Indian president commends Kerala’s Jesuit college for social commitment

November 02, 2012 - Indian president Pranab Mukherjee has praised a prestigious Catholic institution in southern India’s Kerala state, saying it has been training generations of men women to bring about social change in society. Inaugurating the Golden Jubilee Celebrations of the Jesuit-run Loyola College of Social Sciences in the state capital Thiruvananthapuram, on Tuesday, Mukherjee referred to its founder Fr. Joseph Edamaram, saying he wanted to propagate the motto of the Jesuit Society of imbuing students with elements that would help them transcend the goals of money, faith and success and create leaders devoted to the betterment of society and the world. “I am happy to learn that Loyola College, Trivandrum has lived up to this vision, blending education and praxis, learning and intervention. The college has steadfastly pursued the triple goals of teaching, research and extension.” The Indian president who was on a two-day visit to southern state, however noted that "despite the state's high literacy rate of 86 per cent, Kerala has a relatively low profile of women in public life." Mukherjee wanted women in the state to take more active role in various leadership levels and said a good step in this direction was the reservation of 50 per cent of seats in local bodies and panchayats for women. "A percepitable marginalization of women in the economic process and their low level of control over resources have been major impediments in improving their status in the state," he said. Statistics show a concentration of women in the unorganized sectors, including agriculture labour, cottage and traditional industries and selected service sectors where equal pay for equal work was unfortunately not well established, he said. "There needs to be more active involvement of women in various leadership levels in the state," he added.
Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, State Governor HR Bhardwaj, Union Minister of State for HRD Sashi Tharoor and Archbishop of Thiruvananthapuram M Soosa Pakiam were among those who offered felicitations at the jubilee celebrations.