December 3 : World Disabled Day

There are about 70 million disabled people in India, most
of whom are confined to their home due to complete lack
of infrastructure. Any attempt to travel, enter buildings, parks
or shops can be impossible, unsafe and humiliating, not
just for the person with mobility impairment but also for
persons with visual and hearing impairment. They remain
unseen, unheard and therefore unaccounted.

Denial of access to disabled people results in their isolation
from Society, leading to lack of education and employment.
We strongly believe that if the infrastructure is made accessible
and barrier free, a lot of other problems being faced by disabled
people will be solved to a large extent. Inclusion of the disabled,
about which much is being spoken, will be a reality in day to
day living.

The Disability Act, 1995, a landmark legislation, which was
enacted a decade ago, mandates accessible public areas,
transport etc. It also provides for preferential allotment of land
to disabled people. However even after ten years, most
provision remains only on paper.

There has been some efforts in the post Disability Act period,
but these efforts are patchy and unsystematic. Inaccessibility
of educational institutions is leading to systematic denial of
educational opportunities to people with disabilities.

The involvement rate of disabled students in the universities
was found to be 0.1% and in schools it was 0.5%. Due to
physical and attitudinal barriers disabled students are being
forced out of education system and the number of students
with disability enrolling for admission sees a significant
decrease over the years.

This is the Tenth year of the Disability Act. Talking of education,
employment, rehabilitation will prove to be wasteful, unless
we act in a serious manner. Our efforts to uphold and defend
the dignity and rights of the disabled will bear more fruit only
if we all work together. It is high time for all of us to see that
the Disability Act is implemented with greater earnestness.