By: Jadav Newar
Disability, in general terms, includes people who have difficulty for leading a normal life for a long due to physical, mental, intellectual or neurological weakness. In the past, people with disabilities were also called “handicapped”. Nowadays, people with disabilities are called “especially abled” or “divyang”. They are unable to lead a normal life like ordinary people or face various challenges in adapting to their daily activities and the surrounding environment.
A disabled person is someone who has a physical or mental impairment that limits their ability to participate in society. The term is often used to refer to individual functioning, including physical impairment, sensory impairment, cognitive impairment, intellectual impairment, mental illness, and various types of chronic disease. They have generally poorer health, lower education achievements, fewer economic opportunities and higher rates of poverty than the people without disabilities due to the lack of assistive technology, an inaccessible physical environment, transportation, societal negative attitudes or discrimination etc.
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The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities defines disability as, “long-term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairments which in interaction with various barriers may hinder [a person’s] full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others.”
As per the Census 2011, the differently abled population in India is 26.8 million. In percentage terms, this stands at 2.21 %. There has been a marginal increase in the differently-abled population in India, with the figure rising from 21.9 million in 2001 to 26.8 million over the period of 10 years. Every year World Disability Day is celebrated with a specific theme. The theme for the 2023 International Day of Persons with Disabilities (IDPD) is “United in action to rescue and achieve the SDGs for, with and by persons with disabilities”.
In 1992, the United Nations General Assembly decided to celebrate 3 December as the International Day of Persons with Disabilities. Therefore, every year 3 December is celebrated as International Day of Persons with Disabilities. The United Nations emphasized the importance of celebrating this day to raise awareness among the public on issues related to the inclusion and rights of persons with disabilities and to support them. The main purpose of celebrating this day is to protect the rights of persons with disabilities by creating a barrier-free environment through awareness among the people of the society.
There are lots of things to do for the welfare of the disabilities. Various seminars, workshops, discussions etc. should be conducted among the public on disability related issues with the aim of creating awareness among the people with disabilities. Accessible housing, transportation, digital platforms etc. must be provided to include them in all spheres of society. Many types of disabilities need to be made self-reliant through proper training. The contributions of persons with disabilities in various spheres of society must be recognized. NGOs and voluntary organizations engaged in the development of people with disabilities should be encouraged. Legislation should be enacted and implemented to protect the rights of such people so that they have equal opportunities and benefits and employment opportunities. In addition, inclusive education should be provided to provide equal educational opportunities to persons with disabilities.
However, today many people with disabilities are deprived of education, health services, government facilities, employment and justice. World Disability Day is celebrated in such circumstances is an opportunity through which they can lead a normal life and achieve justice. Therefore, the active efforts of the government, non-government organization, NGOs and voluntary groups are essential to create a barrier-free environment for people with disabilities. (The author is an Assistant Professor in the Dept. of Education, Naharkatiya College. He can be reached at jadavnewar2013@gmail.com)
