Volume 3 Issue 4

Feature

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  Walk to Freedom to Disability Pride – still a long way to go
  Meenu Bhambhani participated in America's first-ever Disability Pride Parade in Chicago in July 2004. Her thoughts turned to our own Walk to Freedom and its place in the disability movement. Here she examines the current situation in the backdrop of the tenth anniversary year of the Disability Act.

Interview

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  “The law has lots of teeth...It is we who should learn to bite hard and bite more often!”
  Javed Abidi was a part of the Disabled Rights Group that lobbied for the passage of The Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995. Here he talks to Salil Chaturvedi about the Act, and how it has impacted the lives of disabled people in India.

News

• Shadow Report slams government apathy
  Compiled by Sakshi Broota for NCPEDP, the Shadow Report finds that annual reports of various ministries make no mention of disability.
• NCPEDP submits budget recommendations for Railway and Union Budgets
  On February 5, 2005, NCPEDP submitted its recommendations for the Railway Budget and the Union Budget vis-à-vis disability, to Shri Laloo Prasad Yadav, Union Minister of Railways and to Shri P. Chidambaram, Union Minister of Finance.
• Krishnamurthy found guilty of failing to provide facilities for disabled voters in Haryana
  Big promises were made by election officials in the run up to the recent election in Haryana, but disabled voters in the state were left out in the cold yet again.
• India tops world leprosy tables
  According to recent World Health Organisation statistics, 65 percent of the world's leprosy afflicted people live in India.
• DDA housing scheme reserves flats for physically disabled persons
  The Festival Housing Scheme-2004 of the Delhi Development Authority reserved one percent of the 2,500 flats for persons with physical disabilities.
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  Taj Mahal to be accessible to physically disabled people
  The Archaeological Survey of India has decided to build a hydraulically operated lift at the Taj Mahal which will enable disabled persons to go up to the main platform.
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  Tsunami victims take delivery of wheelchairs
  Free Wheelchair Mission (FWM), a California-based non-profit organisation, has delivered its first lot of wheelchairs to disabled victims of the tsunami disaster in India.
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  Blind navigators set the pace in Chennai Rally
  Forty one blind people participated as navigators in the Annual Rally for the Blind held in Chennai.
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  ‘Black’ throws light on disability
  Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s latest film ‘Black’ is a sensitive portrayal of a girl with multiple disabilities. The film has received enthusiastic reviews from viewers across the country.
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  Indian automobile designer focuses on disabled persons
  Mumbai based Ferdinand J. Rodricks specialises in adapting vehicles for persons with disability. His most famous client is Professor Stephen Hawking for whom he adapted a Mahindra Voyager during the Professor's India visit.