“When the Mandal Commission was formed, they took the help of social scientists who were successful in mapping out the social structure of India, the rich morphology of caste labels having told us of opportunities in deprivation,” he said. “But it is wrong when distinction is based on birth and not on achievement, as people would cling to the caste labels. People are persistent in demanding privileges given to them,” he added.

He said that it was good that India had achieved individual mobility (in society) through education and urbanisation. “But when it comes to education, we find that we lay emphasis only on the peaks of the education system—the IITs, IIMs and medical institutions instead of primary education. This is not a healthy strategy for a democracy,” he told the gathering, including the 279 students who were awarded their masters and doctoral degrees at the TISS campus.

S Parshuraman, Director, TISS, highlighted the activities of the year 2007-2008 which he referred to as a ‘year of consolidation’ for TISS as an institution with regard to expanded research work in areas of health, education, rural development, employability, labour in the unorganised sector, human rights, sustainable consumption, social development, urban and rural poverty and disaster response and recovery.

Last year, TISS had formed a collaboration with several universities in the USA and Europe, bringing 62 international students to India as part of their ‘Study in India’ programme and had sent several of its students for internships and placements at universities in the US.

TISS is also planning to expand geographically with the Hyderabad campus which will be operational from 2010. RK Krishna also announced the setting up of the Habitat School, a joint initiative between TISS and the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (IITB).

Relatives and friends cheered on as the students received their convocation from the prestigious institute. Desai concluded by congratulating the students and said that he was hopeful that these future social scientists would ‘construct viable policy alterations’. When asked to react to the Raj Thackeray controversy, he told Newsline that India could not have any more partitions. “We accused the British of divide and rule and balkanization. But our politicians, today, are doing the same.”

About US president Geoge Bush’s controversial statement on India’s food consumption and his blaming India for the spike in oil prices, he said that the main problem in India was that of wastage of food due to lack of infrastructural facilities like proper warehousing and transport and that oil prices were rising because the dollar was deprecating and because of the recent tensions in Nigeria.

“The inflation danger is more from China than India,” he said.

Learning Centre for Blind inaugurated
The MK Tata Memorial Learning Centre for the Visually Challenged was inaugurated on Wednesday at the Sir Dorabji Library at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS). The learning centre consists of 20 computers, loaded with softwares designed to assist visually impaired readers within a congenial classroom environment. What sets the centre apart from other institutions around the country is that it houses all the latest technologies to facilitate barrier free access and independent reading of library materials under one roof.

Dr Muttaya Koganuramath, university librarian, TISS explained, “Earlier, visually impaired students would require the help of volunteers to read books. However, in a centre like this, the students will be able to independently read books, scan books and take Braille print-outs at the click of a mouse button.”

For instance, with the Job Inclusive With Speech (JAWS) Pro Talking software installed, a computer can actually ‘talk’ to the person, help him access Internet easily and also train a visually impaired person to use a computer. The Talking Typing Teacher Pro can help students with complete guidance and practice lessons for learning keyboard skills and developing typing speed in a systematic manner.

Besides, Kurzweil reading software, Magic magnification, Braille Scanning software, Optical Braille recognition, Prisma magnification device, Zoom-Ex Instant Reader, Index Basic D Braille Embosser, and Freedom Sceintific’s Scanning and reading Appliance are some of the other softwares accessible in the laboratory. Currently, there are seven visually impaired students enrolled at the TISS for various courses of study.

Difficulty in accessing the rich collection at the TISS library was one of the major reasons why the learning centre was set up. Dr Koganuramath said, “We have already provided access to over 4500 journals loaded on computers for visually impaired students. The various softwares here will make it easier for them to read and type.”