When a daughter is given rights to inherit her ancestral family property

As a mother from the foothills of the Himalayas did by writing her entire agricultural land to her daughter Ratan Manjari - so she could live with dignity. Ratan Manjari now in her 60s went on to fight for the same right for other tribeswomen. The High Court in June 2015 granted property rights to tribeswomen under the Hindu Succession Act, 1956.

Ratan Manjari after taking a victory procession to express gratitude to the High Court, would be helping other women to seek a share in their family property.

A report from the newspaper *The Tribune* published in Chandigarh by Pratibha Chauhan
 
Amid note of caution, tribal women to celebrate HC order

Tribal women of Kinnaur will formally celebrate the grant of inheritance rights in family property at the district headquarter of Peo tomorrow. They want the government to implement the High Court order, which will put an end to the law, where women were not entitled to a share in the property. The women of the tribal district of Kinnuar under the aegis of Mahila Kalyan Parishad will take out a victory procession at Peo, expressing their gratitude to the court for granting them property rights under the Hindu Succession Act, 1956. However amidst this jubilation among women on grant of property rights, there is growing concern among many over the negative fallout of this development. Happy after the HC ruling, Ratan Manjari, who heads Mahila Kalyan Parishad, said, “I will make them aware about the court order and its implications and how they can seek a share in the family property,” Women from various panchayats falling under the three blocks of – Peo, Pooh and Nichaar — will take part in this function. Elected women representatives in various panchayat raj institutions (PRI) have specially been invited so that they can guide others to seek their rights, following the high court judgment of June 25 last month. Manjari said she will make a representation to Deputy Commissioner, all the Sub Divisional Magistrates (SDMs) and the Tehsildars in Kinnaur to take steps to implement the court order. “It is my duty to not just make the women aware about this right bestowed on them but also take up the issue with the officials to ensure implementation of the court order,” she stresses. However, there is concern among many over the negative fallout of this development. “We are not against grant of property rights to women but there must be some checks and balances which will ensure that we keep our tribal culture and identity intact,” said some elected representatives on condition of anonymity. Some women too seemed to be apprehensive of the negative fallout of this development if necessary precautions are not taken. Some people pointed out that the land holdings in Kinnaur are barely nine to 10 bighas per family which makes everyone a marginal farmer. “Further fragmentation of these small holdings will make the situation worse and the family land could be sold by the daughter of the family, after this court order,” said a Pradhan. Manjari and her team are, however, dismissive of any such concerns. “A majority of the women are happy and there is no question of the tribal culture being lost as on marrying a non-tribal, the land will automatically come back to the family as non-tribals cannot own land,” says Manjari.


The link to the report:
Amid note of caution, tribal women to celebrate HC order -The Tribune

Using the terminology ‘special’ for people with disabilities in India

.....with no inclusion whatsoever of children women or men with mental illness in this ‘special group’.

1.‘Mental illness’ is the seventh disability in the existing Persons with Disability ACT 1995 which exhorts *Equal opportunities, Protection Rights. Full participation*

2.Media in its productions in India are extremely careful in the use of accurate terminology for the six disabilities in the Persons with Disabilities ACT 1995 and for the four disabilities in the wealthy National Trust for disabilities in India, which is governed by a separate law.

3.An example is the piece ‘Providing Insight to Autistic Children’ which appeared in ‘The New Indian Express’ on 3rd December 2014. A link of which is given below.
http://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/kochi/Providing-Insight-to-Autistic-Children/2014/12/03/article2552129.ece

4.Another piece with the word ‘special’ in its title appeared in the same newspaper on 05 September 2014 with the caption ‘Government Job Eludes 'Special' Employee’ going on to say the person was ‘mentally challenged’ and had participated in a certain Special Olympics Asia Pacific Regional Games 2013. The link is given below. 
http://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/thiruvananthapuram/Government-Job-Eludes-Special-Employee/2014/12/05/article2555423.ece

5.Careless blurring of the boundaries between people with mental retardation and people with mental illness is increasing in India, although both disabilities are defined separately in the existing Persons with Disabilities ACT 1995. It is important to point out that Persons with Mental Retardation are included in the wealthy ‘National Trust for disabilities’ covered by a separate law 

6.On the 2nd December 2014 an 8 year old girl died by suicide in Bengaluru by dousing herself with kerosene and lighting herself up. She left behind a suicide note saying that she loved her mother very much. Her mother is a factory worker. She was a student who had not been attending school for several days. Pictures of the school attendance register was shown on television. The related link is given below
http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/amma-i-love-you-wrote-bangalore-10-year-old-in-suicide-note-628900?curl=1418247209
 
7.In response to this suicide, in an interview in a television channel CNN-IBN on the night of 02 December 2014, a mental health professional from Bengaluru stated that, ‘such suicides were due to sexual assault, and parental pressure'. On what basis was such a callous statement made? The repercussion of the costs of not treating mental illness through early intervention is already huge.

8.The Press Information Bureau in the social media on 03 December 2014 tweeted that the Health Minister Honourable Shri J P Nadda, heading the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare of the Government of India had released a ‘Framework for Convergent Action for comprehensive care for children with special needs which is committed to prevention, early diagnosis and treatment of disorders in children with special abilities.' The text of which is given below followed by the link.

9.Health Minister Shri J P Nadda: Committed to prevention, early diagnosis and treatment of disorders in children with special abilities.
 
The Government is committed to prevention, early diagnosis and timely and appropriate treatment of disorders in children, including development disorders so that they enjoy good health and become valuable assets of the country.

The Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Shri J P Nadda stated this at the closing of the three day workshop on Neurodevelopment Disorder in Children organised by Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, pediatric department of AIIMS, with support from UNICEF and Norway India Partnership Initiative (NIPI) in health. Today also marks the International Day for Persons with Disabilities.

The Health Minister said that the government through its various efforts is addressing key developmental issues, including developmental delay, intellectual disability, cerebral palsy, Autism, Hyperactivity Disorder, learning disability, vision and hearing impairment. He added that an estimated over 200 million children in developing countries are not reaching their full developmental potential. In developed world 10-20% of individuals have learning or developmental difficulties. In India, estimates suggest that 10% children are affected with developmental delays and are at significant risk of permanent disabilities, Shri Nadda said.

The Health Minister emphasised on the importance of early detection for effective intervention in children with neurodevelopment disorders. He informed that Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram (RBSK) under National Health Mission (NHM) has comprehensively incorporated early diagnosis and intervention strategies for developmental disorders. The Minister stressed on the importance of collective efforts to provide accessibility to medical services and rehabilitation of persons with disabilities. He said that within the new policies, programs and strategies have been designed to empower children and persons with special needs with equal rights and opportunities in education and employment.

The Health Minister released the Framework for Convergent Action towards Comprehensive care of Children with Developmental Difficulties, at the occasion. This will serve as an indispensible guide to future action plans to be developed by policymakers within various ministries, the Minister said.

Shri J P Nadda also launched a mobile-based microsite for training module for healthcare practitioners.

Celebrating the International Day for Persons with Disabilities with a workshop on Neurodevelopment Disorder in Children renews and reinforces our commitment towards the cause of persons with disabilities and special needs, the Secretary (H&FW), Shri Lov Verma stated. He said that one in every ten children in the country suffer from some form of disability. The big challenges are timely and early diagnosis, and capacity building of frontline workers in early detection, he said. Early detection aids timely intervention. He also emphasised on planning for lifespan care for children with special needs.

Mr. Louis Georges Arsenault, Country Representative, UNICEF highlighted dignity, right and wellbeing of persons with special needs, and the need for creating an all-inclusive society for children to enable them to realise their potential which would include special schools for children with flexible curriculum, and qualified and sensitive teachers.

Ms. Nata Menabde, Country Representative, WHO stated that this issue is relevant to all sections of society irrespective of the socio-economic distinctions. She stressed on need for pro-poor policies and strategies for the marginalised communities and sections of society as they were the ones which bore the burden of disability the most. The need of the hour is integrated delivery of health services through community participation, she said.

Mr. Eivind Homme, Ambassador of Norway to India stated that within the NIPI, commendable initiatives have been taken for maternal and neo-natal health, particularly in states of Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and Rajasthan. Early diagnosis and treatment of Neurodevelopment Disorder will reduce the cost on lengthy and expensive care, he said.

The three-day workshop aimed to sensitize the primary health care providers and health professionals dealing with children affected with neurodevelopment disorders. It intended to increase awareness on early identification and expose participants to available tools validated in Indian context for early diagnosis and management. The workshop also aimed to improve the quality of the life of children having neurodevelopmental disorders through convergent action. About 250-300 participants took part in the workshop. These included paediatricians working in the area of child development, RBSK nodal officers from various states and UTs, partner organizations such as WHO, UNICEF, NIPI, IAP, ICMR.

Neurodevelopmental disorder / difficulty is a collective term used for both developmental delays and developmental disabilities. Development delay is the condition in which a child is not achieving skills according to the expected time frame. Developmental Disability refers to a condition where a child becomes mentally or physically impaired and finally resulting in substantial functional limitations in major life activities. Developmental delays are common in early childhood, affecting at least 10 percent of children. However 2% of these children may ultimately suffer from developmental disability despite best of efforts.

Neurodevelopmental disorders include intellectual disabilities, autism spectrum disorder, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Specific Learning Disorder and Communication Disorders. Motor disorders include cerebral palsy and other neuromuscular conditions. Other special sensory disorders include vision and hearing impairment.
***** 
 MV
(Release ID :112450)
http://pib.nic.in/newsite/erelease.aspx?relid=112450

Some Observations:
1. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare uses the terminology 'intellectual disability' which appears to be an *import* as it does not figure in the existing Persons with Disabilities ACT 1995. 

2. It is a shame that we are importing such terminologies from some countries which have not signed or ratified the UN Convention Rights of Persons with disabilities.

3. The sensitive needs of children with serious mental illnesses have been ignored. Shouldn’t teachers be trained, clinicians sensitized and parents be educated to spot the warning signs of depression, for early intervention before a crisis erupts. Children with serious mental illnesses have a right to treatments, supportive care in order to pursue their education as much as children with other disabilities and be valuable assets.

4. That children with serious mental illness are not even mentioned is to pretend that they do not exist which is cruel. Not to include these children in the announced ‘Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram’ is reprehensible.

5. People with mental illness are very *special* to their families. That does not mean that they be over looked. The health care of those with Mental illness, the seventh disability in the Persons with Disabilities Act 1995 is as it is grossly neglected.

The genesis of blaming families impacted by mental illness in India

...through a tome which lay in the website of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India for several years . One could access this tome when one clicked on a link titled 'National Mental Health Programme'

The cover of the tome bore the title,‘Mental Health An Indian Perspective 1946-2003 ‘ by Directorate General of Health Services Ministry of Health and Family Welfare New Delhi.

This tome has a Chapter I ‘Mental Health 2003: The Indian Scene’

Beginning rather theatrically with a quote from A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens ‘It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the seasons of light, it was the seasons of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair,...’

This quote was followed by the writ,'It all began with a fire…’

Referring to the fire that broke out at a private centre, in a place called Erawady where several people with mental illness who were chained, were charred to death. The writers use the word ‘asylum' for a private centre as if the Indian Lunacy ACT 1912 was still in existence at the time of the fire when it was not.

One of the reasons stated by the writers for impacted families leaving their family members in the private centre at Erawady was that ‘stigma and superstitions associated with mental disorders coupled with unwillingness or inability of families to care for their mentally ill relatives appear to be the main contributory factors.’

What was left out (as if the writers were unaware) was that ‘Public mental health education’ was not taking place when it was one of the Plans of action in the National Mental Health Programme. 

For many in India, reading this chapter whilst giving supportive care to their loved ones with mental illness trying their best to keep despair out of their lives its ...a Chapter I ...of incredulous excuses. 


Reference:‘Mental Health An Indian Perspective 1946-2003'  by Directorate General of Health Services. Ministry of Health and Family Welfare New Delhi.