family; chose a life of chivalry and fame until wounded at the battle of Pamplona (1521); during long convalescence he underwent a spiritual conversion; lived as a hermit at Manresa where he began to see how God was active in his life; his notes from this time became the Spiritual Exercises; with companions he founded the Society of Jesus (1540); Ignatius spent the rest of his life developing and governing this new order. Died 31st July 1556.

1491 Ignatius born, the youngest of 13 children, at Loyola in the Basque country of northern Spain.

1506 Enters the service of the King's Treasurer as a page, at Avila.

1517 Appointed Gentleman-in-Waiting to the Duke of Nájera, Viceroy of Navarra.

1521 Battle of Pamplona, 20th May. Ignatius falls wounded. Taken home to Loyola to recover. Reads The Life of Christ and the Golden Legend. Begins to practice the discernment of spirits and chooses a new life.

1522 Leaves Loyola (February). Pilgrimage to the shrine of Our Lady at Aránzazu. Spends the night in vigil before the Black Madonna at the monastery of Montserrat. Travels on to Manresa in search of Paul, a hermit with expertise on pilgrimage to the Holy Land. Spends 11 months at Manresa in prayer. Begins to make the notes which will become the Spiritual Exercises.

1523 18th February - leaves Barcelona for the Holy Land. Arrives in Rome on Palm Sunday. 4th September - enters Jerusalem. Ejected from the Holy Land by Franciscan guardians.

1524 Returns to Barcelona. Begins to learn Latin before pursuing higher studies in order to 'help sous' without interference from the ecclesiastical authorities.

1526 Enters the university of Alcalá, near Madrid.

1527 Arrested and imprisoned for teaching the Christian faith without authorization (this happened eight times in all over the next few years). July - enters the university of Salamanca.

1528 Enters the university of Paris. Lodges with Pierre Favre and Francis Xavier, his first companions.

1531 Journies to London to beg alms to support himself in his studies.

1534 Ignatius and six companions take a vow of poverty, decide to go to Jerusalem, and to spend their lives as 'friends in the Lord' helping souls.

1535 Ignatius grduates as a Master of the university of Paris. Visits his family at Loyola for the last time.



1537 The companions reach Venice en route to Jerusalem. They go to Rome to obtain the Pope's blessing but he encourage them to 'help souls' in Italy. The companions disperse to various towns in Italy. Ignatius has a mystical experience at La Storta, outside Rome. The companions put themselves at the service of the Pope and the Church.

1539 The Deliberation of the First Fathers - the companions decide to bind themselves in a new religious order of priests to be called the Society of Jesus.

1540 Francis Xavier set out for the far east. 27th September - Pope Pal III approves the new Order.

1541Much againsthis will, Ignatius is elected the fist Superior General of the the Society of Jesus. 22ndApril - the first 10 companions take vows of poverty, chastity and obedience at the basilica of St-Paul-Outside-the-Walls, Rome.

1546 Laínez and Salmerón are sent as expert theologians to the Council of Trent. 1st August - Pierre Favre, Ignatius' first companion, dies in Rome.

1548 The Spiritual Exericses are approved and published for the first time (in Latin).

1550 Ignatius finishes the first draft of the Constitutions for the new Society.

1552 Francis Xavier dies on Sanchuan island, off the coast of China.

1555 Ignatius dictates his Autobiography to Luís Gonçalves da Cámara.

1556 31st July - Ignatius dies in Rome. There are already over 1,000 members of the Society of Jesus in many parts of the world.

1622 Ignatius is declared a saint by Pope Gregory XV.

The Society of Jesus is the largest order of priests and brothers in the Catholic Church, with almost 17,000 members serving in 132 countries.

One of the founding principles of the Society of Jesus was “the education of children and unlettered persons.” The Jesuits established their first school in 1548. Today, the Jesuits run more than 2,500 schools all the continents.



Dear Friends, Celebrate the lasting legacy of St. Ignatius of Loyola in your schools. Kindly invite parents and Alumni too to be part of your celebration. 1. Put up informative flex or written posters and Quotes of St.

Ignatius for all to read. 2. Have well prepared holy Eucharist for Catholic students, Alumni

and Parents. 3. Invite our near by Jesuits to address on an Ignatian theme during

the Assembly for 9 days (Novena Days). 4. Invite local officials and Civil authorities to share your joy on the

Feast day. 5. Ask your students club to put up an exhibition on Jesuit legacy

through history. 6. Conduct a special prayer service for world peace on or before 31st

July and invite the entire school and parents. 7. Prepare students to give speeches on the Contributions done by

Jesuits in any field. 8. Show short videos on St. Ignatius and his life. 9. Have friendly matches between students and teachers. This will

be remembered by all the students in the later ages too. 10. Have reflective, discerned project for the poor and the needy

during the month. Involve Alumni too in this. This way we can make a serious and positive impact on all our

stake holders on the feast of our Founder Father.

May God bless all of you! Sunny Jacob SJ



Forth Coming ProgrammeProgram Highlights Place Date & Time

Hazaribagh Educators

Meet

The Central annual meeting of the school principals,

headmasters and collaborators of Hazaribagh.

JEA Secretary will be addressing the gathering.

Hazaribagh 23-24 July 2016

Secretaries Meet

The Annual secretaries meet.

ISI Bangalore 3-5 August 2016

Central Zone Educators

In continuation of our meeting held at

Darjeeling,the Central Zone is organizing a program for

our Jesuits involved in Education Apostolate. POSA and JEA Secretary will also be attending the meeting

and addressing the participants.

Ranchi 8-9 August 2016

JAAI GC and South Zone Meeting

20-22 August 2016

All the GC Members and PCA are expected to attend.

St. Alsius, Mangalore

MADURAI JEA Meet

There will be a meeting of all the heads of schools in

Madurai in the First week of September, as announced by

the PCE.

Madurai September 1st week 2016



Program Highlights Place Date & Time

JESUIT ALUMNI

(WUJA) will meet POPE in

Rome

WUJA has announced that Jesuit Alumni from all over the world will meet with POPE FRANCIS. This is so important a meeting that maximum number of JAAI members will attend this

extraordinary WUJA meeting.

Rome 13-15 September 2016

JEA SA Annual Meet

All the PCEs will attend this important meeting. POSA

will be with us for the meeting and also one

Secretary from another ministry, as part of the inter

ministerial collaboration.

Dindigul 19-22 November 2016

National Seminar on

Ecology

JEA will organise a national seminar on Ecology for

Jesuit School personnels.We would like maximum

number of participants for this First ever national

seminar for our schools. Details will be send you all

soon.

PG Block Pune 25-27 September 2016


What I Like about Ignatius Loyola by Jim Manney on St. Ignatius Loyola

On 31st July we celebrate the feast of St. Ignatius Loyola. This is a big day for Jesuits and others in the Ignatian sphere of influence. Here are a couple of my thoughts on his feast. Name a saint. Chances are one idea pops into your mind: Francis (poverty), Vincent de Paul (charity), Therese (simplicity in love). This isn’t so with Ignatius Loyola. Several ideas jostle for attention. He was a soldier, a mystic, a writer, a teacher. He founded an order renowned for education, missionary work, learning, and devotional piety. He invented the modern practice of spiritual direction. The more you learn about him, the more complex he seems. I’ve recently come to appreciate his accomplishments as a leader, a psychologist, a communicator, and entrepreneur. This diversity of talents is appealing. Everyone can find something to like about Ignatius. We moderns like his story too. We can relate to a saint who often didn’t know what God wanted of him and made many mistakes trying to find out. The saint who invented discernment knew all about following Plan E after Plans A, B, C, and D didn’t pan out. I like two things about Ignatius. A person formed in Ignatian spirituality is said to be a “contemplative in action.” Much ink has been spilled (and blog posts written) about what this means, but to me it’s simple. Bringing prayer and work together is what I try to do all day. It’s what my friends and colleagues try to do all day. Ignatius rightly said that this is the central challenge of life, and he had much to say about how to do it. Nothing is more relevant to life than this. The second thing is a question that Ignatius would have us continually ask of ourselves: What do you really want? Peel away the layers of desires, fears, ambitions, and dreams, and get in touch with the deepest desire of your heart. Ignatius believed that when you touch what the poet Hopkins called the “dearest, freshness, deep-down things,” you’ll find God there. What an optimist! That’s another thing I like about Ignatius.


http://www.ignatianspirituality.com/author/jim-manney

http://www.ignatianspirituality.com/category/st-ignatius-loyola-blog


School of the Month Online Maths Olympiad in

St. Lawrence High School St. Lawrence High School had the good fortune of conducting the first ever online examination on 11th February, 2016. The Maths and Science 2nd level Examination was held by Eduheal Foundation, New Delhi. Twenty two students from the primary and secondary section participated in the examination under the able guidance of Mr. Siddharta Bhattacharya, the maths teacher of our institution. The examination was conducted at the Fr. Siluvai Francise-lab. The results are awaiting soon.

Special Assembly on Road Safety Week To observe the ‘Road Safety Week’ students of classes IX and X conducted a special assembly at St. Lawrence High School. The Kolkata Traffic Police also joined in to spread awareness to the students regarding road safety. Important guidelines were given by the Traffic Police Department like the importance of wearing a helmet while riding a two-wheeler, driving on the road following proper signal, being alert while crossing the road etc. A quiz, regarding safety measurements was conducted by the Traffic Police and the students enthusiastically participated in it. Gift hampers were distributed to the prize winners.



A Starry Night at St. Lawrence High School The teachers and staff members of St. Lawrence High School came together to celebrate a grand evening at the school premises. The idea culminated after the new lush green fields of St. Lawrence were thown open for everyone. Reverend Fr. Sebastian James S.J. was generous enough to encourage the idea and to make this idea a reality. Ms. Nupur Chaudhuri and Ms. Sharmistha Sen were the co-ordinators of this event and they were graciously helped by Ms. Moon Ray, Ms. Jayashree Sherpa and Mr. Soumak Chatterjee. The event started at 7 p.m. The Teachers’ Representatives escorted Reverend Fathers Joseph C. De Souza S.J, Rector, Sebastian James S.J, Principal, Joseph Toppo S.J, Vice-Principal (Secondary), Markus Hembrom S.J, Vice-Principal (Primary) to the venue. Everyone was welcomed by Ms. Sharmistha Sen. Reverend Father Principal addressed the august gathering and initiated the Get Together. The music began and toast was raised followed by the ‘Game Zone’. The games began with the much attractive Queen’s Walk followed by several others like Paper Dance, Chain game and Memory games. The winners received lovely hampers after which the dance floor was opened for the teachers to take over. St. Lawrence discovered some awesome dancers amongst its teaching staff that day and felt honored that our teachers are multi-talented in the true sense of the term. Next dinner was served by the famous ‘Wasabi’, a new fine dinning concept and everyone enjoyed a mouth watering Chinese cuisine. This grand evening came to an end by the Vote of Thanks by Ms. Nupur Chaudhuri.e-Learning seminar at The Calcutta School of Business on Friday, 4th March 2016

The Calcutta Business School organized a seminar on Friday the 4th March at their sprawling residential campus in Bishnupur, south 24 Parganas. Chaired by Ms. Bratati Bhattacharya, Secretary General of Shikshayatan Foundation, the seminar provided a rare opportunity for the audience to hear about the dif ferent facets of eLearning from experts in the field. Presentations were made by Dr Badrul Khan, one of the most acknowledged e-learning experts in the world and Consultant/Advisor to

distance education and eLearning related projects in USA, the World Bank, and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO); Swami Divyasukhananda of Vivekanada University; and Ms



Suchandra Laha of Future Foundation School. Dr. Ashok Banerji, an expert on eLearning and Professor at CBS had organized the seminar at Calcutta School of Business.Mr. Soumak Chatterjee attended the seminar and spoke about the recent developments at St. Lawrence High School such as implementation of ERP Software for school management, Online Education services, Apple Labs for academic research related to school curriculum, Apple Seminars on E-Learning, Orientation Programs, E-Learning Platforms, Tata Class Edge System(Smart Classrooms). The delegates were impressed with the state of the art infrastructure of St. Lawrence High School.Annual Sports Meet at St. Lawrence High School

The Annual Sports Day of the Secondary, Higher Secondary and the Primary section took place on the 5th and 6th of March, 2016 respectively. On a bright sunny Saturday the whole of Secondary and Higher Secondary section gathered at the Aloysius Ground of the school to take part in the Annual Sports Meet. The day started with the arrival of the dignitaries followed by a colourful March Past performed by the students divided according to the four houses namely Aloysius, Britto, Loyola and Xavier respectively. Next a special March Past was displayed by the students of Christo

Seva Ashram, Kalna. The flag was then hoisted by the Chief Guest Reverend Father Joseph C. De Souza and he announced the Annual Sports Meet 2016 open. The oath taking ceremony took place and the events began accordingly. The students performed brilliantly at the various events, stunning everyone. The Teachers’ race, Parent’s race were special attractions. The last event was the Tug-of-War which took place between Britto House and Loyola House and Britto house took away the first position. The meet came to an end with the declaration of the Best House and the trophy was lifted by Aloysius House.



The Sports Meet of the Primary section took place on 6th of March at the Aloysius ground. It was lovely to see the little ones all geared up for this mega event. After the arrival of the dignitaries, the March Past took place followed by a lovely Drill Display and Pyramid building. Next the events started one by one and the performance of these tiny fellows overwhelmed everyone. The Teachers’ race and Parent’s race were highly appreciated by one and all. Finally the Sports Meet came to an end and the Best House Trophy was taken away by Loyola house.

Visit to Indian Botanical Garden

On 10th March, 2016, fifty-five students of classes VIII, IX and X of St. Lawrence High School were taken on a visit to the Indian Botanical Garden, Howrah Sibhpur. The students took the tour under the able supervision of Mr. Subrata Sadhu, Ms. Debarati Mukherjee Bhowmick and Ms. Shaista Ahmed. The students reached Botanical Garden at 10 o’clock by school bus. They visited The Great Banyan Tree, The Cactus House, Central National Herbarium and The Charaka Udyan. Having received many valuable inputs from the teachers, the students returned back to school at 1:30 p.m.





Perspective:

It isn’t about women The talk of a Uniform Civil Code has nothing to do with gender justice. It has entirely to do with a Hindu nationalist agenda to ‘discipline’ Muslims

For nearly eight decades, the women’s movement has discussed and debated the desirability and feasibility of a Uniform Civil Code, and has ended up posing a simple question — what is the value of uniformity? Is it for the “integrity of the nation” that uniformity in laws is required, as some judicial pronouncements have suggested? If so, who exactly is the beneficiary? Which sections of people benefit from “integrity of the nation”, that abstract entity which is not exactly at the top of your mind as your husband throws you out on the street? Or are uniform laws meant to ensure justice for women in marriage and inheritance? In that case, a Uniform Civil Code would simply put together the best gender-just practices from all

Personal Laws. So yes, polygamy and arbitrary divorce would be outlawed (a feature derived from Hindu Personal Law). But conversely, as feminist legal activist Flavia Agnes has often pointed out, a Uniform Civil Code would require the abolition of the Hindu Undivided Family, a legal institution that gives tax benefits only to Hindus, and all citizens of India would have to be governed by the largely gender-just Indian Succession Act, 1925, currently applicable only to Christians and Parsis. A stick to beat Muslims with Muslim Personal Law is already modern in this sense, since it has since the 1930s enshrined individual rights to property, unlike Hindu law, in which the family’s natural condition is assumed to be “joint”. In the decades of the 1930s and 1940s, contrary to later discourses about Muslim law being backward, it was Hindu laws that were considered “backward” and needing to be brought into the modern world of individual property rights. Again, since the Muslim marriage as contract protects women better in case of divorce than the Hindu marriage as sacrament, all marriages would have to be civil contracts. Mehr, in Muslim Personal Law, paid by the husband’s family to the wife upon marriage, is the exclusive property of the wife and it is hers upon divorce, offering her a protection Hindu women do not have. So, the Uniform Civil Code would make the practice of mehr compulsory for all while abolishing dowry. The patent absurdity of these suggestions arises not from the ideas themselves, but from the fact, recognized by everybody, that the talk of a “Uniform Civil Code” has nothing to do at all with gender justice. It has entirely to do with a Hindu nationalist agenda, and is right up there with the beef ban and the temple in Ayodhya. A Uniform Civil Code is meant to discipline


NIVEDITA MENON

http://www.thehindu.com/profile/author/nivedita-menon/

http://www.thehindu.com/profile/author/nivedita-menon/


Muslims, teach them (if they didn’t know it already) that they are second-class citizens, and that they live at the mercy of “the national race” (the Hindus), as M.S. Golwalkar decreed. The real issue of gender justice So let us pose the question differently — who suffers in the absence of a Uniform Civil Code? Is it Muslim women, victims of polygamy and triple talaq, as Hindutvavadi wisdom has it? But for decades, feminist legal practice has successfully used both the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 — that is available to all Indian citizens regardless of religious identity — as well as the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act, 1986, to deal with polygamy and triple talaq, and to obtain maintenance, child custody and rights to matrimonial home for countless Muslim women. In addition, feminist legal activists have used the landmark Shamim Ara v. State of U.P. (2002) ruling to buttress their claim that arbitrary triple talaq is invalid. Moreover, polygamy is not exclusive to Muslims. Hindu men are polygamous too, except that because polygamy is legally banned in Hindu law, subsequent wives have no legal standing and no protection under the law. Under Sharia law, on the contrary, subsequent wives have rights and husbands have obligations towards them. If gender justice is the value we espouse, rather than monogamy per se, we would be thinking about how to protect “wives” in the patriarchal institution of marriage. “Wives” are produced through the institution of compulsory heterosexual marriage, the basis of which is the sexual division of labour. This institution is sustained by the productive and reproductive labour of women, and almost all women are exclusively trained to be wives alone. Thus, when a marriage fails to fulfill its patriarchal promise of security in return for that labour, all that most women are left with is the capacity for unskilled labour. Or they remain trapped in marriage with children to provide for, while men marry again, legally or otherwise, producing still more dependent, exploited wives and children for whom they take no responsibility. If gender justice is the point of legal reforms, the centrality and power of the compulsory heterosexual, patriarchal marriage, and the damage it can do to women, is what must be mitigated. This would mean recognizing the reality of multiple “wives” as a common practice across communities, and the protection of the rights of all women in such relationships. In this sense, recent Supreme Court rulings that have granted rights to second wives in Hindu marriages dilute the legal standing of monogamy for Hindus but empower women. A survey conducted by the Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan, a significant voice in the debate, found that more than 90 per cent of Muslim women in India want a ban on “triple talaq” and polygamy in Muslim Personal Law. That is, the demand is made within the framework of codifying Muslim Personal Law, not in favor of a Uniform Civil Code, partly because there is no clarity on what a uniform code would look like, but also because the demand comes from clearly Hindutvavadi quarters which have shown that both women and minorities are expendable for them. Lessons from the Goa experience The only example of a uniform code in India is the Portuguese Civil Procedure Code (1939) of Goa, which is neither ‘uniform’ nor gender-just. Marriage laws differ for Catholics and people of other faiths, and if a marriage is solemnized in church, then Church law applies, permitting,



for example, arbitrary annulment at the behest of one of the parties. The “customs and usages” of the Hindus of Goa are recognized, including “limited” polygamy for Hindus. The positive aspect of Goa’s Civil Code is the Community Property Law, which guarantees each spouse 50 per cent of all assets owned and due to be inherited at the time of marriage. However, this provision can be sidestepped in practice, given the power relations in a marriage, and studies show that it has not made any impact on the incidence of domestic violence. Clearly, if gender justice is not prioritized, both uniformity as well as its dilution can reinforce patriarchy and majoritarianism. The woman at the centre of this recent round of debate on the Uniform Civil Code is Shayara Bano, who received talaq by post. Her lawyer, instead of using any of the three recourses available discussed above — the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005, the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act, 1986, or the citation of the Shamim Ara v. State of U.P. (2002) judgment — decided to file a Public Interest Litigation in the Supreme Court challenging triple talaq on the grounds of violation of Fundamental Rights. Ms. Bano is now in the media spotlight, spiritedly criticizing patriarchy in the Muslim community. Revealingly, a recent interview with her in a national newspaper concluded with a startling question — “What about the ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’ slogan controversy?” Ms. Bano replies, “I feel all Muslims should say Bharat Maa ki Jai.” Does the question seem irrelevant in the context of Ms. Bano’s fight for personal justice? What does compulsory chanting of “Bharat Mata ki Jai” have to do with a woman fighting patriarchy? But the question does not seem irrelevant at all; it seems to be at the heart of the interview. This alone should alert us to what the demand for a Uniform Civil Code is actually about. Nivedita Menon, a feminist scholar, is a professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.

(Curtesy: The Hindu 15.07.2016)


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JEA NL 9 VOL JULY 2016