Ira Swasti- The Differently-abled…Not the Less-abled

When you see a blind man crossing the street, what are the first thoughts that come to mind? It’s rather a flurry of emotions. A 5-minute long stare, followed by a pang of guilt or a feeling of injustice (by God), and a lot of pity. Exactly what a person with physical disability does not appreciate and does not require!

The word handicap is claimed to have evolved from “cap in hand” referring to the physically disabled’s need to subsist as beggars in the past. Many people take offence to the term, and hence I am going to use the word “differently-abled” in the rest of the blog.

Centuries back, the Greeks used to abandon their disabled children by putting them in wicker baskets and setting them afloat on a river. The Romans, put them in jars and left them on the road, exposed to die. Many believed that it was the wrath of the Gods or the possession of demons. We could perhaps dismiss theses brutalities as things of the past that happened in ancient times when survival was the order of the day.

But what of the 21st century? What with the latest medical technologies and increased social consciousness associated with.the disabled, the deaf, dumb, blind, wheel-chair bound, and people with other disabilities are still not a part of the main stream. Only, the jars have evolved from tangible glass ones to invisible boxes, isolated and separated from the ones that are different from them- the ones with the perfect five senses and perfectly functioning bodies (never mind a perfect mind or heart, they do not matter).

But, more than any kind of medical treatments, what the differently-abled persons want is to be treated with love, dignity and normalcy. Helping them gain independence is a step towards that, also jobs – one way of gaining financial independence. But not jobs of the nature of freak shows in circuses or announcers at railway station, being paid in peanuts and leading miserable lives. This is not only grossly undermining their potential but bruising their dignity and instilling in them the belief that they ARE less capable, less privileged than the others! A belief the world can certainly do without.India has 70 million disabled persons, 2% of which are educated and only 1% employed. The figures speak for themselves.

The Indian society is not disabled-friendly. Period. Not our buses, not our institutions, not our minds. We need to accept that the disabled are not less fortunate or less capable, not an abnormality. For, if a quadriplegic can climb the Everest (what many non-quadriplegics have not been able to)…anything else is a lesser feat!

So, the next time you see a physically disabled person, do not pity, do not cringe, do not behave any differently than you would in someone else’s presence. Why do only NGOs have to figure where the government does not show initiative or interest? Why can’t it be us to bring about a change? There’s an organization started by a wheelchair user called AccessAbility that seeks jobs for the disabled in the industry. We can help start more organizations like that.It would be great if each of us can visit institutions for the disabled, spend time with them, bring them out of this feeling of quarantine and make them believe that they can live life on their own terms, that they don’t need such institutions...or anyone else, but them to take care of themselves.

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The Author is a IIyr Economics Honours student and an Executive Team Member of DevelopmentChannel.org