tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-54822643086874302062024-03-21T19:01:12.270+05:30Dr Ambrose Pinto SJ: Politics of ChangeUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger86125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5482264308687430206.post-50677216632169491662024-01-15T09:11:00.002+05:302024-01-15T09:11:20.653+05:305th Rev Dr Ambrose Pinto SJ Memorial Lecture<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiapzPsTyi-gBK1bbxcF1hmV_YrvPolTb9JVtzSU2it2bKq_JFfm6UACWLNGWFLWroM8U02XhKjigZlfizEr3D36huTBZM38OZA-nwPZSvKDqeMRqtPIUapcV_gaFjKwN60QMqL_yI5-ikNimIhUPKeyfZ1uEjh3kvNHosGHv6LuQv2z9mj_7_p-EATI6M/s1529/Ambrose_pinto_lecture_2024.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1529" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiapzPsTyi-gBK1bbxcF1hmV_YrvPolTb9JVtzSU2it2bKq_JFfm6UACWLNGWFLWroM8U02XhKjigZlfizEr3D36huTBZM38OZA-nwPZSvKDqeMRqtPIUapcV_gaFjKwN60QMqL_yI5-ikNimIhUPKeyfZ1uEjh3kvNHosGHv6LuQv2z9mj_7_p-EATI6M/s320/Ambrose_pinto_lecture_2024.jpeg" width="226" /></a></div><br /> <p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5482264308687430206.post-67355449865493558782020-01-07T19:15:00.000+05:302020-01-07T19:15:05.414+05:30Fr Ambrose Pinto Memorial Lecture 2020<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYGGCdcQI3Dcwv3pm0AmpLlyWwehdMEIz979EEulZv7E4Bp7AeHVdA644Nz_kMD-2H53z7x469ef2GNRzNWetgStVtU90TPIvhbti98WXIOdKeJ2OPLEwrUYKy-zCXZdDk2lw2K_I-apE/s1600/ambrose_pinto_lecture_2020.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="789" data-original-width="940" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYGGCdcQI3Dcwv3pm0AmpLlyWwehdMEIz979EEulZv7E4Bp7AeHVdA644Nz_kMD-2H53z7x469ef2GNRzNWetgStVtU90TPIvhbti98WXIOdKeJ2OPLEwrUYKy-zCXZdDk2lw2K_I-apE/s320/ambrose_pinto_lecture_2020.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Fr Ambrose Pinto, SJ, Memorial Lecture will be held on the 1<b>0th January 2020 </b>at St. Joseph's College, Auditorium, from 3.00 - 4.00 PM.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5482264308687430206.post-12352916024124841802018-12-23T19:00:00.001+05:302018-12-23T19:01:12.911+05:30Christmas 2017<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b>Ambrose Pinto, SJ, Christmas 2017</b> published in <i><b>New Leader</b></i>, December 16-31, 2017</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5482264308687430206.post-35187513535291903732018-04-09T22:28:00.001+05:302018-04-09T22:35:48.929+05:30Freedom for Faith by Fr Ambrose Pinto, SJ“Freedom for Faith” is one of the last articles Fr Ambrose Pinto, S.J. published in print and online media. This was published in Irish Jesuit’s <b>The Messenger</b> magazine in the January issue of 2018. Published here with Editor’s consent. <img id="id_3645_9aa1_ca7f_23c9" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-fe9zzYk8nhE/Wsubtv-B0-I/AAAAAAAAU6U/4hGBagZFzG8xs57zW_BtkAewhQ3xpR8UQCHMYCw/s5000/%255BUNSET%255D" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 746px; height: auto;"><br><br><div><img id="id_d04b_e851_cecb_a252" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-eJb9w_VfH3w/WsubtvYvSnI/AAAAAAAAU6Q/2Jo-50YoImQWqji_WcxZABCFwXYmhkgkACHMYCw/s5000/%255BUNSET%255D" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 746px; height: auto;"><br><br><br></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5482264308687430206.post-6203380438895379112018-04-05T13:54:00.001+05:302018-04-05T13:54:12.018+05:30Tribute to Fr Ambrose Pinto, SJ <img id="id_bede_9b71_3911_df68" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-xQHFSLgHGhA/WsXdKUeQUUI/AAAAAAAAU4s/vLJB1Xx6xuU5Syft8nY5YwXmRY4y9vMpgCHMYCw/s5000/%255BUNSET%255D" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 746px; height: auto;"><br><br><br><br><span style="font-family: ".SFUIText"; font-size: 19pt;"> </span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5482264308687430206.post-60621514368676888172018-01-25T11:18:00.000+05:302018-01-25T11:18:45.957+05:30Why India Needs A Secular President by Ambrose Pinto<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Source: http://www.indiancurrents.org/ (Published in Indian Currents on 24th July 2017, Volume XXIX, Issue 30)<br />
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A secular democracy needs a secular President. With the BJP government in power questions have been raised about the adherence of the central government to the secular tenets of the Constitution.<br />
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Report on the attacks on places of worship of minority communities and their personnel, atrocities on Dalits and Muslims in the name of cow protection, rhetoric of “Ghar Wapsi” or reconversion, curbs on universities, colleges and NGOs, sedition charges on students for expressing their views, raids on the media and political opponents and public expression of intolerance on those who oppose the hidden agenda of the party in power have been reported in the worldwide media.<br />
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During his visit to India in June 2016 while US Senator Ben Cardin had expressed concerns over religious intolerance, anti-conversion laws, and extrajudicial killings in the country, US Secretary of State John Kerry had emphasized the need to protect the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful protest. European Union too had expressed its concern over the increasing cases of human rights violations in the country. It is in this environment of threats to various freedoms of individuals and communities that the country has elected its President, the highest Constitutional Officer meant to protect the Constitution. .<br />
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In the political climate we are in, the country needs a President who believes in the Constitution and is prepared to stand by it whatever may be the cost. That would mean that he should be a person with substance without much style, a person of high intellect and scholarship with a secular ideology. As the head of the state the person has to be perceived as a person of integrity and honesty, without any prejudice or bias against communities and people. For the people of the country, the President represents the Constitution and as the Constitutional head he is expected to warm up to all people of different castes and communities, religions and ethnicities. No individual or group can be untouchable to him.<br />
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Internationally the President is acknowledged as one of the important global leaders given the fact India is an emerging economy. The President has to interact with global leaders and impress on them the status of India and further contribute to its image, creating a space where none exists and expand the existing space in international relations for the country. That would demand that the individual has a global vision and the person is able to read the signs of the times to make use of opportunities for the betterment of the country.<br />
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It is true that the President is a nominal and ceremonial head. If one has to read the Constitution faithfully, that in no way takes away the demands of dignity and decorum of the office. In performance of his duties the President cannot remain a mere spectator but needs to speak out and act as some of the former Presidents have done to remain faithful to the letter and spirit of the Constitution.<br />
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When Prime Minister P. V. Narasimha Rao maintained his silence on the Babri destruction, President Shankar Dayal Sharma spoke out against it on 6th December 1992 in the face of the massive assault on India’s secular project. President Narayanan had publicly expressed his displeasure on the Gujarat communal violence of 2002. In 1997 President K. R. Narayanan returned the United Front government’s recommendation to impose President’s rule in Uttar Pradesh. A year later, he again returned a recommendation by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee’s BJP government to impose President’s rule in Bihar. The President then was aware that it was his responsibility to protect and defend the Constitution while the Prime Minister and his Council vow “to bear true faith and allegiance” to the Constitution. The two expressions mean different things. The final responsibility of protecting the Constitution remains with the President.<br />
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Every President prior to taking office pledges “to the best of my ability to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution and the law” and “I will devote myself to the service and well-being of the people of India’. That does not make the President mere rubber-stamp. His powers are not given to him by the government in power but by the Constitution of India. In performing his function Article 143 gives to the President power even to consult the Supreme Court about the constitutional validity of any issue. Given the political climate where the party in power has very little regard to the Constitution of India, will the 14th President of India take his oath seriously? President Kovind is, after all, groomed in the RSS tradition with hardly any regard to the freedom struggle and respect to the Constitution. As he assumes his office will he turn away from the ideology he was groomed in and embrace the ideology of the Constitution of India? Citizens and those beyond the country will be watching the direction of the Indian polity with the 14th President in Office.<br />
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(The writer is the Principal of St. Aloysius Degree College, Bangalore.)<br />
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(Published on 24th July 2017, Volume XXIX, Issue 30)</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5482264308687430206.post-9681305936153131842018-01-25T11:11:00.000+05:302018-01-25T11:12:58.800+05:30Re-Inventing Jesuit Mission by Ambrose Pinto<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Source: http://indiancurrents.org/ - (Published in Indian Currents, on 24th October 2016, Volume XXVIII, Issue 43)<br />
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“The white pope (Francis) and the black pope [i] are from Latin America," tweeted South African Cardinal Wilfred Fox Napier in reaction to the election of Fr. Arturo Sosa SJ as the General of the Society of Jesus on 14th October 2016. It was a historic moment for the Jesuits and the Church. In its 476 years of history, the Order had 30 Superior Generals - all of them came from Europe. The 212 electors on 14th October 2016 created history by electing a non-European from Venezuela, Latin America in the very first ballot after spending two weeks together in Rome.<br />
<a name='more'></a> These members of the Society of Jesus coming from 66 countries may not have known each other and yet when the election came they knew whom to vote. This is because St. Ignatius Loyola, the Founder of the Jesuit Order had developed a unique method of electing his successors popularly known as discernment. No Jesuit can contest, lobby, campaign or express desire for the post. If any person desires or campaigns for the post he is immediately disqualified and moved out of the Congregation. How then Jesuits elect their Superior General? At first they look at the mission in their provinces, then the country and the global world. There are discussions on the various challenges Society of Jesus is faced with and the kind of responses the Order needs to make to be relevant. Once the context of the mission is clear the electors go in search of a leader who could guide, inspire and lead the Jesuits in that mission. A four day of “murmurationes”, in other words private face-to-face meetings between voters, alternated with moments of prayer, helps to identify the candidates. Once delegates come to realize the strengths of individuals they pray over and cast their votes through a secret ballot.<br />
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<b>The Method has worked </b><br />
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The method has worked effectively in the election of 30 Generals beginning with St. Ignatius of Loyola, the Founder of the Society who was elected in a similar fashion. This is because in spite of coming from different cultures and communities Jesuits share a common culture linked to their experience of listening to the Holy Spirit through the Spiritual Exercises. At the Congregation in fact only 16% of the electors were from Latin America and 27% from Europe. While South Asians were 21%, Asia Pacific had 11% voters. Africa had 10% voters and Canada-USA 15% and yet Fr. Arturo Sosa SJ was found the right person to lead the Society of Jesus at the present times in the very first ballot. What are his credentials? 68 year old Fr. Sosa born in Caracas, Venezuela, on November 12, 1948 holds a bachelor's degree in philosophy from the Catholic University Andrés Bello in Caracas, a bachelor’s degree in theology from the Gregorian University in Rome and a Doctorate in Political Science from the Universidad Central de Venezuela. He was Provincial of the Society of Jesus in Venezuela from 1996 to 2004. Fr. Sosa speaks Spanish, Italian and English and understands French. Prior to his appointment as Provincial, he was in charge of the social apostolate of the Jesuits in Venezuela, which includes the Jesuit network of schools for the poor, Fe y Alegría. He was also head of the Centro Gumilla, the Jesuit-run social and action research center. Among his distinguished academic posts, he has served as a member of the founding board of the Andrés Bello Catholic University in Caracas and rector of the Catholic University of Táchira. He has taught and researched political science in many different institutes and colleges and in 2004 was a visiting professor at the Latin-American Studies Center of Georgetown University.<br />
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<b>Why a Person from Latin America?</b><br />
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With the delegates still in Rome it may be difficult to comprehend why the electors chose a person from Venezuela with a doctorate in Political Science. Normally Jesuit Generals were experts in theology or spirituality or formation. However one can see behind the elected person the reasons for his choice and understand why the choice was made. Latin America is not the center of the world but a land at the periphery. With Pope Francis in office the periphery has moved into the centre. The congregation must have thought of embarking on a mission to the outer fringes looking in a particular direction offered by the Pope as a leader for the Church. Nations, governments, powers and authorities in Europe have largely pushed the church to the fringes and moved it to the margins. Europe may offer lip-service to Christianity when it serves some political purpose, but more and more, the voice of the church is being challenged, silenced or ignored. Why? The markets simply have become more important than faith. God and the Poor do not have a place in the neo-liberal markets. Even if there is Christianity there it is lived very differently without challenging the system.<br />
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<b>Latin America is different</b><br />
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Latin America is different and is at the centre of Christianity. It is home to almost half of the 1.2 billion Catholics in the world. Christians make up almost 90 percent of the region. It is a challenged Christianity here. The last quarter of the 20th century, much of Latin America was gripped by civil wars. Today the more common form of brutality comes from criminal gangs linked to the drug trade. They have given the continent the world’s highest murder rate. With less than 10 percent of the world’s population, Latin America counts for a third of its 450,000 homicides each year. Entire communities are terrorized by armed bands and criminal gangs, with anyone who resists, including Christians inspired by their faith, carrying targets on their backs. Scores of journalists, bloggers, political activists, police and military personnel, and prosecutors and judges in Latin America have paid the ultimate price with their lives. The violence there is a generalized social cancer. Anyone who challenges that violence is at risk. Unlike in Europe, the Church has not been silent here.<br />
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<b>Responses</b><br />
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Archbishop Oscar Romero of El Salvador, slain on March 24, 1980, while saying Mass at a small hospital chapel was one example of the many who challenged the system. His was a faith response to injustice. Before his death, Romero had emerged as the voice of El Salvador’s poor and oppressed. He was beatified on May 23, 2015, in front of a massive crowd in downtown San Salvador estimated at 750,000, making it one of the largest religious gatherings in the history of Central America. His murder was not an isolated one. El Salvador’s martyrs also include a Jesuit priest named Rutilio Grande, whose 1977 assassination helped radicalize Romero and six Jesuit priests, as well as their housekeeper and her daughter, shot to death in November 1989 at San Salvador’s University of Central America. A section of the church had reservation on the political way of witnessing to the Gospels forgetting the fact that Gospels are political. There was reluctance to accept the martyrdom of Romero. Cardinals in the Vatican schooled in the scholastic theology opined that Archbishop Romero was more political and Marxist than spiritual and Christian. However Pope Francis right from the beginning of his papacy had offered to the church Romero as a heroic witness to faith. To elect one from the region where Christianity is lived in a challenging way is to send a message that the mission of the Society of Jesus cannot be spiritualized but activized and lived in fullness. Faith and justice should include struggling against structural injustice. In the election of a new General there surely will be a re-inventing of the mission of the Jesuits for today across the world.<br />
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<b>Theological Response</b><br />
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The Church of Latin America had also theologically responded very differently in its option for the poor. Catholic scholars judge the second general conference of Latin American Council of Bishops (CELAM) held at Medellin in 1968 to be a watershed. Before Medellin the church looked at its pastoral task as the dispensation of sacramental grace within the contours of a Christian society. Medellin recognized that society was pluralistic, and that in this society a transformation of traditional values was possible and necessary. Attempts were made to change the popular manifestations of the faith and devotional acts to the saints from intercessory devices to models for life in imitation of Christ. The fatalism nurtured by the traditional sacramental view was rejected. Emphasis was placed on educating people to become active collaborators with God in creating new communities of solidarity with recourse to Sacraments. Grassroots community groups with Bible study and joint action in meeting social needs especially in marginal economic areas were organized. Recognition of the dignity of the human person, and particularly of the rights of the poor and oppressed, was declared to be at the heart of the gospel message. People were made conscious of injustices and shown a direction for struggle. Pope Francis as a Bishop and Cardinal had spent most of his time with the poor in slums and impoverished areas.<br />
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<b>Attack on Capitalism</b><br />
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At the next meeting in Puebla the bishops were united in their harsh judgment of capitalism for increasing the distance between rich and poor people and nations. The conference was equally critical of Marxism, for sacrificing many Christian values and creating false utopias sustained by force. The conference denounced security states, for supporting dictatorships that abuse police power to deprive human beings of their rights. The theology of liberation was formulated after 1960 by theologians and social scientists through reflection on Latin American social and political reality and attempts to transform its oppressive structures. The best-known Catholic exponents include Gustavo Gutierrez (Peru), Juan Luis Segundo (Uruguay), Segundo Galilea (Chile), José Miranda (Mexico), Hugo Assman and Leonardo Boff (Brazil), Jon Sobrino (El Salvador), and Enrique Dussel (Argentina). They affirm the necessity of moving toward a social system characterized by priority for the poor, use of the social sciences in the analysis of reality, recognition of the ideological base from which every person develops religious understanding and importance given to praxis—active and obedient discipleship, supported by theory, with the eventual goal of the transformation of society. This theology was variously interpreted with Vatican in total disagreement and finally found legitimacy with Pope Francis. The fervor with which liberation theology embraced large majority of marginalized peoples and the evangelical zeal for social transformation marked a significant renovation in Catholicism.<br />
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<b>Choice of a Political Scientist</b><br />
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The choice therefore of a Political Scientist as General is intelligible. How can any faith institution understand society and state without the social tools of analysis and theory? For too long faith has come to be understood as a set of devotions and practices, rites and rituals without fully understanding its transformative power. Latin America had begun the process four decades ago by looking at the base of theology as the poor and the impoverished and the Word to pull them out from those oppressive structures. With the election of Pope Francis, a man from the periphery, the periphery has become central. The church has realized the importance of working for social change as the key dimension of faith. The Society of Jesus had contributed to that process in no small measure though experienced opposition. In his own way the present General has contributed to that process. With grassroots experience he too had smelt the sheep as Director of ‘Centro Gumilla’, a social and action research centre and as Coordinator of non-formal education. He has been political in his mission like Pope Francis unafraid to take a stand. In an interview in 2014 he had described the authoritarian regime of Chavez’s successor Nicolas Maduro as a “popular tyranny”.<br />
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<b>Re-inventing Mission</b><br />
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From the person Fr. Arturo Sosa SJ has been and his commitment to faith and justice there is bound to be changes in the mission of the Society of Jesus. While formation houses may be asked to re-invent their teaching of philosophy and theology with tools of social sciences to make faith alive and contextual the mission of the Society will surely be re-invented on the lines of the inspiration offered by Latin American Church. Fr. Pedro Arrupe SJ was a prophetic General who led the Society from 1965 to 1983. Fr. Arturo Sosa SJ is likely to fall back on that legacy with Pope Francis as a mentor to lead. The Society of Jesus always had a close bond with the person of the Pope. Now with two Latin Americans leading the Church, both Jesuits, in two different places linked together in faith they are likely to make a difference in re-inventing Christianity for our times. The only unique thing about Sosa is that he would be the first Jesuit general to sport a moustache without a beard.<br />
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( Dr. Ambrose Pinto SJ is Principal of St. Aloysius Degree College, Bangalore.)<br />
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(Published on 24th October 2016, Volume XXVIII, Issue 43)#<br />
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[i] The Jesuit Superior General is known as Black Pope for the simple black robes he wears in opposition to the white robe of the Pope. The other reason may have been that the Office of the Papacy and of the Superior General of the Jesuits once elected is till death though there are two cases of resignation of the recent Generals when they reached 80 and one Pope - Pope Benedict. That is where the comparison stops. "The black pope" is a nickname given to the Father General of the Society of Jesus. It is the people of Rome who had begun speaking jokingly of the Jesuit head as a second pope imagining that the Society exercises huge influence on the Vatican which is a figment of the imagination. The Jesuits are a religious Order like any other with our own characteristics. But we have always been at the service of the Church whenever the Papacy has called us for any specific mission or work. Obedience to the Pope has been the hallmark of the Society of Jesus.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5482264308687430206.post-230904858651269692017-12-23T12:27:00.000+05:302017-12-23T13:52:07.631+05:30Christian Contribution to the Freedom Struggle by Ambrose Pinto<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Published in <b>Smart Companion India: National Monthly for Christian Leadership</b>, Vol. 8, No. 8 August 2017, pp.18-22.<br />
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<a href="https://drive.google.com/open?id=1V-3rk3m4UucdzobDqDzH86Mo-cx1aGYJ" target="_blank">Please go to this link to download: Christian Contribution to the Freedom Struggle by Ambrose Pinto</a> </div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5482264308687430206.post-42843396157263054322017-12-18T14:23:00.004+05:302017-12-18T19:18:40.022+05:30No Fish to Eat-Impact of Liberalisation by Ambrose Pinto<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Published in <b><i>Economic and Political Weekly, </i></b>Vol. 30, Issue No. 4, 28 Jan, 1995<br />
Commentary Ambrose Pinto, Berin Leekas, Latha Radhakrishnan<br />
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.<br />
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Fore more: <a href="http://www.epw.in/journal/1995/4/commentary/no-fish-eat-impact-liberalisation.html">http://www.epw.in/journal/1995/4/commentary/no-fish-eat-impact-liberalisation.html</a></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5482264308687430206.post-42580036712065488942017-12-18T14:21:00.003+05:302017-12-18T14:21:26.908+05:30KARNATAKA-Lobbies Fuel Dissidence by Ambrose Pinto<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Published in <b><i>Economic and Political Weekly, </i></b>Vol. 28, Issue No. 35, 28 Aug, 1993<br />
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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<br />
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For more: <a href="http://www.epw.in/journal/1993/35/commentary/karnataka-lobbies-fuel-dissidence.html">http://www.epw.in/journal/1993/35/commentary/karnataka-lobbies-fuel-dissidence.html</a></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5482264308687430206.post-62298679094631577002017-12-18T14:19:00.004+05:302017-12-18T14:19:56.304+05:30Fillip to Land transfers Land Acquisition Bill, 1988 by Ambrose Pinto<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Published in <b><i>Economic and Political Weekly, </i></b>Vol. 33, Issue No. 49, 05 Dec, 1998<br />
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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.<br />
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Fore more: <a href="http://www.epw.in/journal/1998/49/commentary/fillip-land-transfers-land-acquisition-bill-1988.html">http://www.epw.in/journal/1998/49/commentary/fillip-land-transfers-land-acquisition-bill-1988.html</a></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5482264308687430206.post-82421706193964531522017-12-18T14:17:00.004+05:302017-12-18T14:17:52.941+05:30Caste Conflict in Karnataka by Ambrose Pinto<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Published in <b><i>Economic and Political Weekly, </i></b>Vol. 27, Issue No. 28, 11 Jul, 1992<br />
<br />
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<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
For more: <a href="http://www.epw.in/journal/1992/28/commentary/caste-conflict-karnataka.html">http://www.epw.in/journal/1992/28/commentary/caste-conflict-karnataka.html</a></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5482264308687430206.post-67625849144517968872017-12-18T14:16:00.002+05:302017-12-18T14:16:29.750+05:30KARNATAKA-Institutionalised Corruption by Ambrose Pinto<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Published in <b><i>Economic and Political Weekly, </i></b>Vol. 27, Issue No. 35, 29 Aug, 1992<br />
<br />
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.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
For more: <a href="http://www.epw.in/journal/1992/35/commentary/karnataka-institutionalised-corruption.html">http://www.epw.in/journal/1992/35/commentary/karnataka-institutionalised-corruption.html</a></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5482264308687430206.post-34342190051570181682017-12-18T14:14:00.003+05:302017-12-18T14:14:32.130+05:30Karnataka Pre-Election Scenario by Ambrose Pinto<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Published in <b><i>Economic and Political Weekly, </i></b>Vol. 33, Issue No. 6, 07 Feb, 1998<br />
<br />
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.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
For more: <a href="http://www.epw.in/journal/1998/6/commentary/karnataka-pre-election-scenario.html">http://www.epw.in/journal/1998/6/commentary/karnataka-pre-election-scenario.html</a></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5482264308687430206.post-57586831928529198522017-12-18T14:09:00.002+05:302017-12-18T14:09:11.911+05:30KARNATAKA-State Protection for Dalits by Ambrose Pinto<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Published in <b><i>Economic and Political Weekly, </i></b>Vol. 32, Issue No. 39, 27 Sept, 1997<br />
<br />
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.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
For more: <a href="http://www.epw.in/journal/1997/39/commentary/karnataka-state-protection-dalits.html">http://www.epw.in/journal/1997/39/commentary/karnataka-state-protection-dalits.html</a></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5482264308687430206.post-6135132383760076792017-12-18T14:07:00.004+05:302017-12-18T14:07:49.042+05:30End of Dravidian Era in Tamil Nadu by Ambrose Pinto<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Published in <b><i>Economic and Political Weekly, </i></b>Vol. 34, Issue No. 24, 12 Jun, 1999<br />
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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.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
For more: <a href="http://www.epw.in/journal/1999/24/commentary/end-dravidian-era-tamil-nadu.html">http://www.epw.in/journal/1999/24/commentary/end-dravidian-era-tamil-nadu.html</a></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5482264308687430206.post-45026435863181052942017-12-18T14:06:00.002+05:302017-12-18T14:06:29.035+05:30Hindutva vs Ambedkarism by Ambrose Pinto<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Published in <b><i>Economic and Political Weekly, </i></b>Vol. 35, Issue No. 41, 07 Oct, 2000<br />
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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.<br />
For more: <a href="http://www.epw.in/journal/2000/41/commentary/hindutva-vs-ambedkarism.html">http://www.epw.in/journal/2000/41/commentary/hindutva-vs-ambedkarism.html</a></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5482264308687430206.post-69124013907273500662017-12-18T14:04:00.003+05:302017-12-18T14:04:37.005+05:30Atrocities on Dalits in Gulbarga-Upper Caste Hold on Police by Ambrose Pinto<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Published in <b><i>Economic and Political Weekly, </i></b>Vol. 29, Issue No. 16-17, 16 Apr, 1994<br />
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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.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
For more: <a href="http://www.epw.in/journal/1994/16-17/commentary/atrocities-dalits-gulbarga-upper-caste-hold-police.html">http://www.epw.in/journal/1994/16-17/commentary/atrocities-dalits-gulbarga-upper-caste-hold-police.html</a></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5482264308687430206.post-81119714973278404822017-12-18T14:03:00.001+05:302017-12-18T14:03:10.847+05:30UN Conference against Racism by Ambrose Pinto<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Published in <b><i>Economic and Political Weekly, </i></b>Vol. 36, Issue No. 30, 28 Jul, 2001<br />
<br />
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.<br />
<a name='more'></a>For more: <a href="http://www.epw.in/journal/2001/30/commentary/un-conference-against-racism.html">http://www.epw.in/journal/2001/30/commentary/un-conference-against-racism.html</a></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5482264308687430206.post-81620360844273120142017-12-18T14:01:00.003+05:302017-12-18T14:01:52.397+05:30Karnataka Cabinet Reshuffle Unviable by Ambrose Pinto<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Published in <b><i>Economic and Political Weekly, </i></b>Vol. 29, Issue No. 25, 18 Jun, 1994<br />
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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.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
For more: <a href="http://www.epw.in/journal/1994/25/commentary/karnataka-cabinet-reshuffle-unviable.html">http://www.epw.in/journal/1994/25/commentary/karnataka-cabinet-reshuffle-unviable.html</a></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5482264308687430206.post-40562390000766140152017-12-18T14:00:00.002+05:302017-12-18T14:00:13.924+05:30Karnataka University Act 2000 by Ambrose Pinto<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Published in <b><i>Economic and Political Weekly, </i></b>Vol. 36, Issue No. 34, 25 Aug, 2001<br />
<br />
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.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
For more: <a href="http://www.epw.in/journal/2001/34/commentary/karnataka-university-act-2000.html">http://www.epw.in/journal/2001/34/commentary/karnataka-university-act-2000.html</a></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5482264308687430206.post-46801662022736118132017-12-18T13:58:00.004+05:302017-12-18T13:58:48.065+05:30Karnataka Assembly Elections An Overview by Ambrose Pinto<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Published in <b><i>Economic and Political Weekly, </i></b>Vol. 29, Issue No. 53, 26 Nov, 1994<br />
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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.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
For more: <a href="http://www.epw.in/journal/1994/53/commentary/karnataka-assembly-elections-overview.html">http://www.epw.in/journal/1994/53/commentary/karnataka-assembly-elections-overview.html</a></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5482264308687430206.post-34050404979839502612017-12-18T13:57:00.001+05:302017-12-18T13:57:15.067+05:30KARNATAKA-Badanvalu Emerging Dalit Paradigm by Ambrose Pinto<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Published in <b><i>Economic and Political Weekly, </i></b>Vol. 30, Issue No. 15, 15 Apr, 1995<br />
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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.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
For more: <a href="http://www.epw.in/journal/1995/15/commentary/karnataka-badanvalu-emerging-dalit-paradigm.html">http://www.epw.in/journal/1995/15/commentary/karnataka-badanvalu-emerging-dalit-paradigm.html</a></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5482264308687430206.post-65274337202923316992017-12-18T13:55:00.000+05:302017-12-18T13:55:03.931+05:30Should Caste Be Included in the Census by Ambrose Pinto<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Published in <b><i>Economic and Political Weekly, </i></b>Vol. 33, Issue No. 31, 01 Aug, 1998<br />
<br />
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<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
For more: <a href="http://www.epw.in/journal/1998/31/commentary/should-caste-be-included-census.html">http://www.epw.in/journal/1998/31/commentary/should-caste-be-included-census.html</a></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5482264308687430206.post-7168661416711428092017-12-18T13:52:00.005+05:302017-12-18T13:52:44.053+05:30Caste Discrimination and UN by Ambrose Pinto<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Published in <b><i>Economic and Political Weekly, </i></b>Vol. 37, Issue No. 39, 28 Sep, 2002<br />
<br />
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.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
For more: <a href="http://www.epw.in/journal/2002/39/commentary/caste-discrimination-and-un.html">http://www.epw.in/journal/2002/39/commentary/caste-discrimination-and-un.html</a></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0