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October 10, 2006
India: A Tough Country To Live In If You Are Disabled
Mr. Aqeel Qureshi sent us the following information, which was downloaded from DESICRITICS.ORG.
India: A Tough Country To Live In If You Are Disabled
Newspapers and TV channels have been reporting about the incident in which
the 11-year-old autistic son of a south Indian actor was refused entry to an
aircraft at Bangalore Airport because he 'looked different' and in the
opinion of an airport security man might be a threat to other passengers.
Not surprisingly the boy's parents were outraged and, after a lot of fuss,
the boy was allowed to travel. It must have been a humiliating experience
for all concerned and, were it not for the fact that the boy's parents were
famous and able to stand up for their rights, the incident might not have
ended so satisfactorily.
The press reports are unclear as to why, exactly, the boy was initially
barred. The officer cited 'rules' which he couldn't quote. All sorts of
inquiries are under way, both among the police and the office of the
'Commissioner for persons of Disability'.
In a country like India the numbers of the disabled are so large, their
problems so complex, available resources so scarce and social attitudes so
damaging, it is only legislation which can eventually bring about a
substantial change in a uniform manner. Although legislation cannot alone
radically change the fabric of a society in a short span of time, it can,
nevertheless, increase accessibility of the disabled to education and
employment, to public buildings and shopping centers, to means of transport
and communication.
The impact of well-directed legislation in the long run would be profound
and liberating. One out of every ten people in India suffers from one form
of disability or the other that is they possess physical or mental
impairment substantially limits one or more of major life activities.
India's parliament passed the Persons with Disabilities Act in 1995. It was
a landmark act which was designed to ensure disabled people are able to be
an integral part of mainstream life in India. It is a combination of
service-oriented and rights-based legislation. While this by itself is
noteworthy, there seem to be some serious flaws in the Act that have to be
set right to ensure equitable distribution of benefits, at least to the
mentally ill.
Though Mental Illness has been included as one of the seven disabilities,
the Act as a whole shows very little understanding of the nature of the
disability and current developments in the field. It appears that the
recognition is more by default rather than intent.
The very definition of Mental Illness (MI) is more by elimination rather
than explanation.
It is learnt that the Amendments to the Act take care of definitional issues
by adopting an inclusive rather than an exclusive approach. But until the
amendments are incorporated, the ambiguity of definition will persist and
there is no currently no consensus on the scope of the amendments between
the babus of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment and disability
activists and NGOs.
The Act defines a disabled person as one who is "suffering from 40% or more
disability". However, as far as Mental Illness is concerned, this
quantification is a mystification because such a tool is unavailable. So, if
a parent of the affected wants to derive benefits under the Act and approach
a psychiatrist for a legally approved disability certificate, there is none
available. By being deprived of access to a certificate of disability, the
discrimination to Mental Illness is inherent in the very definition of
disability envisaged by the Act.
Meanwhile, many people have criticized policymakers for viewing disability
as simply a charity and welfare issue. Javed Abidi, an activist, argues that
it is and it should rightly be a development issue, a progress issue and an
economic issue. He says that no country can afford to have six percent of
its population live off charity and no country or society can ever progress
or develop leaving six percent of its population behind. While the
government and the activist groups sort this one out, without basic norms of
civility and sensitivity at the ground level, the humiliation and ridicule
for the disabled will continue as always.
Shantanu Dutta is a doctor by training and a development professional by
vocation. He is an onlooker on events happening in India and the world in
the realm of society, politics and the many intangible events that populate
our lives.
October 07, 2006
Shantanu Dutta, DESICRITICS.ORG
Source: http://desicritics.org/2006/10/07/091922.php
Posted by jicafriends at October 10, 2006 10:54 AM
Comments
Its really true. because of I am also a disabled person age of 25.
Posted by: Mohit Khare at June 27, 2007 04:37 PM