RECOMMENDATIONS BASED ON SOME REPORTS OF STATE CONSULTATIONS -FAXED ON 1 APRIL 2011

Recommendations which were based on some reports of State Consultations which were received by email from Chairperson, committee for new law for persons with disabilities to replace the PWD ACT 1995, were faxed to the Secretary, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment on 1 April 2011. The fax of Director Disability was not working then.

Page One

Page Two

Page Three

Page Four

Page Five

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported Licens

THERE IS NOTHING 'SOCIAL' WHEN YOU ARE 'ANTI-SOCIAL'

Committee meetings on the new law for people with disabilities to replace the PWD ACT 1995 in India were held on 31st January, 1st February and 2nd February 2011 at the Indian Spinal Injuries Centre in New Delhi before the working draft of the new law was uploaded in the website of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment in India. The State Consultations took place with this particular draft.

The minutes of this meeting were sent by post and through email only in March. When I read through the minutes I was shocked. Concerns which were expressed strongly and objections raised to certain sections in the draft law were missing. ‘Anti-family’ comments expressed by some committee members were not recorded nor the protests which followed. The minutes were written with much legalese and gung ho as if everyone was falling in each other’s arms with happiness and celebrating all the sections of the law which was not what happened.

The names of two male committee members who raised the anti- family statements were not mentioned.

One had stated that, ’families tie up their children.’  Another stated- ‘families are very abusive.’ A committee member, a lady holding an important position in the government, whose statements which are mostly devoid of scientific temper, supported by a large number of members in the committee also stated something about ‘the family’.  

The statements were generalizing and stereotyping families. Coming from the lady committee member was really surprising because she always made it a point to state ‘this is a social model not a medical model’. 

Was she unaware that stereotyping any individual, unit or group is not social?’ 

The minutes of such ‘anti-social’ happenings and other deep concerns about the draft stated by committee members should have been recorded. They were not. 

All the chapters in the draft were not discussed. That should have also been recorded. It was not.

So letters were faxed to the Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment with a copy to the Secretary of the Ministry informing him that the minutes were not being accurately recorded. This was done before attending the meetings on 23rd and 24th of March.   

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported Licens

National Consultation on Mental Health Care Bill 2010, March 22, 2011. New Delhi. India

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported Licens

The road to National Consultation on Mental Health Care Bill 2010, March 22, 2011 New Delhi

National Consultation on Mental Health Care Bill 2010 March 22, 2011

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported Licens