--------- Forwarded message --------- From: Meenakshi B. <[email protected]> Date: Wed, May 1, 2019 at 6:34 PM Subject: Fwd: census 2021 To: <[email protected]>
Dear Colleagues, Greetings! Government of India is gearing up for the next census. Find attached their preliminary document for the same. Final_Agenda_for_DUC__1_ (1) - census.pdf <https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4v1kkJfrQrZMUxRek5UbTlzVkZiN3JodEpGUUxsVVAydV9F/view?usp=drivesdk> Other relevant documents can be accessed from this folder https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=1CjL6LlmJGd7KgmE9DYI1fX_9giBPjO-O Thanks to NCPEDP for bringing it up and for initiating discussion to get our views across to the Registrar General. The relevant extract on disability reads : ---START OF EXTRACT --- *ACTUAL QUESTION* *Q9 DISABILITY* 9(a) Is this person mentally/ physically disabled? Yes-1/No-2 9(b) If ‘Yes’ in 9(a), give code in the box against 9(b) from the list below 9(c) If ‘multiple disability’ (Code ‘0’) in 9(b), give maximum three codes in boxes against 9(c) from the list below *LIST* In Seeing .................................1 In Hearing................................2 In Speech.................................3 In Mobility...............................4 Intellectual disability...............5 Mental illness..........................6 Acid attack victims...................7 Chronic neurological disease ..8 Blood disorder ........................9 Multiple Disability....................0 *Explanation on Q.9 DISABILITY* – For mentally/physically disabled person, the type of disability is to be recorded from the options: ‘In Seeing’, ‘In Hearing’, ‘In Speech’, ‘In Mobility’, ‘Intellectual disability’, ‘Mental illness’, ‘Acid attack victims’, ‘Chronic Neurological disease’, ‘Blood Disorder’, ‘Multiple disabilities’. The ‘Mental Retardation’ used in 2011 Census has been renamed as ‘Intellectual disability’. Further, ‘Acid attack victims’, ‘Chronic Neurological disease’ and ‘Blood Disorder’ have been added. The definitions of these type of disability introduced for the first time is as below - *Intellectual disability* means a condition characterised by significant limitation both in intellectual functioning (reasoning, learning, problem solving) and in adaptive behaviour which covers a range of every day, social and practical skills, including— *(i) "specific learning disabilities*" means a heterogeneous group of conditions wherein there is a deficit in processing language, spoken or written, that may manifest itself as a difficulty to comprehend, speak, read, write, spell, or to do mathematical calculations and includes such conditions as perceptual disabilities, dyslexia, dysgraphia, dyscalculia, dyspraxia and developmental aphasia; and *(ii) "autism spectrum disorder" *means a neuro-developmental condition typically appearing in the first three years of life that significantly affects a person's ability to communicate, understand relationships and relate to others, and is frequently associated with unusual or stereotypical rituals or behaviours. *Acid Attack Victims* means a person disfigured due to violent assaults by throwing of acid or similar corrosive substance. *Disability caused due to Chronic Neurological Conditions, such as multiple sclerosis and * *parkinson's disease. * *(i) "multiple sclerosis"* means an inflammatory, nervous system disease in which the myelin sheaths around the axons of nerve cells of the brain and spinal cord are damaged, leading to demyelination and affecting the ability of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord to communicate with each other; *(ii) "parkinson's disease" *means a progressive disease of the nervous system marked by tremor, muscular rigidity, and slow, imprecise movement, chiefly affecting middle-aged and elderly people associated with degeneration of the basal ganglia of the brain and a deficiency of the neurotransmitter dopamine. *Blood disorder* includes haemophilia, thalassemia and sickle cell disease. *(i) "haemophilia"* means an inheritable disease, usually affecting only male but transmitted by women to their male children, characterised by loss or impairment of the normal clotting ability of blood so that a minor would may result in fatal bleeding; *(ii) "thalassemia"* means a group of inherited disorders characterised by reduced or absent amounts of haemoglobin. *(iii) "sickle cell disease" *means a hemolytic disorder characterised by chronic anemia, painful events, and various complications --- END OF EXTRACT --- To give an overview, the Government has adopted the method of collecting data on persons with disabilities covered under the schedule of the RPDA 2016. This is an extension of the questions covered under the previous census. We observe that this method of collecting data has very little impact in getting a percentage close to what is being presented by international agencies such as world bank, who etc,. The result is there is only marginal increase in the percentage of population of persons with disabilities (i.e) from 2.1 % in 2001 to 2.21 %. This could be due to many issues concerned with the methodology adopted: a. adopting Medical diagnosis is an issue given that not many people have medical diagnosis of their condition, b. Stigma attached to identification of disability, c. senior citizens may not identify themselves as persons with disabilities though having similar issues d. loosing of information when collected through other family members due to lack of understanding of the condition and so on. However, UN has recommended the Washington Group of Disability Survey method due to its success rates irrespective of regional diversities in capturing data on persons with disabilities. ( http://www.washingtongroup-disability.com/washington-group-blog/) This method is tested in India and in other Asian countries. To give 2 recent examples - Kerala Government carried out a survey taking into consideration the medical diagnosis of all the 21 conditions mentioned in the schedule of RPDA and could get only 2.2% as population of persons with disabilities ( https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Thiruvananthapuram/nearly-8-lakh-disabled-in-kerala/article7709737.ece). Whereas CBM carried out a survey in Telengana using the WGDS methodology with an outcome of 7.5% as population of persons with disabilities ( http://disabilitycentre.lshtm.ac.uk/files/2014/12/India-Country-Report.pdf ). Since the purpose of census is to gather as many of persons with disabilities in India that creates space for resources for responsive policies and programmes, we need to suggest an appropriate methodology. This is an opportunity for all of us to come together to lobby for having an appropriate methodology for capturing data on persons with disabilities. I request you all to further disseminate this information in all your networks. We will send in a submission prepared by Equals shortly on this for further feedback and endorsements. Thanks & Regards Meenakshi -- Meenakshi Coordinator Projects Equals, Centre for Promotion of Social Justice Email: [email protected] / [email protected] Contact: 9840135750 Search for old postings at: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ To unsubscribe send a message to [email protected] with the subject unsubscribe. 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