Highlight the trends in social case work practice in India.

 Practitioners of social case work in India have a unique perspective on the notion of case work. They believe that social case work can only be successful in a democratic society. Democracy connotes freedom and self-fulfillment in the framework of social case work. Self fulfillment and self-expression go hand in hand in the Indian setting with the concept of conformance to the group norm. It is considered that a person does not have the right to express himself/herself or she is capable of taking. 

In Indian society, an individual is more or less bound to his or her original group as a participating member, His/her group teaches him/her how he/she should restrain himself/herself and what characteristics he/she should suppress in order to be acceptable to other members. He/she can be rejected or ridiculed by his/her group if he/she does not conform to the social norms. In other words, in Indian context, the client will not have the right to individualism or the right to self determination.

Indian tradition does not primarily seem to subscribe to the concept of right. The idea of a duty to one’s fellow humans has existed for millennia. In his/her interactions with the rest of society, the Indian scheme stresses his/her responsibilities – dharma – by which he/she is to insure his/her own growth, as opposed to his/her western counterpart, who emphasises his/her rights.

Although they are synonymous, right emphasises power and luxuries for the physical self, whereas duty emphasises responsibilities owed to all conscious beings. As previously said, the emphasis on right is limited to the physical self’s comforts. In the practise of social case work, it is frequently seen that the clients’ requirements are not restricted to their material desires.

If that were the case, perhaps, this emphasis on rights would have served the purpose. But it has been observed in the case work practice that material benefits alone can not ensure human happiness. It can only create conditions for man’s happiness; but it can not ensure that man shall be happy or the person’s wishes will be really fulfilled.

Happiness is found to be secured when material luxuries are coupled with emotional requirements being met. However, rights cannot assure that a client’s emotional needs are met. Only through focusing on the sense of duty can emotional demands be addressed. For example, in the event of a cancer patient, one can guarantee him or her all rights to a good medical facility but not his or her family’s affection as a matter of right.

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