*2-May-2014* *Jayna Kothari*
*David Seidenberg * *INDIA : *The citizens of India are in the process of casting their votes in what is being widely hailed as the largest election in human history. By sheer size, the 16th Lok Sabha elections signal a triumph not only for India, but for democratic exercises around the world. However, more important than elections themselves are the principles of civil rights, equality, freedom of speech, and inclusivity that underpin any true democratic activity. When an electoral system structurally discriminates against particular categories of people, such as persons with disabilities, it is tantamount to a failure of democracy as a whole. While there have been Supreme Court orders to make electoral infrastructure more accessible for voters with disabilities, these measures do not go far enough. Looking beyond physical accessibility, substantive equality and full participation can only be achieved with a rights-based approach that values access to the public sphere and a robust protection of civil and voting rights for all citizens. While the Census of India reported 21.9 million persons with disabilities in 2001, more recent estimates by the World Health Organization (WHO) and others put India’s disabled population at more than 80 million persons, and possibly as high as 150 million. Numerous hurdles prevent voters with disabilities from full participation in the electoral process. Barriers range from the obvious, such as lack of access ramps and unavailability of voting mechanism for the hearing or sight impaired; to the more obscure, such as lack of accessible campaign material which results in a difficulty in making an informed decision. *Mental illness and suffrage* Lack of voting rights for persons with intellectual and psycho-social disabilities represents a particularly insidious barrier to electoral participation. The Constitution enshrines the value of universal adult suffrage and states that every person who is a citizen of India and of legal age has the right to vote, with a few exceptions. One such exception is “unsoundness of mind.” But the term ‘unsound mind’ is undefined, and even if a person’s disability does not interfere with his ability to make a choice, he can legally be deprived of this right. Voting is a political act of free expression, and as such should be done independently and in secrecy. The over-reliance on the “companionship” model to provide access for persons with disabilities is an infringement of this right. *Violation of rights* We can begin to address these problems by scrapping the “unsoundness of mind” exception, and tying any voter registration disqualification to the lack of specific cognitive abilities in making an informed electoral choice only when declared so by a competent court. We should also pursue the use of assistive and new technologies that would make voting accessible for persons with disabilities, to ensure secrecy and independence in voting. After the people have spoken and the votes have been counted, we must not forget the tens of millions who could not make their voices heard. ( *The writers are with the Centre for Law and Policy Research, Bangalore* ) http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-in-school/disabilities-of-our-democracy/article5967146.ece Register at the dedicated AccessIndia list for discussing accessibility of mobile phones / Tabs on: http://mail.accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/mobile.accessindia_accessindia.org.in Search for old postings at: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ To unsubscribe send a message to [email protected] with the subject unsubscribe. To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, please visit the list home page at http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in 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..
