For the differently abled, India is still inaccessible
More than a year after the progressive Disability Act was enacted, most states are yet to frame draft rights
The death of the disability activist, Javed Abidi, may be an appropriate time to assess whether the ground reality is improving for the millions of physically challenged in the country. Abidi was a champion of employment and accessibility for disabled people and one of the moving forces behind the enactment of the Right of Persons with Disabilities Bill in 2016. Approved by the Parliament in December, 2016, the Bill provided for imprisonment up to two years, along with a maximum fine of ₹5 lakh for discriminating against the differently abled. It also increased the number of recognised disabilities from 7 to 21. According to the 2011 Census, the number of disabled in India stands at 2.68 crore, or 2.21% of the population.
At the time it was approved, the Act was hailed as a progressive piece of legislation, says disability rights advocate Nipun Malhotra. “Apart from many more disabled eligible for jobs, it gave the community the belief that they now had legal backing to make their voices heard.” But more than a year after it was passed, most states — barring Delhi, Odisha, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal — haven’t even framed draft rights yet.
Still, the legislation appears to be giving the disabled the confidence to take on discrimination. In Jharkhand, for instance, when a three-year-old girl with locomoter disability was refused admission, her parents went to the media. It took a campaign on social media to make the authorities admit the girl to Dhanbad’s De Nobili School. Thalassemia patient Sruchi Rathore of Chhattisgarh wasn’t as fortunate. When she was denied admission to a medical college in 2017, the Supreme Court had to step in. “It is the duty of every institution to extend a helping hand to disabled persons,” ruled a bench comprising Justices Dipak Misra and A M Khanwilkar, as it asked the medical board to assess whether her disability qualified for the seat. Delhi-based activist Satendra Singh says a commendable thing about the Act is the constitution of a bench in every district to address cases pertaining to the Disability Act. Still, despite the government’s plans to make at least 25% of public transport disabled-friendly, nothing much has changed. So inaccessible are India’s sports venues that a makeshift ramp had to be created at Wankhede Stadium to ensure Sachin Tendulkar’s wheelchair-bound mother could watch him play in his farewell Test. Bus stops and traffic crossings, even in big cities, are no better.
On March 6, disability activists are marching to the Parliament to protest the inaccessibility of our railways. If he were alive, his friends and colleagues would have expected Javed Abidi to be leading the march. Abidi’s death has left a void. Unfortunately, even the causes that he fought for in his lifetime — lack of access and jobs for the disabled — are far from being realised.