Social work and social development in India

Abstract

This chapter attempts to articulate social work in India as an integral part of the post-World War II development discourse that emerged with respect to Third World countries in the context of modernisation. As social workers in the ‘developed’ and ‘developing’ countries converge on ‘social development’ as the common banner under which to join hands, the problematic biography of ‘development’ as a practised concept and the modernist background of social work are apparently out of the discussion. A global interactive discourse on the practical and realistic function of social work in the world today is necessary but this needs to be achieved by acknowledging the realities of people’s experiences in the context of post-colonialism, development, industrialisation and globalisation. Social workers are in direct interaction with people’s lives, and are able to situate individuals and groups within the larger context of global systems. This opens up avenues for critical reflection on the current state of affairs so that social workers may articulate today’s problems to make efforts towards global social justice effective.