pdf file 1.96 MB

But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have
rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the
outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
1 Samuel 16: 7
Drishtikone means perspective or viewpoint in Hindi. The magazine seeks to provide a space in which Christians can share
their perspectives and points of view on wholistic mission in India.
Our Vision is that Drishtikone will motivate change in readers. The experiences of development practitioners, theologians,
grassroot workers and others demonstrating God’s love in a practical way, will influence and encourage Christians to join
the struggle for peace and justice in this country.
Drishtikone seeks to present a Biblical perspective on social issues and provide readers with information and models of
engagement in wholistic concerns. It is a forum for evangelical reflection and dialogue on development issues in India.
Drishtikone is published three times a year by EFICOR to mobilise Christian reflection and action. Financial contributions
from readers are welcome to support EFICOR in its efforts to influence the mind towards action.
Drishtikone Editorial Team
C.B. Samuel, Selina Samuel, Kennedy Dhanabalan, Bonnie Miriam Jacob, Joan Lalromawi, Raaj Mondol,
Anugrah Abraham, Kuki Rokhum, Green Thomas, Akshay Rajkumar.
Please forward any enquiries to:
The Editor,
EFICOR, 308 Mahatta Tower,
B-Block Community Centre,
Janakpuri, New Delhi - 110058
Tele/fax: +91 (11) 25516383/384/385
E-mail: [email protected]
Web: www.eficor.org
An EFICOR (The Evangelical Fellowship of India Commission on Relief) Publication.
For private circulation only.
Drishtikone is a magazine with many perspectives.
The views expressed are not necessarily those of EFICOR.
Layout and cover design by Houreilung Thaimei
EFICOR is registered under the Karnataka Societies
Registration Act. 1960 (Karnataka Act No. 17 of 1960) on
30th April, 1980. The Registration number is 70/80-81
EFICOR is also registered under the Foreign
Contribution Regulation Act. 1976 and the registration
number is 231650411
drishtikone
Letters to the Editor...
Dear Editor,
I am a regular reader of Drishtikone.
Drishtikone is enlightening the reader. I
appreciate deeply the reflective scripture-based
and human oriented focus of the magazine
especially on Human Trafficking.
Sister Joan Chunkapara MMS
Director
TRADA
Manganam P.O.
Kottayam - 686 018, Kerala
Dear Editor,
We have been blessed by the reading of every
issue of Drishtikone Magazine. We are regular
readers and we really enjoy the Evangelical
Perspective on social issues. Especially the issue
on Human Trafficking, which is very hot topic in
our country.
God be with EFICOR ministry and we hope to
receive regularly in the days to come.
God bless!
Contents
3
Mr. Vasu Vittal
OASIS INDIA
Mumbai
Marching Towards Inclusive
Society
Dr. Victor John Cordeiro
6 Disability: Still in the margins
Ms. Geeta Mondol
7 Disability: An Invitation to See
Ms. Jubin Varghese
01
8
Rev. H. Minlien Singson
Executive Secretary
Kuki Baptist Association Nagaland
Dear Editor,
DRISHTIKONE is a credible source of
evidence in developing interventions on
various issues. It helps understand the depth and
magnitude of issues beyond the immediacy of
one’s area of work, thereby facilitating
networking and coming together of individuals
and organisations for greater impact on lives and
systems. Thankful to EFICOR which has initiated
this as a tool and resource.
Cover Story
Christian Perspective on the Cover Story
A Christian Perspective on
Disability
Br. Mani Karott, LBJ
12
Facts
14
Spirituality and Social Engagement
Disability: Facts
Spirituality of Engagement as
Spirituality of Prayer
Mr. C.B. Samuel
Contd...
drishtikone
Contents
15 Biography
A Vision beyond Reality
Mrs. Selina Samuel
16 Youth Page
The Gospel according
to Facebook
Mr. Akshay Rajkumar
18 Current Issue
Who really gains from
subsidies: Poor or
Non-Poor
Dr. Bonnie Miriam Jacob
20 Seeds of Transformation
Prosperity Plant
22 Book Review
Living Gently in a
Violent World
Mr. Akshay Rajkumar
M
artha’s Vineyard is an isolated
island off the Massachusetts
coast. The early settlers
carried a gene for deafness to this island,
and over years of marriage, generation
after generation was born with hearing
loss. At one point, one in four children
was born deaf in the island! However
this did not limit them. There were so many deaf people that
the residents developed a sign language, called Martha’s
Vineyard Sign Language (MVSL). Sign language was so
accepted on the Vineyard that it was freely and easily used
by both the deaf and hearing residents. People moving to this
place had to learn sign language in order to live in the
community! Deafness was never considered a handicap.
Editorial...
We may not find so many similar stories across the world. In
India we consider the disabled as a liability to the family or
society. The Census reports do not give a complete picture of
the disabled. Several disabled people live a very isolated and
withdrawn life with very few friends. People with disabilities
are routinely edged out of our society. In India, we rarely see
them in our schools, churches or any other public gatherings.
Of course the reasons could be numerous as they may face
various barriers in being a part of our larger community.
To be included in a particular community does not mean that
you have to have the perfect healthy or ‘normal’ body. In
Martha’s Vineyard, the disabled were considered more
‘normal’ than the non-disabled ones. Disability - either
physical or mental - depends a lot on our perspective. In India
we still consider disability as a curse and blame the parents for
bringing a disabled child into the world. Some parents along
with the help of medical professionals even resort to aborting
children with disabilities – reflecting our societal belief that
the lives of children with disabilities are not of equal value as
other children. We need to renew our perspective and have an
attitude of empathy, compassion and ability to recognize them
as ‘able’ individuals gifted in unique ways. Instead of thinking
what is ‘wrong’ with people, or noticing what they can’t do,
we should be looking at the potential of the person.
After all, what is ‘normal’? And who defines ‘normal’?
24 Bible Study
Justice and Compassion
Rev. Kennedy Dhanabalan
People with disabilities don’t need sympathy but the least they
ask for is sensitivity. This edition of Drishtikone covers the
issue of disability, its various dimensions and how we could
be more accommodative and inclusive to the differently-abled
community.
02
COVER STORY
Marching Towards Inclusive Society
drishtikone
Dr. Victor John Cordeiro
“Respect for difference and acceptance of disability as part
of human diversity and humanity”.
This general principle of United Nations Convention on the
Rights of persons with disabilities (UNCRPD) reminds us of
the law of nature. Uniqueness is the salient feature of
creation celebrated by difference and diversity. One cannot
find two identical living entities on earth. Each living entity
is unique with a wide range of differences. Disability is one
such diversity of human society which has been subjected to
sheer exclusion and blatant discrimination since ages.
Disability is one of the unrecognized forms of social
stratification which puts persons with disabilities on the last
step of the social ladder.
There are around 650 million people in the world that have
disabilities, yet most people are still quite ignorant about
it. To understand it more clearly, the term disability refers
to the difficulties encountered in any or all three areas of
functioning of human body as mentioned below • Impairments which are problems in body function or alterations in body structure – for example, deafness, paralysis or blindness;
• Activity limitations which are difficulties in
executing activities – for example, walking or eating;
• Participation restrictions include problems with involvement in any area of life – for example, facing
discrimination in employment or transportation.
These five are further divided into mild, moderate and
severe, depending on the degree/extent of disability. Most
become disabled during the course of their life. So maybe
the term Temporarily Able Bodied (TAB) is better for those
of us who are not disabled.
According to “World report on disability 2011” there are
one billion Persons with disabilities who constitute 15%
of the total population of the world.1 70% of them live in
developing countries and exhibit lowest economic, health,
educational and social outcomes. Attitudinal, institutional,
informational and structural barriers have significantly
contributed to the dehumanization, degradation,
marginalization, exclusion, deprivation and
impoverishment of this most excluded and poorest of the
poor section of the society. Persons with disabilities were
often remarked as the unheard, unseen, unaccounted and
invisible minority of the human society.
United Nations Convention on Rights of Persons with
Disabilities
Adoption of UN Convention2 on the rights of persons with
disabilities marks a distinct and definite departure from
the soft law regime to hard law regime3 in the history of
disabled people’s movement across the globe. This
superceding human rights instrument places unlimited
power in the hands of persons with disabilities in order to
negotiate effectively with multiple stakeholders towards
full and effective enjoyment of all their human rights and
fundamental freedoms on an equal basis with others. As
of today, 155 countries have signed the convention. This
shows the reaffirmed commitment of national
03
Government towards their citizens with disabilities. The
Convention marks a paradigm shift in attitudes and
approaches to persons with disabilities. Persons with
disabilities are not viewed as objects of charity,
medical treatment and social protection, but rather as
subjects with rights, who are capable of claiming those
rights and making decisions for their lives.4 It is a policy
instrument which is cross-disability and cross-sectoral.
It is both a development and a human rights instrument
which is legally binding.5 The United Nations Convention
gives authority, a framework and a direction to the
struggle. It is not, however, a programme. The United
Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with
Disability (CRPD) is a great achievement but it does
not mean that the situation of disabled people is going
to change automatically. As with the Convention on the
Rights of the Child (CRC) and the Convention on the
Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW),
CRPD provides a set of standards to be reached. How we
reach those standards is our responsibility as citizens (both
disabled and non-disabled). The struggle for individual
rights and freedom is a social commitment, a joint project
between governments and society.
COVER STORY
drishtikone
Disability in Indian Context
The above stated facts about persons with disabilities in
developing countries are more or less similar to India.
Persons with disabilities constitute 2.13% of the total
population of the country according to 2001 census which
is said to be a gross underestimate. According to various
micro studies conducted by civil society agencies for
programme development gives an estimate of 5-6%
prevalence rate. 70% of them live in rural areas and 82%
live below the poverty line and have lowest health,
economic, educational and social outcomes.
Disability sector in India is very heterogeneous like the
composition of people with disabilities as a distinct
community in the society. It is evident that all the
approaches and models which were and are practiced in
the world are still present in the country in the same form
or slightly different, that is why it is most appropriate to
remark that India is the museum of approaches and
models of disability sector.
“
with disabilities. Few micro Community Based
Rehabilitation (CBR) initiatives in the different parts of the
country are trying to provide comprehensive rehabilitation
services including education, livelihoods and changing the
attitudes. These CBR initiatives do promote groups of
disabled and majority of them function as credit
management groups rather than real self-advocacy groups.
Inclusive development still remains as a buzz word in India,
few agencies have facilitated inclusion of disabled people in
their development programmes but the extent of inclusion is
limited to medical rehabilitation and sometimes organizing
into groups.
A large number of parent groups, disability/development
agencies, unidisability organisations of disabled people,
cross disability organisations of disabled people and people’s
informal groups and organisations are also working for the
development of the disabled. Disabled People’s
Organizations in India are nothing but the disability agencies
except they are managed by disabled people themselves.
Absence of a strong, grass root, people oriented and mass
based organisation of
disabled people resulted
in the wide gap between
the policy commitment 04
of the state and its
implementation on the
ground. Disability
agencies are not strong
enough to lobby with
the state on a sustained
manner due to some
technical issues. It is good to see the emerging trends of
disabled people’s movement in the form of Viklang Manch
in few northern and southern states of the country. Though it
is in the very initial stage it has still proved that it is
relatively more effective than so called disability movement.
Absence of a strong, grass root,
people oriented and mass based
organisation of disabled people
resulted in the wide gap between the
policy commitment of the state and
its implementation on the ground.
The models or
approaches to
disabilities in India
range from typical
medical charity to
modern rights based
approach. All the
models of disability
such as charity, medical,
economic and social
models of disability still exist in some form or the other.
Homes for people with disabilities are sometimes for
unidisability and rarely cross disability in order to provide
food, clothing and shelter life long without attempting to
empower. Specific school for the blind, deaf,
intellectually-disabled and mobility impaired including
children with cerebral palsy still function in their old
fashion. Integrated schools for disabled and nondisabled
are mainly tried by state managed schools with the help of
professionals or agencies attempting to provide some kind
of education.
Inclusive Education: A Way Forward
Inclusive education is mainly practiced in state managed
schools where children with cross disabilities are enrolled
with no adequate facilities. Private schools still follow the
policy of apartheid with regard to the inclusion of children
”
Even though the constitution of India does not explicitly
state that disability is one of the prohibited grounds of
discrimination but in several respects, India has a
well-developed policy and institutional framework for
persons with disabilities given its income level. There is a
well-developed framework of legislation, consisting of four
core disability-specific acts: (i) The Persons with Disabilities
(Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full
Participation) Act, 1995 (Persons with Disabilities Act);
(ii) The Mental Health Act, 1987; (iii) The Rehabilitation
Council of India Act, 1992; and (iv) The National Trust for
Welfare of Persons with Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Mental
COVER STORY
Retardation and Multiple Disabilities Act, 1999 (National
Trust Act). These legislations are in the process of
amendment or replacement with new legislation following
the signing and ratification of the United Nations Convention
on the Rights of Persons with Disability (CRPD) by India.
There are several accepted political goals at the international
level such as Millennium Development Goals,
Universalization of Elementary Education, Mass Literacy
Programmes, Poverty Eradication Programmes, Health For
All and other developmental programmes. These are aimed
at improving the quality of life of under-privileged groups
including persons with disabilities. India has participated
in almost all international conventions and conferences and
has been a signatory to all the important declarations and
conventions adopted by the United Nations. The provisions
enshrined in these instruments are yet to be translated on the
ground.
Critical glimpses of the grim reality of the situation of
persons with disabilities are detailed below. Less than 30%
have accessed medical certificate (Disability Identity card)
which is the basic legal document to prove the existence of
persons with disabilities in order to access various
entitlements. Less than 10% children with disabilities have
access to education and chances of exclusion of children
with disabilities from schools is four times higher than the
children from other excluded and marginalised communities.
Less than 3% have engaged in gainful and meaningful
livelihoods. Majority of persons with disabilities do not
possess rights on the ancestral property and productive
assets. Inaccessible built and natural environment,
institutions and lack of information further aggravates the
condition of persons with disabilities. This is the general
scenario of persons with disabilities and the condition of
women/girls, children, persons with intellectual,
psychosocial, hearing and multiple disabilities are further
worse who suffer multiple forms of marginalisation on the
basis of gender, caste, religion, ethnicity, etc.
What should our role be in this context?
Persons with disabilities are not yet considered as a
political-social group which has resulted in the lack of
priority in welfare and development programmes with
inadequate and meagre resource allocation. Political
reservation for persons with disabilities in legislative and
decision making bodies to represent and raise the voices of
persons with disabilities is still a distant reality. Global forces
such as the rapid processes of globalization, privatization and
liberalization have significantly contributed in drastic
drishtikone
reduction of social security measures for excluded
sections including persons with disabilities. The
development sector in India is largely ignorant about
the issues and concerns of persons with disabilities. On
the one hand they speak about inclusive development
but very little is happening on the ground. Development
sector is one of the greatest opportunities which has to be
capitalized for promoting and protecting the human rights
of persons with disabilities. Inclusion still remains on the
papers of the Government. Except the nodal ministry,
other ministries and departments of both Union and State
Government will have to make inclusion as a reality by
addressing the issues and concerns of persons with
disabilities in letter and in spirit.
It is important for any National Government to capitalize
its human resource for the development of the country.
There is a great need to invest on 60 million disabled
people in order to empower them to contribute
effectively as productive human resource in the
developmental process of the country. It requires a strong
political will, coordinated and concerted attempt by all the
stakeholders of strategic relevance including the
Government to enable persons with disabilities to enjoy
their human rights and fundamental freedom effectively 05
on an equal basis with others. Each one of us has a critical
trole to play in order to make this a reality.
We can play an important role by recognizing them as
“normal human beings like us. We can be more sensitive
to them by doing away with any negative attitude towards
them which portray them as the ‘other’ inferior beings.
Our negative attitudes and behaviours marginalize the
disabled, further denying them the basic values and rights
in all spheres of life.
Dr. Victor John Cordeiro works as Advocacy Coordinator,
World Blind Union.
He can be reached at [email protected] or victorjohnc@
gmail.com
http://www.who.int/disabilities/world_report/2011/report/en/.
The UNCRPD was adopted on December 13, 2006 and came in to force on
May 3, 2008.
3
Refers to the shift from the UN ‘soft law’ instruments to the Human Rights
Perspective on disability. Quinn, Gerard and Theresia Degener, “Human Rights
and Disability: The current use and future potential of United Nations Human
Rights instruments in the context of disability”, United Nations, New York and
Geneva, 2002, Pp.29-46.
4
See Me, Hear Me: A Guide to Using the UN Convention on the Rights of
Persons with Disabilities to promote the Rights of Children, Published by Save
the Children (2009), 1 St John’s Lane, London EC1M 4AR.
5
Ibid.
1
2
drishtikone
Disability: Still in the Margins
Ms. Geeta Mondol
“Disabled, handicapped, differently abled, impairment,
special needs, - challenged” there are many words that are
used to describe disability. I often find people stumbling over
trying to say the current politically correct word, and
sometimes being taken to task for not saying it. However,
what really matters is not what you call them, but rather how
you treat them.
Technically speaking there is a difference between
impairment, handicap and disability. “Impairment refers to a
problem with a structure or organ of the body; disability is a
functional limitation with regard to a particular activity; and
handicap refers to a disadvantage in filling a role in life
relative to a peer group”1.
People with disabilities are mostly the marginalized of the
marginalized. It is not that people ignore them, but rather
the case of people not even ‘thinking’ about them. It is as if
they do not exist and work among them is very few and far
between.
Working with children with special needs in a special school
setting has been an eye-opener for me in learning about
various aspects of disability and how it affects the family.
Parents are often depressed, angry, bewildered or hurt at
having such a child. For many it is a burden they could have
done without. Coping with the special needs of the child,
along with other responsibilities puts an immense burden on
the family, financially, physically and emotionally.
All children with special needs deserve and have a right to
education. However it needs to be specifically tailored to
the child’s needs, and started as early as possible. That is
why the term “Early Intervention” is used, which includes
all the specific therapies and education the child needs,
and the earlier it is done, the better it is for the child.
The best place for the education of children with
disabilities is the classroom of regular schools. However,
there are very few schools who would open the doors
for children with special needs, perhaps because they do
not have the infrastructure required to assist the children.
Therefore sometimes they are in an integrated school
(where they are in a separate classroom, but within the
same premises), or a special school.
One of the things we also need to remember is that
disability does not affect a person, but rather the whole
family. The dynamics of the family changes and so does
the way everyone interacts with each other, and on how
they respond to those in the community. That is why
we often see families having special children gravitate
towards seeking other families who have special needs
children in their homes.
The high stress levels of the parents, the insecurity of the
siblings of the child with special needs (due to all the
attention of the family being on the child with special
needs), the fear of the parents regarding the future, all
create a dynamics in the family, which are ‘special’ indeed.
We as a community of God need to reach out to such
families and children. We need to open our churches, our
homes and our hearts to such families, whose daily life is a
continuous battle. We are called to be ministers, and
ministering to such families, first to those within the
church yet kept out due to their disability, and then in the
larger community to fulfil the mandate “Love your
neighbour as yourself.” We have been placed in this world
to demonstrate and extend God’s Kingdom, and what
better way than in including those who have been
forgotten and ‘invisible’ for so long.
However we see a slight difference in the parental
attitude when it comes to different types of disability. We
see a higher level of acceptance by parents of children with
physical disabilities than those who have children with
mental/intellectual disabilities. Perhaps it is due to
embarrassment felt in the way a child may behave at home
or difficulty in managing the child in public. Mental stress is
high in families who have children with intellectual
challenges. Research shows that mental stress of mothers
Ms. Geeta Mondol is the Director of Ashish Centre for the
having children with Autism is similar to that of soldiers in
Differently Abled in Dwarka, New Delhi.
combat. Also, the ‘invisible’ disabilities also invite a lot more
She can be reached at [email protected]
judgement from the community than those that are
visible.
1
http://www.pediatrics.emory.edu/divisions/neonatology/dpc/
Impairment%20MX.html.
06
drishtikone
Disability: An Invitation to See
Ms. Jubin Varghese
Nisha1 was 12 years old when I first met her. Nothing in
college had prepared me to work with someone like Nisha.
All I saw of her in the first visit was that she was
wheelchair-bound, had involuntary movements and she had
no speech. No training of mine had prepared me to meet
someone with a regressive condition every week and work
with her. What would I do? How could I possibly help her
when I could not even communicate with her? Seven years
later I had the privilege to stand beside her family as Nisha
“slipped the surly bonds of earth to touch the face of God.”
Seven years have passed and Nisha changed my
perspective of disability. Once Jesus was invited to a
dinner when a woman with dubious character washed His
feet with her tears. And while Simon (the person who had
invited Jesus) saw the kind of woman she was, Jesus asked
him, “Simon, do you see this woman?” Not what she has
done or has not done, but can you see her? Nisha taught
me to see her...not her abilities or so called disabilities. She
taught me to see the person beyond the disability.
The focus of Drishtikone on disability is just that – we are
given an invitation to see.
disability to cause double marginalisation. Women with
disabilities are around 13 percent less likely than men with
disabilities to seek treatment.4 Only 1 in 20 children with
disabilities ever get to school.5 Children with disabilities are
three or four times more likely to be at risk of being victims
of violence.6 One in every 5 poorest people in the world is a
person with disability.7
I could quote more numbers to describe the barriers people
with disabilities face in every aspect of life – health care
access, education, employment, marriage, social
participation, political participation etc. The problem with
numbers is that they often remain just that – numbers.
However, for those of us with personal experiences of
disability, these numbers have faces and stories. We invite
you to see the people behind the numbers – their lives, their
struggles and joys - and challenge you to respond as the
07
body of Christ.
I will leave you with the words of William Wilberforce,
“Having heard all of this, you may choose to look the other
way but you can never say again that you did not know.”
Do you see the person beyond the disability - The person
you drive past at the traffic light? The elderly grandparent
of a friend who is house-bound due to a disability? The
child with a disability who makes all that noise in church
and disturbs others?
Do you see the person beyond the disability?
The understanding of what disability is has evolved over
time. It refers to the interaction between a person’s
impairment with the barriers in society that keep the person
from participating in life. A person with disability has
the same needs as any other non-disabled person and yet
his/her opportunity to meet those needs is much lesser than
a non-disabled person. They have poorer health outcomes.2
The U.S. Surgeon General’s Report on Health Disparities
and Mental Retardation (U.S. Public Health, 2001) states
that people with intellectual disabilities of all ages
experience poorer health outcomes and have more
difficulty accessing health care.3 Gender interacts with
Ms. Jubin Varghese works in Emmanuel Hospitals Association
as the Programme Manager, Dehradun Area, Uttarakhand).
She can be reached at [email protected]
Name changed.
U.S. Public Health, S. (2001). Closing the Gap: A National Blueprint for
Improving the Health of Individuals with Mental Retardation. Report of the
Surgeon General’s Conference on Health Disparities and Mental Retardation.
Washington, D.C: U.S. Public Health Service.
3
The World Bank (2007), People with Disabilities in India: From Commitments
to Outcomes. Human Development Unit, South Asia Region. May, 2007.
4
Ibid.
5
UNICEF (2013), Children with Disabilities: The State of the World’s Children.
6
Ibid.
7
Elwan A. (1999), Poverty and Disability: A Survey of the Literature, Social
Protection Unit, Human Development Network.
1
2
CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVE ON THE COVER STORY
A Christian Perspective on Disability
drishtikone
Br. Mani Karott, LBJ
T
he aim of this article is to reflect on a Christian
attitude to the challenge of living with people
suffering from various disabilities: physical,
intellectual and social. In our Indian society, we constantly
live with this challenge in our families, in our work places,
in our gatherings and on our streets; in short, everywhere.
We cannot avoid the reality of disabled persons living in
our midst even if we close our eyes! At the entrance to our
places of worship, in our markets, bus stops, everywhere,
we have disabled persons, many of them begging for charity.
What does our Christian conscience have to say about it?
A Christian perspective on disabled people cannot escape
the basic tenet of Christianity which goes back to the
foundational intuitions inherited from the Master, the Lord
Jesus himself. The four Gospels abound with narratives of
encounters between Jesus and persons suffering from varied
disabilities; physical, mental and social. The disciples of
Jesus continue this tradition of active engagement with
disabled and sick people in the post-resurrection
communities prolonging the ‘Way’ trod by the Master (Acts
3. 1-9; 9. 32-35).
“
Gospels and enter into the mind of Christ himself.
Jesus and Disability
It is in the context of the proclamation of the Kingdom of
God by Jesus and the consequent epic conflict with the
powers of evil that we can understand the actions, thoughts
and words of Jesus.
After thirty years of ordinary life in Nazareth as a
carpenter, (Lk 3.23) Jesus starts his public ministry with
the words, “The time has come! The Kingdom of God is
close at hand. Change your ways and believe in the Good
News” (Mk 1.19). But his ministry of preaching and
healing runs into rough weather as his words and actions
challenge the established religious norms of the day. We
see this in the narrative of the healing of the man with the
paralysed hand on the Sabbath that too in a synagogue, the
place for the public worship and prayers (Mt 12. 9-13). He
08
has landed himself into a controversy. To the question of
the Jews “Is it permitted to heal on the Sabbath?”
(v 12. 10) Jesus counters with a brilliant argumentation
that “It is permitted to do good on the Sabbath?”
(v 12). The plot deepens against Jesus. They plan his
death and look for openings
to condemn him. While
the crowds are impressed
by his messianic gestures,
the religious authorities
accuse Jesus of collaborating
with Beelzebul, head of the
demons for driving out devils (Mt 12. 24). Once again,
Jesus brilliantly demonstrates the hollowness of their
arguments and concludes ”If it is by the Spirit of God that
I drive out devils, then the kingdom of God is among you”
(12. 28).
A Christian perspective on
disabled people cannot escape the
basic tenet of Christianity which
goes back to the foundational
intuitions inherited from the
Master, the Lord Jesus himself.
Terminologies have
changed from
‘retarded’ to
‘challenged’ over
time. We also use
terms like
‘physically
challenged’ instead
of ‘physically
handicapped’.
The term ‘differently abled’ instead of the word ‘disabled’ is
another which emphasises a shift in perception about
persons who suffer various types of handicaps, visual,
auditive and so on.
While appreciating changes in terminology as a sign of
positive attitudes towards the disabled, to provide them
space in society and a more positive self image, we cannot
ignore the poignant fact of suffering underlying such
experiences of disability; physical, mental and social. It is
this reality of suffering that Jesus faced in his encounters
and we need to look at some of these narratives of the
”
Another aspect of the ministry of Jesus is that in this
struggle of Jesus to establish the Kingdom, he is constantly
surrounded by sick and disabled people: the paralysed (Mt
12.10), deaf and dumb (Mt 12.22), the blind (Mk 10. 4652), the mentally ill (Mt 8. 28-34), epileptic (Mk 9. 14-28),
lepers (Mt 8. 1-4), sex worker (Jn 8. 1-14), dwarf
CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVE ON THE COVER STORY
(Lk. 19 1-10). If we make an exhaustive list in the four
Gospels we find at least twenty one narratives in which
Jesus is healing people with various disabilities: physical,
mental and social. It is said that wherever he went, such
people would crowd round him (Mt 6. 56) and all who
touched him were healed (Mt 6. 57). So it was a way of life
for Jesus to be constantly surrounded by people with
disabilities.
If we read these narratives carefully, we are confronted by
layers of deeper meanings in his relationship to disabled and
sick persons. Some of the salient features are the following:
“
drishtikone
disabled persons.
Jesus heals a sick man at the pool of Bethesda (John
5:1-18)
The scene is that of a host of people either blind, lame or
paralysed waiting to be healed by the miraculous
movement of water in the pool. The eyes of Jesus fall on
a man whose infirmity prevents him from getting into the
pool though he is there for the last thirty eight years. Jesus
heals him and asks him to take his mat and go home. But
it is a Sabbath day and he should not be carrying his mat
as it is a work that is
forbidden on the
Sabbath. The
authorities question
Jesus about doing this
Sabbath. The
authorities question Jesus about doing this on the Sabbath
and in response Jesus says, “My Father goes on working,
and so am I”. The religious authorities are shocked not
only by his unauthorised act of healing but also by his
brazen claim of equality with God!
His mission is to reveal the healing
love of God at work in the world.
• When solicited by
any disabled person
who is in need of
healing, he spares no
effort to empower the
person in every manner possible. He does not hesitate to
break rules of religion and social convention in his effort
to free the person from this condition of dependence. He is
criticised and contradicted. But the human being who is in
need of liberation takes all his attention and energy.
• He goes beyond physical disability and reaches out
towards the inner life of the person and frees the person from
spiritual shackles of sin and its consequences. “Your sins are
forgiven”. He is treated as a blasphemer who takes himself
as equal to God for this healing of the soul of the human
being.
• He does not look for publicity or ego worship but enables
people to reintegrate themselves in the human community,
by sending them back to the family, to the authorities who
can attest to their right to be reintegrated in the society. “Go
and show yourself to the priest and make the offering
necessary”.
• He restores to people a sense of their human dignity and
responsibility. “Go do not sin again” or validates their inner
dispositions of faith and trust. “Your faith has healed you”.
The Johannine Narratives
John’s Gospel gives us only two instances of the healing of
disabled persons in the ministry of Jesus: curing the
paralysed man and restoring sight to the man born blind.
We could add a third of saving a woman caught in the act of
adultery if we consider her as a socially disabled person due
to sex work. These narratives give us a deeper,
contemplative insight into the mind of Jesus in front of
”
We encounter here the mystery of the identity of Jesus and
his mission on earth. What drives him to do this work of 09
healing is not a demonstration of his power or personal
compassion, but rather the love of the Father and a
participation in the healing work of God Himself. His
mission is to reveal the healing love of God at work in the
world.
Healing a man born blind from birth (John 9)
It is Sabbath day again and Jesus heals a man of his
blindness. The narrative opens with a dialogue between
Jesus and his disciples about the traditional view that sin
leads to punishment, and so who is responsible for this
man’s blindness, he or his parents? The answer of Jesus
after negating the traditional view of sin and punishment
shifts the focus of the discussion to another level
altogether. “He was born blind so that God’s work might
be revealed in him” ( v. 3), that he is doing the work of the
Father. The final claim of Jesus is that he is the ‘light of
the world’! The climax of this narrative takes place in the
temple where Jesus meets the healed man again and opens
his inner eye of faith so that he recognises the true identity
of Jesus and worships him. From blindness to physical
sight, from physical sight to spiritual insight, what a
journey! Here is the work of God and consequently of
Jesus, leading people from darkness to light.
CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVE ON THE COVER STORY
Defending the woman caught in adultery
(John 8. 1-11)
Here Jesus is shown at his enigmatic best, bending down
on the ground and writing in the sand as though he wants
to avoid the question about stoning the woman caught in
the act of adultery punishable with death in the Law of
Moses. Jesus throws the question back and asks
everyone to take their responsibility, the accusers as well
as the accused. His response throws them off balance
and the woman is saved. But Jesus goes further
revealing the inner recesses of God’s love welling up
within him.
“Has no one
condemned you?”
“No Sir.” “Me
too, I do not
condemn you.
Go and do not
sin again”.
“
drishtikone
understand why he is put to test. He has always tried to help
others, to do good and to obey God. Job challenges God
to disprove his claims to integrity and give him reasons to
justify his cruelty towards him.
The final words of the Book of Job are words of hope and
the beginning of an answer to Job’s anguishing query on
suffering. “I know that my Defender is alive and will rise
and he at last will take his stand on earth. I shall see my
advocate by my side and in my flesh shall see God. With my
own eyes I will see Him, I and not another… (19. 25-27)
But Job also understands that things are more complex than
what he thought “I
spoke of things I do
not understand, too
wonderful for me to
know”(42. 3) Job also
warns us not to be
satisfied with
intellectually satisfying
answers to this human
reality of suffering of
the innocent. He tells
God, “Teach me your
ways, now that I have seen you with my own eyes”(42. 5). 10
This is the true work of God which
Jesus does, freeing people from
disabilities to restore them to their
dignity and responsibility as
children of God. “I have not come to
condemn the world but to save it”.
This is the true
work of God which
Jesus does, freeing
people from disabilities to restore them to their
dignity and responsibility as children of God. “I have not
come to condemn the world but to save it”.
We have to push our enquiry further as the roots of the
motivations of Jesus are plunged in the tradition of the
Old Testament, shaping his own convictions about
suffering, sin and redemption.
The suffering of the innocent: the question of Job
Why do the innocent suffer? What has this infant done
to merit this disability from birth? This question troubles
us all and leads many to question the very existence of
God. The wicked thrive while the just man is afflicted
with setbacks in life. This is Job’s question to God.
A quick overview of Job’s predicament and the answer
he gets from God can help us to grapple with our own
bafflement in front of the suffering of disabled persons.
Cursed be the day that I was born!....Why did I come out
of the womb of my mother? To see torment and pain and
finish my days in shame? (Jb 20. 14-18) Job asks God.
“I cry to you and you do not answer…You have become
cruel towards me… (30. 20-23). Job does not
”
The Book of Job has no conclusive answer to the agonising
question about suffering. It poses the question squarely to
God and waits for God’s judgement.
The Suffering Servant of Yahweh (Isaiah 52. 13-53.12)
This is the text that Jesus meditated to understand his
destiny and in turn interpret it for his disciples. “Was it not
necessary that the Christ should suffer all this and then
enter into his glory?”(Lk 24.26) A brief study of this text
can help us elucidate the insights that we need for a
Christian perspective of disability.
In the description of the suffering servant, we can
identify the life of many disabled people: no beauty, no
majesty, nothing to attract our eyes, often cause of
revulsion and disgust. How can we see the glory of God
revealed in the face of a wounded, disfigured and disabled
person? Only faith which makes us see things the way God
sees them. “Man looks at appearances, but God looks at the
heart” (1, Sam 16.7). The transfiguration of the disabled
one, from an object of revulsion into the manifestation of
God is a gift of faith: from misery to glory, from curse to
blessing. In a school for intellectually challenged children
CHRISTIAN
CHRISTIANPERSPECTIVE
PERSPECTIVEON
ONTHE
THECOVER
COVERSTORY
STORY
in Secunderabad where I worked, was Pavan, a young child
who was profoundly handicapped. All the schools meant for
such children had rejected him as a liability. Pavan who is
above forty now is cared by his ageing parents continues to
have the same problems needing to be fed, toileted, dressed etc.
He drools, smells and needs to be washed and changed often.
On a trip away from home leaving Pavan in the care of the
husband, she was in a great hurry to get back home. Talking of
Pavan to me she said “Pavan is God’s gift to me. I thank God
for having given me Pavan” and burst into tears! This was a
Hindu lady, initiated into the wisdom given to the little ones by
the Spirit of God.
The challenge of a Christian vision of disabled persons I
received from Pavan’s mother is whether the presence of a
disabled person among us, a curse, a punishment or is it a gift
of God?
By way of Conclusion
“Whatsoever you did to the least of these brothers (and sisters)
of mine, you did it to me” and “whatsoever you did not do to
the least of these brothers (and sisters) of mine, you did not do
it to me” said the Lord Jesus (Mt 25.40, 45). Jesus today is the
disabled one in our midst. The presence of a disabled one in
our midst disturbs us and awakens us to our own vulnerability.
The way we respond to the intellectually challenged, or to the
physically challenged, or to a mentally ill person, or to a person
affected by leprosy or any other disability, social and
otherwise, will be one of the benchmark by which we measure
our Christian faith and commitment.
drishtikone
L’Arche/ Asha Niketan
L’Arche is an international federation of
communities where people with and without mental
handicap live and work together. The communities
offer people with mental handicap a home where they
will be valued and respected, their gifts welcomed
and celebrated. http://www.larche.org L’Arche began
in France in 1964 when Jean Vanier, invited two men
from an institution, to live with him. Today there are
140 communities in 36 countries. The communities,
while sharing the same values are very different
according to their context and culture.
In 1970, the first L’Arche community, called Asha
Niketan (home of hope)
http://www.fmrindiaashaniketan.com, was founded in
Bangalore in response to an appeal by Indian friends.
Today there are five communities around the country
– Bangalore, Chennai, Calicut, Kolkata and
Asansol (in WB). Their identity statement says. “We
are people with or without intellectual disabilities
sharing life in communities belonging to an
International Federation. Mutual relationships and
trust in God are at the heart of our journey together.
We celebrate the unique value of every person and
recognize our need of one another”.
L’Arche International and Asha Niketan in India
represent in today’s world the realization that the
Christian perspective of disability that we were
talking of is not a utopia but a realistic possibility.
“Kindness is the language
which the deaf can hear
and the blind can see.”
- Mark Twain
Br. Mani Karott, LBJ is a member of the Roman Catholic
religious congregation – the Little Brothers of Jesus. He is
based in the LBJ community at Bangalore and is involved in
formation for Asha Niketan (L’Arche in India) communities.
His reflections for this article come from his association
with Asha Niketan (L’ Arche India) where for two years he
was part of a community of adults with mental disability in
Bangalore. Br Mani has worked with disabled people as
Special Educator and also as Therapist. He is particularly
interested in Art Therapy and practices it with various
groups.
11
FACTS
drishtikone
DISABILITY: FACTS
World
GLOBAL DISABILITY PREVALENCE ESTIMATES
FROM DIFFERENT SOURCES
Prevalence of disability in the Member
countries of the WHO South East Asian
Region
Country
Bangladesh
Bhutan
India
Indonesia
Maldives
Myanmar
Nepal
Sri Lanka
Prevalence
5.6%
3.5%
1.8%
21.3%
3.4%
2%
1.6%
1.6%
Year
2001
2005
2002
2007
2003
2007
2001
2001
Thailand
Timor Leste
2.9%
1.5%
2007
2002
Source: http://www.searo.who.int/en/Section1174/Section1461_15167.htm#table2.
India
Source: WHS = World Health Survey; GBD = the Global Burden of Disease, 2004 update; Surveys = WHO & WB Reports on Disability, 2011, p.55.
According to “World report on disability 2011” the one
billion Persons with disabilities constitute 15% of the total
population of the world or roughly 650 million people. 70%
of them live in developing countries and exhibit lowest
economic, health, educational and social outcomes. There
are 285 million visually impaired people in the world – 246
million with low vision and 39 million are estimated to be
blind. About 90% of the world’s visually impaired live in
developing countries while 80% of all visual impairment
can be avoided or cured. Also, 1.26 million children are
blind and 19 million are visually impaired. Eastern
Mediterranean region is home to the second largest number
of people in the world with visual impairment.
Out of 2 billion children with disabilities, there are an
estimated 200 million children with disabilities across the
world. In other words, approximately 10% of the total
population of children in the world, majority of whom live
in developing countries, are born with a disability or
become disabled during childhood.
Conflict areas find that for every 1 child that is killed, 3 are
injured and permanently disabled. Children with
disabilities are 1.7 times at greater risk of being subjected to
some form of violence.
Census 2001 has revealed that over 21 million people in
India are suffering from one or the other kind of disability.
This is equivalent to 2.1% of the population. Among the
total disabled in the country, 12.6 million are males and
9.3 million are females. Although the number of disabled
is more in rural (75% of the total population) than in urban
areas, such proportion of the disabled has been reported
between 57-58% for males and 42-43% females. The
disability rate (number of disabled per 100,000
populations) for the country as a whole works out to 2130.
This is 2,369 in the case of males and 1,874 in the case of
females.
Epidemiological classifications
do not seem to adequately
capture some of the more
recently recognized phenomena,
such as mild mental retardation
thought to be a result of
under-stimulation of children in
disadvantaged societies.
12
FACTS
drishtikone
The highest number of disabled has been reported from the
state of Uttar Pradesh (3.6 million). Significant numbers of
disabled have also been reported from the state like Bihar
(1.9 million), West Bengal (1.8million), Tamil Nadu and
Maharashtra (1.6 million each).
Source: http://www.indiability.org/resources/disability-in-india/.
Physical Disability 41.32%
Visual Impairment 10.32%
Hearing Impairment 8.36%
Speech Disability 5.06%
Locomotors Disability 23.04%
Overlapping 11.54%
Chart source: Sarvekshana, 36th & 47th rounds, National Sample Survey
Organization, Department of Statistics, Ministry of Planning & Program
Implementation, Government of India.
Among the five types of disabilities on which data has been
collected, disability in seeing at 10.32% and locomotor
disability at 23.04% emerges as the top category. Others in
sequence are: In movement (23.04%), mental (10.3%), in
speech (5.06%), and in hearing (8.36%). The disabled by
sex follow a similar pattern except for that the proportion of
disabled females is higher in the category in seeing and in
hearing.
STATES IN INDIA WITH HIGHEST POPULATION
OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES (IN MILLIONS)
According to the census 2001, Bihar has a population of 8
crores, 30 lakhs. Out of this 18 lakhs and 88 thousand are
people suffering from various forms of disabilities which
constitute 2.27% of the population. Among the people with
disabilities 10 lakh are visually challenged, 1.35 lakh face
challenge of speech, 77 thousand are hearing impaired and
5.12 lakh are physically challenged. The State has a
significant population of mentally challenged population
comprising 1.65 lakh. The census 2001 estimates that a
significant number of people with disabilities, about 55% of
this population is illiterate.
Prevalence of Disability in various
states of India
State
Karnataka
Kerala
Chandigarh
Delhi, Jaipur,
Lucknow (U.P.)
Percentage of disability
6.3%. 80% = multiple disabled.
Mental disability = 2.3%, Females
(3.1%), males (1.5%),
2.7%. Visually disabled highest
followed by movement disability.
4.8%. Disability rate more in aged,
55 years or more (31%) compared
to 25-54 years. Rates were higher in
females compared to males.
Disability rates in children below
6 years of age were 8.8 per 1000 in
Delhi, 6.5 per 1000 on Jaipur & 12.6
per 1000 in Lucknow.
TAMIL NADU
WEST BENGAL
Source: Gagandeep Kaur Walia, Disability, South Asia Network for Chronic
Disease.
BIHAR
UTTAR PRADESH
* Tamil Nadu - only state with higher number of disabled females
than males.
* Arunachal Pradesh - state with highest proportion of disabled
males (66.6%) and lowest proportion of disabled females.
Sources:
http://www.crin.org/docs/See_me_hear_final.pdf.
http://www.eyeway.org/?q=%E2%80%9890-visually-impaired-live-developingcountries%E2%80%99.
http://www.disabled-world.com/disability/statistics/.
http://www.who.int/topics/disabilities/en/.
http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTSARREGTOPLABSOCPRO/12117141144074285477/20873614/IndiaReportDFID.pdf.
13
SPIRITUALITY AND SOCIAL ENGAGEMENT
drishtikone
Spirituality of Engagement
as Spirituality of Prayer
Mr. C.B. Samuel
‘How long shall I cry for help and you will not hear? Or
cry to you “Violence” and you will not save? Why do you
make me see iniquity and why do you idly look at wrong?
Destruction and violence are before me; strife and
contention arise. So the law is paralysed and justice never
goes forth. For the wicked surround the righteous; so
justice goes forth perverted’
“
cannot look at wrong, why do you idly look at traitors and
are silent when the wicked swallows up the man more
righteous than he?’ God was planning to use a nation
more unjust than Judah. Prophetic prayer is a dialogue
with God on His answer.
Habakkuk takes his stand at his
‘watch post’ and stations himself
on the tower and ‘look out to see
what he (God) will say to me and what I will answer concerning my
complaint’. Prayer is the Prophet
at his Watch Post looking out for
God’s response. It is the prophet on duty. It was not a
watch in vain. The prophet ‘sees’ (Habakkuk 1:1) God’s
answer. Prayer is tuning our eyes to see and not just our
ears to hear. The second chapter of the book is a detailed
and patient revelation of God’s ways and his perspective.
14
Our impatience robs us of the joy of an answer.
Prayer is tuning our
eyes to see and not
just our ears to hear.
These are words of a prayer of
Habakkuk, a man about whom
we know nothing other than
what is written in the Biblical
book which has his name. But
he is one of my favourite prophets of the Bible. He was
concerned and was helpless – the condition in which most
of us often find ourselves. Habakkuk was a man of integrity
in his relationship with God. And much more he was a man
of patience; patient enough to wait to hear God’s answer
without jumping into conclusions.
For many a modern day prophet, prayer and activism are
far removed. Prophetic engagements, on the other hand, are
soaked in conversations with God. The prayers of the
prophets are refreshingly different from the contemporary
superficial, shallow performances we call prayer. Prophets
often took the intercessory stand between God and his
people; they pleaded for God to act against the enemies of
His people. Such prayer of courage and honesty marks the
spirituality of prophetic engagement.
A prayer worth considering is that of Habakkuk. The whole
book is one prayer and that includes God’s answer and the
prophet’s response. True prayer is transformational – the
transformation of the person who prays.
Prayer is the sincere and honest cry of a heart that is pained
and a cry to God to act. In prayer we don’t have to be
politically right but truthful. ‘Why do you idly look at
wrong?’, that is Habakkuk’s question to God. Prayers are
also persistent patient waiting till an answer is received. The
answer may not be to our liking but it is an answer
nevertheless. Every prayer has an answer and prophets
prayed to be heard. Habakkuk was surprised by God’s
answer. ‘You who are of purer eyes than to see evil and
”
God’s response transforms Habakkuk from ‘complain’ to
‘praise’. Yes, he will not live to see his desire for justice
done in his lifetime but definitely had a glimpse of the
future of God’s workings.
‘Though the fig tree should not blossom or fruit be on
the vines; the produce of the olive fail and the fields
yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and
there be no herd in the stalls; yet I will rejoice in the
Lord, I will take joy in the God of my strength’.
Mr. C.B. Samuel is an itinerant Bible Teacher.
He can be reached at [email protected]
“Everything has its wonders, even darkness
and silence, and I learnt, whatever state I
maybe in, therein to be content.
- Helen Keller
BIOGRAPHY
drishtikone
A VISION BEYOND REALITY
Mrs. Selina Samuel
The third defining decision was because of two
experiences that were pivotal in shaping his thoughts for
the future. The first was a visit, for the first time, to a
school for the blind. The experience was extremely sad.
The overpowering feeling was sadness, inferiority, lack
of initiative etc. He says “The blind need opportunity
and not sympathy. They need to live with dignity despite
the disability”. The second was when he visited
Dehradun and saw some of the blind children playing
cricket. This was a really unique, innovative and fun
way of playing. George took up the idea from these little
children and established Cricket for the blind as a
National event in 1990. Very soon after this the World
Cup for the Blind was established. This decision brought
together two of his long term interests - cricket and
responding to the needs of the visually impaired.
He believed that the disabled are a resource, worthy of
investment and not in need of sympathy. This is why
George’s endeavor constantly is to try and make the
disabled feel and function as a normal part of society.
He set up the SCORE Foundation and started the project
Eyeway, www.eyeway.org in 2003. This is a website
which gives a lot of useful information on living with
blindness. In 2005 they set up the Radio program called
Photo: George Abraham with family
G
eorge Abraham is a successful, enterprising,
motivational speaker who at the tender age of
ten months suffered with meningitis and has
been living with a deteriorating visual impairment since
then. George’s life is marked by some very defining
decisions and experiences. Firstly, his parents made the
difficult decision of sending him to a regular school.
George says ‘Most parents focus on the disability and
do not push them to higher levels of achievement’. It
was not easy for him but his mother patiently read all his
books aloud for him and helped him to keep up with the
class in academics. His father built in him the sense of
concentration and perseverance. Secondly, they
encouraged George to take part in debates and sports.
He was the school champion and ran for the State in
100 meters. Though George had been told that Maths
is taught with visual frames of reference and hence the
blind cannot learn, he gives credit to his school teachers
who taught with different parameters of teaching.
‘Eyeway Yea Hain Roshni Ka Karwan” which is aired to
about 50 cities by AIR and FM. In response to the many calls
they received seeking help and wisdom they set up a help
desk in 2006. They have a SMS alert to give information on
job opportunities, training programs etc. Their next dream is
to launch the TV program called ‘Nazar Ya Nazariya’ with the
hope of changing peoples’ perception of the disabled.
Rupa, George’s wife is a horticulturist. She sees in him more
of his abilities than his disability. Their two daughters, Neha
who is pursuing her Masters and Tara who is still at school,
are very supportive and enthusiastic partners in all these
‘family ventures’. As a family they are talented, good
communicators and acknowledge God in all their ventures.
Disability, limitations, or difficulties have not stopped George
from working towards being a useful instrument in making
life better for the many disabled and the abled too.
Mrs. Selina Samuel is a freelance editor/writer.
This page is an effort at portraying the
lives of people who despite harsh situations
have contributed in significant ways specifically to our country and to society in general. By giving glimpses of these lives we
hope to challenge every reader to live meaningful, grateful and useful lives.
15
YOUTH PAGE
drishtikone
The Gospel According to
Mr. Akshay Rajkumar
As India’s numberless youth navigate their way through the
complex intricacies of social networking, the Church needs
to learn the language of a new world and equip its own to
live by wisdom in the age of information.
The Fading Success of Facebook
Facebook has more than 1.2 billion active users, making it
nearly as populated as China or India. Nearly 700 million
people log onto Facebook every day; 819 million people use
Facebook on their mobiles. Nearly half of 18-34 year olds
go on Facebook as soon as they wake up. Every 60 seconds
on Facebook, 5 new profiles are created, 8 comments are
posted, 4,882 statuses are updated and 2,266 photos are
uploaded. Every 20 Minutes on Facebook, 1 million links
are shared, 2 million friend requests and 3 million messages
are sent. At the end of June this year, India had 82 million
monthly active users on Facebook, of whom 62 million
accessed Facebook through their mobile phones.
But while Facebook has been the go-to social network for a
while, interest in the
social network seems
to be fading. In a post
on New York Times
technology blog, Bits,
Nathan Jurgenson,
a sociologist who
studies the Internet,
and was recently
hired as a researcher
by Snapchat, a mobile messaging app that is rapidly
growing in popularity, says, “It has become akin to a
yearbook or yellow pages - a static home on the Web that
offers proof of someone’s existence, and perhaps little else.”
“
looks like its here to stay. Facebook’s waning popularity
has made room for other messaging services, like
WhatsApp and WeChat, which make communication,
instant, constant and
on-the-go.
Such a myriad of
social networking
services has spawned
unparalleled social
change, according to
ongoing research by
University College
London (UCL), which
says, “Ignore glib
claims that we are all
becoming more
superficial or more
virtual. What is
really going on is far more incredible. The way people use 16
social media differs hugely from place to place. These are
‘social’ media,
intensely woven into the texture of our relationships. They lead us straight to intimate worlds of
Chinese families split
by internal migration, the new Brazilian
middle class, cancer victims in London
sharing the experience of terminal illness, Trinidadians
stalking the latest scandal and much more.”
It’s a place where everyone is,
that has a purpose and a place,
but doesn’t necessarily represent
a place where people will want to
go on a frequent basis.
”
The Growing Influence of Social Networking
In the project led by Prof. Daniel Miller FBA, a pioneer
in Digital Anthropology, eight ethnographic researchers
based at UCL, are each spending 15 months during
2013-14, in small towns in Brazil, China, India, Italy,
Trinidad, Turkey and the UK. They are researching to
provide the level of scholarship that can be trusted to give
the best understanding of how social media is changing
our world.
While social networks may fade and falter, social networking
At the same time, social networking has troubling
In the same post, S. Shyam Sundar, a director of the Media
Effects Research Lab at Pennsylvania State University, says,
“It’s a place where everyone is, that has a purpose and a
place, but doesn’t necessarily represent a place where people
will want to go on a frequent basis.”
YOUTH PAGE
drishtikone
consequences, particularly an increase in cyber crime and
cyber-bullying. Over half of children (53%) in India have
been bullied online, according to a Global Youth Online
Behaviour Survey released by Microsoft in 2012. More
than 5 in 10 children surveyed said they have
experienced what adults might consider online bullying.
anything new and impose harsh restrictions on the use of
technology, but such knee-jerk reactions may only be a
stop-gap solution that keep us in further denial, fear and
ignorance. The cure for a better conversation online is not to
cut the cord completely, but to create a deeper sense of
community, belonging and relationship in the real world.
“Girls are more vulnerable in cases of virtual bullying as
sexual taunts can get
very humiliating,
especially on an open
forum,” according
to child psychiatrist
Dr. Gowri Devi. In
response, a new
smartphone app called
‘STOPit’ allows users
to document harmful
activity, anonymously
report bullying of other
students and reach out to a
24-hour helpline. “Criminality of cyberbullying is not
just misunderstood but taken lightly by parents or school
authorities. A lot of education and awareness is required
among teachers, students and parents to control
cyberbullying,” Sumit Agarwal, cybercrime lawyer, told
the Times of India.
The church is God’s great relational community that is meant
to meet the relational needs
of its own, and embody the
love of God to the world.
But in the age of
information, the Church is
often least informed; in the
age of creative expression,
the Church is often most
rigid and stifling; in the age
of constant conversation,
the Church is often much
too silent. As a result, the
questions and the needs of its young are left unaddressed,
leading them to turn to places that give them room to be
themselves and that are less than true.
“
The cure for a better
conversation online is not to cut
the cord completely, but to
create a deeper sense of
community, belonging and
relationship in the real world.
The Timeless Wisdom of the Bible
The Bible doesn’t have anything to say about Facebook,
but it has a lot to say about relationships. Social
networking brings us new ways to relate to people that
are both promising and perilous, but the Bible gives us
better ways to relate to people that will lead us into the
promise and keep us from the perils of a life lived online.
The Bible makes the audacious assumption that relating
to people without relating to God is like trying to collect
water in a strainer. Not only will you waste a lot of time,
but you may still be thirsty at the end of it. Those who
seek the face of God in the Bible will have a better way
to present themselves on Facebook, because their
identity will be drawn from a relationship with Him,
instead of the anxiety-ridden effort of trying to draw a
sense of value from a screen.
The Untapped Power of Community
It’s common among Christians to be suspicious of
”
The most important conversation that social networking
brings up is the conversation about identity. Social
networking gives us a face, but the Bible gives us a name.
One is an identity that comes from an adjusted appearance.
The other is a relationship with a Person who gives us the
privilege of sonship. Unless we learn the difference between
a face on social media and a name that comes from the One
who saved us, we will be like the ignorant child that C.S.
Lewis wrote about, “who wants to go on making mud pies in
a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer
of a holiday at the sea.”
A step further away from identity is the conversation
about social change and social media, which will be
explored in the next issue.
Mr. Akshay Rajkumar is a freelance writer.
He can be reached at [email protected]
17
CURRENT ISSUE
Who really gains from subsidies:
Poor or Non-Poor?
drishtikone
Dr. Bonnie Miriam Jacob
T
he conversations around the passage of the historic
National Food Security Bill revealed a sharp divide
over the issue of subsidies. But the focus was
selective when it came to government spending.
Increasing subsidies for the poor was a matter of intense
concern along with the huge ensuing fiscal deficit that the
food bill would cause. Strong advocates for the bill tried
hard to clear the prejudice and steer towards a more rational
and comprehensive view of subsidies. What was
predominantly or even deliberately overlooked in most of
the discussions was the reality about the extent to which the
non-poor themselves are subsidized.
“
government. The government offers subsidies to
encourage players in any particular field with a focus on
the development of the country. Major achievements in
India since independence have been an outcome of the
huge subsides that have been offered in various sectors
and simultaneously also resulted in the corporate
amassing massive profits. But the unfortunate fact is that
these subsidies are not talked about and it is a sad case
of masking charity for the rich and their private wealth
earned through subsidized schemes shrouded as growth
for the country. Discussions on subsidies seem to
reinforce the attitude and divide that it is not so much
about how much or what subsidy but who is the
beneficiary of
the subsidy.
The subsidies
come under
intense
scanner only 18
when they are
for the lowest
strata of the
population.
The reason
for the added
focus is that
some people are not considered as ‘subsidy worthy.’
They do not add to the GDP or create wealth and so it is a
wasteful expenditure. But for wealth creating citizens it is
essential part of development.
The bill is significant in that it sets out to
cover 800 million people majority of whose
lives are constantly ravaged by the
vagaries of the market forces, the limited
livelihood options and several other
vulnerabilities that define the existence of
the poor and the marginalized.
The Bill itself
was an outcome
of several years
of work to
provide food
and nutritional
security by
ensuring access
to adequate
quantity and
quality of food
at affordable
prices for people to live a life with dignity. The bill is
significant in that it sets out to cover 800 million people
majority of whose lives are constantly ravaged by the
vagaries of the market forces, the limited livelihood
options and several other vulnerabilities that define the
existence of the poor and the marginalized. Despite 66 years
of independence and impressive accomplishments on several
fronts, India continues to have unacceptable levels of
poverty and malnutrition. So the bill is a much needed
corrective to address the failure of the government and
society to contain extreme deprivation and inequity. Food
subsidy is definitely a lifeline for the poor and not any
luxury for indulgence and cannot be grudged or unfairly
resented.
The undeniable fact is that every single citizen in the
country is a recipient of subsidies in some form or the other.
Subsidies are an integral part of the fiscal policy of any
”
A cursory look at our budget and expenditure statements
is exceptionally enlightening. The Expenditure Budget
of the government indicates that the actual amount spent
on total subsidies1 for 2011-2012 in the country was Rs.
2,17,941 crore. Out of this, food subsidy amounted only
to Rs. 72,823 crore which is less than a third of the total
outlay for subsidies. Additionally, another interesting
factor we need to consider from our budget each year is
the statement of revenue foregone, which the government
has been revealing since 2006-07. These are subsidies to
preferred taxpayers, which are given in various forms
including special tax rates, exemptions, deductions,
rebates etc. The revenue that the government may have
CURRENT ISSUE
drishtikone
generated is foregone as Tax Expenditures. In
2010-11 the net revenue forgone on account of
corporate taxpayers, non-corporate sector, individual
taxpayers and customs duty regime was a
whopping sum of Rs. 3,24,869 crore. These are
primarily subsidies
lavished on the rich.
The Customs duty
regime covers a list
of 98 items and it is
evident from the
brief description of
goods that most of
these are beyond the
reach of those on the
margins. Compare this
against the outlay for
food subsidy for 2012-13
which is Rs. 75,000 crore.
And even in the event of
the additional expenditure on account of the new food
bill of another Rs. 50,000 crore is far lesser than all
the other write offs just mentioned. An
interesting study on fuel subsidies is a case in point
of the subsidies benefiting the rich much more than
the poor. Fuel subsidies are justified by the fact that
they lower the cost for the many things that directly
and indirectly require energy. However, “the richest
20 percent of households in low - and middle-income
countries capture six times more in total fuel product
subsidies (43 percent) than the poorest 20 percent
of households (7 percent)”.2 Petroleum Subsidy in
2011-12 amounted to Rs. 68,481 crore. So when we
examine hard facts and put things into perspective it
is the non-poor that benefits most from subsidies.
“
deserve fair allocation against the subsidies galore for the upper
echelons.
The finance minister’s budget speech rightly answers the critics
and the opponents of the food subsidy, when he articulated that
In the ‘compelling moral case for
equity’ the food security bill is
an undeniable right and
deserves to be appropriately
analysed within the parameters
of bestowing human dignity,
worth and respect for the poor
and those on the margins.
Again the crores in the food subsidy look colossal but
the entire social spending is less than 2% of the GDP
in India. In the Social Protection Index by the Asian
Development Bank, a comparative study of 35
countries in the Asia pacific region on social
protection spending ranks India at 23. India’s
Social Protection expenditure is only 1.7% of the
GDP while comparative East Asian countries where
human development indicators are much better spend
more. Japan spends 19.2%, Korea 9.6% and China
5.4% of their GDP on social protection.3 Intentional
and focussed spending is required to improve India’s
human development indicators and the food subsidy
is a key path in that direction. Our citizens definitely
“Growth is a necessary
condition and we must
unhesitatingly embrace
growth as the highest
goal. It is growth that will
lead to inclusive
development, without
growth there will be
neither development nor
inclusiveness… Owing to
the plurality and diversity
of India, and centuries of
neglect, discrimination
and deprivation, many
sections of the people will be left behind if we do not pay
special attention to them. As Joseph Stiglitz, Nobel
prize-winning economist, said, “There is a compelling moral
case for equity; but it is also necessary if there is to be sustained
growth. A country’s most important resource is its people.”…. 19
Government believes in inclusive development, with emphasis
on improving human development indicators.”4
”
In the ‘compelling moral case for equity’ the food security bill
is an undeniable right and deserves to be appropriately
analysed within the parameters of bestowing human dignity,
worth and respect for the poor and those on the margins.
Surely the subsidy scales in India as evident from the crores
spent or foregone tilts heavily on the side of the non-poor
leaving them no moral case to question subsidies for the poor.
Dr. Bonnie Miriam Jacob works in EFICOR.
She can be reached at [email protected]
Source for all the figures on subsidies is from Expenditure Budget Vol. 1 2012-2013.
2
IMF, Energy Subsidy Reform: Lessons and Implications, 28 January 2013, p.19.
3
Asian Development Bank, The Social Protection Index, 2013, p. 13-14.
4
Government of India, Union Budget 2013-14: Budget Speech.
1
SEEDS OF TRANSFORMATION
drishtikone
Prosperity Plant
A local plant that binds soil has become the new weapon against soil erosion caused by flash floods in Tripura.
damaged the house severely. She did not have
any place to take refuge. The sufferings did not
end there. Soil erosion started eating away her
land. In a year she was left with just one-tenth of
her land, practically not useful for any purpose.
After losing land and other possessions, she was
forced to take loans from the money lender at
high interest rate. She was being laid into a debt
trap. For a loan of Rs. 10,000 taken eight years
ago, she has been paying an interest amount of
Rs. 1000 every month without even touching
the outstanding capital. She had to withdraw her
daughter from the school. “What would I do if
another flood strikes?” she asks.
S
20 YEARS AGO
ahena Begam is literarily reclaiming her life
from the virulent Khowai river. A resident of
Golabari village in Tripura’s West District, she
typifies the village’s journey back to life after almost
being vanquished by the river. Golabari, situated on
the banks of Khowai
River, is deluged by
flash floods every
year. Atharamura
hills, some 20 kms
away from the
village, are the
catchment of Khowai
River. Heavy rains
in the hills trigger
flash floods in
Khowai and flood the
entire habitation
residing along its banks. Flash floods not only destroy
crops but also erode large patches of agricultural
land. Floods also bring in massive amount of silt that
deposits on farms and bury houses forcing villagers to
shift to new places and rehabilitate them. Government
has been implementing programmes to check soil
erosion but that has not been effective.
Hopes of a new life were sprouting elsewhere. Some 20 years
ago, few villagers observed that places covered with Kamlilata
(Ipomea Reptans), a local plant, were not affected by soil erosion.
The plants not only held the soil tight but also regulated the speed
of flowing water. The roots of Kamlilata have a vegetative
20
propagation. Once they
touch the ground they
grow laterally and
perpendicularly and form a fabricated
reinforcement. It can
survive in adverse
conditions. The plant
has multiple uses like
the branches can be
used as firewood and
paper processing. On
an experimental basis,
villagers planted Kamlilata in and around their lands and within
10 years the result was miraculous. It not only protected the
embankments from breaching but also prevented the rapid run
off from the river channel when the river was in spate. Further,
eroded land got back to original state as these plants captured
soils from flood water and spread them backward. The once lost
land has now become cultivable land. Soon, its plantation spread
across villages on the river banks. It is normal now for the
Sahena landed in Golabari in 1996 in search of a
villagers to plant Kamlilata. Staff of Jana Unnayan Samiti Tripura
decent livelihood. She managed to buy a piece of land (JUST), a local NGO, identified this tested community
and thought life would move on smoothly. In 2000, a knowledge for combating floods and soil erosion and adapted it
flash flood swept away all her belongings and
for use in other flood prone villages. It launched the Community
“
Flash floods not only destroy crops
but also erode large patches of
agricultural land. Floods also bring in
massive amount of silt that deposits
on farms and bury houses forcing
villagers to shift to new places and
rehabilitate them.
”
SEEDS OF TRANSFORMATION
Based Disaster Programme (CBDP) supported by Caritas
India. JUST team consulted experts in the government
Forest and Water Resource Department and held
consultation in flood prone villages to find out the
traditional way to reduce erosion. This revealed the vital
role played by
Kamlilata plant in
preventing soil
erosion. This
information and
knowledge
collected from community was incorporated as an important
component of the CBDP.
“
drishtikone
office and other government departments accepted its effectiveness in preventing soil erosion caused by flood. At
present the forest and water resource department is
encouraging people to plant Kamlilata. Jagannathbari
Panchayat has submitted an estimate of Rs 5 lakhs to
Teliamura Block
Office for plantation
of Kamlilata and
bamboo bush along the
river bank to reduce
erosion. It was included in
Jagannathbari Panchayat Action Plan and would be
implemented under the National Rural Employment
Guarantee Act. Sahena is getting back to life.
Realizing the importance of Kamlilata, she started
planting it on the river bank near her house to save
her land. “During the floods of 2008, Kamlilata
saved my house and land from erosion. Now I am
planting more of it on the vertical bank too. Every
day I am spending sometime on that as I want to
set myself as an example for others,” says a
confident Sahena.
During the floods of 2008, Kamlilata
saved my house and land from
erosion.
”
21
‘During this flood, Kamlilata saved my house and land from erosion’
(Adapted from the book ‘Turning the Tide: Good
Practices in Community Based Disaster Risk
Reduction’, published by EFICOR and Sphere
India, 2010, p.76-78)
A NEW DRIVE
Sensitization and plantation drive started in the project
villages in April 2007. The field teams of JUST educated the
community on the scientific reason behind erosion and the
effectiveness of Kamlilata in arresting erosion. They
presented success stories and documentary films. Efforts
were made to encourage community members to plant
Kamlilata. For protection of Kamlilata, each family
residing along the river bank was made responsible to take
care of the patch of land behind his/her house. Conditions
were also set to plant 10 plants in exchange of the five
plants that got damaged and people were motivated to plant
at least three Kamli every day before bathing. Government
bodies like Gram Panchayat, forest departments, block
“The only disability in
life is a bad attitude.”
- Scott Hamilton
BOOK REVIEW
drishtikone
Living Gently in a Violent World
Jean Vanier & Stanley Hauerwas, Illinois: InterVarsity Press, 2008
Mr. Akshay Rajkumar
S
ome books are written to be read; others are meant to
be lived. Living Gently in a Violent World is written
to be lived by Stanley Hauerwas and Jean Vanier.
When Hauerwas was named “America’s Best Theologian”
by TIME magazine in 2001, he responded by saying “‘Best’
is not a theological category.’” Vanier
is the founder of L’Arche, a network
of homes where people with
disabilities experience communal life
together, along with those who
volunteer to assist them.
The book is the first in a series of IVP
publications - “Resources for
Reconciliation” - that pairs a leading
theologian with an experienced
practitioner to combine their
knowledge and experience and share
it with the church. This particular
book focuses on what the church can
learn from people with disabilities,
with L’Arche as an example of the
communities in which they live.
The authors have contributed two
essays each, Hauerwas emerging as
the more academic of the two, while Vanier’s presence is
fatherly, compassionate and generous but no less
theological. At just over 100 pages, the book is small and
easy to read, but it carries a deep burden and probes the
church with tough questions, one of them being, “Can we
accept and love people with disabilities as they are?”
Vanier has spent more than forty years with people with
disabilities. He speaks with conviction and its hard to
overlook his love for people with disabilities and concern
for the present state of relationships in the church and the
world. Hauerwas is most known for his work in Christian
ethics and his academic pedigree is showcased in the fourth
and final chapter through a “lengthy consideration of
political theory,” which is the only taxing portion of an
otherwise easy-to-read difficult-to-digest argument.
Vanier’s essays are reflective, honest and vulnerable. He
weaves a number of true stories into his plea to come
back to the gospel vision of unity and close “the gap
between the so-called “normal” world and the people who
have been pushed aside, put into institutions, excluded
from our societies because they are weak
and vulnerable or even killed before
birth.”
He readily admits the weaknesses of
L’Arche, especially its theology, quoting
Anglican theologian David Ford, who
told him, “In L’Arche, you have a
wonderful spirituality, but if you don’t
have a good theology, this
spirituality will peter out.” Although the
book sets out to address that problem,
Vanier admits that there are many
22
questions that remain unanswered.
The authors’ reflections on the nature of
community are poignant and insightful,
especially since they are drawn from
the unlikely prophets in L’Arche homes
around the world. True to the rich
heritage of irony in the Bible, it is people
with disabilities who have more to say about authentic
community than “normal people.” The weak are chosen to
shame the strong and authors prove this pattern of reality
in spades.
The book sets out to urge the church to revisit its
understanding of community and reorder its relationships
according to Paul’s instructions that the weakest and least
presentable people are indispensable to the church
(1 Corinthians 12:22). Vanier says, “Through this
teaching, we see a vision unfold in which a pyramid of
hierarchy is changed into a body, beginning at the
bottom.” He also says, “I have never seen this as the first
line of a book on ecclesiology! Who believes it?”
Both authors are obviously concerned about people with
disabilities and their disenfranchisement from the church
BOOK REVIEW
drishtikone
and society, into institutions and the peripheries of
society. Vanier’s stories from L’Arche keep the argument
earthy and genuine, while Hauerwas takes the
responsibility to present a reasoned case for how L’Arche
“helps the church find the gospel.”
That may seem absurd to some, but that is the concern of
the writers who feel that “L’Arche shows, as the church is
called to show, that Christianity is true by demonstrating
what community would look like if the gospel were true.”
At the same time, it rightly recognizes that even though
L’Arche has done what many churches have been unable
to do, it
cannot
continue to
do it without
the church.
“
wall of hostility” and “might reconcile us both to God in
one body through the cross.”
Vanier’s case for oneness, although prophetic and timely,
hangs on a generic portrait of Jesus as a historical hero who
shares the same vision as Nelson Mandela. While it is
littered with inspiring true stories, revealing insight and
prophetic truth, it understates the thing that separates Jesus
from everyone else in history - his death and resurrection.
Tragically, its vital message runs the risk of being lost on
the fussy theologian and the sensitive seminarian. But if discerning church leaders can be
gracious enough to recognize the
urgency of their call to unity that begins at the
bottom, they will
not forfeit the change that
could be theirs.
L’Arche shows, as the church is called
to show, that Christianity is true by
demonstrating what community
would look like if the gospel were true.
The authors
present a
challenging and
heart-warming portrait of people with disabilities who
live in community and defy the popular reasoning, even
in the church, that they are “better off dead.” The strength
of the writers’ argument is rooted in their conviction that
we need them more than they need us. Both authors make
a convincing case for the fact that people with disabilities
have the ability to make us more human, even as
technology conspires to turn us into independent,
fast-paced, self-reliant machines.
The book’s most significant accomplishment is to reveal
the irony that people with disabilities have learnt how
to be happy and human by serving each other in love,
while “normal people” continue to run themselves into
the ground in the “real world,” craving the satisfaction
of true, loving relationships. The teacher has become the
student. The learned must become the learner.
However, Vanier’s theology has been the subject of much
speculation, some arguing that he is presenting a “bland
ecumenism that sees everyone as a children of God.”
Vanier makes an earnest plea for bringing down the walls
that separate us from each other. Although his argument
brings to mind Paul’s portrait of unity in his letter to the
Ephesians, Vanier’s version is missing a vital emphasis
on its foundation, Christ on the Cross, “who has made us
both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing
”
Finally, even though the book has much to say to the
church, it does not do enough to close the gap between the
church and people with disabilities. There will be many
questions left unanswered, perhaps because it only meant
to ask the questions and perhaps because L’Arche itself is
on a journey towards working its way to their answers. In
its effort to get a conversation started, however, it serves
its purpose well enough. The authors have spoken. Now it
remains for the church to listen.
Mr. Akshay Rajkumar is a freelance writer.
He can be reached at [email protected]
Disability is an art... It is an
ingenious way to live.
- Neil Marcus
23
BIBLE STUDY
drishtikone
Justice and Compassion
Rev. Kennedy Dhanabalan
We constantly encounter situations of emergencies
where there is intense need and suffering. Several of
us would have responded out of compassion for the
situation. When the church responds to the need with
compassion it is a reflection of God’s character.
Compassion is a central theme in the Scriptures and
God is a God of Compassion.
4. What lessons can you draw from Jesus’ response to your
own engagement with the poor and needy?
II. God’s compassion for whole of creation
Read Psalm 145: 9 & 13 – 17 these verses point out that God
has compassion toward all His creation.
“The Greek word for Compassion ‘Splagchnizomai’
comes from the root word of ‘Splanxa’, which is ‘the
inward parts,’ especially the nobler entrails – the heart,
lungs, liver, and kidneys. These gradually came to
denote the seat of the affections1. The corresponding
word in Hebrew is ‘Rachamim’ which comes from
the root word ‘rechem’, meaning ‘womb’. To have
compassion then means to express pity as we have
for the love of an unborn child2. However, if both are
comparatively viewed we can derive an understanding that the Lord’s response to the need of the people
comes from deep within Him.
1. If God expresses such minute care and compassion for His
nonhuman creation, how are we to emulate God in our
actions of caring for creation?
2. How do you understand the marks of a righteous person as
seen in Proverbs 29: 7 & 12: 10.
3. Failure to care for the land (Leviticus 23: 10, 25: 2 - the
land should be laid to rest) led to the removal of Israelites
from the Promised Land (Leviticus 26: 32-33, 43;
II Chronicles 36: 21). Reflect how the characters of God,
“God of Compassion” and “God of Justice” are entwined.
I. Jesus and Compassion
In NIV translation the word compassion is used six
times in the Gospels. (Matthew 9: 36, 14: 14, 15: 32,
20:34; Mark 6: 34, 8:2; and Luke 15: 20).
4. How does the understanding of God’s character of Justice
and Compassion affect your life and response in caring for
creation?
Read Matthew 9: 36 and 15: 29 – 38.
“We respond to the need of people because of Compassion.
Compassion is not the flow of a heart; but is the act of a heart
filled with Justice” – C. B. Samuel.
1. What were the situations of the people that were
projected in this passage which prompted Jesus to
respond with compassion?
Rev. Kennedy Dhanabalan is the Executive Director of EFICOR.
He can be reached at [email protected]
2. From Isaiah 30: 18 is Compassion a response of
pity or the response of the God of justice?
http://biblesuite.com/greek/4697.htm, accessed on 27 November 2013.
http://www.hebrew4christians.com/Glossary/Hebrew_Glossary_-_R/hebrew_glossary_-_r.html, accessed on 27 November 2013.
1
3. How was the compassion of Jesus expressed?
2
24
drishtikone
Subscribe to Drishtikone
Drishtikone has been available to all of you without any subscription rates or other charges for the past 16 years. We were
supported by partners from abroad who faithfully contributed to the publication of Drishtikone.
We at EFICOR are now moving towards making the publication of Drishtikone self-sustaining with the support of all our
readers. We request all our readers to come forward and to contribute towards the publication of Drishtikone so that it can
continue to be made available to all our readers. We are now calling all our readers to subscribe for Drishtikone.
The cost per issue of Drishtikone is Rs. 50/-. To sustain the publication of Drishtikone you could pay for your issue and
make an annual or a two year subscription. We also encourage you to contribute to make the issue available for other readers
incapable of making their payment. From your responses we recognise that over the years Drishtikone has been a blessing
to all our readers and it has been instrumental in shaping evangelical thinking on several social issues and inspiring them
towards action. Partner with us in influencing the nation.
Name ...........................................................................................................................................................
Address ........................................................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................................................................
Phone Number ............................................................................................................................................
Email id ............................................................................................................................................
My contribution for Drishtikone
Annual - Rs. 150/-
Two year subscription - Rs. 300/-
My contribution to support another Reader - Rs .......................................................................................
The Editor, EFICOR,
308, Mahatta Tower, B-Block Community Centre
Janakpuri, New Delhi - 110058, India