Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'Respect the rights of disabled' that was published in Newsband

Respect the rights of disabled

It is the duty of normal people to recognize the rights of people with disabilities. For example, even the blind and print disabled have the right to read. The authors and publishers should reproduce and distribute works in a format that can be understood by blind and print disabled. That will give such unfortunate people new reading and 3learning experiences. Even the public libraries should have these formats which will benefit the blind and print disabled who form the big segment of the population. There is an urgent need to cater to their needs.

It is not just enough to talk about universal education but efforts should be made to make it a reality. There should also be cross-border exchange of such formats of books. It is nice to know that even international organizations are making efforts along this direction. Such formats should be made available in all bookstalls too. It will take a long time for the world to be a place where all the blind and print disabled will get justice done. But it is possible to achieve this objective one day in the future if the right efforts are made in the right direction.

It would be great to have a world where each and every disabled person will be able to read and provide his or her valuable opinions. It would be very useful if the audio books are made available to blind students in English and other regional languages. This will enable the differently-able people in India to participate in nation building process and live with greater self confidence and diverse knowledge.

Attempt to do justice to the disabled would mean coming closer to achieving the concept of social equality which our Indian constitution preaches.

In the past, the absence of quality materials for people with disabilities was one of the severest constraint in imparting quality education to them and thus streamlining them. But the advent of new technologies today has opened a new vista of hope for this section of people who were being ignored in the past.

Even the government should take all the steps needed for equal distribution of literary light for all.

Knowledge is power. Every human being possesses the right to quench his thirst for knowledge. The blind and the print disabled also possess the right to knowledge. So facilitating such above mentioned measures for the people in need will provide them a platform to prove their abilities and potentialities.