December 3 is world over observed as the ‘day of people with disability’. This is primarily done to promote an understanding of disability issues so that the people at the helm take note and address such issues. Over the past many years, the day is religiously observed in Kashmir as well. Various programmes, seminars and symposia held on this day disseminate awareness about the issues confronting the people with disabilities. But if anything is not happening on the ground is that the state is continuously showing indifference to their problems. The issues so raised and agitated on this day, are apparently forgotten the very next moment by the authorities. It is not that the demands raised by them are beyond the competence of the authorities to address, or that they involve such massive financial implications as would be impossible for the state to bear. Rather, it is the sheer indifference and unresponsiveness of the state that lets these issues to linger on. It is time that the state government took seriously their demands and devised policies to address them. To begin with, the government should make special provisions of free and quality education and standard healthcare for this lot. If needed, it should bring a fresh legislation— something that many other countries and states have already done, to take care of overall social, cultural and economic development of this lot. After all it is the responsibility of the government to make them feel that their rights are as valuable as of others. The people with disabilities should be provided a level playing field in every sphere of the life. Their financial empowerment should be the main goal of the government. In some foreign countries and states, governments have provided for social security administration that not only takes care of education and healthcare of people with disabilities, but also provides for their sustained economic strength. The suggestion of a few of their representative groups in Kashmir that government should at least spend three per cent of its total resources on the wellbeing of the people with disabilities is worth considering.

Lastupdate on : Tue, 4 Dec 2012 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Tue, 4 Dec 2012 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Wed, 5 Dec 2012 00:00:00 IST