Accessibility is Human Rights issue

3 December 2015: It was my first visit to Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi to witness the National Award function on International Day of Persons with Disabilities. Govt of India launched the Accessible India Campaign from here but alas the venue was disabled friendly. I along with Abha Khetarpal wrote to the PMO office and Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities about the inaccessible ramp the very next day.

4 December 2015: I was invited at Social Welfare Department of Govt of Delhi on my grievance of web-inaccessibility. When I reached there, I found the premises again disabled-unfriendly. The same day I registered my complaint.

6 December 2015: I was returning to home when I saw the 'masterpiece' steep ramp at IDBI Bank in Vasundhara, Ghaziabad near my house. I tweeted to the officials at the same moment.

A year later!

Today is Human Rights Day (10 December 2016) and the theme is #StandUp4HumanRights

"“Where, after all, do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to home - so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any maps of the world. Yet they are the world of the individual person; the neighborhood he lives in; the school or college he attends; the factory, farm, or office where he works. Such are the places where every man, woman, and child seeks equal justice, equal opportunity, equal dignity without discrimination. Unless these rights have meaning there, they have little meaning anywhere." (Eleanor Roosevelt)

I followed up with all three officials where I get success with IDBI Bank, partial success with Delhi Govt as they released tender for installation of lift and no result with Central Govt as their overhyped Accessible India Campaign failed to produce any results.

Youth Ki Awaaz followed the IDBI story which you can read here. News18's Citizen Journalist program also covered the story:

 

The end result was creation of an accessible ramp by IDBI Bank.Times of India covered the story on the Diwali Day:

GHAZIABAD: The relentless pursuit for over one year by a differently abled activist has prompted one of the banks in Vasundhara to construct a ramp at its building to enable wheelchair-bound customers to enter premises. The activist had found it difficult to access many banks in the area as he had to climb a fleet of steep stairs.

Bank Manager Sumit Jakhar with Dr Satendra Singh

This year also marks ten years of coming into existence of United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) which is the first human rights treaty in the 21st Century. Article 9 of UNCRPD states:

States Parties shall take appropriate measures to ensure to persons with disabilities access, on an equal basis with others, to the physical environment, to transportation, to information and communications, including information and communications technologies and systems, and to other facilities and services open or provided to the public, both in urban and in rural areas.

Since India has ratified the convention, it is obligation of the State to provide us accessibility. As I quote Ms Roosvelt above, no effort is small or insignificant. Accessibility is human rights issue and we should strive to make a difference. Every little effort counts.

#HumanRightsDay #StandUp4HumanRights #envision2030 #CRPD #SDGs #dISABILITY #NothingAboutUsWithoutUs #LeaveNoOneBehind

Access denied at meet to honour them

Delhi State Awards for Persons with Disabilities, 2016
3 Dec 2016, Times of India. NEW DELHI: It was a programme organised to felicitate the disabled, but the venue itself underlined the lack of seriousness with which their problems are taken. At the government function to honour outstanding achievers among persons with disabilities (PwDs) on Friday, the ramp leading to the dais was constructed in such a manner as to render it practically inaccessible to physically challenged people.

While describing the experience as humiliating and an affront to their dignity, other award winners, however, said this was not an exception. Most public spaces, they said, were still inaccessible and policymakers seemed not to want to consult them while formulating policies or implementing them.

Hardeep Singh initially declined to go up to the stage, given the steep ascent. However volunteers from the social welfare department assured him and pushed his wheelchair up the ramp. However, they had no idea how to get him down. Singh refused to be carried down, so he abandoned his wheelchair and crawled down the ramp.

Right at the outset, disability rights activist Dr Satendra Singh warned the state labour minister:
"Gopal Raiji, climbing this ramp won't be easy even for you. If we don't address such issues as these, the Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan cannot be successful." Dr Singh added that even the Vigyan Bhawan walkway to the stage had not been disabled-friendly when the event to give national awards to PwDs was organised there. "Accessibility is about the dignity of an individual," said Dr Singh. 

In a picture that was emblematic of the plight of PwDs, an honoree, 75-year-old Hardeep Singh, who lost both his legs saving a girl from dacoits on a moving train, had to get off his wheelchair after receiving the award and crawl down the ramp to reach his seat. Another PwD, a para-athlete, had to be carried down the ramp along with the wheelchair by four people.

Para-athlete Trivendra Singh felt that India, as a country, was not only insensitive to the rights of the physically challenged, but had a long way to go to make its public spaces friendly for them.

"You have just seen the ramp. This is a common problem," said the sportsperson. "However, we are never consulted about these things. When I was in China to participate in the Asian Games, we were on our own. I am wheelchair-bound, but could easily move around on my own."

The other participants also pointed out how accessing important utilities like ATMs as well as public transport in the city was always a challenge.

Source: Times of India, 3 Dec 2016

Delhi Govt felicitates Dr Satendra Singh with State Awards for Persons with Disabilities, 2016

International Day of Persons with Disabilities turned out to be a special affair for eight people with disabilities who were  felicitated by Delhi government for their achievements in various fields. Delhi Social Welfare Minister and Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia was the Chief  Guest but in his absence Minister of Labour and Employment Mr Gopal Rai felicitated them for their exceptional achievements in the field of creativity, sports, entrepreneurship and social work as part of the State Awards for Persons with Disabilities, 2016.


Dr Satendra Singh got the award in the 'Social Work' category. His achievements are enlisted in the Times of India graphic on the left.

They Tell tales of a disabled system that hurt them. (Times of India, 3 Dec 2016)

NEW DELHI: Physically challenged people got a rare opportunity to share their grievances with the state government when they gathered at the Delhi Secretariat for a felicitation function on Friday. Delhi labour minister Gopal Rai rewarded them by hearing out their stories, among them tales of discrimination, inadequate Braille and educational materials for students and, above all, the lack of job opportunities. The minister nudged the officials of social welfare department present to respond to the complaints.
The programme had been organised by Delhi government's department of social welfare to honour exceptional achievers among the physically challenged on the eve of International Day for Persons with Disabilities.

Rai invited the persons with disabilities (PwDs) to talk of problems faced by them before the cultural and felicitation programme began. "I would like to learn about the issues that trouble PwDs," Rai said. "Perhaps then, by the time the next felicitation function is held next year, we will have been able to take these issues up as challenges for our government to address." He said Friday's function would prove more meaningful if the government got suggestions on how to help PwDs.

While Dr Satendra Singh, recipient of the award in the category of social work, highlighted the problem of accessibility of public spaces and the disability policies of the government, a student of a blind school drew the government's attention to some of the basic issues they confronted regularly, like lack of teachers and paucity of teaching-learning aids.

Dr Singh suggested that the first step for the government should be to have a separate 'department for disability'. He also pointed out that the post of commissioner of disability was lying vacant for over a year now and that state executive and state coordination committees had not been constituted in Delhi for over one and half years despite provisions for such panels in the Disability Act. "If these issues are addressed, no one can stop us from making Delhi disabled-friendly," concluded Singh.

The sportspersons among the PwDs present brought up the topic of job opportunities or the lack of them in the capital. R Kumar, a national-level table tennis player, said, "I have represented Delhi at various levels, but there is no provision for jobs for us under the sports quota here."

Mohammad Sahir, a blind student, talked of the difficulties that primary and middle school students at a government senior secondary for blind boys have been facing for three years.

"There are around 10 positions for teachers lying vacant in the school for the last three years," he said. "We even demonstrated against the vacancies not being filled. Besides, we also need Braille books and audio books. Because of the lack of audio devices, we have been struggling."

Responding to these complaints, the department officials promised that the vacancies would be dealt with temporarily by appointing guest teachers and efforts would be made for permanent appointments. They assured the students they would be provided audio books within a week.

Source: Times of India, 3 Dec 2016

From the Disabled, To the Disabled

World Is One News (WION) is an international news entity with headquarters across South Asia. WION covered my relentless campaign of making places accessible for persons with disability in the capital of India.

What do the SDGs mean for India’s disabled citizens?

Lack of disability data a significant deterrent in India’s push for achieving Sustainable Development Goals

Satendra Singh, MD
Coordinator, Enabling Unit (for persons with disabilities)
Infinite Ability (Medical Humanities subgroup on disability)
University College of Medical Sciences & GTB Hospital, Delhi, India
Email:dr.satendra@gmail.com

(This post first appeared on the Delivery 2030 website)



“I am pleased that elimination of poverty in all forms everywhere is at the top of our goals. Addressing the needs of 1.3 billion poor people in the world is not merely a question of their survival and dignity or our moral responsibility. It is a vital necessity for ensuring peaceful, sustainable and just world.”
- Prime Minister of India’s address at the United Nations Sustainable Development Summit1

According to the World report on disability, around 15% of the world's population, or an estimated one billion people, live with some form of disability.2This makes us,the people with disabilities, the world’s largest minority.This number is increasing with chronic diseases, population growth, and the ageing process. It is also reported that 80% of people with disabilities worldwide live in developing countries and 60-75% of these live in rural areas.3Thevicious circle between poverty and disability is known to everyone.

India was one of the first major countries to ratify the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) in 2007.4It thus becomes incumbent on India to harmonise all its relevant domestic laws and policies with this international treaty.UNCRPD also requires states to generate robust data in order to demonstrate their compliance with the obligations. Article 35 of the UNCRPD mandates nations to submit country reports on its effective implementation.
It took India 8 years to submit its first country report on UNCRPD implementation, which became public in November 2015 on the website of the United Nation’s Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.5The comprehensive report sadly lacks data to supplement the claims of the Government.

Disability data is essential to provide services, monitor the implementation, and equalise opportunities. How crucial it is can be gauged by looking at the census data. The latest 2011 census figures have shown only a marginal increase in the number of people with disabilities in India with the figure rising from 21.9 million (2.1% of population) in 2001 to 26.8 million (2.2% of population) in 10 years.6 This census data, however, has been widely criticised for being under-reported. Widespread criticism followed the use of direct question, ‘Is the person mentally/physically disabled’, in the census survey.5 In India, especially rural areas, disability is a big taboo and the use of such direct questions has possibly lead to under reporting.
Globally, the Washington Group of questions is used for authentic measurement of disability in surveys. The Telangana Disability Study Group7 of International Centre for Evidence in Disability, London, who used Washington Group questions, found the overall prevalence of disability in Telangana state of India to be 12.2%. This estimate is much higher than predicted in the Indian Census 2011, and justifies concerns of the disability sector. India does not feature in the list of countries/territories which have included Washington Group questions in their last census as per the website of UN Statistics Division and Secretariat for the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

As a health care professional with disability, and after being inspired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s inspiring speech at the UN General Assembly, I decided to search for evidence ofdisability data in our preparedness for post 2015 (now deliver 2030) agenda. I used the list of disability indicators – developed by the United Nations, International Disability Alliance and International Disability and Development Consortium8– and filed Right to Information (RTI) to gather data from our nodal Ministry on disability9 and National Statistical Agency.10 These indicators intend to measure the progress made for persons with disabilities in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Will SDGs serve the purpose?
To give an example, targets 4.a, 11.2 and 11.7 refer to accessibility by persons with disabilities and suggested ISO standards refer to building codes. At present, there are no common standards. The Draft National Building Code (NBC) of India is being revised after a decade but strangely the NBC exempted 14 places from having toilets for disabled.11 These public spaces include office buildings, cinemas, convention halls, theatres, art galleries, libraries, museums, hotels, restaurants, schools and educational institutions. Moreover, the Ministry of Urban Development has different guidelines. With the Accessible India Campaign being implemented by Centre on mission mode, the disability sector is in a dilemma as to which guidelines to follow.

SDG indicator 10.2 outlines the percentage of government websites which meet the ISO/IEC 40500:2012 of accessibility for Web content. Despite international guidelines being available, the majority of the websites of medical institutions and hospitals in the capital are disabled-unfriendly. For this basic health need, Ihad to file a petition in the Court of State Commissioner (Disabilities) of Government of Delhi to make all the websites of these hospitals accessible.12Following this, on the first day of the deliver2030 agenda, the websites of Delhi hospitals with accessible features were made live. We need this commitment in all the States/UT and certainly not through judicial activism. This is why these indicators must be included in the national framework.

The current scenario
There is no data as per the nodal Ministry on SDG indicators on disability9 despite India ratifying UNCRPD in 2007 and adopting the Incheon Strategy13 to “Make the Right Real” for Persons with Disabilities in Asia and the Pacific in 2012. The table shows disability indicators for SDGs and the response from Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. The last column also shows goals of Incheon strategy indicators adopted by India which overlap with SDGs to a large extent. The Strategy comprises 10 disability-inclusive developmental goals, 27 targets and 62 indicators, which build on UNCRPD.

There too was no clear response from the Ministry of Statistics &Programme Implementation on the same questions.9The RTI was forwarded to other ministries and departments like Vital Statistics Divison (Ministry of Home Affairs), Office of the Registrar General (Ministry of Home Affairs), Department of School Education and Literacy (Ministry of Human Resource Development), Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, and Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. The situation calls for deep reflection as we are in the Asian and Pacific Decade of Persons with Disabilities (2013-2022) as declared by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific.

The Government has launched the Accessible India Campaign (Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan), as a nation-wide flagship campaign for achieving universal accessibility for persons with disabilities. The targets 3A, 3B and 3C of the Incheon Strategy and the defined indicators (3.1, 3.2, 3.4, 3.6 and 3.8) for tracking the progress on these targets have been used to frame objectives and targets under this campaign.

The intersectoral approach used in this campaign is needed to address other disability statistics else the dream of a prosperous nation will remain elusive. Last month, we completed 20 years of enactment of Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995 and the lack of data itself speaks of the challenges ahead.With no disability statistics, how the Government frame policies for this largest minority of the world.
Father of the Nation Mahatama Gandhi once said, “A nation's greatness is measured by how it treats its weakest members."Unless and until people with disabilities are involved in this worthy goal of SDGs, the deal will not become real. Disability inclusion is the key towards human development.Yes, inclusion matters!



Table: SDG and Incheon Strategy disability indicators and Government of India’s response as per Right ToInformation (RTI)



References:
1. Full text: PM Modi’s address at United Nations Sustainable Development Summit | The Indian Express [Internet]. [cited 2015 Nov 7]. Available from: http://indianexpress.com/article/world/world-news/full-text-pm-modis-address-to-the-united-nations-general-assembly/
2. World Health Organisation, World Bank. World Report on Disability. Geneva. WHO; 2011.
3. Groce, NE. "Disability in cross-cultural perspective: rethinking disability." The Lancet1999;354(9180): 756-757.
4. Nizar S. Impact of UNCRPD on the status of persons with disabilities. Indian J Med Ethics. 2011 Oct-Dec;8(4):223-9.
5. United Nations Human Rights. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. Treaty bodies Download [Internet]. [cited 2015 Nov 22]. Available from: http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/treatybodyexternal/Download.aspx?symbolno=CRPD%2fC%2fIND%2f1&Lang=en
6. Census of India: Disabled Population [Internet]. [cited 2015 Nov 7]. Available from: http://censusindia.gov.in/Census_And_You/disabled_population.aspx
7. International Centre for Evidence in Disability (ICED), The Telengana Disability Study, India Summary Report,London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) 2014 [available from http://disabilitycentre.lshtm.ac.uk]
8. Disability Indicators: SDG Advocacy Toolkit | International disability and development consortium [Internet]. [cited 2015 Nov 7]. Available from: http://www.iddcconsortium.net/resources-tools/disability-indicators-sdg-advocacy-toolkit
9. Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities. Information sought under RTI Act, 2005. F.No.32-1/2015-DD-III(Pt.VII) dated 23 October 2015.
10. Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation.Survey Design and Research Division. Information sought under RTI Act, 2005. No.A.12034/2/2015-SDRD(Admn.) dated 29 October 2015.
11. Draft code exempts 14 places from having toilets for disabled. The Times of India [Internet]. [cited 2015 Dec 22]. Available from:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Draft-code-exempts-14-places-from-having-toilets-for-disabled/articleshow/50156550.cms
12. ‘Make hospital websites disabled-friendly’. The Hindu [Internet]. [cited 2015 Dec 22]. Available from:
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/make-hospital-websites-disabledfriendly/article7798439.ece
13. Tongsiri S, &Hawsutisima, K. The Application of ICF-based Functioning Data on Home Environment Adaptation for Persons with Disabilities. Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development, 2013;24(2): 40-53.

#SDGs #globalgoals #Agenda2030 #Disability #LeaveNoOneBehind #InclusionMatters

Bullet trains are desirable but disabled-friendly trains are NECESSITY

Hon'ble Minister of Railways, Executive Director (Public Grievances) and Divisional railways manager, Delhi division of Northern Railway
Sir,

Thank you for conducting the enquiry in my case but I do not agree with few of the actions taken:

a) Non-availability of battery operated cars
My complaint was that two of the Railway employees lied to me that the battery car services has been stopped since one and half month. Your enquiry also confirms that these were functional so why these two lied to me and why your office did not take any action? Moreover, one of the driver of the battery car himself told me last month that IRCTC has three golf carts (1 at Nizamuddin & 2 at New Delhi). Why are these stationed and are not being used?

b) Availability of wheelchairs on payment basis
Your statement "it is not desirable that wheelchairs are operated by passengers themselves" shows the patriarchal attitude towards people with disabilities. Rather than worrying about us, please make your railway stations fully accessible first. A person on a wheelchair can move independently if the place is accessible, we don’t need ‘divine’ powers for that.

c) Availability of lifts for connectivity of platform
I am glad that the Railways accepted that they DO NOT have lifts for elderly and disabled to connect platforms at Delhi Sataion. Isn’t it ironical that the existing lift serves only railway employees & non-disabled people. It seems disabled have to again rely on their ‘divine’ powers to fly and reach platforms. Your report further states that ‘low booking counter have been already provided’. Please check again. No wheelchair user can reach out to the help desk on PF1 and ticket counter on PF16. Report also states that ‘subject to financial constraints these will be provided in near future’. Dear Sir, let me remind you that our PM launched Accessible India Campaign on 3rd Dec 2015. As mentioned in the strategy document, by July 2016, you have to convert 25% of railway stations into fully accessible. Delhi being capital should be the priority. I do not know whether you are aware or not but how will you do this by July 2016?

d) Inappropriate behavior of Sh Pawan Kumar TE
Thank you for issuing penalty charge sheet to the offending employee but I complained against the person at helpdesk who laughed at me (surely he can’t be TE) and the Station Supdtt Sh SS Goyal. Please double check that you have not targeted the wrong person just to do the formality. I did not complain against any TE.

e) Change in PF of Kashi Vishwanath Express
Glad you mentioned that I was correct but you rectified the mistake only after my complaint. For 20 full days, the display board was showing WRONG information and imagine how many elderly, disabled would have suffered because of this negligence.

Please also change your terminology from ‘differently-abled’ to ‘persons with disabilities’. Let me again reaffirm that we donot have any divya ang (divine body part) or extra ability by which we can fly. Accessibility is our basic human right and it is the right of the Govt to provide that to its citizens with disability. Bullet trains are desirable but disabled-friendly trains are NECESSITY. Period!


‪#‎Disability‬ ‪#‎LeaveNoManBehind‬ ‪#‎Inclusion‬ ‪#‎AccessibleIndiaCampaign‬ #SayNoToTermDivyang

This post is follow up of my earlier complaint:
Doctor with disability harassed at station (Hindu)

Storify: Insensitive Indian Railways
https://t.co/dM7wuNtHbG

Disabled doctor harassed by Railway authorities

Doctor with disability harassed at station

The Hindu, NEW DELHI, November 1, 2015

A senior government doctor with 70 per cent orthopaedic disability was allegedly harassed and put to inconvenience at the New Delhi railway station early this week. The physician complained that his journey turned into a nightmare because of the highly insensitive behaviour of railway officials there.

“On October 27, I reached the New Delhi railway station to catch my train Kashi Vishwanath from New Delhi to Bareilly,’’ said Dr. Satendra Singh. “From platform 1, I had to reach platform 8; so I asked for a battery-operated car stating I am a disabled person. The man at the counter told me that the service had stopped.

Wheelchair facility was a paid service. Besides, the lift available was not connected to the platform that I wanted to go to,” said Dr. Singh.

Later, a railway official on duty explained that there is a payment issue of the battery car operators. Hence this facility has stopped for the past one-and-a-half months.

“I made a written complaint (number 34) and got a receipt. With great difficulty, I climbed steps and reached platform 8, where I saw a battery-operated car ferrying passengers to platform 10. I clicked a few photographs. This means both the railways officials deliberately gave me false information despite seeing me in crutches. Their signed letter is the testimony,” said Dr. Singh.

He was also misinformed about the platform on which his train had come in. “I managed to catch my train just in time from another platform,” he said.

Meanwhile, responding to Dr. Singh’s official complaint, Anant Swarup, executive director (Public Grievances), Ministry of Railways, said, “A complaint has been received from our valued passenger regarding harassment and misbehaviour by railway staff. Please enquire into the matter immediately and send a report at the earliest.”

Source: The Hindu (1 Nov 15)

No State Policy on Disability in the Capital even after 20 years of PwD Act

Delhi lacks policy to look after disabled

Manash Pratim Gohain,TNN | Jul 12, 2015

NEW DELHI: Nearly 2% of the population of Delhi falls in the persons with disability category. However, 20 years after passing of the Persons with Disabilities Act 1995, there is no state policy on disability in place in the national capital. 

The Act was notified by the Delhi government in 2001, but successive governments have done little beyond that. While it took three years to just constitute the State Coordination Committee and State Executive Committee—to be reconstituted every three years—RTI replies have revealed that no meetings of the committees had taken place since 2012. 

This sorry state of affairs was highlighted even by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India in 2014 and yet, barring the process of reconstitution of SCC and SEC being initiated, no action has been taken even by the new government in office since February. 

According to Section 13 of Disabilities Act, every state government shall, by notification, constitute SCC and SEC. Going by census 2011, Delhi has a population of 2.35 lakh disabled people. "This figure is underreported. The real number is likely to be around 2%," said Dr Satendra Singh, coordinator, enabling unit, University College of Medical Sciences. It is Singh who had filed the RTI. 

Even today there is no comprehensive state policy on disability. Chhattisgarh was the first state in the country to have formulated a state policy in 2006, while the latest is Kerala in 2014. The CAG audit of the department of social welfare, the nodal office for implementation of the Act, has highlighted that the department did not conduct any independent door-to-door survey to create a comprehensive database of disabled residing in Delhi and "it did not develop the state disability policy to address the issues of persons with disability". 

CAG reported that "government buildings and public spaces lacked facilities for disabled" and "Asha Kiran Complex, meant for mentally challenged persons, is over-burdened with 970 inmates against its capacity of 350; it has only 215 caring staff against a requirement of 502". "Though SCC and SEC were supposed to have met 20 and 40 times, respectively, they have met just five times. There has been no meeting since 2012, as seen in the replies," Singh said. 

The latest RTI application revealed that the AAP government has initiated the process of reconstitution of both SCC and SEC, but there are no record available on advice given by the government on formulation of policies, programmes, legislation and projects related to disability. Sandeep Kumar, minister for social welfare, could not be contacted. 

"The new government has a four-point disability agenda but no task force to implement this has been formed. I brought this to the notice of Delhi Dialogue Commission," Singh said.

Source: Times of India, 12 July 2015

Why are institutes still using the word “handicapped”?

The Hindu, 24 June 2015, New Delhi

A year after an advisory by the Union Ministry of Social Justices and Empowerment stating that various national institutes for persons with disabilities should discard the use of the word “handicapped” in their institute name and rename them — institutes continue to flout the recommendation and stick to “discriminatory names”.

National institutes such as National Institute for the Visually Handicapped, National Institute for the Hearing Handicapped, National Institute of Mentally Handicapped, National Institute of Visually Handicapped and National Institute for Orthopaedically Handicapped were instructed to remove the word “handicapped”, but to no avail.

“The word is simply not going away despite instructions to do away and replace it,” said disability activist Satendra Singh, Assistant Professor at University College of Medical Sciences and Guru Teg Bahadur hospitals.

“I wrote to the directors of these national institutes asking why the name hasn’t been changed so far. Nobody replied except the National Institute for the Hearing Handicapped. Even when the consultation and change was done last year, no consultation was done with disabled people organisations,” said Dr. Singh.

He filed an RTI application asking about the ban on the expression of the word “handicapped” and renaming national institutes accordingly.

“The response from the Ministry stated that that the file dealing with this issue was not readily traceable in the division. The information will be provided as and when the file is traced in the division,” said Dr. Singh.

He applied again in May and got a response stating that “a committee was set up under the Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment and directors of the national institutes suggested following names in names for the establishments.’’

Boxed image: Name Game

1.      2007: India has ratified UNCRPD which makes it legally binding to harmonise all existing laws and policies in line with UNCRPD. The Convention uses the terminology ‘Persons with Disabilities’.

2012: The Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities  banned the expression “handicapped”. 

1.      2014: Deptt of Disability Affairs was renamed as Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities.

S.No	Name of the Institute	Name suggested by the committee
1.	Pt. Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Institute for the Physically Handicapped	Pt. Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Institute for the Persons with Physical Disabilities
2.	National Institute for Orthopedically Handicapped	National Institute for Persons with Locomotor Disabilities
3.	Ali Yavar Jung National Institute for the Hearing Handicapped	Ali Yavar Jung National Institute for the Persons with Speech & Hearing Disabilities
4.	National Institute for Mentally Handicapped	National Institute for Persons with Intellectual Developmental Disabilities
5.	National Institute for Visually Handicapped	National Institute for Persons with Visual Disabilities

The RTI added that the committee felt that there was no need to change the names of National Institute for Empowerment of Persons with Multiple Disabilities and Swami Vivekanand National Institute for Rehabilitation, Training and Research as they do not involve the expression handicapped.

“Negative terminology fosters attitudinal barriers. What is also shocking is the fact the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment doesn’t have the facility to provide information (circulars or RTI responses) in Braille. They told me that this information can be formatted only at the National Institute for Visually Handicapped, Dehradun,” said Dr. Singh.

While the directors of the institute refused to comment on the issue saying they were not authorised to speak to the media, a senior ministry official said the change of name was a long drawn process and takes time.


Source: http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/why-are-institutes-still-using-the-word-handicapped/article7348415.ece

Disabled fret as only 400 wheelchairs for the Delhi polls as against last year's 2600

Disabled fret as only 400 wheelchairs for the polls

TIMES OF INDIA, 6th Feb 2015, Page 6

This election may not be a hassle-free affair for elderly and disabled voters. The number of wheelchairs provided to polling booths has been reduced to 400 from 2,600 in the general elections, the Election Commission's letter to chief electoral officer asking him to repeat “all measures taken in the past“ notwithstanding.

Worried activists are wondering why enough wheelchairs cannot be arranged seeing as the capital witnessed barrier free elections for the very first time in 2014 with the ministry of social justice and empowerment actually praising the `Delhi model'.

A letter dated February 1 from the office of the chief electoral officer to deputy electoral officers in the nine election districts said, “It is informed that only about 400 wheelchairs are being supplied by Artificial Limbs Manufacturing Corporation of India .“ The chief electoral office decided it will provide one wheelchair each in 70 model polling stations and one each at locations where there are over 10 polling stations as well as in critical areas.

As a last-ditch effort, Dr Satendra Singh of University College of Medical Sciences, Delhi University, made a representation to the commissioner for disabilities to use quasi-judicial powers to resolve the problem.

“The last election, both people with disabilities as well as elderly citizens had a memorable experience thanks to availability of enough wheelchairs. Supreme Court guidelines clearly list out steps to enfranchise voters with disabilities and this should not be seen as a charitable effort. When 2,600 wheelchairs have been provided in the past, why can't the same be done on February 7?

When Stephen Hawking visited last time, the ministry of social justice and empowerment and Archeological Survey of India constructed temporary wooden ramps in one night to make monuments in Delhi accessible,“ Singh said.





Shankar's film 'I' ridiculing disability on the pretext of creativity

Cinema and cricket capture the imagination in this country. Sadly, the majority of cricket stadiums are not accessible and the majority of the films ridicule disability. Cinema is also responsible for perpetuating stereotypes and more often than not people with disabilities are at the receiving end. Disability is portrayed as a negative character and there is hardly a Bollywood film where a person with a disability himself has portrayed any significant character. Often, non-disabled portray disabled characters without understanding the disability. If this was not sufficient, top directors dish out humiliating experiences in the form of creativity. The latest to join this infamous list is, unfortunately, India’s most seasoned director.

The teaser of Tum todo na song in Shankar’s magnum opus ‘I’ begins on a promising note but gradually turns into disbelief for me and later unacceptable. The song portrays the beauty and the beast concept but what hurts me was the projection of werewolves as disabled beasts. The protagonist Vikram is portrayed as a werewolf and a grotesque avatar of Hunchback of Notre Dame. Standing behind him in the song are werewolves as the beasts with spinal curvatures and holding wooden crutches. As this dehumanizing song was not sufficient, the film has Vikram in another character Koonan where he is shown as a pitiable and pathetic stereotype with huge growths on his face and scoliosis. Shankar, the director himself tweeted a photograph stating “With one of my favorite #I hunchback standees”.  ​Is Shankar not aware that words and negative cinematic portrayal do have the power to hurt​?​

In the six months after Disney's Hunchback of Notre Dame was released in the UK, disabled people reported the word 'hunchback', which had gone out of use, was being used in a derogatory way towards them. The British Scoliosis Society wrote to the then Minister of Disabled People complaining that since the film came out there had been more than a hundred attacks on people with scoliosis.

Pepin le Bossu (767-811) had kyphosis since birth and medieval historians gave him the epithet “hunchback.” Many medieval people probably believed that physical deformation or disability was an outward manifestation of spiritual corruption, a position that was partially informed by passages from the Bible- disability is seen as a punishment from God (Chapter 9, Book of Leviticus, Chapter 21).

Richard III, who ruled England from 1483 to 1485, had adolescent idiopathic scoliosis. Shakespeare called him a ‘hunchback’ and described the king as a “poisonous bunch-backed toad” in his 1593 play. English poet Alexander Pope had severe rachitic kyphoscoliosis along with tuberculosis of spine (later termed as Pott’s spine). His rival poets bullied him by calling “hump-backed toad.” 

The Disney Films, unfortunately, continued the tradition of reinforcing negative stereotypes of disability. In the 1998 animated ‘The Hunchback of Notre Dame’, Disney chose to have Esmeralda go off with the non-disabled Phoebus rather than the disabled, Quasimodo, who loves her. Similarly, in the earlier film “Beauty and the Beast”, in the climax the beast transforms back into a handsome human totally contradicting the film’s supposed message of “looks don’t matter.” The teaser of Tum todo na also shows the same.

The stereotypes about Quasimodo’s disability were reinforced again and again in subsequent filming of ‘The Hunchback of  Notre Dame’. In fact, the original title of the novel by Victor Hugo was Notre Dame de Paris. 

The Hunchback part was added when the book was translated into English. Shankar continued to use the derogatory term in his interviews and on social media. In contrast, Oddsocks Productions, a British theatre company dropped the word “hunchback” from its stage adaptation of the classic novel and named it The Bellringer of Notre Dame. The difference was that these people consulted disability advisors and then dropped the word. I doubt if Shankar had approached anyone from the disability sector.

That reminds me of Shankar’s previous classic Nayak featuring my favorite Anil Kapoor. In one of the scenes, a crawling disabled youth honors Anil Kapoor with a garland and requests to stand for elections saying, “My country has become lame like me. Make it walk.” That scene struck very well in the context of the film and even the protagonist Anil Kapoor vows to fight the elections in the film. On the contrary, it reinforced the stereotype that disabled people cannot contribute to growth. Does “Make it walk” means that a disabled person cannot contribute to nation-building?

The negative images of disability in these media, although false, have become so familiar that people believe they show the reality of disabled people's lives. The non-disabled audience accepts unquestioningly these false images because it is more comfortable to do so than to face their deep-seated fear of difference. Jenny Morris argues in Pride Against Prejudice, “If we do not 'appear' as real people, with the need for love, affection, friendship and the right to a good quality of life, how can non-disabled people give any meaning to our lives?" 

Anyone can, at any time, become disabled, or develop a physical or mental impairment. Vikram, who is playing the character having spinal curvature, met his wife for the first time when he was in crutches, following three years of his hospital stay. The filmmakers and the actors should be aware of the sensitive issue since ignorance is no excuse. There is an awful stigma attached to scoliosis and it can lead to bullying, discrimination, and adverse psychological problems.

Medical impairments like congenital porphyria (photosensitivity, reddish teeth, & psychosis), hypertrichosis (excessive facial growth), scoliosis/kyphosis/lordosis (curvature of the spine), ​and ​Pott’s spine (tuberculosis of spine leading to bony deformity) may lead to some of the features traditionally associated with werewolves. The derogatory hunchback word has become so thoroughly associated with evil characters that it is totally unacceptable. Spinal curvature is the preferred terminology if you ask us, the people with disabilities.

Developmental disorders, degenerative diseases like arthritis, osteoporosis, compression fractures all these can lead to spinal curvature which can happen to anyone. Disability is diversity. Just like the DNA of the crew members of film ‘I’ is not same similarly anybody in ​this world can have a posterior convex angulation (kyphosis), anterior convex angulation (lordosis), or lateral curvature (scoliosis) of the spine. Being a doctor with a disability, I know and would like to tell all that a small degree of both kyphotic and lordotic curvature is considered ‘normal’. Not only disabled but elderly people also and people in plasters use crutches (Vikram used too) so it was dehumanizing to equate assistive devices with beasts in the song.

My initial reaction was disbelief that the world-renowned director has portrayed disabled in such a spirit. My knee jerk reaction was 3 tweets to him and in one of those, I said that I am proud to use a crutch and NOT ashamed of knowing people having kyphosis or scoliosis. No wonder the great director blocked me on Twitter.

The Cinematograph Act, 1952 under section 5B(2) states that the "Central Board of Film Certification shall ensure that scenes showing abuse or ridicule of physically and mentally handicapped persons [2(iii)b) and scenes that may have the effect of de-sensitizing or de-humanizing people are not shown [2(iv)]."

Can a person with spinal curvature or a person using crutch see this film in a cinema hall? Will he not be ridiculed as we all know how disabled are treated in our country? As feared, even media has started using the derogatory hunchback word popularized by Shankar. Creativity doesn’t give anyone be it Shankar or Weta Digital any right to ridicule disability. I appeal to directors to refrain from depicting us as objects of curiosity. Make us ordinary. Our impairments should not be ridiculed or made the butt of jokes.

The opening song in Disney movie asks listeners to judge for themselves “who is the monster, who is the man.” The same can be asked from Shankar. No doubt he has captured our imaginations with his previous films. But here, his filming of the song Tum todo na reminds me of another song ‘Dil mera churaya kyun, jab ye dil todna hi tha’.

The disabled character Quasimodo originates from Latin words "quasi" and "modo" also mean "almost" and "the standard measure" respectively. As such, Quasimodo is "almost the standard measure" of a human being. The measure should be empathy and compassion (as shown by Quasimodo’s love for Esmeralda) and not disability. The use of crutches to equate beasts with disable was totally unwarranted.

I take pride in using crutches & will continue to use them.

I accept disability as diversity.

I respect people with spinal curvatures.  

I wish 'I' a good business.

I plead film reviewers not to use 'hunchback word' while reporting about 'I'.

I may not watch 'I' but I assure Shankar to watch his future films if they are non-discriminatory.

I expect more sensitivity from Indian cinema on disability issues.

I further hope that Indian cinema won't feign disability and use people with disabilities to showcase their experiences.

Dr. Satendra Singh

(A doctor with a disability at UCMS & GTB Hospital, Delhi, and founder of a group 'Infinite Ability' promoting creativity and disability. I use crutches and not ashamed of that.)