On Disability

"Too late , too little" is what comes to one's mind when one looks at
the efforts that are underway in India to safeguard the interests of
the differently abled people vis-a-vis other nations. Though a proper
enumeration is a welcome step a long term goal of moving much beyond
structural reformations must be envisaged. India is still struggling
to discover the extent of disability pervading its population to
provide basic amenities, job opportunities, educational facilities to
them. Other countries on the other hand have long moved to a more
psycho-social approach to ensure that the disabled not only have a
non-abnormal life but a fulfilling one. To quote an example Syria
launched a Comics for children in which the hero is a teenager bound
to a wheel chair, and who like all other super heroes fights bad guys,
has bullet proof gadgets and gizmos(with jet skis on his wheel chair),
the comics is aimed at providing role-models/heroes to the disabled
children which are indispensable in inculcating aspirations and
ambitions in course of mental development of a child. I think India
also needs to ensure that simultaneous efforts are made on the
psycho-social front and should not wait for achieving the basic
facilities. Just as we did not wait for 100% enrollment in the primary
education sector before developing our higher education. It is one
area which is in the greatest requirement of a happy marriage between
technology and social sciences.