Unless there is political inclusion of the disabled, the goal of inclusion and empowerment will remain elusive.
Unless there is political inclusion of the disabled, the goal of inclusion and empowerment will remain elusive.
The Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DoEPwD) recently released Draft National Policy for Persons with Disabilities (“Policy”) – inviting public comments by 15th July, 2022 (here: panda.dk@nic.in). The need for a new policy to replace the 2006 policy was felt due to several factors, such as India signing United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Enactment of a new disability law (Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act 2016) which raised the number of disabilities from seven terms to 21 and being a party to the Incheon Strategy for the Asian and Pacific Decade of Persons with Disabilities, 2013–2022 (“Incheon Commitment”). The final was prepared under the auspices of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), which identifies 10 goals for Asia-Pacific countries to ensure the inclusion and empowerment of persons with disabilities and in line with the Sustainable Development Goals. 2030.
These commitments have changed the discourse around disability by shifting the focus from the individual to society, that is, from a medical model of disability to a social or human rights model of disability.
The principle of the draft policy is to demonstrate the government’s commitment to inclusion and empowerment of persons with disabilities by providing a mechanism to ensure their full participation in society.
In taking forward this commitment, the policy document highlights a broad commitment to education, health, skill development and employment, sports and culture, social security, outreach and other institutional mechanisms. However, a clear omission is the absence of any commitment to the political upliftment of persons with disabilities.
about political participation
Article 29 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities states that State Parties “should ensure that persons with disabilities, directly or through freely elected representatives, participate effectively in political and public life on an equal basis with others.” And to be able to participate fully…”. The Incheon goals also promote participation in political processes and decision-making. The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act 2016 incorporates these principles within its ambit. The anti-discrimination commitment under this Act recognizes the political sphere in which people with disabilities should be allowed to realize their human rights and fundamental freedoms. Documents fail to take cognizance of such mandate.
Political empowerment and inclusion of the disabled is an issue that has not gained traction in India’s democratic discourse. India has no policy commitment aimed at increasing political participation of people with disabilities.
The exclusion of persons with disabilities from the political sphere occurs at all levels of the political process in the country and in different ways. For example, the inaccessibility of the voting process, impediments to participation in party politics or lack of representation at the local, state or national level have increased marginalization of the disabled.
Ground reality, no data
Section 11 of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act states that “The Election Commission of India and the State Election Commissions shall ensure that all polling stations are accessible to persons with disabilities and that all material relating to the electoral process is easily understandable and be accessible to them”. Although this mandate has been in existence for a few years, people with disabilities report access issues before and on election day. Many places often lack accessible polling stations. Braille electronic voting machines and even wheelchair services are still not widely adapted at all polling stations. The Election Commission of India has developed its own procedure to deal with PWDs during the electoral process.
Political parties in India still do not find the disabled especially in the form of large voters to meet their needs.
What marginalizes them is the lack of live aggregated data on the exact number of people with disabilities in each constituency. Lack of accessible space for party meetings, inaccessible transport for campaigning or an attitude barrier between voters and party leaders can be said to be contributing factors. Thus, we rarely see disability being highlighted in the manifestos of the parties.
inadequate representation
Representation plays an essential role in advancing the interests of the marginalized community. Our constitution makers recognized this when they provided reservation for SC/ST in the legislature. People with disabilities are not adequately represented at all three levels of governance. A Right to Information response filed by this author to the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs reveals that the government does not maintain data on the disability aspect of members. Sadhan Gupta, the first visually impaired Member of Parliament in independent India, is rarely mentioned in our political or disability discourse. We have often failed to acknowledge the handicapped political personalities who have overcome innumerable hurdles in the political arena of India.
However, some states have started initiatives at the local level to increase participation. For example, Chhattisgarh started the initiative to enroll at least one disabled person in each panchayat. If a disabled person is not elected then he is nominated as a Panchayat member as per the changes in the relevant law. This is a move that has increased the participation of persons with disabilities in the political sphere at the local level.
‘Make the right real’
The goal of the policy document – inclusiveness and empowerment – cannot be achieved without political inclusion. The policy may follow a four-pronged approach: capacity building of organizations of people with disabilities and ’empowering their members through training in the electoral system, government structure, and basic organizational and advocacy skills’; Creation, amendment or removal of legal and regulatory frameworks by parliamentarians and election bodies to encourage political participation of persons with disabilities; Engaging civil societies to ‘run domestic election observation or voter education campaigns’; and a framework for political parties to ‘conduct a meaningful outreach to persons with disabilities when creating election campaign strategies and developing policy positions’.
The document emphasizes that the central and state governments should work closely with other stakeholders to “make the real real”. This right can be made real only if it involves political rights/political participation. This would only be in line with the Universal Principle on Disability, that is, “Nothing about us. Without us.”
Shashank Pandey is a Javed Abidi Fellow at the National Center for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People (NCPEDP). He was the Legislative Assistant to the Members of Parliament (LAMP) Fellow