A Deeper Look at the Origin and Evolution of the Social Work Profession

Abstract

This article explores how social work has changed from its beginnings to the early 21st century in India, Europe, the United Kingdom and the United States. It emphasises the significance of understanding social work's past to consider the field's potential future. The researchers used a qualitative research method and gathered information from existing literature, knowledgeable persons, and field visits for observation and verification to validate the collected data. Almshouses, or choultries, in India, can trace their origins back to the time of Buddha. Records from the Chinese travellers Fa-Hien and Xuanzang reveal that similar hospitals/Buddha Vihars existed in India around 400 BC. From the 7th century AD, the temples served food to devotees through 'temple kitchens. These institutions paved the way for almshouses in China, the Middle East, Europe, and Britain, signifying that Social Work's groundwork in India predates the Charity Organisation Society and the Settlement House Movement. Available records also reveal how the British Poor Laws systematised welfare services and played an important role in turning them into rights for the poor. Although social work, both as a career and as a way of living, evolved in India, countless books on social work published over the decades did not explicitly mention it as such.