Close on the heels of the launch of the Accessible India Campaign in part fulfilment of India’s commitments under the Incheon Strategy, Prime Minister Narendra Modi attempted to push the Government’s commitment to persons with disabilities one step forward. He suggested, while launching the programme on December 3, that instead of the word viklang such persons should now be referred to as divyang, thereby replacing the prefix to the word meaning ‘limb’ with divinity, instead of disease. Indeed, a paradigm shift in the approach to a marginalised community almost always brings with it a discussion on semantics, and almost always invokes the clichéd Shakespearian reference in response. http://indianexpress.com/article/blogs/divyang-vs-viklang-disabled-disenfranchised-but-divine/ The disability rights movement has adopted the social model of disability, which diverts from the focus on the individual as the root of the disability. The cause for disability is not the impairment – be it cerebral palsy or dyslexia or borderline personality disorder. What causes disability are the barriers that exist – in infrastructure, or attitudes, or law, for instance – that prevent the full enjoyment of rights by persons who have these impairments, on an equal basis with others. Many groups within the movement demand recognition as a ‘person first’ with the disability not being the only definitive factor. The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, negotiated with the active participation of Disabled People’s Organisations across the world, has adopted this language. In the spirit of ‘nothing about us, without us’, it seems safest for the non-disabled to take this terminology to be the standard.
From a policy perspective, Modi’s statement cannot be seen in isolation. ‘Divyang’ celebrates the ‘abled gaze’ of persons with disabilities achieving beyond expectations, against all odds and difficulties, that they are ordained with special abilities to overcome any barrier that stands in their way. This is a celebration of visible feats by visibly disabled persons, feats that can be perceived by the general public and amplified by the media. Awareness and appreciation of achievements by persons with disabilities play a huge role in combating societal stereotypes against the community. At the same time, we must consider the danger of such imagery to become disenfranchising stereotypes of their own. The fact that some persons with disabilities have excelled in many different fields cannot and should not conflict with their right to support and the State’s obligation to remove all barriers that exist in their enjoyment of rights. The focus on the spectacle of disability, often called ‘inspiration porn’ by disability activists, also creates another danger. The first thing that comes to mind when one reads the word ‘accessibility’ is likely to be ‘a ramp’. Physical access of public infrastructure, one of the focus points of the Accessible India Campaign, is of utmost importance in enabling the participation of a large number of persons with disabilities. However, it does not solve all problems. A restaurant that calls itself ‘disabled friendly’ may not have considered the possibility of an autistic patron. A transport system manager has not been told that a person attempting to occupy a ‘disabled’ seat may have multiple sclerosis. These conditions are invisible, but the persons with disabilities in these situations will require support. What does access mean for a person with disability who has spent a significant part of their life in an institution? For persons with disabilities who have been threatened with lifelong incarceration since colonial times – persons with leprosy, the psychosocially disabled, the learning and developmentally disabled – the road to divinity still does not seem clear. To be fair, Modi has only been gently insistent on his apparent brainwave, the genesis of which he explained in great detail during the Mann ki Baat episode on the December 27 in the hope that it would be ‘taken forward’ by the listeners. There is perhaps some merit to a person in power beginning a discussion on how a paradigm shift would translate, literally. In Tamil Nadu, Karunanidhi is often credited with coining the term ‘maatru thiranaaLar’ (differently abled). While not completely with the paradigm shift, perhaps the leader’s lived experience as a wheelchair user and the Dravidian movement’s commitment towards evolving inclusive language has led to widespread acceptance of this term at the grassroot level. At the very least, one hopes that the Government will mind its language – even if slightly outdated, the overall sentiment is perhaps an improvement over ableist slurs used during the heat of election campaigns. Amba Salelkar is a lawyer working on CRPD legal harmonization with the Equals Centre for Promotion of Social Justice, Chennai. -- Avinash Shahi Doctoral student at Centre for Law and Governance JNU Register at the dedicated AccessIndia list for discussing accessibility of mobile phones / Tabs on: http://mail.accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/mobile.accessindia_accessindia.org.in Search for old postings at: http://www.mail-archive.com/accessindia@accessindia.org.in/ To unsubscribe send a message to accessindia-requ...@accessindia.org.in with the subject unsubscribe. To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, please visit the list home page at http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in Disclaimer: 1. Contents of the mails, factual, or otherwise, reflect the thinking of the person sending the mail and AI in no way relates itself to its veracity; 2. AI cannot be held liable for any commission/omission based on the mails sent through this mailing list..
