Dr Vivek Sharma
“I found my new identity in the field of sports when I was introduced to Para-archery”, says Sheetal Devi. A 16 year old para archer from Loi Dhar village in district Kishtwar, Sheetal Devi stole the limelight when she won two gold and one silver medal at Para Asian games in Hangzhou, China in October 2023. She has become the world no 1 in women’s Open compound section. Born with Phocomelia, a rare congenital anomaly in which the limbs are under developed or absent, Sheetal’s journey from remote mountains to the international glow presents a story of remarkable grit and resilience. She used to climb trees with her legs and upper body as a past time with her friends, and over a period of time she developed a strong upper body which was later assessed and acknowledged by her sports physiotherapist. Her athleticism was first spotted by Indian army at an event in 2019 and thereafter, she received complete support from Army. However, her dreams shattered when the prosthetic arms could not fit and had to be removed eventually. Her longing for wearing a pair of bangles just remained a fancy dream. But this could not deter Sheetal as she continued her hardwork and honed her skills with the able guidance and support from her coaches. She won a silver medal at Para Open Nationals in Sonepat and after then, she never looked back. Turning her disability into speciality, she sent a loud and clear message as how one can transform dreams into reality and secure her rightful place even during the most challenging times. We have a plenty of awe inspiring stories like that of Stephen Hawkings and Surdas who defeated the challenges of motor neuron disease and visual blindness respectively. Like them, all persons with disability are special.
According to WHO, globally, 15% of the population constituting about 1 billion people lives with some form of disability. 80% of them live in low and middle income countries. An estimated 46% of older people aged 60 years and above are persons with disability. One in every 5 women is likely to experience disability in her life, while one in every 10 children is a child with disability.
Given the scale of problem, The United Nations General Assembly adopted the United Nations Convention on the Right of Persons with Disability (UNCRPD) in 2006 which came into force in 2008. Parties to the convention are required to promote, protect and ensure the full enjoyment of human rights by persons with disability and ensure that persons with disability enjoy full equality under the law. India ratified UNCRPD in 2007 and the Rights of Persons with Disability (RPwD) act came into force in 2016. The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has established the Department of Empowerment of persons with Disabilities (Divyangjan) to ensure focused attention to policy issues related to persons with disabilities and work towards their empowerment. Under the RPwD act 2016, the type of disabilities have been increased from 7 to 21 and the Central Government has the power to add more to the list. Some of the disabilities include blindness, low vision, hearing impairment, dwarfism etc. Reservation for persons with disabilities has been increased from 3% to 4% for Government jobs and 3% to 5% in higher education institutions. Every child with bench mark disability between the age group of 6 and 18 years shall have the right to free education. Central and state advisory boards have been set up to serve as apex policy making bodies at the Central and State level. District level committees are being constituted by the State and UT Governments to address the local concerns of PwDs. National and state funds are being set up to provide financial support to persons with disability. The RPWD act provides for the penalties for offences against the persons with disability and violation of the provision of law. It also provides for the constitution of special courts in each district to handle cases concerning the violation of rights of PwDs.
Indira Gandhi National Disability Pension scheme provides pension to BPL persons with severe or multiple disabilities for persons between the age group of 18-64 years. The National Education Policy (NEP), 2020 has provision of “Barrier-free access to education for all children with disability” and emphasis on (1)Imparting knowledge and to train faculties on teaching children with specific disabilities, (2)To provide barrier-free education to children with disability as per the RPWD Act 2016. Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan/ Acccesible India campaign is a nationwide major campaign to achieve universal access that will enable persons with disabilities to have access to equal opportunity and live independently and participate fully in all aspects of life in an inclusive society. Under the Deendayal Disabled Rehabilitation Scheme, NGOs are provided with financial assistance to provide various services to persons with disabilities, such as special schools, vocational training centers, and community-based rehabilitation. Assistance to Disabled Persons for Purchase / fitting of Aids and Appliances (ADIP) aims at helping the disabled persons by bringing suitable, durable, scientifically-manufactured, modern, standard aids and appliances within their reach. In spite of all these initiatives, the real picture is far from expected. According to the census 2011, about 2.68 crore persons (2.21% of the total population) suffer with various types of disabilities. Majority of (69%) disabled population resides in rural areas. Only 55% (1.46 crore) of the disabled persons are literates. More than 50% of the children with multiple disabilities or with mental illness never attended an educational institutions. Social and attitudinal issues like stereotyping PwDs as unhealthy persons because of their impairment push them into facing stigma, prejudice and discrimination at different levels. Despite the presence of a number of programmes, schemes and initiatives, the condition has not improved due to the lack of enforcement and implementation. Most of the public buildings in India are not disabled friendly despite the introduction of accessible India campaign. There is lack of infrastructure like sanitation, staircase, ramps, canteens, recreation rooms and separate washrooms for disabled. The quota of reservation for PwDs in Government jobs and higher education institutions under right of persons with disability act has not been implemented well and the majority of these posts are vacant. Only 36% of total PwDs are workers. The Supreme Court of India (SCI) discussed an important matter concerning the rights of persons with disabilities where the blanket exclusion of disabled persons from services such as the IPS, IRPF, DANICS, and Lakshadweep Police Service was challenged.The issue of accessibility is reflected in the existing design and construction of indoor and outdoor facilities which can prevent them from going to public or private facilities like schools, colleges, hospitals or shopping centres. Last year, a Lok Sabha MP reached the parliament in wheel chair and flagged the issue of poorly equipped support infrastructure available to people with disabilities in India. As per the estimates only 5-15% of people who require assistive devices and technology have access to them. Communication challenges are faced by people who have disabilities like hearing, speaking, reading, writing or understanding. Recently, the union Government was pulled up by the Parliament standing committee on social justice and empowerment for failing to accurately estimate the current population of PwDs in the country. There is a very little progress in setting up helpline to address queries and problems faced by PwDs. About 50% states and UTs have state commissioner for PwDs with additional charge. Some states are yet to designate special courts to try offences under RPWD act. There is a lack of timely survey under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 which mandates to conduct survey of school going children every five years for identifying children with disabilities, ascertaining their special needs and the extent to which these are being met.
The way forward :
Accessible India campaign needs to be implemented in an effective and time bound manner. The provisions of the RPwD act should be implemented in letter and spirit. There is a need of transparency in budgeting and planning which must include disability response planning. For recognising Indian sign language (ISL), the interpreters of ISL should be made mandatory in communication where disabled are involved. A universal design for learning that takes into account the neuropsychological, cognitive and emotional profile of the child when planning and delivering a lesson in school has also been suggested by UNESCO in its report on understanding the impact of COVID-19 on learners with disabilities. Proper counting of persons with disability is needed for an effective policy formulation. The issue of fake disability certificates should be properly addressed to prevent the non deserving candidates from utilising the rightful share of deserving ones. Removing the stigma of disability is necessitated by the fact that it is more of a psychological issue in the society and less of a physical impairment. There is a need of sensitisation and awareness at the family, community and professional levels. Article 41 of the constitution states that the State shall make effective provisions for securing right to work, to education and to public assistance in cases of unemployment, old age, sickness and disablement, within the limits of its economic capacity and development.
National policy for PwDs, 2006 recognises the fact that majority of persons with disabilities can lead a better quality of life if they have equal opportunities and effective access to rehabilitation measures.
A combined effort from all stakeholders can drive them in a better direction. Reasonable accommodation should be provided to persons with disability to remove the barriers to exercise their rights and participate in society equally with others. We need to understand that they are not actually disabled, rather they are differently abled who can do things in their own particular way. The lives of Sheetal Devi, Stephen Hawkings and Surdas paint a glorious picture of their talent, grit and determination. There are many more hidden heroes in the background who need to be supported and given their due share to realise their potential, so that they can participate and contribute equally to the society, thus making the world an inclusive and blissful place.
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