The language that transcends speech
India is home to millions of hearing-impaired persons. Amrita Singh on why giving the Indian Sign Language wider acceptability will benefit all
‘THAT WE FAIL TO COMMUNICATE WITH THE DEAF ISN’T THEIR DISABILITY, BUT OURS’ NIPUN MALHOTRA Founder, Nipman Foundation ‘DEAF CHILDREN BEING DENIED THEIR NATURAL LANGUAGE IS A DENIAL OF HUMAN RIGHTS’ ALIM CHANDANI AVP, Centum GRO Initiative
Thewhitewallsarerichwithgraffiti. In thereceptionarea, ananimated conversationison. Everybodyis chattinginsignlanguage. Myarrival disruptstheirconversation. Sensing myhandicap— myinabilitytounderstandtheir language— oneofthemresortstowords. And thenIamtakenaroundtheplace.
IamattheNoidaDeafSociety(NDS), anot-forprofitthatworkswiththespeechandhearing impaired. Besidesvocationalcourses, thesociety thatoperatesoutofamulti-storeybungalowhasa schoolinthebasementforclassesfromnurseryto IV. Inthischeerfullylitarea, theclassroomsare separatedbycurtainsratherthanwallsassigns replaceoralandaurallectures. Thelessonsare impartedthroughvideos, skilledhand movementsandexpressivefaces.
Forthelast15years, studentsfromareasinand aroundDelhihavebeencomingtoNDStostudy signlanguageortobetaughtinit. Theinstituteis fillingagapthatmainstreamschoolshavefailedto bridge. Inmainstreamschools, speechand hearingimpairedstudentsaretaughtthroughlipreadingandspeechtherapy, whichcanlimit learningandunderstanding. Engagingthese studentsinsignlanguageallowsthemtobecome proficientinalanguagetheycancalltheirown.
InstitutessuchasNDShavebeentryingto makethispointforyears. Now, thingsfinally appeartobechanging, albeitslowly. In2015, the IndiangovernmentsetuptheIndianSign LanguageResearchandTrainingCentreunder thesocialjusticeandempowermentministry. AndinMarchthisyear, thecentrereleasedthe country’sfirstIndianSignLanguage(ISL) dictionarywithover3,000signsthatare commonlyusedinacademic, legalandmedical circles. Theideaistostandardisesignlanguage acrossregionsinthecountry, whilealsoincluding signsthatareculturallyuniquetoIndia.
It’sastart. However, forlarge-scaleacceptance andequalityatanationwidelevel, weneedmore thanadictionary. NipunMalhotra, founderof Delhi-basedNipmanFoundation, whichworks withpersonswithdisabilities, wantstheIndian SignLanguagetobedeclaredasthe23rd constitutionally-recognisedlanguage. InAugust thisyear, Malhotrafiledapublic interestlitigationbeforetheDelhi HighCourtseekingthis. Giving ISLofficialstatusbyincludingit inScheduleVIIIoftheIndian Constitutionwouldbeagame changer, hesays. Intermsof academia, itwouldchangethe natureofpublicservice examinationsasthecandidate wouldbeentitledtoanswerthe paperinanyoftheofficially recognisedlanguages.
Adraftpolicypreparedlast monthby46stakeholders, including20educationboards, theNationalCouncilof EducationalResearchand
Training, NationalInstituteof OpenSchooling, Rehabilitation CouncilofIndiaandministryof socialjustice, alsoproposedthat ISLandBraillebemadepartof theschoolcurriculumfor studentswithhearingandvisual disabilities. Followingthis, theCentralBoardof SecondaryEducationhaswrittentoallstatesand variousstakeholdersforviewsonthedraftpolicy.
However, untilthesesignificantchangesare effected, institutessuchasNDSaretryingtodo theirbit. TheNoidasociety, forexample, employs teacherswithhearingimpairmenttobuildasense ofcommunity. Theexperienceisthatstudents relatetotheseteachersbetter, developingbonds thatfosteragreatlearningenvironment.
NDS’s45hearingimpairedtrainersteachand trainteachersinotherschoolsaswell. Theyhave sofartrainedteachersin11schoolsinHaryana, RajasthanandOdisha. NDShastodatepartnered withschoolssuchasSardarPatelVidyalayaand TagoreInternationalSchoolinDelhiand PathwaysinNoidatoteachsign language. And, duringastudentexchangeprogramme, some20 studentsfromPathwaysvisitedNDS wheretheywereintroducedto signlanguagebyteacherswith hearingimpairment.
Given that a majority of hearing impaired children are born to hearing people, there is also a need to encourage the use of ISL at homes and in schools, says NDS founder Ruma Roka. She advises parents to accept their child’s special situation early in life and learn the sign language.
ManjuSingh, whodidprecisely this, saysithastakenherrelationshipwithherdaughtertoanother level. Singh, whoseteenagedaughter Aparnawasbornwithhearing impairment, studiedsignlanguage atNDSforthreemonths. Shesays sheandherdaughtercannowhavea conversationthatgoesbeyonddiscussingbasic needs.“She[Aparna] hasagoodfriends’circleand isalwaysconnectedwiththemthroughvideo calls. Knowingsignlanguagehasalsogivenhera lotofconfidence,” saysSingh, whosedaughteris enrolledinavocationalcourseatNDS.
About2,000formerNDSstudentswho receivedvocationaltrainingincomputers, financeandsoftskills, arenowemployedwith companiessuchasNagarro, Genpact, Taj, LifestyleandAxisBank. Employeesatsomeof theseorganisationssaytheywerealso encouragedtolearnsignlanguageforamore fulfillingcommunication.
ApartfromNDS, thereareotherformaland informalinitiativesthatareworkingtopromote signlanguage. ClassXstudent MehyaBishnoiandsomeofher friendsfromStepbyStepSchool inNoidahavetakenitupon themselvesto“integratethetwo worlds”. Bishnoiheardabout NDSfromhermotherandthat’s howitstarted. Today, the childrenareonamissiontoraise fundsforNDSbycreatingand distributingmaterialthatwill helpsensitisepeopleandcreate awarenessabouthearing impairment.
Thenthereareorganisations suchastheIndiaDeafSocietyin Mumbai, whichwasfoundedin 1956bythreesignlanguage users. Theformationofthis societyallowedpeoplewith hearingimpairmentfrom acrossMumbaitocome togetherasacommunity.
At a training centre in the upscale Hauz Khas area of Delhi, deaf students who have passed Class XII are trained in multimedia, accounting and IT for a period of three months. Soft skills such as leadership and management are also ingrained in these programmes.
AlimChandani, themanbehindthis programme, wasborndeafinMumbai. After completinghisPhDfromGallaudetUniversityin WashingtonDC, theonlyuniversityexclusively forthedeafintheUnitedStates, Chandani establishedCentumGROInitiative, aCSR initiativeofCentumLearning, in2007toprovide deafadultswithqualityleadershipand managementskills. Chandanisays95percentoftheteachersand administrativestaffemployedinpreschoolandprimaryschoolsforthe deafdonotuseISLtoteach. Like Roka, Chandani, too, emphasisesthe importanceofearlyintervention.
Hearguesthatadeafchildisborn inaworldwherethereisalotofaudio stimuli. Forparentstowanttheir childrentobecome“normal” throughtheuseofhearingimplants, aidsandspeechtherapywithout turningtoISLisamajordisserviceto thecommunity, headds.“Imagine, deafchildrenarebeingdeniedtheir naturallanguagesinceparents, teachers, doctorsandeventhe governmentisnotsensitisedabout theexistenceandrichnessofdeaf culture, theheritage, thesign language, especiallyinIndia. Itisa denialofhumanrights,” hesays.
Malhotrawasinspiredtofilethe PILwhenhesawahearingimpaired cleaningboyinhisDelhioffice interactinginsignlanguageover videochatwithhiswifeduringlunchhour. The manseemedtocomealiveduringthese conversations, hesays. Malhotrasaysherealised hewasmissingoutontheconversationswithan 2.2percent(aconservativeestimate) oftheIndian populationthatcan’thear.
“Thefactthatwehavenotlearnthowto communicatewithdeafpeopleisnottheir disability; itisourdisability,” hesumsup.