Disability is not the problem, Accessibility is!– Mohamed Jemni
In November, the President of India conferred Padma Shri to a distinguished person of disability from the Bandwagon of sports to medicine. The Padma awards recognised the achievements of people with disabilities across diverse fields. From Dr. Niru Kumar, medical doctor, psychologist, and diversity and inclusion consultant; Balan Pootheri, a visually impaired writer; Dr. Rattan Lal Mitta is the former professor and head of the department, orthopaedics at Government Medical College, Patiala, Dr. Bhupender Kumar Sanjay is the founder of the Sanjay Orthopaedic, Spine & Maternity Centre and an orthopaedic and spine surgeon by profession, to KY Venkatesh.
But this article is not about the awards and how it raises the morale of the people of the community and keep the dialogue going. We have talked about the relevance of awards and the background of awardees in length here, spotlight on the Pama Shri Awardees.
Moving on, this article goes beyond awards, the theatrics, or maybe a reality check of what actually goes into the world. Sadly, we also didn’t notice the severity of it, till we came across this tweet. You know it is rightly said that you don’t understand it till the time you have to go through it yourself.
The National Awards were conferred by the President of India to persons with disabilities on International Disability Day!
— Neha Arora (@nehatinaarora) December 5, 2021
The award stage was not accessible for wheelchair users, who received it award!!
Let that sink in !!
And we talk about Accessible India?
So, the tweet rightly points out a major concern that might have lapsed your thoughts as well, it says,
“The National Awards were conferred by the President of India to persons with disabilities on International Disability Day!
The award stage was not accessible for wheelchair users, who received the award!!
Let that sink in!! And we talk about Accessible India?”
Sai Kausatv, Wheelchair Warrior of India, Global Motivational Speaker, Goodwill Ambassador, commented “I saw many wheelchair users on stage for previous years’ occasions, but never knew it’s not accessible!! I was clueless that how they couldn’t think of a ramp for the event where many are supposed to come in wheelchairs! Strange and serious matter indeed!”
Maybe this is the reality, maybe we don’t wish to understand the nuances of it. We sit comfortably with the presentation of disability and accessibility in our approach.
We want to ask you some questions and maybe it will help you test the waters for yourself.
So, how many times have you gone to eat outside and you noticed a ramp?
How many times have you noticed a wheelchair user casually coming to a cafe like yourself?
How many times have you noticed a tactical path for the movement of blind people on the road?
These are a few questions of the many more a person with a disability can ask you and you would be left speechless. It is not because you have no answers to it, it is because these are the issues you would have never noticed. Or you never knew existed. This is where ignorance lies. Maybe ignorance is bliss, it corners you from asking the right question to the right authority. It leaves you at the other “safe end” of “ I am unaware”.
My friend, it is not about disabled people coming together and speaking for themselves but it is how we as a society stand for our friends and community people.
Needless to say, an accessible physical environment benefits everyone, not just persons with disabilities. It should be taken into cognizance that measures should be undertaken to eliminate obstacles and barriers to indoor and outdoor facilities including schools, medical facilities, and workplaces. Further, these would include all public spaces such as roads, footpaths, parks, and gardens, etc.
