The Inner Eye of a Bureaucrat

The inner eye of a bureaucrat- A case study of Shri Krishna Gopal Tiwari IASA case study
Project Report
Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Good Governance & Policy Analysis
The inner eye of a bureaucrat- A case study of Shri Krishna Gopal Tiwari IAS
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2. Shri Akhilesh Argal, Director
Guidance
Shri Madan Mohan Upadhyay, Principal Advisor, Centre for Social Sector Development
Project Co-ordinator
Dr. MangalaGowri M S, Deputy Advisor, Centre for Social Sector Development
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Contents
3. Rationale of the study
4. Objectives of the study
5. The story so far: From childhood to National Institute of Visually Handicapped
(NIVH)
7. Cracking the civil services
8. At the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration, Mussorie
9. Issues that emerged during the study
10. As a bureaucrat
13. Existing legal framework
15. Acknowledgement
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About
visually impaired people 1 . Disability be it
of any type has a definite impact on the
socio economic spectrum. There have been
various studies correlating the nexus
between poverty and blindness and the
related economic cost incurred by the
nations. Topping it all is the emotional
price of the person dealing with the
problem of blindness. Considering the
dimensions of the issue, Atal Bihari
Vajpayee Institute of Good Governance
and Policy Analysis decided to look into
the subject from a phenomenological
perspective to bring out the concerns faced
by the blind people and our readiness as a
nation to deal with them. The case of Shri
Krishna Gopal Tiwari is a fit example to
bring out the nuances of the problem in an
in-depth manner and discuss the possible
solutions in the light of the existing legal
and institutional framework of the country.
Shri. Krishna Gopal Tiwari is an IAS
officer of 2008 batch, borne on Madhya
Pradesh cadre. Coming from a humble
background and compounded with a visual
disability, he went on to crack civil
1 Blindness and poverty in India- The way forward,
Khanna Rohit, Raman Usha, Rao Gullapalli,
Clinical and Experimental Optometry 90.6,
October 2007
be one of the toughest examinations in
India.
Retinitis Pigmentosa. Nevertheless, he
secure a rank of 142 in the exam
conducted by the Union Public Service
Commission in 2007. In the process, not
only did he emerge ahead of 592 normal
candidates, but also scripted a tale of grit
and persistence. Though his story serves as
an inspiration to many differently-abled
people in the country, it also raises certain
pertinent questions on our policies for
visually impaired people.
Shri. Krishna Gopal Tiwari to document
the issues faced by him and correlate them
with the current policy scenario. The
exercise would be done through case study
method. Using this method, we intend to
reach the general through the particular.
This phenomenological study lays more
importance to subjective experience in
order to highlight the problems faced by
the visually impaired in general.
In this report we first travel through the
life story of Shri. Tiwari. In the next step,
we identify the issues faced by him and
then try to corroborate them with the
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analysis will be suggested. The outcome of
this study is a report and a set of
recommendations for identified
stakeholders to deal with the visually
disabled people in a sensitive manner.
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Introduction
121 Crore population, about 2.68 Crore
persons are ‘disabled’ which is 2.21% of
the total population. Among the disabled
population, 56% (1.5 Crore) are males and
44% (1.18 Crore) are females. Majority
(69%) of the disabled population reside in
rural areas (1.86 Crore disabled persons
are in rural areas and 0.81 Crore are in
urban areas).
the 2.68 Crore have problems of vision.
Amongst the 1.5 Crore disabled males,
18% have disability of vision.
The disability among children is also a
matter of serious concern as it has wider
implications. The Census 2011 showed
that, in India, 20.42 lakhs children aged 0-
6 years are disabled. Thus, one in every
100 children in the age group 0-6 years
suffered from some type of disability.
23% of the disabled children (0-6 years)
are having disability in hearing, 30% in
seeing and 10% in movement. 7% of the
disabled children have multiple
deprives the affected person a fair chance
of access to livelihood. Conversely, there
is an increased prevalence of risk among
the socially and economically
This has been argued in many studies done
previously. Of the 600 million people with
disabilities worldwide, 82 percent live
below the poverty line and 20 percent
belong to the ‘poorest of the poor’ 3 .
Blindness is an important part of the
disability spectrum, affecting almost 161
million worldwide 4 . The Person’s with
Disability Act, 2016 defines visual
impairment thus: (a) “blindness” means a
condition where a person has any of the
following conditions, after best
(ii) visual acuity less than 3/60 or less than
10/200 (Snellen) in the better eye with the
best possible correction; or (iii) limitation
of the field of vision subtending an angle
of less than 10 degree. (b) “low-vision”
3 IAPB booklet on Blindness and Poverty, available
at VISION 2020 website
Pararajasegaram R, Pokharel GP, MariottiSP.
Global data on visual impairment in theyear 2002.
Bull World Health Organ 2004; 82:844–851.
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of the following conditions, namely, (i)
visual acuity not exceeding 6/18 or less
than 20/60 up to 3/60 or up to 10/200
(Snellen) in the better eye with the best
possible corrections; or (ii) limitation of
the field of vision subtending an angle of
less than 40 degree up to 10 degree.
The economic burden of blindness in
India, as calculated by Shamanna,
Dandona and Rao (1997), using the cost-
of-illness methodology was US$4.4billion.
the blind was estimated at US$77.4billion.
In yet another analysis, the International
Agency for the Prevention of Blindness
argues that seven of the eight Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs) are related to
the implementation of VISION 2020 and
several factors that exacerbate conditions
of poverty and disempowerment can be
impacted by prevention of blindness
measures.
data on blindness in 1995 5 indicated an
inverse relationship between prevalence of
blindness and economic development. This
is substantiated by the incidence of a
higher share of the burden of blindness in
5 Thylefors B, Negrel AD, Pararajasegaram
R,Dadzie KY. Global data on blindness. Bull World
Health Organ 1995; 73: 115–121
the developing countries in Sub-Saharan
Africa and Asia compared to the
developed economies of Europe and
America 6 .
the principal causes of visual impairment
across the world are uncorrected refractive
errors and cataracts, which are 43% and
33% respectively. Other causes are
glaucoma, 2%; age related macular
degeneration (AMD), diabetic retinopathy
(CO), all coming to around 1% each. A
large proportion of causes are
undetermined and they constitute around
18% of the causes. Blindness on the other
hand is caused by cataract, 51%;
glaucoma, 8%; AMD, 5%, childhood
blindness and corneal opacities, 4%;
uncorrected refractive errors and trachoma,
3% and diabetic retinopathy 1% and the
undetermined causes leading to huge
chunk of 21%. This has been depicted in
the pie chart (Figure 1). It was also found
that most of these conditions could be
avoided, either prevented or treated 7 .
6 WHO. Global Initiative for the Elimination of
Avoidable Blindness. Programme for prevention of
blindness and deafness. Geneva: WHO, 1997
(WHO/PBL/97.61) 7 WHO. Global Initiative for the Elimination of
Avoidable Blindness. Programme for prevention of
blindness and deafness. Geneva: WHO, 1997
(WHO/PBL/97.61)
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It was projected that without timely and
appropriate measures to control blindness,
the current level of blindness would double
by 2020, resulting in economic losses of
close to US$150 billion to US$250
billion 8 . This realisation led to the
conceptualisation and launch of VISION
2020: The Right to Sight in 1999, based on
the assessment that a co-ordinated and
collaborative initiative could significantly
global blindness: a price too high! Br
JOphthalmol1996; 80: 276–277.
number of blind persons to 24 million in
2020, thereby avoiding a potential 429
million blind person-years.
population are concentrated in the rural
areas 9 . Many of these studies also showed
that blindness increased with age, was
higher among illiterates, lower in urban
areas and higher among females.
9 Dandona L. Blindness control in India: beyond
anachronism. Lancet 2000; 356(Suppl): S25
33%
1%
18%
1%
Child hood blindbess
Uncorrected refractive errors
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that needs to be just treated
symptomatically. It is a social
phenomenon which requires not just
curative intervention but a holistic
approach that addresses the socio
economic conditions which leads to the
marginalization of these people. Initially
efforts were merely curative but after the
advent of VISION 2020, attention is being
paid to other areas such as public
education, medical training for a larger
cadre of eye-care workers and advocacy at
both the community and government
levels.
problem of visual impairment. In 1976,
India became the first country to start a
National Program for Control of Blindness
(NPCB).
with regard to creating a conducive
atmosphere for the blind in this regard
have been given below.
missionary from England, founded
Amritsar in 1887. By 1944 there
were around 44 schools for the
blind. And by the beginning of this
21 st century there were around 300
schools for the blind.
establish a Braille press to produce
books in Braille in 1923.This could
not be implemented due to non-
existence of a uniform Braille code
for Indian languages.
develop a uniform Braille code for
Indian languages.
basis of most of the services for the
blind today.
was established in 1946 to promote
education, training and
was finalized in November 1950. It
replaced the earlier codes.
books was established at Dehradun
in 1951.
Blind was formed in 1952. This
gave an organized platform for the
blind.
Centre for the Adult Blind was
established.
established by the Central Govt. in
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(now located in the campus of
NIVH, Dehradun).
was established by the Central
Government in 1962.
activities for the education, training
and rehabilitation of the blind
under one umbrella for better
coordination in 1967 called
Dehradun.
1979.
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much coveted civil services exams
conducted by the Union Public Service
Commission of India. He had to take up
another protracted struggle to fight against
the rules laid for getting into service. His
early life is a testimony of how lack of
awareness, social stigma and unthought-of
policy statements could pose impediments
in the life of a differently-abled person.
Hence there is a need to document the
problems faced by the person and the
policy implications thereof in order to
create a more disabled friendly
environment. It is also necessary to
understand the way he functions and put
them on record so that it acts as a guiding
tool to those suffering from such disability.
Objectives of the study
Shri Krishna Gopal Tiwari
to existing policies
and methods
for related stakeholders
Deliverables
outcomes
other societal aspects faced by
differently-abled people
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Institute of Visually Handicapped
middle child amongst three sons. His
father was a marginal farmer who took up
agriculture on a seasonal basis. After the
agriculture season, he used to work in a
textile mill in Ahmedabad. His mother was
a house wife.
entered the formal education system at the
age of 5. Though detection of his problem
of visual impairment through a medical
expert was done much late, he had started
experiencing problems with vision very
early in his childhood. He had difficulty to
read from the blackboards in his school, if
illumination was not proper. As a child,
Krishna also felt problems of vision at
night. But as there was no family history to
arouse any suspicions, those lapses were
not taken seriously.
abnormality in the movements of her son
at night as he kept on colliding with things
every now and then. She suggested taking
him to an expert for advice. She even
started a daily dose of vitamin A
supplements mistaking his lapses for
common night blindness
time. His elder brother who also had the
same problem did not manifest problems
that early. And sometime during that
phase, he spotted a snake in the field,
disproving his mother’s apprehensions.
On one occasion, his father came with
their bull. He wanted Krishnas’s help in
controlling the bull. He asked his son to
take the rope and help him control the bull.
But Krishna kept on making blunders as he
was not able to spot the bull in the dark.
On another occasion he spotted a rubber
band in a corner, further raising questions
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of the disease happened much late.
Myopia was also working side by side
with the main disease in his case. So he
always had problems with regard to his
vision which he never dared to share with
anybody. On cloudy days or in dark class
rooms, Krishna was afraid to read from the
blackboard. In order to fool people around,
he used to fake.
village teachers for poor students in their
village. Krishna too attended them due to
pressure from his family. But he could
never concentrate in those classes due to
an overwhelming fear as to how he would
reach home after the classes.
He never kept aloof from any games
happening in day time in familiar
circumstances. While playing cricket with
his friends, he preferred balling and wicket
keeping to batting as he was not able to see
the ball many a times while batting. But he
opted to back out from new situations
which demanded good eye hand co-
ordination. He rarely ventured out after
sunset.
roaming around with his friends, he tried
to pluck a mango from a mango tree at the
instigation of his friends. He was not able
to see the mango dangling in the tree. But
he was not willing to admit it. His friend
aimed at the mango once Krishna gave up.
The stone not only missed the mango, but
also fell on an unsuspecting Krishna, who
failed to see the stone coming towards
him. He got hurt in his mouth and lost his
front tooth. The incident left an indelible
mark on his face in the literal sense of the
term.
problems increased, his mother started
raising the alarm once again and this time
more fervently. He was finally taken to an
eye specialist 40 kilometres away from his
village.
that he was unable to read even a single
alphabet from the chart. He was not
willing to admit the same as he thought
that his admission would be presumed as
ignorance of letters. As he was sitting in
the room for quite some time, listening to
the patients before him, he had heard the
On another occasion, he fell down
very badly when his father pushed
him away. He was unable to assess
the background and as a result lost
balance and fell down.
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on to read from it largely from memory
than by really seeing what was on it.
With correcting lenses he was able to read
6/9 by his left eye and 6/12 by his right
eye. That was probably the first time
Krishna realized that there was something
wrong with his eyes. But he was hopeful
that the right correction could provide him
with the perfect vision.
respite in the daytime for the problem of
myopia. But nights remained the same,
and he did not find any perceptible change
in his night vision.
Retinisis Pigmentosa. Retinitis
the eyes that causes loss of
vision. Symptoms include trouble seeing at
night and decreased peripheral vision (side
vision). Onset of symptoms is generally
gradual. As peripheral vision worsens,
people may experience "tunnel vision". In
the case of Krishna, direct vision was
affected first.
intervention was not initiated in Krishna’s
case due to three reasons. First, there was a
communication gap between the child and
his parents due to the stubbornness of the
child in failing to disclose his problems.
For example, in spite of being repeatedly
thrashed for not being able to assess the
position of the hands in a clock, he never
admitted that he was not able to see
properly. The same habit of the child was
repeated in the doctor’s chamber as he
went on to read the chart in the doctor’s
room after hearing others read from it.
The second reason was probably the
failure of his parents to appreciate the
situation and third was their inability to
diagnose the problem. But in a case as
typical as Krishna’s, it is doubtful if things
would have been different had his parents
been more educated. Even at the level of
the school, the teachers too repeatedly
failed to identify the problem.
The first doctor who saw Krishna also did
not assess him properly and just stated that
his eyes were weak. He prescribed certain
medicines and asked to come for follow up
check-ups on an yearly basis.
After his initial eye check-up, Krishna
became a front bencher in school which
helped him come up in his studies. Later
on he was taken to another specialist in
Ahmedabad who confided to his father that
Krishna’s condition was not curable. That
was probably the first proper diagnosis of
his condition. But his father chose to hide
the issue from him. Till 1997, he thus got
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really understanding his problem. As his
vision remained constant during that time,
nothing further was thought about the
issue.
fearing social stigma and exploitation of
their children. Soon after, both his brothers
were also detected with the same disease.
It was a huge blow for the family. They
not only concealed the real state of affairs
from the society but from Krishna and his
brothers as well.
his studies. He even went to his school in a
bicycle. He wrote his 10 th
and 12th exam
in a normal way. He got to know about the
civil services exam sometime during his
12 th
give it a try.
setback in the form of loss of job of their
father. Krishna had to take tuitions to fund
for his education. The dwindling income
denied him further access to the care of his
doctor. The problems with his vision
started worsening in dim light, and so he
tried to wrap up his chores before twilight.
He cleared 12 th
rank among the local colleges. On the
basis of an entrance examination he got
himself qualified for admission in a
college in Jaunpur which was 100 km
away from their village. His elder brother
also joined him there. They took a rented
room and tried to sustain themselves with
a monthly maintenance of Rs. 1500/- from
their home.
war that Krishna realized that something
was amiss. He had to undergo tremendous
stress took a lot of time to complete the
article and he understood that he was able
to see only with his left eye. He felt that
the lines were overlapping and scattered
throughout the page.
consult a doctor. It was from that doctor,
Krishna got to know about his
deteriorating vision and the prospect of
impending blindness. His vision of the left
eye had drastically reduced from 6/9 to a
While in 12 th
accident while cycling his way to the
exam centre. He was always unable to
drive his cycle in slow speed due to
his vision problems and so he
normally sped ahead. In a particular
instance he was nearly hit by a
speeding vehicle which he failed to
see.
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He advised Krishna to drop studies and
stop torturing his eyes further. Fearing the
worst, Krishna travelled to Indore for a
second opinion. Not only were his fears
confirmed but his brother was also
detected with the same problem. He on the
other hand was a science student and the
practical sessions in the lab proved too
difficult and dangerous for him. Both of
them in a way were suddenly hurled
towards the advancing reality of their
lives.
year exam was conducted in the second
half of the day when it used to get dark
very soon. Writing answers in dimness
became a tedious exercise. In final year
examination his vision had plummeted so
much so that he was unable to read the
question paper even after fully bending on
the desk. It was a time consuming affair
which left his body writhing in pain. Even
while writing, his lines leapt one over
another making the whole experience
nightmarish.
continue with his exam. But the facility
was denied and he was treated rather
rudely by the invigilators. Having no
alternative left, he wrote the exams in
those hostile conditions. This in turn
affected his performance.
and the difficulties that were to follow. He
made up his mind to utilize the light left in
his life in the most effective manner
possible. He shifted to Allahabad in a bid
to prepare for the state civil services exam.
Leading a normal life was becoming
increasingly impossible. They used to get
hurt while cooking. Accidents visited them
very frequently. The brother duo made
another trip to a doctor who agreed to treat
them to delay their blindness but at a hefty
sum which was not affordable to them.
The financial condition in their home kept
on deteriorating and their grandmother’s
pension kept them afloat. It was
approximately at that time that their
mother too started helping out their father
in the fields. But fearing social stigma, she
used to work at night. Krishna and his
brother also whenever they went home,
ploughed the field, watered the crops and
lent their hands in harvesting.
In one instance, Krishna got scolded
by his landlord for using high watt
bulb while cooking.
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exams from the confines of his rented
room in Allahabad. He started using a
magnifying glass to read the scattered
letters in his books. He lived in a perpetual
fear of being tricked by others if they got
to know about his disability. So when his
house owner got to know about his
problem with vision, he decided to shift to
another place with his brother.
It was during one of those days that
Krishna and his brother came to know
about their blindness through a programme
in the radio (AIR). They were under the
impression that those who were blind
could not see anything at all. When they
heard that a person with even 40%
disability also came in the blind category,
they decided to seek help for a medical
certificate.
procedures and the doctor concerned asked
them a bribe of Rs. 10000/- for giving a
blindness certificate. Finally, it was almost
in 2002 that he got a certificate stating his
visual disability. Since then a few things
became easier and he even started getting
concessions for his travel.
6/60 and it was then he started thinking of
other possible career options. He came to
know through informal sources that in
state civil services, except for the post of
section officer, no other post was
identified for the visually impaired. And
vacancy for that post had not been
advertised since many years.
graduation and clearing UGC-NET to get
the job of a lecturer which was a
conventional route traditionally identified
remaining session year, he started doing
his post-graduation while in Allahabad
from Kanpur University as a private
student. The main reason for choosing that
university was their scribe policy. He took
up economics as his subject. In retrospect,
he considers the option of choosing
economics as a wrong move as it was a bit
challenging for visually impaired. He did
Even during his brother’s wedding,
Krishna was hiding his disability
from the guests. The fear of social
stigma was so much so that when he
was asked to distribute food for the
guests, Krishna had to hide himself
for some time. He did not want to be
forced into doing something and
thereby reveal himself in the process.
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regard.
were always problems relating to scribes.
Different institutions followed different
were detailed guidelines regarding the
scribes to be brought in exams and it was a
difficulty to get a proper scribe. Many
deserted at the last moment and even if
someone agreed, the ability of the scribe to
even understand and pen down the answers
narrated to him/her was questionable.
Most of the times, the invigilators were
insensitive to the demand of the blind
candidates if they did not look blind as
was the case of Krishna. Lack of an
apparent sign in the eyes indicating visual
inability worked against him. He was
treated like a fraudster who was
circumventing the system for vested
interest.
demise of his grandmother. Her pension
having stopped, the brothers had to fend
for themselves alone in a big city. After
having lost their assured source of income
and having to adjust to the darkness setting
in their lives, they needed to make certain
changes in the way they operated. They
needed to adopt the blind way of life, learn
Braille and view things the way the blind
did.
somebody who could help them
understand the dynamics of Braille. Being
born blind was one thing and becoming
blind at a later stage in life was another.
There weren’t much institutional help
available in the case of latter.
They appeared in all possible competitive
examinations and tried to save money from
the meagre amount that their father was
sending them. Krishna’s brother qualified
the NET exam by this time. But there was
a time lag of almost half an year before the
certificate was issued and the brothers had
to find some avenue to sustain themselves
for some time. Before becoming
completely blind, they had to learn Braille,
and with nobody around them trained in
Braille, they decided to search for a blind
school. It took them almost a month and a
few casualties before they heard about the
National Institute of Visually Handicapped
(NIVH) in Dehradun.
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Instances
Failure at the level of the school to
identify problem
Societal stigma
affordability
writing exams
customized way and counsel
be visually demanding.
acquired blindness
confined only to those who have
got special training. Many BEd
courses still do not have a section
on teaching the disabled
exams with regard to scribes and
insensitivity of invigilators
combined with a lack of awareness
regarding blindness among
a job
available jobs
Combating poverty and disability Lack of a proper social security net
for benchmark disabilities
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there was no way by which he could get to
know the procedures of getting into the
institute. He had to hide his intention of
going to Dehradun from his father and he
and his brother started saving from their
stringent budget to make funds for their
plans. Saving measures included cutting
down one time’s food to even small
fudging in the expenses that they used to
report to their father.
found their way into the general coach of a
train and set out for NIVH in a bid to see if
they had a chance there. Their first visit
did not yield much fruit as they could not
get the expected response from NIVH.
They returned dejected. After a few
months, they revisited Dehradun and
reached Sharp Memorial School for the
Blind situated quite close to NIVH.
Despite being strangers, the school
authorities extended a warm welcome to
them. They stayed there for two days and
got introduced to the appliances and
equipment available at the school for
training the blind. The school then
referred them to NIVH. They got a better
response from NIVH that time and they
came to know about the adult training
centre in NIVH. Only very few candidates
were selected every year in the training
programme. They undertook yet another
trip to Dehradun to appear for the entrance
exam and both of them qualified into the
one year Computer Programme Course.
It was a huge relief for the brother duo at
that stage as accommodation with stipend
of Rs. 100 to each was almost
unimaginable.
life. They got acquainted to basic
computing skills and the screen reader
software. While in NIVH, Krishna’s vision
was almost namesake and had come down
drastically. Yet, he nurtured his ambition
to get into the civil services.
He had to attend classes on a regular basis
which was affecting his preparation and so
he was almost happy when he was
detected with Jaundice. Despite a weak
body that demanded rest, Krishna got into
a mode of serious preparation and later got
warned by his doctor to take care of his
health more seriously.
as he bent over his books trying to make
sense of the black markings. He magnified
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22
together. In 15 minutes, he would be tired
as his body writhed under the pain of his
postural imbalances.
anxious for his future. Though vocational
trainings were being provided in the
centre, most of them were not very
relevant.
the various opportunities available would
have been of more help as it was (and is)
difficult for them to find jobs in the private
sector. There were problems with market
linkages and the pass outs had to find their
way on their own.
library did not have books for competitive
exams and certain books required
updating.
of the talking library and started preparing
for civil services from NIVH. He started
recording lessons. He took almost 2-3
hours to learn diagrams and the 100 watt
bulb hanging low seared his eyes with its
heat. Probably, he was doing more damage
to his eyes by forcing them to read. But the
impending darkness kept him going
despite all these physical travails.
Krishna applied for a lot of exams. But the
differential scribe policy and the set of
procedures with regard to scribes were
major hurdles. In certain situations, the
authorities refused to consider him to be
blind. And for a subject like economics,
the question paper was almost always
unfriendly with lots of diagrams. He gave
his first attempt in civil services from
NIVH. But immediately after prelims, he
had to leave the institute.
Though his life in NIVH was very high on
quality, once out of it, he was back to
square one. He forgot whatever he learnt
there as he did not have access to a
computer to practise his skills. Neither was
he able to end up in a job based on his skill
set. Krishna feels that NIVH can play a
more proactive role in mainstreaming.
2017
23
problems getting there
thought of.
found
available.
providing agency.
the skills acquired.
determined.
2017
24
got the job of a lecturer in a private college
near to his village. And as per their
previous understanding, he agreed to fund
for Krishna’s education for the time being.
Krishna joined BEd course in Delhi
University, as that seemed to be an option
worth exercising. He had been able to clear
the entrance exam of the BEd course.
But he had to take the difficult decision of
leaving the course soon, when he cleared
the UGC NET and civil services
preliminary exam in 2005 in his first
attempt which he had taken during his
training in NIVH. He realized that regular
classes would be a hindrance in his
preparation for civil services mains exam.
That was a momentous decision in his life,
wherein he opted for something as
uncertain as the civil services. He was
convinced that he should aim for higher
goals in life.
and immersed himself full-fledged into
civil services preparation. He strained
through the printed material with his
makeshift magnifying glasses. At the end
of 2-3 hours, he would realize that he was
able to read very little and he relentlessly
tortured his eyes for 10-11 hours a day.
He requested people known to him to read
out from the materials available with him
so that he could record and use them later.
Some people who read out to him used to
charge from him. He had to cut down on
even elementary things in life in order to
afford these readers.
thought of entering some college as
lecturer so that he could afford his
preparation expenditure.
but everywhere people were sceptical
2017
25
about his ability to teach. It was in one of
these instances, Krishna thought of
preparing graphs for economics by
perforating the paper in the Braille style
and reading them by feeling them. But in
most cases, only experienced hands were
required and being a fresher and that too
handicapped worked against his plans. He
appeared in around 15 interviews in
different states which included 2
interviews for RBI economic research
officers also. But he did not manage to get
through anywhere due to scepticism on his
abilities by the authorities concerned.
That year though Krishna appeared in the
mains examination of civil services, he
could not reach the last stage of interview.
Though he was disheartened, his marks in
the mains exam prompted him to give
another attempt. This time he appeared for
the interview also, yet selection still eluded
him.
services exam in 2007 and secured a rank
of 142 out of 734. He had probably made
history as he was the first visually
challenged candidate to have reached such
a high rank and that too through self-
coaching alone. The success of Krishna
was special in the sense that he attempted
the exam in Hindi medium and that too
with the help of a scribe provided by
UPSC, choosing the optional of
economics. Most of the answers needed to
be substantiated through graphs and
diagrams which were not friendly for the
blind. He had intimated the Union Public
Service Commission regarding his
there wasn’t any action on that front, he
explained the diagrams to his scribe with
the help of an aluminium wire.
There was one vacancy in IAS for the
visually impaired and Krishna was
confident of getting it, as he had kept IAS
as his first choice.
he did not fulfil the physical requirements
of the seat reserved for visually challenged
candidates as circulated by the medical
board. The following parameters were
mentioned.
2. Reading and writing with computer
3. Walking with escort
were so obvious that he wrote a letter to
the DoPT pointing to them that if a person
was able to work by seeing, he couldn’t be
blind and hence requested them to
withdraw the arbitrary and insensitive
2017
26
the offices of Prime Minister, Minister for
Social Justice and Empowerment and
Commission for Disabilities also. DoPT
being in agreement with his argument
fished out the original rules and found out
that there was no physical requirement of
work to be done by seeing. A clarification
to this effect was sent to UPSC and the
latter admitted that it was a clerical
mistake on their part.
condition was dropped but the other two
remained. He got a date to appeal before
the DoPT.
that the parameters stated by the Medical
Board were against the tenets of
reservation for visual impairment and a
visually handicapped person would not be
able to fulfil the criteria. He also assured in
the letter about his ability to use the
computer and perform his day to day work
like any normal individual. Subsequently,
he was advised to appear before the
appellate medical board in Ram Manohar
Lohia Hospital, New Delhi.
years ago. As he had never practised on a
computer after his stint in NIVH, his
computing skills were almost redundant.
Krishna somehow managed to get access
to somebody’s system and tried practising
with it overnight. He appeared before the
medical board again and after examining
him, the medical board submitted a report
stating that he needed escort in unfamiliar
circumstances due to his visual impairment
and he could read and write with the help
of computer using some special software
for the blind.
DoPT who helped him wholeheartedly.
Finally DoPT gave the clearance and
allotted him IAS on 17th November 2008.
He was directed to join his Phase-1
training on 13 December 2008 at Lal
Bhahadur Shastri National Academy of
Administration, Mussoorie. He was ready
to join and intimated the same to the
academy. But he was advised by the
academy not to join on 13 December 2008,
as they had already got done the rail and
air reservation for the rest of the officers
for Bharat darshan.
months before joining the academy.
Finally he joined Phase-1 training after
Bhardarshan on 09 February 2009. In
Krishna's opinion when he had intimated
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27
to start Bharatdarshan. If he had been
allowed to join the course on 13 December
2008, he would not have lost his first
salary increment forever.
time, salary and one increment. One need
not mention the obvious mental and
emotional trauma that he went through in
representing his case. Despite getting
qualified, Krishna had to fight it out for
justice.
2017
28
Instances
opportunities get lost
Visual expression was difficult during exams Certain question papers require
blind friendly approach
issues sorted.
disabled through experts in the
relevant field
blind
which would be provided to the
relevant office while inducting a
disabled candidate.
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29
Administration, Mussoorie
National Academy of Administration late
due to the delay in sorting issues related to
DoPT. It was a new experience for the
academy also. The first and foremost thing
about the academy is the terrain. It requires
considerable amount of expertise acquired
through familiarity after a long association
with the particular place. The officers do
not stay for such a long period there and
hence it becomes necessary for visually
impaired to have the help of an escort.
Krishna was also provided with an escort
who used to accompany him while he was
out in the premises of the academy. In
Krishna’s case, he used to dismiss the
escort once in classes or inside his room
and so the duration that he spent with his
escort was very less. But there could be
conditions where the escort has to stay for
longer durations on duty. Hence it is
advisable to give them orientation on their
expected duty. Krishna had experienced
some difficulty as his escort was not able
to read and write proper English. So on
occasions where he wanted some
assistance in this regard, it was not
forthcoming.
degrees and there is a definite difference in
the way a person deals with his disability.
So according to Krishna, there is no
universal way of dealing with them. Each
person comes with his own set of needs
and so any intervention has to be
customized. In Krishna’s case, because of
the late onset of the disease, he was not
well trained in Braille. So he felt the need
to refine his Braille skills and he had made
a request to that effect which was for some
reason not fulfilled.
physical training, Krishna made it a point
not to miss out much. So he was regular
with PT, trekking as well as other
activities. He had also gone for one week
trekking to Harkidun in the Himalyas with
other trainees during his foundation
course.
through power point. In many cases, the
lecture was not circulated to him in
accessible way and so he had difficulty in
following the sequence in the class room.
Again while presentations, certain
impairment asked the class room to first
2017
30
on to explain, which was again a problem
for him. Similarly there were occasions
when the instructor having realized his
problem started making him the focal point
in the classes. This Krishna feels would
make the person conscious and take his
attention away from the matter at hand.
There were instances where the hard copy
of the next day’s lecture would be
circulated prior but then again Krishna
would have to spend considerable amount
of time on them, converting them into
accessible format.
classrooms and later followed up with
them. If provided with the right
technology, a visually impaired person can
even take notes simultaneously in Braille.
The lap top provided by the academy
could be put to better use here.
Making the library accessible was another
aspect which could be improved upon as
per Krishna Gopal’s experience. There are
websites like book share,
books in digital format. These can be
easily downloaded and used by the person
concerned using a screen reader software.
If the books in the course syllabus are
converted into accessible digital format
and put in platforms like book share, this
will help widen the horizon of the visually
impaired.
adopted by the academy while the officer
trainee went outside LBSNAA like in the
case of parliamentary attachment. Krishna
was never provided an escort in any of his
outside attachments as well as in Bharat
Darshan. The batch mates were supposed
to take care of him.
This had put a huge onus on Krishna as he
had to keep his group in good humour
always as he was at the mercy of others in
unfamiliar situations. So in assignments
like Bharat Darshan which was a
prolonged exercise involving change of
landscape to climate, the dependency on
others became a huge strain. But Krishna
managed to carry on without any major
disputes or contention.
batch mates being in an excited
mood had let their guard off for a
moment when the incident
have been avoided.
2017
31
Instances
Wanted to update his Braille skills Different candidates have different
requirements. Hence a customized
assignments outside Mussoorie
some modifications
Could not use the library facility much Certain modifications required in
library management.
2017
32
Awareness in society
Mainstreaming
2017
33
cadre. His first stint was as Assistant
Collector in Chhindwara district. He was
instrumental in launching the Akshya Urja
Express in Chhindwara as a part of
awareness programme on renewable
Krishna could easily identify the problems
in schools of physically challenged
students. He was able to bring changes in
such a school. He also monitored the
welfare camp for such children to include
them in the net of various schemes meant
for them. He was also able to revive an e-
library which later on became an
information source for competitive exams.
His first independent charge was that of
CEO Janpad Panchayat, Chhindwara and
later on as Tehsildar during his district
training. In this capacity, Krishna has held
meetings, dealt with financial matters,
issued cheques, inspected schools and
midday meals and acted in monitoring
capacity of various welfare schemes.
Normally Krishna takes the help of a
scribe or scanning machine or Braille to
read the hard copy and screen reader
software in case of soft copies. When it
comes to financial matters, at times, he
cross checks with others and at other times
help of software. He scans the required
documents which when gets into his
system is picked up by the software which
reads it out to him. For presentations too
Krishna requires the help of the software
which reads out the screen into his
earphone. For other monitoring meetings,
Krishna has to prepare the day before and
make his notes in Braille so that he is able
to give his answers in case of any queries.
Other activities undertaken include
card issuance etc. Krishna has even
successfully removed around 148
in Berasia, Bhopal. His ambit ranged from
There was a particular instance
where Krishna was asked to
inspect the quality of roads. He did
it through a totally original
method. He took an iron rod and
walked along, dragging it through
the construction. By the sound of
the metal on concrete, Krishna was
able to find out the quality of the
road.
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34
order.
Executive Officer (CEO) Zila Panchayat in
Hoshangabad. In his capacity as CEO, he
was not only instrumental in the
monitoring of various schemes, but also
co-ordinated with various departments
activities to conducting elections.
magistrate in one of the tribal districts in
the state- Umaria. All during his
collectorship, he has been extremely
sensitive of the needs of the disabled. He
has never shied away from any of the
duties expected of a district magistrate. He
understands the job at hand first and then
tries to visualize it. He innovates
accordingly and tries to achieve the work
at hand.
matter whether you have eyes or not, but
what matters is how seriously you take
your job. If you want to do it, you will find
ways to achieve your end. He agrees that
his eyes are blind but insists on not being
blind.
you ask him the time, he would tell
you the exact time seeing his watch.
The dial of the watch can be opened
near the lug. Opening the cover over
the dial, he feels inside and says the
time.
2017
35
technologies like the screen reading
software from internet and through his
network of like-minded people. At present
he is using JAWS 17 software and
considers Kurzweil1000 to be one amongst
the best scanning software. Initially these
software required word documents. Now
even jpg format can be read using them.
Conducting TL
carries a soft copy of the TL sheet with
him and reviews the officials with the help
of it. He hears the agenda from his system
and addresses the concerning official.
Jansunvai
has to meet the common citizens on a
designated day and has to hear their
grievances and solve them accordingly.
Krishna developed a software in this
regard. He initiated a token system where
in the brief details of the complainant is
fed into the system. And Krishna got to
know the essentials through his software.
In matters where, immediate action is
necessary, Krishna leaves no scope for
procrastination. The complainant is made
to sit there and the needful is done before
his eyes so that follow up option becomes
easier.
which require an eye for details. Krishna’s
assistant reads the court files. The reader
writes on the files which in turn is affirmed
by one of the two advocates. Krishna
makes reference notes also with the help of
his reader. Later on he gets them verified
by his assistant. The draft order is also
prepared by the reader.
the help of his reader. In matters of land
orders, he conducts meetings of Shanti
Samitis. He takes the concerned
stakeholders to the field and ascertain the
ground level situation at the location itself.
The details would be read out by the in–
charge officers. And he elicits comments
from the people.
to put identification dots on cheques in
order to sign them. Now he takes the help
of his escort and verifies the details later
on.
2017
36
encroachment removal initiatives. He first
understood the scenario by converting a
normal map into a blind friendly one with
raised dots. He zeroed in on the properties
to be brought down and then reconfirmed
the same after the event with the help of
his patwari.
first took attendance and then looked up in
the attendance register.
checking the information received. He
always creates a mental map of the actions
to be done by him and then tries to form an
idea as to how he could go about executing
something in the way non blind people do.
This gives him perspective and he
innovates according to the situation.
2017
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people with poor vision who are unable to
read the screen or navigate with the mouse.
JAWS provides speech and Braille output
for the most popular computer applications
on your PC.
Features of Jaws
inaccessible PDF documents
to Print documents or books
Built-in free DAISY Player and full set of
DAISY-formatted basic training books
Edge etc.
and Windows 7, including touch screens
and gestures
MathJax
Analyzer
MAGIC, and the Open Book Scanning and
Reading Software
is not affordable to everybody.
Non Visual Desktop Access (NVDA) on
the other hand is a free “screen reader”
which enables blind and vision impaired
people to use computers. It reads the text
on the screen in a computerised voice. You
can control what is read to you by moving
the cursor to the relevant area of text with
a mouse or the arrows on your keyboard.
NVDA can also convert the text into
braille if the computer user owns a device
called a “braille display”.
allows all classroom materials such as
books, tests and homework to be stored in
a central location accessible across
electronic devices. Additional features
be used to keep learners on task and
organized.
recognition (OCR) application program
editable electronic formats. It can be used
in Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel,
2017
38
txt (plain text) files.
accessibility options in the phone will help
them use the phone like anybody else and
even internet banking would not be a
difficult option.
assistive technology, the challenges
overcome to a certain extent. Literacy
technology utilizes many different
Krishna also uses the mobile to his
advantage. He has used the accessibility
option in his mobile whereby, the mobile
reads out the screen for him. Today he
does internet banking also on his own.
2017
39
interpreted by the courts expansively to
include protection to the weaker sections
of society. Thus the non-provision of
enabling facilities to the disabled (such as
scribes for exams) would amount to
discrimination under Article 14 of the
Constitution of India 10
Article 21.
permits a ‘reasonable classification’
policy objective. The Persons with
Disabilities (Equal Opportunities
into force on 07 February 1996. It was
amended recently in 2016 to include a
wider spectrum of disabilities.
accommodation for children with
governments to provide free education in
an appropriate environment to all
10
State of W.B. v. Anwar Ali Sarkar, AIR 1952 SC 75; State of Bombay v. F.N. Balsara, AIR 1951 SC 318; R.K. Dalmiav. Justice Tendolkar, AIR 1958 SC 538; In re Special Courts Bill, 1978, (1979) 1 SCC 380
children with disabilities until the age of
18 years. In order to realize rights under
the Act, Section 30 imposes obligations on
states to provide access to transport
facilities, remove any architectural
provide scholarships, setup grievance
redressal mechanism and design
with disabilities.
endeavour that all educational institutions
funded or recognised by them provide
inclusive education to the children with
disabilities and towards that end shall— (i)
admit them without discrimination and
provide education and opportunities for
sports and recreation activities equally
with others; (ii) make building, campus
and various facilities accessible; (iii)
provide reasonable accommodation
(iv) provide necessary support
individualised or otherwise in
goal of full inclusion; (v) ensure that the
education to persons who are blind or deaf
or both is imparted in the most appropriate
languages and modes and means of
communication; (vi) detect specific
learning disabilities in children at the
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40
attainment levels and completion of
education in respect of every student with
disability; (viii) provide transportation
and also the attendant of the children with
disabilities having high support needs.”
Ensuring a level playing field: Regarding
the provision of equal opportunity, the act
says that “(1) Every establishment shall
notify equal opportunity policy, detailing
measures proposed to be taken by it in
pursuance of the provisions of this Chapter
in the manner as may be prescribed by the
Central Government. (2) Every
said policy with the Chief Commissioner
or the State Commissioner, as the case
may be.”
education institutions receiving aid from
the Government shall reserve not less than
five per cent seats for persons with
benchmark disabilities.
shall be given an upper age relaxation of
five years for admission in institutions of
higher education.
identify posts in the establishments which
can be held by respective category of
persons with benchmark disabilities in
respect of the vacancies reserved in
accordance with the provisions of section
(iii) undertake periodic review of the
identified posts at an interval not
exceeding three years.
of the total number of vacancies in the
cadre strength in each group of posts
meant to be filled with persons with
benchmark disabilities of which, one per
cent each shall be reserved for persons
with benchmark disabilities under clauses
(a), (b) and (c) and one per cent. for
persons with benchmark disabilities under
clauses (d) and (e), namely: (a) blindness
and low vision; (b) deaf and hard of
hearing; (c) locomotor disability including
cerebral palsy, leprosy cured, dwarfism,
acid attack victims and muscular
dystrophy; (d) autism, intellectual
from amongst persons under clauses (a) to
(d) including deaf-blindness in the posts
identified for each disabilities.
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notification, provide for such relaxation of
upper age limit for employment of persons
with benchmark disability, as it thinks fit.
The appropriate Government and the local
authorities shall, within the limit of their
economic capacity and development,
sector to ensure that at least five percent of
their work force is composed of persons
with benchmark disability.
notification, require that from such date,
the employer in every establishment shall
furnish such information or return as may
be prescribed by the Central Government
in relation to vacancies appointed for
persons with benchmark disability that
have occurred or are about to occur in that
establishment to such special employment
exchange as may be notified by the Central
Government and the establishment shall
thereupon comply with such requisition.
Coming to the specific disability of low
vision or blindness as the case may be the
PWD Act as well as court judgements
from time to time have pronounced
provisions increasingly in the favour of the
visually impaired.
provides that ‘all educational institutions
shall provide or cause to be provided
amanuensis to blind students and students
with or low vision’. But still there exists
tremendous amount of confusion in this
regard as is seen in the case of Shri.
Krishna Gopal Tiwari.
guidelines issued by various institutions in
the matter of scribes as this turned out to
be a major problematic element in the life
of Krishna. But before that we go for a
bird’s eye view of the major judgments
and guidelines issued in this regard to see
if any issue that emerged during the case
study of Krishna has been missed out or
overlooked.
NALSAR University of Law in its report
on ‘The Rights of Persons with
Disabilities Bill, 2011’ to the Committee
appointed by the Ministry of Social Justice
and Empowerment, Government of India
laid down guiding principles for
appointment of scribes for the disabled.
The report strongly urges that:
…basic guiding principles relating to
scribes must be incorporated in the statute:
only eligibility criteria for scribes should
be that at the time person is acting as
scribe, person shouldn’t be eligible to
appear for the exam, or should not have
been eligible over last 3 years. Further, the
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42
discretion of candidate. Competence of
the scribe is important.
relation to the rights of the visually
impaired in relation to examinations and
scribes but only the most important ones
have been given below.
Maharashtra Rajya Apang Karmachari
Sanghatana v. Maharashtra Housing
the Maharashtra Rajya Apang Karmachari
Sanghatana against the guidelines of the
Maharashtra Housing Area Development
impugned guidelines reads as follows: (1)
candidate’s scribe must himself have
secured a lower score than the candidate in
a previous examination or less than 60 per
cent marks in his examination, and (2)
visually challenged students and their
scribes shall be criminally prosecuted if
found indulging in malpractice during
exams.
was invalidated because the Court felt that
it would create a wrong environment in
which good scribes will be discouraged to
come forward to the aid of the visually
impaired. The Court asked the MHADA to
‘be sensitive’ to the visually impaired and
directed it to remove the provision.
Cases and Guidelines
December 18, 2006 in Public Interest
Litigation No. 129 of 2003 laid down
elaborate ‘Guidelines for Appointment and
Availing Facility of Scribe’. They are as
follows:
provided by the examining authority or be
arranged by the candidate himself/herself
at the discretion of the candidate.
2. Any attempt at cheating can be curbed
by ensuring proper supervision and
vigilance, by the invigilators.
necessary that if the scribe is provided by
the examination conducting authorities,
competence of the scribe/writer.
very clear in the advertisement itself
regarding availability of scribe/writers.
application form itself that he/she would
like to avail the facility of writer from the
examining body or he himself would
arrange for the scribe/writer.
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43
scribes/writers and make the panel at
District/Division or State level as per
requirement of examination.
requirement of the stream/discipline e.g.
Arts, Commerce, Science & Mathematics,
scribes should be included in the panel.
8. It is desirable that the candidate and the
scribe are from the same stream.
9. In case the candidate avails the services
of his/her own scribe/writer, the
scribe/writer should be one grade junior in
academic qualification than the candidate,
if from the same stream. However, this
condition shall not apply if the
scribe/writer is from a different stream.
10. No other restriction should be imposed
on the selection of a scribe/writer.
11. The Chief invigilator of the
examination centre should have
change of scribes under exigencies
12. More than one scribe may not be
permitted to write different papers.
13. The letter approving the scribe should
contain the following information in
writing:
b. He shall be seated separately
c. Beside the date and subject name, scribe
name should be printed for every paper.
d. Contact address and phone number of
competent authority should also be printed
for last minute change of scribe.
14. Refreshments, if any to scribes/writers
should either be served before or after the
examination
examinations have framed guidelines
the disabled. The notification on
‘Examination Writing Policy issued by
Delhi University in 2011 is given here.
Students, who will be eligible for
writer/scribe/interpreter in any of the
categories mentioned above, may arrange
for their own writers, scribes,
interpreters as the case may be. In case
they are unable to do so, the
Superintendent of the Examination Centre
would provide the same on receipt of
written request from the candidate at least
24 hours prior to the commencement of the
examination. A writers’ bank must be
created in each college for the purpose for
a ready availability of writers whenever
required. Support may be sought from the
Equal Opportunity Cell, if need be. The
candidate must be given an opportunity to
satisfy himself/herself about the writer’s
ability to take dictation from the candidate.
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44
qualified than the examinee. However, if
the writer is more qualified than the
examinee, the Superintendent of
writer has not studied the subject at the
higher level in which the examinee is
appearing.
to bring their own scribes which is a
challenge for the person. Instead of
preparing for the exams the candidate is
more involved in the technicalities.
We see that are many enabling provisions
for the disabled. There is a lot of stress on
inclusive education. But mostly the terms
are hazy and the grey area expands
leading to confusion in the legal matters.
Hence there is a need to spell out
provisions without ambiguity. For
identify the adjustments to be made by the
institutions who are supposed to take in
such candidates. Apart from keeping the
building barrier free, there has to be clarity
on the infrastructure that need to be there
which would be helpful for the blind. And
even when a disabled is admitted to the
school, the current BEd. Syllabus does not
provide the necessary skill set for a normal
teacher to handle them.
normal students and so how to equip a
visually disabled student with study related
material is not yet clear.
As discussed earlier, there is nexus
between poverty and disability and weaker
sections of the society try getting into
special schools run by government. As was
our experience in yet another study of the
institute, mainstreaming to inclusive
almost nil 11
probably came into existence after
Krishna’s time. One can see that what
causes difficulties for the disabled are not
dearth of enabling provisions. It is the
clarity of these provisions, lack of clear
guidelines and a general lack of awareness
in implementation that creates problem for
the visually impaired.
solve their problems. There is a bigger
social milieu around which needs to be
sensitized and oriented towards the needs
of the differently abled section. As stated
earlier, normal BEd course does not have a
section on disability. So a teacher not
11
of the special schools run by the govt. Of MP,
AIGGPA,2017
2017
45
stands in the way of inclusion.
In order to orient the general population
towards the problems of disabled, the
PWD Act does talk about awareness and
accessibility options. The Act says thus.
“(1) The appropriate Government, in
consultation with the Chief Commissioner
or the State Commissioner, as the case
may be, shall conduct, encourage, support
or promote awareness campaigns and
sensitisation programmes to ensure that the
rights of the persons with disabilities
provided under this Act are protected. (2)
The programmes and campaigns specified
under sub-section (1) shall also, (a)
promote values of inclusion, tolerance,
empathy and respect for diversity; (b)
advance recognition of the skills, merits
and abilities of persons with disabilities
and of their contributions to the workforce,
labour market and professional fee; (c)
foster respect for the decisions made by
persons with disabilities on all matters
related to family life, relationships, bearing
and raising children; (d) provide
orientation and sensitisation at the school,
college, University and professional
disabilities;(e) provide orientation and
rights of persons with disabilities to
employers, administrators and co-workers;
disabilities are included in the curriculum
in Universities, colleges and schools.
Physical Accessibility: The Central
Chief Commissioner, formulate rules for
persons with disabilities laying down the
standards of accessibility for the physical
environment, transportation, information
and communications, including
other facilities and services provided to the
public in urban and rural areas.
Access to transport. (1) The appropriate
Government shall take suitable measures
to provide, (a) facilities for persons with
disabilities at bus stops, railway stations
and airports conforming to the
accessibility standards relating to parking
spaces, toilets, ticketing counters and
ticketing machines; (b) access to all modes
of transport that conform the design
standards, including retrofitting old modes
of transport, wherever technically feasible
and safe for persons with disabilities,
economically viable and without entailing
major structural changes in design; (c)
accessible roads to address mobility
necessary for persons with disabilities.
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46
the personal mobility of persons with
disabilities at affordable cost to provide
for, (a) incentives and concessions; (b)
retrofitting of vehicles; and (c) personal
mobility assistance. Access to information
and communication technology.
measures to ensure that, (i) all contents
available in audio, print and electronic
media are in accessible format; (ii) persons
with disabilities have access to electronic
media by providing audio description, sign
language interpretation and close
equipment which are meant for everyday
use are available in universal design.
Taking cue from the above, each
government need to create specific action
plans which need to be implemented
within a specific time period.
2017
47
disabilities is quite complex. The Persons
with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities,
Act 1995 provides for the appointment of a
Chief Commissioner and Commissioners
Chief Commissioner (centrally) and the
Commissioners (at the State level) have
the power to safeguard the rights and
facilities of persons with disabilities. They
are also vested with the power to
investigate complaints with respect to the
deprivation of the rights of persons with
disabilities as well as non-implementation
of laws and rules 12
.
the Ministry of Social Justice and
Empowerment (MSJE). The mandate of
the organization is to promote the interest
of disadvantaged and marginalised
Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full
Participation) Act 1995
Persons with Disabilities Chapter XII Section 57,
Section 60 13
Classes, Minorities, PWD, aged persons, street
children, victims of drug abuse and others
The Government of India, Ministry of
Social Justice &Empowerment, has a
division for disabilities which includes and
supports 7 National Institutes, 11 District
Rehabilitation Centres, 4 Regional
Rehabilitation Centres, 5 Composite
and 3 autonomous bodies viz. the
Rehabilitation Council of India, National
Trust for the Welfare of Persons with
Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Mental
the National Handicapped Finance
central and State-level Coordination and
Executive Committees to look into the co-
ordination issues between various sectors.
They are also responsible for disability
policy development. They are supposed to
meet every six and three months
respectively. The executive committees are
the executive arm of the state level
committees. But statistics at the central
level shows that these committees meet
rarely and in many parts of the country
they are barely functional 14
. So the nodal
co-ordination and delegation.
119884/10/10_chapter%205.pdf
2017
48
Commissioner for Persons with
overseeing the act. These offices are
mandated to coordinate the work of
various agencies, to monitor fund
utilization on disability programs, and take
steps to safeguard the rights and facilities
made available to PWD. The
Commissioners' offices look into
structure of the institutional framework has
been depicted below.
use of funds; (ii) Lack of clarity in
grievance redressal mechanisms; (iii)
States. These are again compounded with
low staffing low capacity in
Commissioner’s office 15
An additional generic concern that has
emerged is the lack of legal expertise in
the Commissioners' offices, particularly at
State level, despite the importance of their
quasi-judicial role in enforcement of the
Act.
which found skeletal staff in both offices. The same
study also noted that full time commissioners exist
to date only in a minority of States (Bhambani
:2006)
2017
49
function in disability tends to be an
additional charge for District or Additional
Collectors and Block Development
of grievance redressal for PWDs. This
pattern is not the same everywhere as there
is considerable variation amongst states in
the matters of PWDs depending upon the
resources available.
seven of them and they are under the
support of the Disability division. They are
envisaged as model bodies in mental
retardation, visual disability, hearing
handicap, physical handicap, orthopaedic
operating training courses, service delivery
programmes, research and development of
books and other materials. The list of the
institutes are given under.
for the Hearing Handicapped
Institute for the Physically
Handicapped (IPH), New Delhi
Mentally Handicapped (NIMH),
Handicapped (NIVH), Dehradun
Training &Research (NIRTAR),
upgraded as National Institute for Visually
Handicapped in July, 1979. It was
registered as an autonomous Institution
under the Societies Registration Act, 1860
in October, 1982. The objective of the
Institute is to conduct, sponsor and
coordinate all aspects of education for
rehabilitation of persons with visual
disabilities and coordinate research in
these areas. The Institute also assists in
running a Composite Regional Centre
(CRC) for persons with disabilities at
Sundernagar in Himachal Pradesh. This
apex level Institute is engaged in
education, vocational training, training of
teachers and other personnel, research and
development of service modules,
appliances for the visually handicapped.
A visit to NIVH was conducted and an
interview held with Director NIVH. NIVH
2017
50
and to undertake research. It is also
involved in developing Braille in various
languages and initiating the corresponding
reforms in Braille. The authorities feel that
in expanding Braille, the task becomes
challenging when it comes to North
Eastern languages.
the years. Initially NIVH was the only
manufacturing and designing unit for
equipment related to visually impaired but
now private players have also been roped
in. So they are diversifying into other
activities as well. Apart from work
associated with Braille development, they
also undertake 3-4 projects in a year which
relate to the various aspects ranging from
policy level issues to latest technology
surrounding the visually impaired.
they have taken up. With this purpose in
view, they have started a department of
vocational training/ training for adult
blind. They try to align the training with
market demands. Most of their courses
have been recognized by National Council
for Vocational Training.
age group of 18-40 years are entitled for
admission to undergo this course.
Selection of candidates is made through
interview and aptitude tests. The selected
candidates are provided free boarding and
lodging, medical facilities, books and other
related paraphernalia. They get an
allowance of Rs.200/month. Shri Krishna
Gopal Tiwari was part of this course. An
issue that emerged in the study regarding
this course is the limited entry of eligible
candidates.
institution more inclusive, the authorities
admitted that it was a challenging task.
The implications of blindness are vast and
so one needs to understand all aspects in
order to train blind people. Here student
teacher ratio has to be maintained and each
person has to be groomed through a
customized approach.
the disabled is quite grim. Most of the
posts remain vacant. In another study
conducted by this institute on the
government run educational institutions
, paucity
16
evaluation of the institutions run by the Department
of Social Justice, Madhya Pradesh,
2017
51
creating problems in all inclusive
education. Ultimately what happens is
segregated education instead of special
education. As elucidated in the chapter
before, many norms have been set for
conducting special education. But most of
them still remain in paper. Coming to the
institutional framework in large, much is
desired in terms of implementation.
Coming to the placement of the candidates
from NIVH, they do undertake job
mapping studies to stay in relevance. But
there is scope for improvement as far as
market linkages are concerned. In the case
of Shri Krishna Gopal Tiwari, what we
found was that the skill set acquired from
this institute was not enough to get him
placed anywhere. It did give him an edge
once he landed in a career. But
identification of jobs, proper
linking the supposed benefits to the
potential beneficiaries through IEC and
market linkages of educational institutions
are areas that need to be worked upon.
Another area where NIVH can play a key
role is in creating an enabling environment
for the visually impaired. NIVH is in a
capacity to ratify and vet the queries posed
in this regard. They do address these issues
but proper propagation of their findings are
essential. Much depends on the sensitivity
of the concerned governments also. The
government of Tamil Nadu has a working
agreement with NIVH under which they
send their employees for induction
training. Such initiatives need to
encouraged more.
matter with sensitivity and a lot of
forethought. Krishna Gopal Tiwari feels
that the disabled do not require
mainstreaming. It is the general population
that require sensitization and policies need
to be formed keeping the above in mind.
This sums up the situation rather
succinctly.
2017
52
Recommendations
issues emerged, the institute is bringing up
the following suggestions.
Awareness being a major issue in detecting
the problem and making relevant
adjustments, there is a need to sensitize
common people towards disability. As per
the Census 2011,in India out of the 121 Cr
population, 2.68 Cr persons are ‘disabled’
which is 2.21% of the total population.
And 17% of it have disability in seeing. Of
the 17% of visually impaired 17% come
under 0-19 category. Though statistics put
the disabled category as a small percentage
of the overall population, it is a looming
threat as one could acquire disability any
time. So sensitization of the issue has to
happen from the ground level.
1. A unit on disability need to be
included in textbooks of schools.
Just like value education or sports,
the curriculum needs to incorporate
elementary training in Braille and
sign language.
possible, at least a few set of text
books need to be printed in a blind
friendly manner.
to be done for those with visual
impairment especially with relation
to subjects involving lab
many of the disabilities. Detection
and awareness go hand in hand. Tie
ups with aanganwaadis and
immunization centres could be
could be briefed about disability
detection.
disability are two major issues
faced by the affected people.
Proactive delivery of services to
these people have to be adopted so
that they come under the social
security net. Counselling of the
parents also should be undertaken
at the level of gate-keepers.
Though most of the guidelines and
laws talk about parent counselling,
these are hardly adhered to.
6. A uniform policy for scribes need
to be brought in wherein the onus
of bringing the scribe does not lie
upon the candidate. Though there
are many judgements regarding the
qualification of scribes, they need
to be of reasonably good quality so
2017
53
stands a good chance of success.
At the level of institutes
7. Specialized institutes for disabled
which includes NIVH also need to
increase their visibility. A careful
IEC plan need to be chalked out to
make these institutions more
restricted very severely. In most
cases, student teacher ratio is
shown as a major reason for less
student intake. Qualified and
teaching jobs lucrative and
government institutions at regular
understand its constraints and
problems and adjust accordingly.
first assess the specific needs of the
officers and provide customized
continuous process. The unit
11. Lectures have to be circulated prior
to the classes so that the person has
a fair idea about it. Giving it in
digital form can help him/her
convert it into readable forms.
Similarly during the lectures, the
lecturer need to verbalize each and
everything on the screen without
leaving anything for visual intake.
12. Even during attachments outside
LBSNAA in Mussoorie, the
visually impaired candidates need
to be provided escorts.
2017
54
?
?

,
,

, ?
, ?
( )
2017
55
Acknowledgments
This report would not have been possible without the help of Shri Krishna Gopal Tiwari. He
patiently sat through the interview sessions, answering all the questions crisscrossing his life.
The institute is indebted to Shri Krishna Gopal Tiwari for his whole hearted co-operation
throughout the study.
We are also thankful to Dr. Rohit Trivedi, Professor in Department of English, Sarojini Naidu
College, Bhopal for his valuable inputs and suggestions. Dr. Trivedi was born blind and have
been actively associated with the cause of the visually impaired throughout these years.
2017
56
References
1. Dandona L, Blindness control in India: beyond anachronism. Lancet 2000; 356
(Suppl): S25
2. Dandona L, Dandona R, Srinivas M, Giridhar P, Vilas K, Prasad MN, John RK,
McCarty CA, Rao GN. Blindness in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Invest
OphthalmolViscSci2001; 42: 908–916.
3. Dandona R, Dandona L. Review of findings of the Andhra Pradesh Eye Disease
Study: policy implications for eye-care services. Indian J Ophthalmol2001; 49: 215–
234.
4. Global Data on visual impairment, 2010, Report by WHO
5. IAPB bo

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