Impact Factor:0.1870
Research
Scholar
Dept.
of Sociology,
Karnataka
Abstract:
In
India
Introduction:
As per the World Health Organization; Disability is
an umbrella term, covering impairments, activity limitations, and participation
restrictions. Impairment is a problem in body function or structure; an
activity limitation is a difficulty encountered by an individual in executing a
task or action; while a participation restriction is a problem experienced by
an individual in involvement in life situations. Thus disability is a complex
phenomenon, reflecting an interaction between features of a person‟s
body and features of the society in which he or she lives.
The roles and responsibilities
of the Government of India are clearly identified in laws but experts are
critical about the wider gap between the law and practice. 99% of the NGOs
working for the welfare of the physically challenged are working in the area of
service like schools, welfare support or vocational training. Our Indian
Government officially admits that less than 2% of the physically challenged
people are literates. Government figures place the number of physically
challenged people who are employed at less than 1% and this means that the 99%
of the physically challenged are unemployed. If we compare this statistics with
the 10% of the physically challenged people employed in developed countries and
with the 5 to 6% of the Asia-Pacific countries average on employment pattern of
physically challenged people, then the status of the physically challenged
employees in India indicates
a gloomy picture since India
The livelihood of people with disability is more miserable than anywhere
else in the world. Today the physically challenged people are struggling to
maintain even bare minimum living conditions. They have inadequate social
security. Physically challenged people suffer from lack of medical attention,
social isolation, malnutrition and poverty. Several physically challenged
middle aged and elderly people are committing suicides. The media does not
report the news about such suicides and the reasons behind such suicides
committed by physically challenged people. The distress of the physically challenged
people is going unnoticed.
The voiceless physically challenged people are inseparable part of India
General Causes of physically challenged:
Hereditary: In the mind of the common man, a great confusion prevails regarding the
nature of hereditary defects. Common man normally mixes us the terms
hereditary, congenital and familial. The fact, however, remains that the three
terms are quite different from one another. A defect which is congenital (that
is, present at birth) or familial ( running in a family) may not be hereditary
defect is one that passes down from generation to generation because of some
sort of disturbance in the working of inherent gene mechanism. It is, however,
noteworthy that a particular condition may be hereditary and yet, it may not
manifest itself at birth, or for many years to come, or might not have appeared
before in the individual’s immediate family. This may appear paradoxical in
view of the implication that a hereditary defect passes on from one generation
to the other. But it does happen in mutation, that is, when rare recessive
genes are pooled together or when new black genes come into being.
Congenital: Congenital defects are those that are present at birth. Not all
congenital defects are hereditary. Most of them are the result of infections,
nutritional deficiencies, chemical factors and other environmental conditions.
The following are some of the causes for congenital deformities as enumerated
by Dr. Usha Bhatt.
a) Maternal
Malnourishment, b)Maternal Infection, c) The Rh Factor, d) Disease, e) X Rays,
f) Chemical Agents, g) Glandular Disorders of the Mother h) Mechanical Factors
Adventitious (Acquired)
The term acquired
defects includes many conditions. The defects may be acquired due to a) birth
injuries, b) pathological condition and diseases, c) accidents, d) nutrition
deficiencies, e) defective postures, f) consequences of war, g) poverty, h)
other causes
Nature
of physically challenged:
Physically challenged people can broadly be classified as physical and
mental challenges. Physical Disabilities is classified as spinal chord injury
and amputated limbs (both are physically handicapped-Loco motor challenged or
the orthopaedically handicapped), Blindness/ Visual impairment and Hearing
Impairment (including dump). Mind related disabilities (the term mental disability
is considered as an offensive jargon) are learning disability, mental illness
and mental retardation.
Physical
challenges
Spinal
chord Injury
It is an injury or damage done
to the spinal chord due to an accident or a fall, which may result in partial
or complete paralysis. The most common condition that occurs when there is a
spinal injury is Paraplegia- meaning, paralysis of legs affecting both
movements and sensation. Another condition is Quadriplegia- a degree of
paralysis in all four extremities such as arms and legs. Amputees are those
persons who have one or more missing limbs as a result of accidents caused by
vehicles and machinery or any other deformity caused during birth. Such persons
can be partially mobile.
Blindness/
Visual impairment
There are several kinds of
visual impairment among them the most common is blindness (100% loss of
vision), which can occur due to various reasons such as malnutrition during
childhood, illness, or due to accidents. Persons with visual disability have a
wide range of abilities as well as limitations. They may be able to read large
print and may even move about without any mobility equipments in most
situations or sometimes they may be able to perceive light and darkness and
perhaps even colours.
Hearing
Impairment
Individuals may be affected by
hearing impairment at all ages, the extent of which could be mild or severe
depending upon the age of onset, degree and type of loss. Each individual’s
adjustment to hearing loss is different from one another. Some can be assisted
with hearing aids while others are not affected by it. Persons, who are deaf
due to hearing loss after the age of 20, tend to have fair understanding, near
normal speech and hearing but may require instructions to gain useful speech
reading.
Mind
related disabilities
Learning disability: It is a disorder, which
affects the basic psychological processes of understanding or using written or
spoken language. It can damage the ability to speak, read, write, listen, spell
or do mathematical calculations. Conditions such as brain injury, minimal brain
dysfunction, dyslexia, and developmental aphasia are examples of learning disabilities.
Mental illnesses: These encompass
Schizophrenia, anxiety disorders and depressive disorders. Schizophrenia is a
highly complex disorder, which is caused due to a series of chemical changes in
the brain. It usually occurs between the age groups of 15-25 years and is
characterized by fragmented thoughts followed by an inability to process information.
The condition affects the individual, family, professional and social life
making him incapable of functioning normally. Surprisingly their intelligence
is not affected and many of them are capable of leading partially normal life
if their intelligence is not affected and many of them are capable of leading
partially normal life if they follow their regular pattern of medication and
rehabilitation programs such as those offered by half-way-homes.
Mental
Retardation: It is distinguished from mental illness because of its
presence before birth. A condition characterized by abnormal brain development
in the womb not corresponding with normal physical growth. Their learning
ability, reasoning power and perception all develop at a slower pace.
Accidents, poisoning, or illness after birth can be a cause for mental
retardation. Many of the mentally retarded people are able to participate in
activities with non-disabled people given an appropriate adaptation and
support. Others may require a long-term structured program. With adequate
training and education such persons can be more self-reliant citizens. They can
be found holding non-skilled or semi skilled jobs. They can be made to
effectively integrated into the social structure.
Legal information:
Constitutional protection of the physically challenged
people
In our Indian Constitution
Article 14 of the fundamental rights speaks of equality before law and equal
protection of law. Article 15 and 16 speaks of equality of opportunities in education
and employment and prohibition of discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste,
sex or place of birth etc. More than half of the physically challenged people
in India
Importantly, the equal
protection clause of article 14 is an enabling provision for removing the
inequalities of the disabled and making special laws for their rehabilitation and
welfare. It can be reasonably classify physically challenged persons and
provide them required suitable opportunities in education and employment. The
physically challenged person in India
The
Rehabilitation Council of India
The first major legal
advancement for the protection of the rights of the physically challenged
people after the constitutional guarantee took its shape as the Rehabilitation Council
of India Act, 1992 and it came into force on 31st July1993. The Act conferred statutory
status on the Rehabilitation Council, which was set up in way back in 1986 as a
registered society. The Council was responsible for laying down training
policies and project plans for various categories of professional in the area
of disability. In addition, the Act provides for the maintenance of a Central
Rehabilitation Register for professional possessing recognized qualifications
in the area of rehabilitation. The Rehabilitation Council of India is
conducting effective rehabilitation schemes despite being handicapped with
limited financial allocation. In 1999, the council launched a sensitization
programs for medical officers of primary health centers on some of the important
aspects of disability prevention, early identification, intervention, referral
and rehabilitation, valuable services could be rendered to the people of rural
areas. It published a manual containing the prescribed curriculum by various
experts on disability/ rehabilitation and schemes for the physically challenged
people as a part of its strengthening of institutional training capacity. These
are some of the progressive measures undertaken by the rehabilitation council
of India
The
Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights & Full
Participation) Act, 1995
The meeting to launch the Asian
and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons 1993-2002 convened by the Economic and
Social Commission for Asia and Pacific held at Beijing India Republic
of India India India except the
State of Jammu and Kashmir
The act recommends Governments
identify posts in the establishments, which can be reserved for persons with
disability, at periodical intervals not exceeding three years, review the list
of posts identified and up-date the list taking into consideration the developments
in technology. Under the clause “Reservation of posts” the Act demands that
every Government shall appoint in every establishment such percentage of
vacancies not less three per cent. It classifies three categories of the
physically challenged people in terms of blindness or low vision, hearing
impairment and loco motor disability or cerebral palsy. It allocates each
category 1 % of reservation among the total 3 % of reservation for the
physically challenged people in public services under all the state and central
governments.
The Persons with Disabilities
(Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights & Full Participation) Act, 1995
mentions about Incentives to employers to ensure five per cent of the work
force is composed of persons with disabilities. The appropriate Governments and
local authorities shall within the limits of their economic capacity and development,
provide incentives to employers both in public and private sectors to ensure
that at least five per cent of the work force is composed of physically
challenged persons.
Table.1 Disability-Specific Data
Source: SARVEKSHANA, 36th &47th rounds,
National Sample Survey Organization, Department Of Statistics, Ministry of
Planning & Program Implementation, Government of India.
Table.2 Area-Specific Data
Source: SARVEKSHANA, 47th rounds, National
Sample Survey Organization, Department Of Statistics, Ministry of Planning
& Program Implementation, Government of India
Conclusion:
Today, India India India India
Our Indian Government
officially admits that less than 2% of physically challenged people are getting
educated. Government figures place the number of physically challenged people
who are employed at less than 1% and this means that the 99% of the physically
challenged are unemployed. The Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities,
Protection of Rights & Full Participation) Act, 1995, which came into force
after a decade old lobbying by the activists working for the rights of the
physically challenged. So far this Act is not implemented in letter and spirit.
Education, research, capacity
building and sensitization programs for different sections of the civil society
on the rights of the physically challenged people, Education projects for the
physically challenged women should be launched with the support of various
groups at the grass root level, Awareness program on the rights of the
physically challenged people, Physically challenged women leadership development
programs in public services.
Reference:
1.
Dr.
G. Venkataswamy, “Causes of Blindness in India
2.
Dr.
Jose Murickan S J “Persons with disabilities in society” Kerala Federation of
the blind in 1995
3. Source: SARVEKSHANA, 36th &47th rounds,
National Sample Survey Organization, Department Of Statistics, Ministry of
Planning & Program Implementation, Government of India.
4.
Status
of Physically challenged employees in public services: South asian research
& development initiative, New
Delhi
5.
Usha
Bhatt, op.it.p.39
