New Delhi: Delhi University will be the first university in the country to implement the revised Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, with quota for people with disabilities increased from three per cent to five per cent.
The university has included acid attack survivors under the category of physical disability. While the university is being lauded for the move, Alok from Chhanv foundation doesn’t seem convinced.
“Firstly, it is mere tokenism on the part of the university. They have shown that the number of seats is higher now but the reality of the situation is very different. Very few people are actually able to avail this reservation. It might be a positive step but it is not a practical one. Secondly, it is problematic to put acid attack in the category of disability.
The idea is to view acid attack survivors as not disabled, plus there are various categories of survivors. There is no one category they can be put under. Acid attack is a case which leads to several issues. Some people suffer from blindness, some have a very high burn percentage and these things cannot be compared or categorised like that,” he said.
Alok believes the university should open counselling centres to make the university friendlier for acid attack survivors, who might not want to come due to the shame attached with the issue.
“To handle something so diverse is not easy. It has also been assumed that it is mostly women who are victims of these attacks. But this is not a gender issue. According to the 2014 data by National Crime Records Bureau, almost 30 per cent of the acid attack survivors were men.
There is no awareness about this. So, adding acid attack survivors to a disability quota is not the answer. The government has started schemes for free treatment of acid attack survivors, but practically this is also not happening as there is a dearth of doctors in this area. I think this quota will go down the same road,” he added.
While Alok is not in favour of listing acid attack survivors under the category of disability, Professor Anita Ghai, who is also the author of Rethinking Disability in India, said: “I feel the major idea should be to understand the oppression and marginalisation that is experienced by any particular category. One experiences oppression due to the existence of power somewhere.
To disfigure the face and body is one of the acquired disabilities. Landmines, wards, natural disasters also cause disability. So, this should be an open debate if acid attack survivors want to be categorised like this. But we look at disability as a broader epistemology, taking into account several oppressive experiences.”
She added, “While the people who have suffered from this do have the intrinsic experience, that doesn’t mean no other human being can opine on this. We should have a collective voice on this. Identity politics can only go so far, especially in a country like ours.”
But identity is dear to 19-year-old Anshu who suffered an acid attack in 2014. “I stopped my education after 12th. I couldn’t carry on as it was difficult to work with my condition. I have problem in reading due to my eye that was affected as well. So I didn’t pursue my education. But I would like to in the near future and from the general category, not as an acid attack survivor,” she said.
On the other hand, acid attack survivor and activist, Laxmi said: “Earlier an acid attack survivor used to think that we will not be accepted. At least now I think that who cares if you are accepted or not, you should go for higher education. People even bully others with no acid attack scars. So, one has to accept that living like a victim won’t help. While it is too early to comment if this will turn out to be a positive step or not, it is definitely an opportunity and people should act on it.”
