Hi, Is there a website link to this article?
*Shruti* On Tue, May 24, 2022 at 11:08 AM avinash shahi <[email protected]> wrote: > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > From: Abhishek Anicca <[email protected]> > Date: Sun, 22 May 2022 09:41:02 +0530 > Subject: {Disability Studies India} Times of India column > To: [email protected] > > The Price disabled people pay for living in a normal world. > > > Abhishek Anicca, Times of India, 15th May 2022 > > > Not normal. Not allowed to board a plane. Not allowed to sit in a > restaurant. Not allowed access to public places. Not allowed to apply for > certain teaching positions. Not allowed to be treated like an adult. Not > allowed to express sexual desires. Allowed to dream? > > > > There is no fixed criteria for what is 'normal'. Often, what shapes the > idea of normal is what is considered a deviation from the norm, which, in > turn, is a reflection of how a society has evolved, what it values. Last > week, a child was not allowed to board a plane at the Ranchi Airport > because according to an airline official he wasn't behaving normally. Could > it be a mere coincidence that he was a wheelchair user? Are all the > children and teenagers throwing tantrums at the airport barred from > boarding a plane? I guess we all know the answer. > > > > We still ask the questions, though. What if their tantrums cause discomfort > to the people in the plane? What if their wheelchair causes discomfort to > the people sitting in a restaurant? What if their bodies or expressions > cause discomfort to the other children in a classroom? Exclusion is a price > disabled people pay for the imagined discomfort of able-bodied people. > That's the truth, no matter how bitter it might seem. > > > > You will see them according to the position you occupy in the social > ladder. If you are a government official, you will treat the disabled > person as a beneficiary. If you know disabled people only from social > media, you will treat them as inspirational role models. If you happen to > be a parent of a disabled child or know someone close who has a disabled > child, you will feel bad for the parents. After everything they have done, > they certainly don’t deserve more barriers. And yes, we are using the word > disabled and not differently abled or specially abled. What's special about > getting your dignity taken away? > > > > There was some sunshine in the Ranchi incident, with fellow passengers > becoming advocates and this advocacy spreading to social media. There is > empathy left in the world, perhaps. But was there really any empathy for > the disabled person or just the parents? That is an important question. The > trauma, the shouting, the loss of dignity that this young disabled person > must have gone through is unimaginable. Expressing yourself to your > parents, only to be judged by the whole world because of it. That's a > position no one wants to be in. But many of us lack the imagination to even > understand that. > > > > If our imagination wasn't limited, we, as a society would have treated > persons with disabilities as equal members of our society. Treated everyone > with respect and respected their rights. Made our cities more accessible. > Made sure that everyone received education, could afford healthcare and buy > mobility aids. We don't. The disabled person only props up in our societal > imagination as an inspiration or a tragedy. They are treated as equals only > in speech and seldom in spirit. It only gets worse depending on caste, > gender and class locations. > > > > It's not about one incident. Many disabled people have to show a 'fit to > fly' certificate to board a plane, fight for their wheelchairs broken in > transit, and even crawl through the narrow aisles of a plane. It has > happened before and even after court cases and media struggles this > continues to happen. Away from the eyes of the onlookers. Away from the > limelight. Loss of dignity is part of the routine. Normalized through lack > of sensitization and lack of stronger laws. > > > > The disabled person is out on their own. They can't spend half their life > getting the law implemented. Writing to disability commissioners. Waiting > for a reply. Campaigning. Petitioning. Doing social media activism for > every incident that happens. And these incidents of discrimination happen > far too often. How do you expect a person to keep going to the courts for > getting a job or getting admission despite having the qualifications? Or > run from pillar to post to get recognized as a person with a disability. > When will they live their life? It's exhausting. > > > > We have made some progress in the last few decades. But new laws or new > words won't be really effective unless the perception of what is normal > changes. The diversity of different bodies, different ways of thinking, > different ways of existing must become the core idea on which society is > built, a truly democratic society. In a country where inclusive democracy > is still a work in progress, a more inclusive culture remains a distant > dream. But one is hopeful. > > > > Hope is the pivot on which many disabled lives are built. The hope that one > day disabled people will get sufficient disability pension to live a > comfortable life. The hope that healthcare systems will be affordable and > accessible. The hope of a job or a seat in an educational institution. That > they can get on trains, buses and planes without getting harassed. Most of > them are stuck not because of lack of ambition but lack of societal > imagination. They have always been ready to fly. But having wings is > perhaps not considered 'normal' in our society, is it? > > > Note: I wrote for Times of India last Sunday about why incidents like the > discrimination that took place in Ranchi keep happening. The piece is still > behind a paywall so I decided to copy the entire text in this mail. I am > attaching a PDF of print copy in case you want to share with others. > > > Warmy > > > Abhishek Anicca > > www.abhishekanicca.com > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google > Groups "Disability Studies India" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send > an email to [email protected]. > To view this discussion on the web visit > > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/disability-studies-india/CA%2B3wkv28XPfmZTUbw5UzHQ%3D%3DtNkw4_hh8imfsMGbKiy1DLUWew%40mail.gmail.com > . > > > > -- > सादर/ Regards > > अविनाश शाही/ Avinash Shahi > सहायक/ Assistant > मानव संसाधन प्रबंध विभाग/ Human Resource Management Department > भारतीय रिजर्व बैंक/ Reserve Bank of India > लखनऊ क्षेत्रीय कार्यालय/Lucknow RO > विस्तार/ Extension: 2232 > > -- > 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.. > > > Search for old postings at: > http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "AccessIndia" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/a/accessindia.org.in/d/msgid/accessindia/CADeSQ2iXOn9pQESmcEH0GZxqswV6GJYJn%2Bo%2BM-2x1fajyxLqKg%40mail.gmail.com > . > -- 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.. Search for old postings at: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "AccessIndia" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/a/accessindia.org.in/d/msgid/accessindia/CAHbquuC-sgh_%3DB1AtaALzW1WX-me-sTbuWR4Y6o9zh2OYjtuag%40mail.gmail.com.
