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Harish Kotian
-------- Forwarded Message --------
Subject: Fwd: Reply to a mail posted by ramya Venkitesh dated
20-03-2019 regarding father of Disability Right Movement
Date: Wed, 27 Mar 2019 17:54:26 +0530
From: Mantosh Kumar <[email protected]>
To: AccessIndia <[email protected]>
This has reference to a mail posted by ramya Venkitesh on
the 20th instant which contains a link of an interview with one
Shameer Rishad, nephew of late Shri Javed Abidi which was carried by a
newsletter of Barrier Break. The said interview, inter alia, talks
about Mr. Shameer Rishad’s plans to set up a Foundation in the memory
of his uncle late Shri Javed Abidi which is a welcome move. However,
the said newsletter asserts that late Shri Javed Abidi is widely known
as the father of disability rights movement in India. This, I am
afraid, is not in conformity with the facts of history; and as such,
matters are put in perspective in the following manner:
1. While late Shri Javed Abidi significantly contributed to the
disability rights movement in India, it is not correct to suggest that
he is the father of the said movement. As far as disability rights
movement is concerned, late Shri Abidi entered into the fray in the
late eighties and early nineties of the last century; whereas, the
disability rights movement got kick-started way back in the seventies
of the last century by some vibrant groups of the blind under the
banner of the National Federation of the Blind and the National blind
Youth Association.
2. In 1974, a group of qualified but unemployed blind individuals sat
before the parliament house and hanging their academic degrees on
their necks undertook boot polish of politicians as a mark of their
protest for non-availability of jobs for them despite their academic
qualification. Responding to the simmering discontentment amongst the
blind, the central Govt., through an executive order issued in
November, 1977 reserved 3% vacancies in C and D groups of jobs for
persons with diverse categories of disabilities including for the
blind. The first phase of the said movement which began in the
seventies of the last century culminated in 1980 when a large number
of the blind took out a protest march to pres for their demands
including the demand for having a legislation for the protection and
promotion of rights of persons with disabilities; and, the police had
resorted to Lathi charge on the 16th of March 1980 on the blind
protesters. Quite a few blind persons including some prominent
personalities amongst the blind who took part in the said movement are
still alive and are significantly contributing to the cause of rights
of persons with disabilities.
3. The movement so launched by the blind continued thereafter; and,
amongst other things resulted in the enactment of the PWD Act, 1995
which now stands repealed and replaced by a way more progressive and
ambitious piece of legislation in the form of Rights of Persons with
Disabilities Act, 2016.
4. Two other important fall-outs of the said self-help and
self-advocacy movement of the blind have been as follows:
A. That persons belonging to various categories of
disabilities, and not just the blind
alone, have been the beneficiaries of the said
self-help and self-advocacy movement;
and,
B. that the said movement inspired persons belonging to
diverse categories of disabilities
into undertaking self-advocacy and self-help movement.
Yours Sincerely
(Mantosh Kumar)
Research Scholar
Department of Special Education
Dr. Shakuntala Mishra National Rehabilitation University
Lucknow
Mob.- 9012578768 Email: [email protected]
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