Christian Contribution to the Freedom Struggle by Ambrose Pinto

Published in Smart Companion India: National Monthly for Christian Leadership, Vol. 8, No. 8 August 2017, pp.18-22.

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No Fish to Eat-Impact of Liberalisation by Ambrose Pinto

Published in Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 30, Issue No. 4, 28 Jan, 1995
Commentary Ambrose Pinto, Berin Leekas, Latha Radhakrishnan
In spite of the now well known effects of mechanised boats on fish catch as well as on the economy of the traditional fishing community, the government of India has now opened Indian waters to foreign fishing vessels. Protesting against this invasion which will have a disastrous impact on the economy and the social life of fisherfolk, are both traditional fisherfolk as well as mechanised boat operators.

KARNATAKA-Lobbies Fuel Dissidence by Ambrose Pinto

Published in Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 28, Issue No. 35, 28 Aug, 1993

to note that the dissolution of the Karbi Anglong Council has been the second clear case of dismissal of a communist-led government since the toppling of the EMS Namboodiripad government in Kerala in 1959. Of course, there are very many major differences between a district council under the Sixth Schedule of Indian Constitution and a fulI -fledged state government and also between the contexts of Left-led governments in Kerala and West Bengal and the ASDC-led district council of Karbi Anglong. From the point of view of communist practice, the latter context is in fact more challenging in several ways

Fillip to Land transfers Land Acquisition Bill, 1988 by Ambrose Pinto

Published in Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 33, Issue No. 49, 05 Dec, 1998

maternal mortality in the index but cite lack of accurate data as the reason for not using the same. The exclusion of maternal well-being from the calculus of reproductive well-being reduces the utility of the RHI. With all the inherent limitations it would have been advisable to consider these other indicators of reproductive health like maternal mortality, proportion of women remaining childless at ages 45-49 to construct the RHI INDEX CONSTRUCTION An analysis of the computed RHI reveals that the variability among the seven variables is not uniform.

Caste Conflict in Karnataka by Ambrose Pinto

Published in Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 27, Issue No. 28, 11 Jul, 1992

Mukti programme extremely useful in order to evade the land ceiling act of the state government. Moreover, this apparently liberal attitude that is shown by the big peasants toward Laxmi Mukti certainly hdps them in earning the goodwill of Sharad Joshi and respect from others in the Sanghtana. The Laxmi Mukti programme is criticised by some of the noted women activists on one more ground

KARNATAKA-Institutionalised Corruption by Ambrose Pinto

Published in Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 27, Issue No. 35, 29 Aug, 1992

hostility and persecution has been allowed to continue. The government allowed the district babu to abuse her. Nothing was done to change her work conditions. She was kept a slave of the department. Why not? Was she not a Lodha? Was not she given a job? The university authorities did nothing to throw out the caste-baiter. And the commission appointed by the government submitted its report three days after her death.

Karnataka Pre-Election Scenario by Ambrose Pinto

Published in Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 33, Issue No. 6, 07 Feb, 1998

A CONGRESS state till 1989 as far as Lok Sabha was concerned, where the party had swept practically all the seats, the 1991 and 1996 elections in Karnataka were a departure. In 1991 the party won 22 seats out of the 26 it contested, the lowest ever since the first general elections. In 1996 the party's presence was still feeble when it won only five seats. The political scenario has considerably changed ever since. The state gave to the country a ruralite prime minister from the agricultural community of vokkaligas, the prominent Janata Dal (JD) leader, Harnahalli Dodda Gowda Deve Gowda, His clout in Delhi further added to the consolidation of JD in the state. Though prime minister of India, the saying that did the round was PM of Karnataka and CM of India. Knowing fully well that his tenure in the capital may not last long, the man kept a complete hold on the party and its leaders in the state. His arch rival Ramakrishna Hegde who wielded influence on the upper middle classes and the upper castes was expelled from JD as soon as Deve Gowda reached the Delhi darbar. Prepared to stand up to his tormentor, Ramakrishna Hegde, the ex-chief minister of Karnataka who had built up the JD party in the state, founded Lok Sakti recently, a political party of his own with his followers and admirers.

KARNATAKA-State Protection for Dalits by Ambrose Pinto

Published in Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 32, Issue No. 39, 27 Sept, 1997

The recent events in Chitamani taluk is evidence of the confusion in people's minds about where the sympathies of the state lie. The police force was attacked by both the dalits who needed police protection for going ahead with Ambedkar Jayanti celebrations, and the vokkaligas who in fact had called for police intervention to prevent the celebrations from taking place.

End of Dravidian Era in Tamil Nadu by Ambrose Pinto

Published in Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 34, Issue No. 24, 12 Jun, 1999

Tamil Nadu politics was for long dominated by the Dravida movement which emphasised Tamil identity, language and culture in opposition to north Indian attempts at integration. This was replaced by M G Ramachandran, a popular matinee idol and a populist in politics. Today the politics in the state has accepted BJP's hindutva and also globalisation, making a complete break from the Dravida movement.

Hindutva vs Ambedkarism by Ambrose Pinto

Published in Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 35, Issue No. 41, 07 Oct, 2000

Both the hindutva forces and the dalit leaders understand the liberating effects of the work of Christian missionaries, including conversions. For Ambedkar and his followers, conversion was a device of protest to gain social acceptance. Hindutva forces see missionary work as subversive - one that would provide equality to those marginalised in Hinduism.
For more: http://www.epw.in/journal/2000/41/commentary/hindutva-vs-ambedkarism.html

Atrocities on Dalits in Gulbarga-Upper Caste Hold on Police by Ambrose Pinto

Published in Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 29, Issue No. 16-17, 16 Apr, 1994

The resurgence of the daltt movement in Gulbarga district of Karnataka has resulted in growing upper caste violence on the dalit with the police playing a partisan role and ignoring dalit complaints.

UN Conference against Racism by Ambrose Pinto

Published in Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 36, Issue No. 30, 28 Jul, 2001

While strongly opposing the move by certain dalit activists and groups to raise the issue of caste discrimination in the WCAR scheduled later this year, the Indian government insists that caste and race are two dissimilar and anomalous entities. But successive constitutional insertions, legislative amendments and even judicial pronouncements show the case to be otherwise - in several instances, caste discrimination is indeed seen at par with race.

Karnataka Cabinet Reshuffle Unviable by Ambrose Pinto

Published in Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 29, Issue No. 25, 18 Jun, 1994

with the principles and practice of democracy would assign the role of a reformer to a judge. One may not have serious differences with the end result but that cannot be permitted to be secured by perverse means.

Karnataka University Act 2000 by Ambrose Pinto

Published in Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 36, Issue No. 34, 25 Aug, 2001

The recently-passed new legislation tightens the hold of the government on universities, drastically reducing their autonomy and leaving no role for either teachers or other intellectuals in the management of universities. The irony is that most of the teachers' bodies in the state have failed to recognise how critically the new legislation affects the future of higher education and have been concerned only with their narrow professional interests.

Karnataka Assembly Elections An Overview by Ambrose Pinto

Published in Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 29, Issue No. 53, 26 Nov, 1994

The state party leader Eswarappa's win in Shimoga city speaks of further consolidation of its gains, impressive since the Karnataka Congress Party's leader, Bangarappa, claims a wide following in the district.

KARNATAKA-Badanvalu Emerging Dalit Paradigm by Ambrose Pinto

Published in Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 30, Issue No. 15, 15 Apr, 1995

The atrocities on dalits of Badanvalu have evoked a retaliation from them indicating that the dalits in Karnataka are in no mood to bow to the state's callous indifference and lingayat's oppressive hegemony.

Should Caste Be Included in the Census by Ambrose Pinto

Published in Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 33, Issue No. 31, 01 Aug, 1998

IS casteism the bane of Indian society? The general impression is that there is too much of casteism in India. Whether it is a question of politics, education, urban or rural development allocation of resources for various sectors, caste comes to play a major role. That is why several social scientists and politicians have suggested that the only way of getting rid of caste in Indian society is by rejecting caste outright. Many others hold that instead of making caste the criterion, we should adapt the class or economic factor. Therefore caste should not be included in the census

Caste Discrimination and UN by Ambrose Pinto

Published in Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 37, Issue No. 39, 28 Sep, 2002

The United Nations Committee on Elimination of Racial Discrimination, concluding its discussion on descent-based discrimination, strongly condemned caste practice in south Asia. This describes a new framework for moving towards the elimination of caste-based, descent-based discrimination.

Andhra Pradesh : Politics of Opportunism by Ambrose Pinto

Published in Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 34, Issue No. 36, 04 Sep, 1999

What does the regional politics of the Telugu Desam of Chandrababu Naidu mean to the people in the forthcoming elections? A critical essay on the emergence of Telugu Desam, the changing leadership of the party and its programmes.

KARNATAKA-Hoisting National Flag at Idgah Maidan by Ambrose Pinto

Published in Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 30, Issue No. 5, 04 Feb, 1995

Hoisting National Flag at Idgah Maidan Ambrose Pinto While the Janata Dal may have successfully dampened a volatile situation, by persuading the Anjuman-e-lslam to lunst the flag at the Idgah Maidan at Hubli the long-term consequences may not necessarily stall the communalisation of politics.

KARNATAKA-Civic Elections Sway of Independents by Ambrose Pinto

Published in Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 31, Issue No. 11, 16 Mar, 1996

Civic Elections: Sway of Independents Ambrose Pinto The fact that so many independents have secured seats in local bodies is probably an indicator of the growing frustration of the electorate with political parties and their 'hidden agendas'.

KARNATAKA-Emerging Social Tensions among Dalits by Ambrose Pinto

Published in Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 32, Issue No. 30, 26 Jul, 1997

KARNATAKA Emerging Social Tensions among Dalits Ambrose Pinto Recent incidents of violence in a dalit colony near Hoskote in Karnataka indicate that the growing affluence and political influence among a section of the dalits mainly through the capture of state resources meant for dalit welfare, is giving rise to new social tensions within the dalit fold

Saffronisation of Affirmative Action by Ambrose Pinto

Published in Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 34, Issue No. 52, 25 Dec, 1999

KARNATAKA-Politics of Capitation Colleges by Ambrose Pinto

Published in Economic and Political Weekly Vol. 29, Issue No. 1-2, 01 Jan, 1994

Politics of Capitation Colleges Ambrose Pinto Capitation colleges represent a nexus between politics and organised religion. Political leaders support religious heads to establish and run these colleges; the latter in turn help politicians to strengthen their vote banks.

KARNATAKA-Politics of Reservation by Ambrose Pinto

Published in Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 29, Issue No. 35, 27 Aug, 1994

Politics of Reservation Ambrose Pinto The July 25 notification of the Karnataka government is an illustration of how, yet again, the dominant castes in the state hold sway in state politics.

The Tyranny of 'Hurt' Feelings by Ambrose Pinto

First published in Economic and Political Weekly Vol. 50, Issue No. 25, 20 Jun, 2015

Kancha Ilaiah, the director of the Centre for Social Exclusion and Inclusive Policy in the Maulana Azad University in Hyderabad, has been igniting minds by raising important questions on culture, caste and spirituality for years. The police have now filed a case against him for an article he wrote...

SECRECY ABOUT PROCESS OF ACCREDITING COLLEGES IS BAFFLING By DR AMBROSE PINTO

Published in Bangalore Mirror Bureau Mar 2, 2017.

NAAC’s idea of IEQA flawed; it’s a quiz where you aren’t told the answers. An objective assessment would show that an automated reply can’t be charged Rs 28,000

For all new colleges seeking assessment, National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NACC) has a rigorous process. The colleges have to write a letter of intent, first making clear their intention to go for accreditation. They then have to pay a sum of Rs 28,000 and electronically answer some questions. This is known as IEQA (institutional eligibility for quality assurance). An automated message whether the college has made it or not for assessment is received within a few minutes of sending the form. How good is this practice? NAAC has always claimed to be a quality institution with transparency and accountability. In such an institution, the parameters for assessment for new colleges should have been placed on the website. Only those who meet the criteria could have been asked to go for assessment. That would have made NAAC credible and transparent.

The Achievements of the Jesuit Educational Mission in India and the Contemporary Challenges it faces by Ambrose Pinto SJ

In International Studies in Catholic Education Vol. 6 , Iss. 1,2014, Pages 14-32.

Abstract

The Jesuit project of education in India that began with St Francis Xavier and flourished due to the support of colonial masters at its establishment was distinctive in its aims and objectives. The Jesuits taught the lowly and the mighty with the sole aim of ‘evangelisation’, a term that has changed its meaning depending on contexts and times. With a zeal for God they established institutions for the families of rulers and kings to win goodwill for the work of evangelisation, to form the clergy and to educate catechists. Jesuits opened several institutions at the level of the parish to educate the illiterate, to bring ordinary people to Christ and to empower the powerless. Several Jesuits of foreign origin mastered local languages and were acknowledged as scholars in the field, winning respect and goodwill.