Access Indians,
You are aware that the government decided in February 2009 to make
all its websites accessible and WCAG 2.0 compliant. We as citizens do need to
access websites for our information and work eg. Websites of The Income Tax
Department and that of The Passport Office. These websites are slightly
accessible but not fully compliant. We need to get the government to make these
websites fully compliant.
Our primary need as Disabled is to be able to access websites of Social Justice
Ministry, Commissioner of Disabilities, The National Institute of the Visually
Handicapped etc. On a preliminary test being conducted on the websites of the
three organizations in which we have special interest it was found that some of
these websites have mouseovers, no heading styles, no way to customize for low
vision, some contain bad links and graphics without alternative text. We cannot
ask others to comply if our own do not. Therefore, it is time that each of us
did our little bit and wrote our letters/emails protesting and requesting
accessibility.
I am sharing with you the original letter sent out by Javed to The Chief
Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities. He sent similar letters to the
following:
1.. Secretary, Ministry of Social Justice
2.. Chairman, Rehabilitation Council of India
3.. Chairperson, National Trust
4.. Director, National Institute of the Visually Handicapped
5.. Director, Deendayal Upadhyaya Institute for the Physically Handicapped
6.. Director, National Institute for the Orthopaedically Handicapped
7.. Director, National Institute of Mentally Handicapped
8.. Director, Swami Vivekanand National Institute of Rehabilitation, Training
& Research
9.. Director, National Institute for Empowerment of Persons with Multiple
Disabilities
Only two replies were received. One from the Deputy Chief Commissioner for
Persons with Disabilities, Shri T. D. Dhariyal whose reply and the rejoinder to
whom I am copying below for your information and two from The National
Institute for the Mentally Handicapped who said they would take necessary
steps. The other eight chose to ignore the letter. Therefore we need to write
similar letters, build pressure and achieve our goals. Please send me a copy of
your letters.
Kanchan.
PLACED BELOW IS THE LETTER WRITTEN TO DR. MANOJ KUMAR, CHIEF COMMISSIONER FOR
PERSONS WITH DISABLITIES ON 7th APRIL, 2009.
SHRI T.D. DHARIYAL, DEPUTY CHIEF COMMISSIONER, REPLIED ON BEHALF OF THE
C.C.P.D. OFFICE ON 15th APRIL, 2009.
Dear Dr. Manoj Kumar,
Greetings from NCPEDP!
We write to bring a matter of grave importance to your notice; the issue of
accessibility in websites. According to the NIC, there are approximately 5000
websites and web portals hosted by the Government of India. However, 99.99% of
these websites are inaccessible to persons with disability. And this statistic
includes the website of your Ministry and of your office as well!
In the age of Information Technology, it is imperative to make technology
accessible to the persons with disabilities. Technology can help bridge the gap
that can address the problems faced by persons with disabilities such as lack
of education and employment opportunities, isolation, mobility issues, and
economic dependence, etc. Technology can be an enabler and can help bridge the
barriers for persons with disabilities. This is an area of work that affects
the lives of millions of people. It is the future and cannot be ignored.
India prides itself on its IT knowledge and industry. But here again the
country has ignored its 70 million citizens. But what is even more shameful is
the fact that the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment has once again let
down its constituency of persons with disabilities. It gives us no joy to point
this out to you but we do so in the hope that you will take appropriate action
in this regard.
Be that as it may, at the E-Governance Conference in Goa on 12th February, it
was announced that all Government websites would be made WCAG 2.0 compliant.
The NIC has issued guidelines for Government Websites which clearly outline the
need to adhere to WCAG 2.0. We trust that you would take due cognizance of this
announcement and adhere to the guidelines set by NIC for your website and
ensure that the same is followed by the other Government Departments as well.
With best regards,
Yours sincerely,
Javed Abidi
Honorary Director, N.C.P.E.D.P.
REPLY RECEIVED FROM THE OFFICE OF C.C.P.D
>From - Shri T.D. Dhariyal, Dy. Chief Commissioner, Office of the Chief
>Commissioner of Persons with Disabilities, Ministry of Social Justice &
>Empowerment, Govt. of India, Sarojini House, 6, Bhagwan Dass Road, New Delhi
>110001.
To -Shri Javed Abidi, Honorary Director, National Centre for Promotion of
Employment for Disabled People, A-77, South Extension Part -II, New Delhi
110049.
Letter Ref No. - 14-2/ CCD/ 2004-05
Dated -15th April, 2009
Subject - Accessibility of Website to Persons with Disabilities.
Content - Sir,
Please refer to your letter No. NC/ 09-10/ WEB ACCESS dated 7th
April, 2009 on the above subject. We do appreciate your concern that
websites are not accessible to persons with disabilities particularly to people
with vision impairment. This office is in the process of making its websites
accessible to persons with disabilities in a manner that the end users are not
required to pay any extra amount for installation/ use of the software. We are
expecting commissioning of the software during current year. This office will
also ask other Government Departments to adhere to the guidelines of NIC so
that their websites are accessible for persons with disabilities.
Yours faithfully,
T.D. Dhariyal
Dy. Chief Commissioner
LETTER WRITTEN BY SHRI JAVED ABIDI, HONORARY DIRECTOR, N.C.P.E.D.P. TO SHRI
T.D. DHARIYAL, DEPUTY CHIEF COMMISSIONER, OFFICE OF C.C.P.D. ON 15th MAY, 2009
Dear Shri Dhariyal,
Thank you for your letter dated 15th April, 2009. I take solace in the fact
that only your office and that of Director, NIMH have replied to our letter on
the issue of Web Access.
Let me put it on record that on 7th April, 2009, I wrote to the following:
1.. Secretary, Ministry of Social Justice
2.. Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities
3.. Chairman, Rehabilitation Council of India
4.. Chairperson, National Trust
5.. Director, National Institute of the Visually Handicapped
Then, further, on 15th April, 2009, I wrote to the following:
6.. Director, Deendayal Upadhyaya Institute for the Physically Handicapped
7.. Director, National Institute for the Orthopaedically Handicapped
8.. Director, National Institute of Mentally Handicapped
9.. Director, Swami Vivekanand National Institute of Rehabilitation, Training
& Research
10.. Director, National Institute for Empowerment of Persons with Multiple
Disabilities
Out of the first lot, only you have written back and out of the second lot,
only Director, NIMH has responded. Today is the 15th of May. A full month and
more has gone by and 8 people of your top brass, i.e. the so called 'thekedars'
of India's 70 million disabled people have NOT EVEN BOTHERED TO ACKNOWLEDGE!!
If someone is pretending to be an Ostrich, please advise them to not think that
the issue is going to go away. As always, enough is enough. You have already
neglected this matter for a decade, perhaps more. How would you advocate
equality and non-discrimination when you yourselves are the culprit???
If you wish, you can treat this letter as a complaint and urgently issue
notices to all concerned, in particular, Secretary, Ministry of Social Justice
and Director, NIVH. Need I elaborate?
Now, coming to your reply, Sir with due respect, you are confusing the issue.
Let me try and explain! An accessible website is exactly that, i.e. a website
that is accessible (pun intended). Now how do you do that? Simple. Ask the
concerned technical people at NIC, etc. to adapt your website in strict
accordance with WCAG 2.0. Then, comes the question of the speech software. Yes,
there is a cost to it and not every visually impaired person can afford JAWS,
etc. Even though there are less costly/ free software also available but in
good faith, your office is trying to develop technology/ software (through the
good offices of NIC). It is all very well, but this will take time. A lot of
time. And if we in the disability movement allow you that time, then dear Sir,
your website will not be accessible for at least one more year and that is not
acceptable.
Besides, there is no co-relation between Action 1 (making website accessible @
WCAG 2.0) and Action 2 (making technology/ software available to disabled/
visually impaired people in order to reduce software costs). Have you ever
heard of anyone saying that I will make my building accessible but only after
every paraplegic has got a wheelchair; and because wheelchairs are costly,
therefore let's first develop a no-cost wheelchair, then distribute it to every
orthopaedically disabled person and after that, we will ensure that our
building is made barrier-free??!!
Dhariyal Sb., you and Dr. Manoj Kumar should know this one simple fact.
Hundreds and thousands of visually impaired people have access to a speech
software, in their personal capacity as well as by way of various
organizations, NGOs, Universities, and so on. Give me one good reason as to why
you and your other 9 good friends have DENIED access to your respective
websites to them at least???
I honestly wish that I did not have to write this letter to you and to the
other 9 who are in charge of various aspects of disability affairs. I wish that
people like me could direct our energies to other culprits like Information
Commission, Election Commission, Passports, Railways, etc.
This is a classic case of 'Chiragh taley andhera'. Please immediately end this
era of darkness. Before you preach to others, please end the darkness that
surrounds you. Make your websites accessible and please, please, please SPECIFY
A TIMEFRAME.
With warm good wishes,
Yours sincerely,
Javed Abidi
Honorary Director, N.C.P.E.D.P.
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