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This article provides information about the Functioning and Working of Kerala Sastra Sahitya Parishad (KSSP) !
Kerala Sastra Sahitya Parishad (KSSP):
One of the earliest groups to use science in the activist sense was KSSP. The slogan “science for social revolution” was launched by KSSP to emphasise the relationship between science and society in shaping the lives of the people. On the premise that science and technology are usually used by a minority to exploit the majority, KSSP sees science education as vesting people with the power to analyse social issues scientifically and thus inform their social action.
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Public attention was focused on this movement during its fight to save the unique Silent Valley when a hydroelectric project was planned and exposed the unscientific and wasteful electricity and irrigation policies pursued in the State. It also takes part in the fight against the irrational drug formulations, harmful drugs and their high prices. KSSP is leading the fight against the Birlas’ pulp factory at Mavoor, Calicut, which is criminally polluting the air and water around.
KSSP is widely known all over India because of the very successful Sastrakala Jatha held every year from October 2 to November 7. The Jatha is a massive effort, which attracts thousands of people from all over. Science, in its broad sense, is taken to the people through the media of (i) printed wordbooks, pamphlets, posters, (ii) arts-songs, street plays, skits, folk art, etc.
The activities of the KSSP have spread into varied fields of human endeavour. The KSSP include thousands of professionals, students, activists. KSSP relentlessly continues helping the people understand their own physical and social environment, the various forces and counter-forces present in it and thus enables them to analyse the situation for themselves.
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The TNSF is a people’s movement that has been mobilising and empowering the underprivileged to help themselves since 1980. The group was started by research scientists from NT and NSC who soon realised that critiquing the science policy and mobilising people was not enough. They had to develop solutions that could be used by the common man. They developed alternate models in literacy, education, health, enterprises and agriculture. Through these models, it was attempted to restructure science- learning techniques.
This was followed by training teachers to use innovative teaching methods, village women to use health information, farmers to use science to improve the soil. Each district tried its own experiment on social development self-reliant saving scheme (Kanyakumari, Virudhunagar), health training programmes (Ramnad), training volunteers to provide individual advice on children’s and women’s needs, enterprises for women (Madurai), quarry contracts for women’s groups (Pudukottai), working on school dropouts (Villupuram and Guddalore), and support shelter for women victims of violence (Ramnad). A lot of experiments were conducted in these areas and those which worked started spreading.
The focus of TNSF is now on integrating and expanding ideas that they have worked on. In education these are innovative teaching method centres. These ideas are being nurtured and spread to new blocks. These programmes reach out and save thousands of children from malnutrition, and dropping out of school, while helping lakhs of women with credit enterprise and health skills and help farmers improve the soil and the yield.
The strength of TNSF lies in its ability to campaign on larger issues while at the same time demonstrating how these ideas actually improve the lives of the poor MFC is a group of socially conscious individuals interested in the health problems of our people. It is geared towards evolving an appropriate approach to develop a system of medical care suited to the needs of the vast majority of the population.
MFC stands for popularisation and demystification of medical science since medical knowledge has been jargonised and mystified to enhance the status of the medical profession. Since medical intervention has a curative bias, MFC draws attention to the fact that health problems on the social scale can be primarily solved by preventive and social measures carried out with the active participation of the community and for decentralisation of responsibilities whenever possible. Science affects all of us. Using science in our daily lives to improve and raise our living standards requires a scientific outlook, education and awareness. Reflect on the contribution of PSM towards this aim.