It’s a tricky issue. Do job reservations compensate for the discrimination that people with visual impairments face in the working world? Or do they simply lead to complacence and non-performance? Are incentives the way to go, or do they just promote a ‘charity culture’? Are visually impaired people not capable of succeeding on their own merits? Anu Bhambhani explores the many facets of this complex issue.
A person’s capability to work is not dependant on his ability to see. If he cannot see, it does not automatically follow that he cannot excel at what he does.
Take Ved Mehta, for instance, or David Blunkett. The former is a successful Indian author; the latter was England’s Home Secretary. Both are visually impaired. It is important for us to note that it is the mind that drives a person to higher levels of performance.
Gurpreet Sidhu recently saw Black and Ray, two films in which the main character is blind. That was all that was similar about them, she says.
Saw two films recently, Black and Ray, where the main character is visually impaired. That was all that was similar about them.
Sybil Blau, News-Times Correspondent
Jennifer Staple has personality and smarts, but also focussed determination and a desire to help people. She's used both attributes as president and CEO of Unite for Sight, an organisation advocating eye care and eye care education, that she founded in 2001 when she was a student at Yale University in the United States.
Health India; Washington, February 24, 2005
Scientists at Schepens Eye Research Institute in the United States have regenerated a damaged optic nerve from the eye to the brain, sparking hope for sufferers of glaucoma and spinal cord injuries. This achievement, which occurred in laboratory mice and is described in the March 1, 2005 issue of the Journal of Cell Science, holds great promise for victims of diseases that destroy the optic nerve, and for sufferers of central nervous system injuries.
Reuters, January 20, 2005
A private biotechnology company called Angiosyn, Inc., in the United States, is developing a drug for macular degeneration, the leading cause of blindness in the elderly. So far the drug has only been tested in animals.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration had, in December 2004, approved a drug for the more severe form of macular degeneration that was developed by Pfizer (which is in talks to acquire Angiosyn). Analysts estimate the drug, Macugen, could eventually generate more than $1 billion a year.
Frank O'Donnell
Business India: New Delhi, January 5, 2005
Sunil Kumar; February 2005
A partially blind woman has been one of the success stories of a special mentoring scheme developed by an NGO for small entrepreneurs. Providing not only the monetary impetus but a crucial support structure as well, the Bhartiya Yuva Shakti Trust (BYST), an NGO headed by Rahul Bajaj, CMD of Bajaj Auto, gives loans of up to Rs 50,000 for starting a business and also provides a mentor to advise young entrepreneurs.
Aravind Adiga, Time Asia magazine; February 14, 2005
The heavyweight champion of memoir writing is still Indian-born Ved Mehta. Back in 1972, long before memoirs became hip, the 38-year-old Mehta, who had already authored an autobiography in his 20s, got down to composing his memoirs in earnest. Thirty-two years and 11 books later, he has just ended his tale.
Score Foundation has started workshops with teachers of mainstream schools with the aim of sensitising them about visual disability. The initiative was kicked off in 2004, with a workshop being conducted at Delhi Public School, D.L.F. The most recent one was organised on May 14, 2005, at Apeejay School, Pitampura.
Cricket lovers were in for a treat recently when, close on the heels of the India and Pakistan national XI clash, came the Petro Cup.
Organised from April 28 to May 5, the World Cup for the Blind saw exciting action on the field. Accurate bowling, tight fielding, good run-making, cheering crowds – all made for a thrilling series.
Five matches were organised; the venues were: Jamia Milia Islamia on April 28 and 30; Modern School on May 2; Shaheed Bhagat Singh College on May 4; and, D.A.V. College in Srinivaspuri on May 5.
Visually impaired people were the subject matter of Delhi-based photographer Sipra Das’ first solo exhibition, called ‘Third Eye’. Held at the Lalit Kala Akademi from May 7 to 13, the exhibition had 50 pictures depicting various aspects of the life of persons with blindness and visual impairment.
The show was inaugurated by nine-year-old visually impaired twins. Sipra was also keen that the subjects of her photographs be able to ‘see’ her work. So she has a book of the photographs prepared in Braille.
www.redherring.com; December 2004
Disability News and Information Service (www.dnis.org); New Delhi; April 2005
“It should, and will be our objective, to make mainstream education not just available but accessible, affordable and appropriate for students with disabilities,” promises Human Resource Development Minister Arjun Singh.
India is framing plans for a national stem cell initiative to increase clinical applications of research, build links between scientists and doctors and prioritise areas for research funding. The plans, being drafted by the Indian Council of Medical Research (I.C.M.R.) and the Department of Biotechnology, include creating a fund to boost stem cell research, reports to the reputed science portal scidev.net.
n a move that will benefit disabled persons qualifying the Civil Services Examination, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has issued orders to reserve 3% of the IAS jobs in the 2005-06 exams for persons with disability.
As per the orders, three of the 85 posts for I.A.S. this year will now go to persons with disabilities such as low vision or blindness, hearing impairment and cerebral palsy, according to an official release.
Eyeway News Service; Mumbai; March 2005
Reliance Energy Limited (RIL) yesterday launched its power bill in Braille, for its visually impaired consumers, in Mumbai. This is the first time in India's utility company’ history that, a power bill is being made available in Braille.
There are some people in this world who refuse to admit defeat, people who have such inner courage that they are an inspiration to others. Dr Satish Amarnath, a microbiologist working with Manipal Hospital, Bangalore, is one such person.
He had always wanted to be a microbiologist. “My parents wanted me to do medicine so they encouraged me to apply and I got a seat,” he remembers. “After completing medicine, I went back to Microbiology, but the only difference being that now it is Medical Microbiology and not Industrial Microbiology.”
Heeru Chandanani, 25, employed with I.B.M., relates the experience of dealing with the hide-bound and archaic attitude of Air Sahara officials, in the course of taking a routine flight.
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