A promising young leader was making waves in the political scene of the 1920s in the US. However, despite his undeniable capabilities, he was coerced to conceal the fact that he needed a wheelchair and other assistive devices. Hiding his disability was the only way to make the world focus on his abilities–a price he paid as he moved up the political ladder. Franklin D. Roosevelt went on to become the US President three times, the only one to have had more than two terms.
Back home, India’s first Parliament elected a young card-carrying lawyer who would dedicate his life to land reform. Sadhan Chandra Gupta also happened to be the founder of the National Federation of the Blind. He was a blind individual equipped with braille and unwavering determination.
Rights of PwDs and representation
Unfortunately, the Sadhan Guptas of the world have been few and far between. Progress on disability legislation has been even slower. Disability is part of the state list in the Indian Constitution. However, with no major state introducing the legislation, the Centre stepped in to bring the Persons with Disabilities Act 1995 (PwD Act 1995) based on India’s endorsement of the Proclamation for Disability at the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and Pacific held in Beijing in December 1992. The 1995 Act only provided lip service to disability rights: It was advisory in nature and recognised only seven disabilities.
This was followed by India’s ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) in 2007, signalling a firm commitment toward concerns of PwDs. To bring India’s legislation in line with CRPD, India had to have a decade-long wait before the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act 2016 came into force. Such efforts toward recognition of rights, equal opportunities and reasonable accommodation across fields bore fruits.
India has seen progress in bringing issues related to disabilities to the forefront of national conversations. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has often mentioned the community in his Mann ki Baat radio programme. And India even saw the launch of a nationwide Accessible India Campaign in 2015—the story of its hits and misses is a tale for another article.
Unfortunately, the voices of persons with disabilities remain grossly absent from the political landscape. The Indian Republic still awaits adequate representation of PwDs in Parliament and state legislatures. Not a single mainstream political party has a disability cell, and the only candidate with a disability across parties is para-athlete Devendra Jhajharia, running on a BJP ticket in Churu, Rajasthan.
India’s 2.21 per cent population is living with disabilities, as per the 2011 Census. However, this figure grossly underestimates the true extent of disability prevalent in the country due to outdated counting methodologies. The RPwD Act 2016 recognises 21 disabilities — a substantial increase that remains unaccounted for in the antiquated Census data.
Additionally, the nature of disability as a horizontal identity (which can affect anyone, anywhere), as compared to vertical identities (that are hereditary and often ghettoised) of caste and religion, makes it challenging to look at it as a conventional vote bank.
However, what parties do not realise is that PwD friendly policies can attract votes of families of PwDs too. Ask the children of hearing-impaired adults who pick up Indian Sign Language (ISL) as their “mother tongue” if they would vote for legal recognition of ISL. Or ask the mother of an autistic child if inclusive education policies would attract her vote. Or whether a sibling of a wheelchair user would vote for a party prioritising accessibility in public spaces. So many of these unique voices speak out to us, seeking mainstreaming of disability issues via increased political representation of PwDs.
It is unfortunate that leaders across political parties have completely ignored disability in their election campaigns and stump speeches. It is essential for proactive initiatives to originate from within parties and electoral ecosystems. In the US, both the Democratic and Republican parties have organisations focused on disability issues. Interestingly, the UK runs an Elected Office Fund to financially support disabled elected representatives in meeting expenses. Such innovative models are worth adapting to the Indian context to ensure a level playing field for candidates with disabilities.
Also read: Young Indians have an intellectual disability crisis. Stigma, lack of reporting adding to it
Nothing without us
Simultaneously, it is incumbent upon the entire political apparatus to actively foster and empower aspiring leaders with disabilities. The transformative power of this is best symbolised by Mar Galceran, Spain’s first parliamentarian with down syndrome. Traversing the road to the parliament was not an isolated occurrence for her, but a culmination of years of effort. She had spent over two decades as a party worker spotlighting inclusive policies.
India needs to invest in building such an ecosystem, which nurtures promising candidates with potential. Only then can we collectively reap the benefits of political leaders with a unique lens and immense capabilities, unhindered by the obstacles placed in their path. Over the years, “Nothing About Us Without Us” was the clarion call of disability rights movements to seek representation in discourses about disability. However, now is the time for the strong call of ‘Nothing Without Us’ to be heard. This holds true as varied aspects, from health and public spaces to education and employment, are deeply entrenched in the life of a person with disability. Their political representation will ensure that robust policies are framed with an inherent disability lens and are not left incomplete with vital issues becoming an afterthought.
Our country has witnessed countless accomplished individuals excelling in a wide variety of fields despite their disability. Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s (MIT) first international blind student and a successful industrialist, Srikanth Bolla (on whom a movie starring Rajkumar Rao is set to be released on 10 May). Ira Singhal, who lives with scoliosis, topped the UPSC exams in 2014 and broke the glass ceiling of civil services. Another example is Sarah Sunny, a hearing-impaired lawyer, who is compelling courts to incorporate sign language as a means of communication.
A staggering 88.4 lakh voters with disabilities are going to exercise their democratic rights in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections. The Election Commission of India has also introduced an important initiative of enabling home voting for PwDs to make the electoral process more inclusive and accessible. If 2024 will be remembered as the year when people with disabilities voted in India’s general elections, let’s hope that by 2029, political leaders with disabilities leave a mark in the history of our democracy through meaningful parliamentary representation.
Nipun Malhotra is the co-founder & CEO of Nipman Foundation and can be followed on X @nipunmalhotra. Sanskriti Bhatia, Consultant, Young Leaders for Active Citizenship and can be followed on X @sanskritibhatia. You may endorse the charter Of, By and For Persons with Disabilities here. Views are personal.
(Edited by Ratan Priya)