This blogpost is written by Neha Saigal. Ms. Saigal was the Advocacy Officer at Score Foundation in the past, before she moved on to work with Handicap International. Please note that Eyeway's Blog entries reflect the opinions of the author and contributors, meant to encourage debate and discussion, and not Score Foundation's official policy position.

 

65 years since Independence, 17 years since the enactment of Persons with Disability Act 1995, 10 years since the Biwako Millennium Framework Towards an Inclusive, Barrier-free and Rights-based Society for Persons with Disabilities in Asia and the Pacific and 5 years since signing the United Nations Convention for the Rights of Persons with Disability (UNCRPD) in 2007, is India really heading towards creating equal opportunities for our own fellow people with disabilities?

 

People with disabilities are an important economic resource for the country, but are still considered people who have to be provided for, and not invested in. The whole understanding of  government officials during the recruitment process for Railways is based on the concept of pity towards visually impaired candidates.

 

I wonder; on what basis any governmental organization puts in place the rules and guidelines for people with disabilities? It certainly does not show intent to enable an environment based on their needs, but on the contrary it defines a mindset based on charity, pity and a clear underestimation of individual’s abilities.

 

Let’s take the example of railway recruitment, and the examination conducted by Railway Recruitment cell- Northern Railways for the recruitment of Group D posts. It is one of the largest recruitment drives in India, which would employ a total of 11439 people, out of which 173 posts are for people with disability. The Northern Railways deploy employees at Delhi, Moradabad, Luckhnow, Ambala, Firozpur, Amritsar, and Jagadari divisions. The advertisement mentions people with disability (PWD) as Physically Handicap Persons. Moreover, the understanding of people with disability by the Railway staff is very limited. While talking with a staff member regarding the discrepancy made by Railway Recruitment, to my surprise the staff member responded that the candidate with disability has to give the thumb impression in this particular form. I asked him “‘Thumb Impression’, why??” This is exactly what I got to hear from Railway Recruitment cell-Northern railways when I approached them with the case. “Mam, how can a person sign when he cannot see??” I wonder, when any authority conducts an examination where the prospective employees are also persons with disability, why don’t they invest some time in understanding the best practices that can help during examinations, recruitment and training of person with disabilities?

 

Furthermore, all the candidates with visual impairment are called to New Delhi to give exam along with their scribes; who would be chosen by candidate themselves and verified at Lajpat Nagar Railway Recruitment cell-Northern Railways prior to the date of examination. Candidates without disability give their exam in their respective states. The fundamental question is -On what basis was it decided that the candidates with Visual Impairment should travel all the way to Delhi for this exam? When an authority conducts examination for the general public including candidates with vision Impairment, why it is not kept in the prerogative of the authority to arrange reasonable accommodations for the few disabled candidates? Why do the authorities while planning the venue of the examination  not consider all the related factors such as how difficult it can be for a person to arrange and pay for accommodation in Delhi, convince the scribe to travel all the way along with them to Delhi, when the person already belongs to low socio-economic group. When I raised this point at the Railway recruitment office- the official responded with the easiest answer- “What is the trouble in coming Delhi? Catch any overnight train, reach Delhi, give the exam till 1 pm and leave Delhi. They don’t need to stay in Delhi.” I think the Railways tend not to take into consideration things, such as - would the railway be responsible to still allow the candidate to give exam if the train is delayed by few hours? Any intelligent person will plan travel in such a way that if the exam starts in the morning they will ensure to reach the previous night. And if they reach one night before, whose responsibility is it to arrange for overnight accommodation?

 

It is an irony that most of us still think and believe that a person with a disability is a physically handicap person. There is no recognition that every person is a human first, and then secondly a person with specific traits, abilities or disabilities. We fail to understand the importance of ‘people first language’. Furthermore, unless we  change our mindsets regarding people with disabilities including our fellow officials; the policies and guidelines framed for them would not convey same.

 

I live in a conundrum whether is it appropriate to believe that we are still living in a society which chooses to remain ignorant. Is it wrong on our part to expect government functionaries to be in sync with the ‘Rights based approach’ and consider candidates with disability as candidates who are also humans; who do not require pity but an understanding that they are also humans with capabilities similar to other humans?

 

Perhaps the problem is that Government officials are judgmental and fail to appreciate that there exists a world outside the traditional understanding of the subject.

 

What should we infer from the above? Perhaps that people with disabilities are still not considered individuals with equal Human Rights that are thought of and invested in.