SHREYA KEDIA
Taking his vision of ‘Sab ka sath, sab ka vikas‘ a step closer to reality, it was early in December last year, during an ‘accessible India’ event, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi suggested that instead of using the term ‘viklang‘, which is the most common term used for persons with disability, they must be called ‘divyang’ or ‘divyangjan’.
“We see a person’s disability with our eyes. But our interaction tells us the person has an extra power. Then I thought, in our country, instead of using the word ‘viklang,’ we should use the term ‘divyang‘. These are people who have a limb or several limbs with divine powers which we don’t have”, he said.
However, ground realities are different. That the life of the differently-abled is not easy is known. Persons with disability are often subjected to insensitivity, humiliation and abuse in public, at work and even at home. They are faced with social stigma that bars them from their right to education, jobs, decent standard of living and even a family life — they are treated as a life-long burden.
On December 27, the Prime Minister yet again spoke of his sentiments during his monthly radio programme, Mann ki Baat, when he said he wanted to change people’s mindset towards the physically challenged.
This was a refreshing outlook on the part of the Prime Minister and should have had two impacts: First, it should have given the differently-abled a life of dignity. Second, it was expected that the Prime Minister’s call would make Government offices and public in general friendly towards them.
However, ground realities are different. That the life of the differently-abled is not easy is known. Persons with disability are often subjected to insensitivity, humiliation and abuse in public, at work and even at home. They are faced with social stigma that bars them from their right to education, jobs, decent standard of living and even a family life — they are treated as a life-long burden.
The cause for their disability is not the impairment, but existing barriers like lack of facilities, infrastructure, attitudes etc. It was expected that with the Prime Minister’s clarion call, mindsets would be changed and that the differently-challenged would receive encouragement from society so that they could be better productive members.
For example, at airports, millions of passengers go through security checks every day and in the process, they are often subjugated to harassment, which results in flight delays. Many actors too have been detained. But the differently-abled are often judged harshly. Security checks for them is not limited to harassment, it is a painful procedure as they are asked to remove their prosthetics, which is not only a long process, but it leaves a scar, psychologically.
In a recent incident, para-athlete Aditya Mehta, who is a double silver medalist at the Asian Para-Cycling championship in 2013, was humiliated not once but twice in two different airports in the country. He was asked to remove his prosthetic legs during security check. The re-wearing of the prosthetic caused him injuries which caused him to bleed as he had recently undergone an operation. In 2007, NGO activist Rajiv Rajan, a cerebral palsy patient, was not allowed to board a private airline. Earlier this year, Rajesh Bhatia faced similar treatment in Delhi. He was forced to remove his trousers and take off his artificial limb. Moreover, he was asked humiliating questions all the while.
These incidents are indeed shameful and speak volumes about how Olympians, who have brought laurels for the country, are not only subjected to humiliation but forgotten. The airport authorities’ justification that security checks are needed, may have some grain of truth, but the lack of sensitivity towards the differently-abled is a reality. In many cases, their disability certificate too was ignored. Topping it all, they are also asked humiliating questions in the name of security.
The need of the hour is to educate the airport staff as they receive little or no training about how to treat the disabled or modern prosthesis. As pointed out by a security staff, our airports are not fully equipped. There’s no provision for full body scanners due to lack of funds. If so, we need to upgrade our infrastructure. Airliners too need to train their crew members in better handling of the disabled passengers. The fate of the differently-abled cannot be left to a handful of good hearted people.
Incidentally, the Persons with Disabilities Act 1995, does not address concerns related to accessibility of transport, better environment. The new disability Bill is already in the pipeline. The draft Bill seeks to increase the categories of disabilities from the existing seven to 19. Hopefully, when the Bill comes up, many concerns of the physically-challenged will be addressed.
Some exceptionally talented differently-abled people have done exceedingly well in life and their success stories show their remarkable fighting spirit when it comes to dealing with their disability and succeeding despite all odds. It is a celebration and triumph of human spirit. The need of the hour is to have an inclusive approach by welcoming them to join the mainstream of life, with more ramps and wheelchairs and Braille system at public places.
(The writer is a journalist with an interest in social issues)