Understanding

UNIT 1 UNDERSTANDING DISABILITY Disability

Structure

1.1 Introduction
1.2 Objectives
1.3 Defining Disability
1.4 The Causes of Disability
1.5 Types of Disabilities
1.6 Disability in a Global Context
1.7 Disability in the Indian Context
1.8 Let Us Sum Up
1.9 Terminal Questions
1.10 Answers to Check Your Progress
1.11 References and Further Reading

1.1 INTRODUCTION
Disability is a universal human condition and has been present through
history, across cultures and communities. Most of us are likely to experience
a disabling condition in some form, either temporarily or permanently at
some point in our lives. Disabilities may be physical (eg.orthopedic
disabilities, limb deformities) sensory (eg.blindness, deafness) cognitive (eg.
intellectual disabilities) and psycho-social (mental illness). They may be
congenital (present since birth) or acquired later in life. According to the
World Health Organisation (WHO) around 1.3 billion people globally are
estimated to experience disability. This corresponds to about 16% of the
world's population, with up to 190 million (3.8%) people aged 15 years and
older having significant difficulties in functioning. This has significant
implications for the world of work and occupational health. Disability is a
development priority because of its higher prevalence in lower-income
countries and because disability and poverty reinforce and perpetuate one
another. As per the 2011 Census there are 2.68 crore (26.8 million) persons
with disabilities in India. Experts opine that this figure is an underestimate,
and the actual numbers are likely to be much greater. In this Unit, we shall
attempt to understand the meaning and experience of disability in greater
detail through an examination of definitions, causal factors and types of
disabilities. We shall also consider the incidence of disability globally and in
the Indian context.

1.2 OBJECTIVES
After studying this Unit you will be able to: 13
Introduction to  Define disability, its types and causal factors, and
Disability and
Disability Studies
 Discuss the incidence of disability in the global and local contexts.

1.3 DEFINING DISABILITY

Definitions of disability are important as these can influence the way in
which non-disabled people respond to those with disabling conditions. Also,
these definitions play important roles in formulation of organizational
policies, procedures, and practices. The term “disability” has often been a
synonym for “inability” or incapacity of individuals to participate in society
on the same terms as non-disabled persons. Terms to refer to the persons with
disabilities (PwDs) including retarded, crippled, handicapped, deaf and
dumb, mentally ill can be demeaning and derogatory and are no longer
considered appropriate. In the Indian context, a number of terms in local
languages highlight the physical or cognitive limitations of the individual and
may be used as terms of abuse or ridicule (eg. langda, kana, tota, paagal etc.
in Hindi) Disability terminologies have been influenced by the historical,
cultural and social factors prevalent at the time. For instance, persons with
intellectual disabilities have variously been termed ‘idiots’, ‘imbeciles’,
‘morons’, ‘mentally retarded’; terms that are considered extremely
derogatory in contemporary times, but were once considered acceptable
usages.

Before we discuss definitions of disability, it is important to distinguish

between the terms ‘impairment’ and ‘disability’. While ‘impairment’ refers to
the medical or physiological dimensions, ‘disability’ refers to the social
exclusion or disadvantages that accrue from the impairment. For example, a
person may have experienced damage to her eyes due to an accident at the
workplace. However, due to her visual impairment, she may not be able to
find employment and may be considered a burden on the family. Society may
view her as an unfortunate victim of fate and treat her with condescension
and pity. She may not be able to travel or access public spaces due to the lack
of safe facilities for visually impaired persons and this may greatly restrict
her social life. This is how a physical impairment becomes a ‘disability’.
According to the Union of the Physically Impaired Against Segregation
(UPIAS), one of the first associations working towards the rights of persons
with disabilities in the United Kingdom (U.K), impairment was defined as
"lacking part of or all of a limb, or having a defective limb, organism or
mechanism of the body" while disability is "the disadvantage or restriction of
activity caused by contemporary organization which takes no or little account
of people who have physical impairments and thus excludes them from the
mainstream of social activities" (UPIAS, 1976). While some understandings
on disability focus exclusively on the medical or biological aspects, or
impairments, others hold that the social and environmental barriers and
experienced by persons with impairments constitute disability. We shall read
more about the medical and social models of disability in Unit 2.

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Disability is any condition of the body or mind (impairment) that makes it Understanding
Disability
more difficult for the person with the condition to do certain activities
(activity limitation) and interact with the world around them (participation
restrictions). The World Health Organization's (WHO) International
Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF, 2001) states that
disability is a “dynamic interaction between health conditions and
environmental and personal factors.” The WHO (2001) defines disability as
“the outcome or result of a complex relationship between an individual’s
health condition and personal factors, and of the external factors that
represent the circumstances in which the individual lives” (p. 17). The above
definition stresses that disability results from the interaction between persons
with impairments and attitudinal and environmental barriers that hinder their
full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others.
According to the WHO, disability has three dimensions:

1. Impairment in a person’s body structure or function, or mental

functioning; examples of impairments include loss of a limb, loss of
vision or memory loss.

2. Activity limitation, such as difficulty seeing, hearing, walking, or

problem solving.

3. Participation restrictions in normal daily activities, such as working,

engaging in social and recreational activities, and obtaining health
care and preventive services.

The diagram given below highlights these interconnected domains.

Figure 1.1 Interactions between the components of the ICF

Source. Adapted from WHO (2001, p. 18).

The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), adopted

by the General Assembly of the United Nations in 2006 defines a disability
as any long-term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairment which,
in interaction with various barriers, may hinder the full and effective
participation of disabled people in society on an equal basis with others. The
experience of disability is influenced by the nature of a person's impairment.
Gender, age, ethnicity, and culture can also have a profound and sometimes
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Introduction to compounding effect on an individual's experience of disability. Persons with
Disability and
Disability Studies
disabilities comprise a diverse group of people with a wide range of needs;
two people with the same type of disability can be affected in very different
ways. The term ‘disability’ is diverse in extent and in kind; disabilities may
be temporary or permanent; there may be different kinds and degrees of
sensory, mobility, communication or cognitive impairments which may be
present since birth or acquired at a later stage in life. Let us examine some of
the causes of disabilities in greater detail. But before we do so, please do the
exercise below.

Check Your Progress 1:

What sorts of environmental and attitudinal barriers do you think may be

experienced by persons with disabilities at home, school and work? Note
down five examples.

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1.4 THE CAUSES OF DISABILITIES

A disabling condition may prevail since birth or may be acquired later in life.
For example, ‘congenital impairments’ are the conditions since birth, that
already have occurred while the baby was in the womb. There can be
inherited genetic issues or injuries during birth or issues with muscle cells.
‘Developmental disability’ sets in during the developmental period (early
childhood) resulting from injury, infection, or other factors of origin before
birth or in the initial years of life. A complex mix of factors including
genetics, birth defects, parental health and behaviours (such as smoking and
drinking) during pregnancy, birth complications, infections and exposure to
high levels of environmental toxins, such as lead are common causes
associated with various developmental disabilities. Poverty and disability are
correlated as malnutrition, illiteracy, lack of information on available health
services and policies, poor sanitation and hygiene, poor maternal healthcare
etc. may result in disabling conditions.

With growing affluence, lifestyle diseases and age-related disabling

conditions are on the rise. A study by Gupta et al. (2014) indicated that the
prevalence of disability is positively associated with age. Degenerative and
chronic health conditions, traumatic injuries such as falls increase the
susceptibility to disability among the adult and elderly population. Ageing
can result in intellectual and neurological disorders, hearing loss and
osteoarthritis among other health conditions. Accidents, natural and
manmade disasters, wars and conflicts, workplace or occupational hazards
are also causal factors. With regard to workplaces, hazardous conditions or
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inadequate safety measures in mines, factories, construction sites, nuclear Understanding
Disability
plants etc. can be a source of serious accidents which may cause permanent
disabilities to workers as well as the general population, even across
generations. For instance the Bhopal gas disaster of 1984 and the Chernobyl
nuclear plant disaster in 1986 not only caused death and injury, but are also
linked with congenital abnormalities in the next generation. There is a
growing body of research on the impact of environmental degradation and
climate change on causing and exacerbating disabilities. We will discuss this
in greater detail in Unit 3. Social practices such as consanguinity (marriage
between close relatives) may also result in certain disabilities. However, in
many scenarios of disabling conditions the exact causes remain unknown.

Activity
Find out information on industrial disasters like the gas leak disaster in
Bhopal in 1984 and their impact on the health of affected individuals.

1.5 TYPES OF DISABILITIES

As mentioned earlier, disability is not a homogenous category. Disabilities
may be temporary or permanent; congenital or acquired; physical, sensory,
intellectual, developmental or psycho-social and communication related.
They may be static (e.g., an amputated limb) or progressive (certain
neurological conditions like Parkinson’s disease). What constitutes a
disability varies across time and social contexts. For instance, conditions like
autism and learning disabilities came to be properly understood and identified
only a few decades ago. Disability is also an ‘administrative’ category, and
whether a condition is recognized as one, and qualifies for assistance,
depends upon recognition and certification by the state. The first rights based
legislation in India dealing with disability, namely, the Persons with
Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full
Participation) Act (1995), identified a select number of disabilities, namely,
blindness, low vision, leprosy-cured, hearing impairment, locomotor
disability, mental retardation and mental illness, and specified that an
individual must be medically certified as having at least 40% severity of the
specified disability to avail governmental benefits. Thereafter, the National
Trust for Welfare of Persons with Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Mental
Retardation and Multiple Disabilities Act, (1999) was enacted to address the
special issues of persons with ‘high support needs’, who were likely to need
lifelong support and care.

One of the most important global developments with regards to disability

rights, was the promulgation of the United Nations Convention on the
Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2006) which was ratified by India. The
Convention made it incumbent upon member states to enact disability
legislations in conformity with the key principles of the Convention.
Accordingly, The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act (RPDA) was
passed in Parliament in December 2016. The Act recognizes 21 conditions as 17
Introduction to disabilities, and specifies that a benchmark of 40% impairment must be
Disability and
Disability Studies
medically certified for the individual to be eligible for state benefits under the
law. Broadening the base of the conditions considered as disabilities, the Act
includes several conditions which were not included in the previous
legislation.

1. Under the broad category of Physical Disabilities, the sub-types of

Locomotor Disability, Visual Impairment and Hearing Impairment are
listed. Locomotor Disability refers to “a person's inability to execute
distinctive activities associated with movement of self and objects
resulting from affliction of musculoskeletal or nervous system or both”.
Under this category, the following are included:

a) leprosy cured persons

b) cerebral palsy

c) dwarfism

d) muscular dystrophy

e) acid attack victims.

Visual Impairment includes

a) ‘blindness’ and

b) ‘low vision’ with clearly specified ophthalmological measurements

defined to determine the nature and extent of the impairment.

Hearing Impairment includes

a) deaf and

b) hard of hearing, with specified audiological measurements to define

the nature and extent of the impairment.

2. The second broad category is ‘Intellectual Disability’, defined in the Act

as “a condition characterized by significant limitation both in intellectual
functioning (reasoning, learning, problem solving) and in adaptive
behaviour which covers a range of every day, social and practical skills”
which includes

a) "specific learning disabilities", i.e. deficits in processing spoken or

written language, that may manifest as a difficulty to comprehend,
speak, read, write, spell, or do mathematical calculations, such as
perceptual disabilities, dyslexia, dysgraphia, dyscalculia, dyspraxia;
and

b) "autism spectrum disorder", which refers to a neuro-developmental

condition that significantly affects a person's ability to communicate,
understand relationships and relate to others.
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3. The third category, ‘Mental Behaviour’ refers to "mental illness", Understanding
Disability
defined as a “substantial disorder of thinking, mood, perception,
orientation or memory that grossly impairs judgment, behavior, and
capacity to recognize reality or ability to meet the ordinary demands of
life” and is distinguished from ‘retardation’ or intellectual impairment.

4. The fourth category comprises disabilities resulting from

(a) chronic neurological conditions, such as (i) multiple sclerosis (ii)

Parkinson's disease; and

(b) blood disorders, such as (i) hemophilia (ii) thalassemia and (iii)
sickle cell disease.

5. The fifth category refers to ‘Multiple Disabilities’, including deaf

blindness, i.e. a condition in which a person may have combination of
hearing and visual impairments causing severe communication,
developmental, and educational problems.

Provision has also been made to include ‘any other category’, as may be
notified by the Central Government. The new law has notified a number of
conditions that did not come under the purview of the previous act, and has
attempted to bring on board a comprehensive range of conditions that
encapsulate the diversity of disability. To recapitulate, the list of disabilities
covered by the RPD Act 2016 includes the following:
1. Blindness
2. Low-vision
3. Leprosy Cured persons
4. Hearing Impairment (deaf and hard of hearing)
5. Locomotor Disability
6. Dwarfism
7. Intellectual Disability
8. Mental Illness
9. Autism Spectrum Disorder
10. Cerebral Palsy
11. Muscular Dystrophy
12. Chronic Neurological conditions
13. Specific Learning Disabilities
14. Multiple Sclerosis
15. Speech and Language disability
16. Thalassemia 19
Introduction to 17. Hemophilia
Disability and
Disability Studies 18. Sickle Cell disease
19. Multiple Disabilities including deafblindness
20. Acid Attack victim
21. Parkinson's disease

1.6 DISABILITY IN A GLOBAL CONTEXT

An estimated 1.3 billion people, constituting 16% of the population across the
globe, live with some form of disability (WHO, 2023). Collecting data on
disability suffers from the problems of under-counting and social stigma,
which prevents people from reporting the presence of disability. In national
censuses and household surveys carried out globally during 2009 to 2018 for
41 countries disability was measured through questions on functional
difficulties that are considered internationally comparable (e.g. seeing,
hearing). The median share of the adult population with any functional
difficulty was reported at 12.6% (Mitra & Yap, 2021). According to the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2023, 27 % of the adults in the
United States have some type of disability. While 12.8% of these adults have
a disability related to cognitive abilities with serious difficulty in
concentrating, remembering, or making decisions, 12.1% of these adults have
a mobility disability; 6.1% of them are deaf or have serious difficulty in
hearing; 4.8 percent of them live with a disability in vision including
blindness or serious visual difficulties even when wearing glasses; 7.2 % of
the adults have disability in independent living with difficulty doing errands
alone. A study reported that across countries in Europe, 30% of persons with
disabilities needing healthcare services could not access the same due to
expense (Mitra, 2017); in Denmark, affordability was cited as an obstacle by
16% of persons with disabilities while the figure was 94% in Italy (Mitra,
Findley & Sambamoorthi, 2009)

Some disabling conditions such as missing limbs or blindness are well-

known and visible and thus have received attention. Whereas some mental
health conditions such as depression remain lesser/undiagnosed due to low
awareness more so in developing countries. Visualizing it as a shameful
affliction and also due to the stigma associated with mental health problems,
families attempt to hide the condition. Physical disabilities are harder to hide,
but still considered highly stigmatizing in many parts of the world.

A disabling condition is more likely to adversely affect the socioeconomic

outcomes including less education, poorer health, lower levels of
employment higher poverty rates etc. Health, educational, rehabilitation and
social support needs of persons vary across disabilities and also within a
particular category of disability. Two individuals with the same health
conditions may have different requirements for their existence and
sustainability. Further, there may be varying environmental barriers to
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participation. For example, many children drop out of school in Brazil due to Understanding
Disability
lack of reading glasses, which might not be happening in most high-income
countries (Mont, 2009). The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable
Development clearly emphasizes that accessibility to development
programming and the realization of human rights cannot be denied to anyone
on the grounds of a disabling condition (The World Bank, 2023).

Based on parent-reported functional deficits, UNICEF in November 2021,

estimated disability in almost 240 million children aged 2–17 years. These
estimates are based on a more meaningful and inclusive understanding of
disability, considering several domains of functioning, including those related
to psychosocial well-being. Psychosocial issues predominate the areas of
difficulties faced by most of the children belonging to any age, in some cases,
existing in combination with other functional difficulties. In the condition of
childhood disability, underlying medical conditions are not the only
constituents in defining the nature and severity of disability but the physical
environment, demands, expectations, opportunities, and social roles that
children assume in their daily lives play equally important role; thus,
disability is not just an effect of impairment but a complex interplay of the
children, their special need, and their environment.

Children and adolescents with disabilities are a highly diverse group living in
every community and are born with or acquire distinct impairments leading
to functional difficulties –such as seeing, walking, communicating, caring for
self etc. These children often face difficulty in literacy development
(including- reading, vocabulary, and writing) and often require specialized
instruction to acquire basic literacy skills. A range of barriers may exist in
their daily life ranging from accessing public and social services, engaging in
their communities to name a few. Physical barriers affects accessibility of
public places ( for example-places that are unreachable or difficult for
persons using wheelchair), communication and information barriers may
include unavailability of textbooks in Braille, or public announcements
delivered without visual cues (sign language, or visual signage) for the
people with deafness. Certain barriers can be ‘attitudinal’ in nature that limits
the individuals with disability of their functional abilities; common examples
may be stereotyping, pity, denying opportunities, harassment etc. Children
with disabilities face increased risk of violence, neglect, abuse and
exploitation. Research studies indicate an alarming prevalence of violence
against children with disabilities including physical and emotional violence at
a younger age to greater risks of sexual violence during teenage and ahead in
life.

One of the extremely concerning global issues is wars and conflicts in which
large numbers of persons get killed, wounded and disabled. This includes not
just the soldiers or military personnel who are involved in combat, but also
civilian populations who may be the target of bombings, destruction of
homes, hospitals, food and water sources and displacement due to conflict.
Loss of sight, hearing, amputations, limb and spinal injuries, mental health
issues like Post Traumatic Stress Disorder are the tragic consequences. 21
Introduction to Children are often the worst sufferers in conflict situations, and even more
Disability and
Disability Studies
vulnerable to disabling injuries, malnutrition, infections, abandonment, losing
their families, risk of sexual abuse etc. Research by Human Rights Watch
over the last five years in some regions and countries facing war and
conflict shows that people with disabilities have faced violent attacks, forced
displacement, and ongoing neglect in the humanitarian response to civilians
caught up in the fighting. In some cases, PWDs were abandoned in their
homes or in deserted villages for days or weeks, with little access to food or
water. Many died because they could not flee attacks. People with disabilities
in refugee camps often faced difficulties accessing food, sanitation, and
medical assistance. ( Human Rights Watch, 2018).

To sum up, we can clearly see that even though disability is a universal
reality and is estimated to affect one out of every six of us, it is seen as a
highly stigmatized and marginalized category, profoundly affecting the life
chances and well-being of a significant proportion of the world population.
The following key facts compiled by the WHO (2023) are alarming:

 Some persons with disabilities die upto 20 years earlier than those
without disabilities;

 They have twice the risk of developing conditions such as depression,

asthma, diabetes, stroke, obesity or poor oral health;

 Persons with disabilities may face many health inequities

 They may find inaccessible and unaffordable transportation 15 times

more difficult than for those without disabilities;

 Health inequities arise from stigma, discrimination, poverty,

exclusion from education and employment and barriers within the
health system itself.

We shall read in detail about health and disability in the second block of the
Course.

In the next section, we will focus upon the Indian context and the situation of
persons with disability.

Check Your Progress 2

1. What are the issues and challenges experienced by children with

disabilities? Write down three points.

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2. How do wars and conflicts exacerbate the situation for persons with
disabilities? Write down three points.
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1.7 DISABILITY IN THE INDIAN CONTEXT

India is the most populous nation in the world, with over a billion strong
population and therefore, it is expected that it would have a proportionately
vast population of persons with disabilities. According to the Census of India,
2011, of the total population of 121 crore, 2.68 crore persons or 2.21% of the
population persons had a disability. This figure, arrived at by including eight
broad categories of disabilities, namely, disability in seeing, hearing, speech,
movement, mental retardation, mental illness and ‘any other’, is widely
recognized as an underestimation. The reasons could be stigma associated
with disability and the resultant reluctance of people to report it, and the
invisibility of disabled people who are hidden away from public view and
often considered ‘non-persons’ who do not really count. (Vaidya, 2019: p.29)

Certain facts pertinent to disability highlighted by the Census of India, 2011

are mentioned below:

 Disability in movement (20%) and disability in seeing and hearing

(19% each) are the most prevalent types of disabilities.

 As many as 18 million persons with disabilities (69 per cent of the

disabled population) live in rural India, and about 8 million (31 per
cent) live in urban areas.

 Only 36.3% of the disabled population is holding down a job

including 71 lakh men and 27 lakh women.

In a recent research study by Pattnaik et.al. (2023), based on secondary data

analysis of the National Family Health Survey( NFHS-5) for the period
2019–21, the overall prevalence of disability in India was reported to be
4.52%. The study reported ‘locomotor disabilities’ to be most common at
national level accounting to be 44.70% of all disabilities, followed by mental
and speech disabilities.

The perception of disability in Indian context is deeply impacted by religious

and cultural beliefs. Disability is often considered as a punishment inflicted
upon an individual or family by God as a result of sin, stigmatizing not only
the individual but the whole family; often restricting participation of disabled
persons in society's social, economic, political, and cultural life. Persons with
disabilities have also been treated as passive victims, needy of alms and
charity. Disabled people begging near religious sites and other public places
are a common sight. According to Addlakha (2008), ever since the colonial
period, a culture of charity and welfare has been promoted in India for 23
Introduction to persons with disabilities, rather than giving them rights and empowering
Disability and
Disability Studies them. “Medical rehabilitation, distribution of assistive aids and appliances,
special schools, and vocational training in low-end occupations and sheltered
employment have been the pillars of state policy” (ibid.,195). We see that in
India, with its huge population, structural inequalities, rigid social hierarchies
and precarity of life and livelihoods, the vast majority of disabled people
struggle to obtain basic social goods and access to services such as healthcare
and education. Disability in a poor labouring or agricultural family can spell
ruin. There is a dire need to address the issues of access to health care,
education, and prevention of sexual abuse and exploitation. Disabled women
and girls, disabled persons from Dalit or economically marginalised
backgrounds face multiple marginalities and extreme devaluation. The family
which is the sole source of sustenance and life-long support and care for
persons with disability, experiences acute hardship, and the well-being of
other members is also adversely impacted. Strong social policies,
entitlements and service delivery are urgently required to ameliorate their lot
and bring them into the mainstream.

However, positive changes have been taking place in the recent years,
especially with the passing of specific declarations of the United Nations for
the welfare of persons with disabilities. 1981 was declared as the
International Year of Disabled Persons. The period 1983-1992 was
designated the United Nations Decade of Disabled Persons. The Standard
Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities were
adopted by the General assembly in 1993. Several national laws, including
the Americans with Disabilities Act (1990) and the Disability Discrimination
Act (1995) in the UK were adopted. The landmark UN Convention on the
Rights of Persons with Disabilities was adopted in 2006, and ratified by India
in 2007. Disability is now being seen not just as an issue of social welfare,
but one of social development, and policies and programmes for inclusion of
persons with disabilities, taking account their needs and aspirations is an
important priority. We shall read about this in greater detail in Unit 11 of this
Course.

India has an impressive infrastructure for disseminating primary health care

and rehabilitation services to all including persons with disabilities. Through
a multi-sectoral collaborative approach, the Central and the State
Governments/UTs, Central/State undertakings, local authorities and other
appropriate authorities work towards provisions of social security, health,
rehabilitation and recreation for persons with disabilities across the country.
At the Central level, the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment is
entrusted with the welfare, social justice and empowerment of disadvantaged
and marginalized sections of the society including scheduled castes,
backward classes, persons with disabilities, senior citizens, etc. The National
Policy for Persons with Disabilities (2006) was an important policy initiative.
24
It recognizes that Persons with Disabilities are valuable human resources for Understanding
Disability
the country and seeks to create an environment that provides them equal
opportunities, protection of their rights and full participation in society. It is
in consonance with the basic principles of equality, freedom, justice and
dignity of all individuals that are enshrined in the Constitution of India and
implicitly mandate an inclusive society for all, including persons with
disabilities. The National Policy recognized the fact that a majority of
persons with disabilities can lead a better quality of life if they have equal
opportunities and effective access to rehabilitation measures. Its salient
features include:

i) Physical Rehabilitation, which includes early detection and intervention,

counselling and medical interventions and provision of aids and
appliances. It also includes the development of rehabilitation
professionals;

ii) Educational Rehabilitation which includes vocational training; and

iii) Economic Rehabilitation, for a dignified life in society.

(GOI, MSJE : 2006)

With the aim of focused attention towards the welfare and empowerment of
persons with disabilities, a separate Department of Empowerment of Persons
with Disabilities (Divyangjan) (DEPwD) under the Ministry of Social Justice
& Empowerment was set up in May 2012. While several initiatives are being
taken at both national and global levels to achieve the full and effective
participation of persons with disabilities, they still face many challenges in
their quest for equal and full participation in society and development. In line
with the central premise of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development to
“leave no one behind”, governments, public and private sectors of nations
worldwide, including India, have a commitment towards achieving the goal
of creating an inclusive, accessible and sustainable world, which is peaceful
and prosperous for all.

Check Your Progress 3

What, in your opinion are some of the measures required to be taken by the
society and the State to ameliorate the condition of persons with disabilities
and their families? List down five measures.

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Introduction to
Disability and
1.8 LET US SUM UP
Disability Studies
This Unit introduced you to the concept of disability, an evolving and multi-
dimensional concept which is a universal reality and thus deserving of
attention and intervention. We discussed the concepts of ‘impairment’ and
‘disability’ and how both medical and environmental factors intersect in
shaping the experience of disability. We highlighted the social,
environmental and attitudinal barriers that exclude persons with disability
from participation in society and confine them to the margins. We discussed
the various types of disabilities and their classification as administrative
categories defined by the state. We discussed disability in a global context
and with special reference to India. It would be evident to you that persons
with disabilities experience several vulnerabilities in social, economic and
psychological domains, across the world. Cultural understandings of
disability reinforce the notion that it is a pitiable and deplorable condition.
The correlation between poverty and disability was also brought out. We
concluded by highlighting some of the global developments that have
changed the discourse on disability and recast it as an issue of development.
Accessibility and inclusion are the keywords, and the following Units of the
Course will elaborate further on these themes.

1.9 TERMINAL QUESTIONS

1. What do you understand by the terms ‘impairment’ and ‘disability’?

2. How is disability defined in the contemporary discourses?

3. Discuss the experience of disability in a global context.

4. What are some of the major issues and challenges with regard to persons
with disabilities in India? What, in your opinion are the policy measures
that need to be taken up to address these issues?

1.10 ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

Check Your progress 1:

Refer to Section 1.3

Check Your Progress 2:

Refer to Section 1.6

Check Your Progress 3:

Refer to Sections 1.6 and 1.7.

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 Understanding
1.11 REFERENCES AND SELECTED READINGS Disability

Addlakha, R. (2008). Disability, Gender and Society. Indian Journal of

Gender Studies, 15(2), 191-207. https://doi.org/10.1177/
097152150801500201

Census of India. (2011). Office of the Registrar General and Census

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