Feature
Volume 4 Issue 2 - January 15, 2006
2005 -- The year that was
As the festivities for ushering in the New Year die down, Parvinder Singh takes a look at some of the events of the year 2005, to list out moments of achievement, failure and ambiguity for India’s disability sector.
The year
2005 was no ordinary year. It
marked the tenth anniversary of a landmark legislation that enshrined
rights of
disabled citizens of this country. The Persons with
Disabilities
(Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act,
1995
gave disabled
people a political identity. It was a tool on which millions pinned
their hopes
of equality of participation and opportunity. But the tenth anniversary
came as
sobering reminder of promises denied and opportunities lost. The
disability
sector united is expressing their unrest with the stark failure in
implementing
the Act. The World Disability Day on 3 December was turned into an
occasion for
issuing the call of action with the slogan of “The tenth year of the
Disability Act –
It’s time for ACT10N”.
If
this added gloom to the
sector’s decadal introspection, the Disabled Rights Group (D.R.G.)
reacted with
renewed vigour and opted for a principled battle by raising the demand
for a
separate ministry. The demand took the media and a sleepy polity by
surprise.
Questioning the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (M.S.J.E.) for failing to deliver even at the most basic
level of
making the institutions set up by the Disability Act functional, D.R.G.
said if
not a separate Ministry then the subject of disability must be
transferred to
the Human Resource Development Ministry, arguing that the issue of
disability
must be viewed as a human resource issue and not as a welfare issue.
The
post of the Chief
Commissioner for Persons with Disability remained vacant for most
of the
year and even when the appointment did take place, the basic and united
demand
by the sector of appointing a person with disability was ignored. The
office of
the Chairperson of the Rehabilitation of Council of India
though
allotted to a senior and respected figure in the sector, General Ian Cardozo, remained ineffective due a
long leave by
the appointee. The sector was keen on knowing about the steps that the
Ministry
had taken to end the impasse, but General Cardozo joined
his office
much to relief of the sector.
In
a major victory for India’s disability sector, Poonam Natarajan, a
20-year
veteran in the sector and head of Chennai-based Vidya Sagar, was
appointed as
the Chairperson of National Trust for the Welfare of Persons with
Autism,
Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation and Multiple Disabilities. A
yearlong
confusion preceded the appointment leading to an extended stay of
predecessor
Aloka Guha.
As
the year 2005 drew in to its final days, the Union Cabinet approved a National
Policy for Disabled People at a meeting presided over by Prime
Minister
Manmohan Singh. India finally has a policy for disabled people, but the
outcome
is yet to be assessed by stakeholders and public at large. The
disability
sector led-by D.R.G. had be on its toes to force the Ministry of Social
Justice
and Empowerment to make the process more representative by holding
consultations, and though the Ministry relented, it was turned into a
face
saving exercise to brave intense media criticism.
The
most outstanding
development in the past year was the finalisation of National
Action Plan
for Inclusive Education of Children and Youth with Disability. This
would be made
operational by this academic year. Human Resource Development Minister
Arjun
Singh announced this on the eve of World Disability Day.
The Group
of Ministers (G.o.M.), in a
landmark decision, made the Human Resource Development (H.R.D.)
Ministry the
nodal agency for the education of disabled people, thus freeing them
from the
shackles of M.S.J.E. and its policy of segregation through its special
schools.
The
past year also witnessed the launching of National Campaign for a
Barrier-Free India. Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit while
launching the
Campaign by National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled
People
(N.C.P.E.D.P.) on 15 August 2005, called for launching a second
movement of
independence on the lines of the Freedom Movement that led to India’s
political
freedom.

With
awareness being an integral part of this campaign, N.C.P.E.D.P.
organised on
Christmas Eve a Bollywood concert by Shahrukh Khan and Rani
Mukerji.
The proceeds from the charity concert are meant for giving a momentous
push to
the Campaign.
Access seemed to be getting a better focus at least in the National Capital with Delhi Transport Corporation placing disabled-friendly high-capacity buses on select Delhi roads. But that’s just the silver lining. The Master Plan, and the Building Byelaws are expected to be disabled-friendly and follow the idea of universal access. Representatives from the disability sector were called for consultation on incorporating the disability perspective.
In terms of taking cognizance of disability as a crosscutting issue, the policy makers once again failed. The recent Disaster Management Act and Rural Employment Guarantee Act are glaring examples of these omissions.
In terms of judicial activism, this year has seen disability associations and individuals appeal to the courts leading to some path breaking judgments. The Bombay High Court ruled that employees who develop mental health problems couldn’t be sacked from service as it amounts to discrimination. The judges went into interpretation of Section 47 (dealing with non-discrimination) of the Disability Act 1995 and asserted that the authorities should either shift the employee concerned to another post with the same pay scale and service benefits or create a supernumerary post until a suitable post is available.
In another major success for disability sector in Goa, the Panjim Bench of Bombay High Court ordered the State Government to frame a State Policy for Persons with Disability within the next six months to address the problems faced by people with disabilities.
After a protracted battle by People with Dwarfism in Andhra Pradesh, the State Government yielded to their demand by notifying them in the category of orthopaedically disabled thus allowing them to seek benefits under The Disability Act 1995. This was as a result of the P.I.L. filed by Twin Cities Dwarfs Association in the Andhra Pradesh High Court.
Though it’s not possible to do an exhaustive summary of all that happened past year, the developments mentioned here broadly define the contours of struggles and pangs of India’s disability sector in the year 2005.
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Features
- 2005 -- The year that was
Interview
News
- Government of India to make access features mandatory for state & inter-state buses
- Delhi High Court admits petition on non-implementation of Disability Act
- Another path-breaking judgement by the Delhi High Court
- Delhi Transport Minister approves pilot project for disabled-friendly bus terminal
- H.C. issues notices to Centre and U.P.S.C. on discriminatory norms for disabled category candidates
- Training syllabus for I.A.S. officers to include crosscutting perspective on disability
- India’s visually impaired highlight Government’s apathy on World Braille Day
- S.C. awards compensation to an undertrial who spent over 50 years in a mental asylum
- Orthopaedically disabled Haryana State employees to receive higher special allowance
- Why are there no disabled-friendly cars on Indian roads? Asks National Human Rights Commission
- Tamil Nadu district representatives discuss on State-level Convention of Disabled People
- N.F.B. stages protest rally in the National Capital demanding to meet P.M.
Additional Links
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New Delhi
110 049, India
Tel: 91-11-26265647, 26265648
Fax: 91-11-26265649
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