Policy Perspectives For The Visually Impaired

ttMaking a vivid description of the
demography and socio-economic and

political environment of South Africa
and India, this book attempts to
analyse the status of the persons with
visual challenge. For this, an analysis
of the changing perspectives of the
policies for this segment of the society
is made. On the one hand, the study is
an empirical one in the sense that
people with visual impairment from
different walks of life of both the
countries were interviewed with the
help of the questionnaires but on the
other hand, it is a value-ridden study
as an attempt is made to testify the
successes and failures of the policies
both in terms of formation and
implementation. A humane approach
in the sense of accepting the visually
challenged persons as a big human
resource and the role of the policymakers
in terms of using this human
resource in the nation-building process.
Some space is also given to describe
the attitude of the society towards the
physically challenged persons in
general and the visually impaired
persons in particular. It also plays a
constructive role by sparing some
space for suggestions and
recommendations.
2009 Cloth (Hb) Rs. 1295/ISBN

: 978-81-89901-87-5
POLICY PERSPECTIVES FOR
THE VISUALLY IMPAIRED
Post-Apartheid South Africa and India

1!
POLICY PERSPECTIVES FOR

THE VISUALLY IMPAIRED
DR. RAMESH KUMAR SARIN
ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE
Delhi-110 031 (India)

Published by
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POLICY PERSPECTIVES FOR THE VISUALLY IMPAIRED
©Author
Edition-1st, 2009
ISBN f 978-81-89901-87-5
[All rights reserved. No part of this book can be reproduced in any manner
or by any means without prior permission of the Publisher.]
PRINTED IN INDIA
Published by Rajkumarfor Academic Excellence, Delhi Laser typeset

at Graphic Era, Delhi and Printed at H. S. Printer, Delhi
PREFACE
Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), so far as India is

concerned, is one of the pioneering academic institutions which claim to have taken
multidisciplinary approach. But,
on the issues like physically challenged, despite its maximum
sensitisation, there has been a reluctance to entertain such
issues for academics. I am perhaps amongst the first student
who has been allowed to make this start for which I have no
words to express my gratitude. This was a challenge not only
for me but also for the Central Library of the University which
is having variety of books but, lacks books on topics of my
concerns. So was the case with other universities in Delhi.
However, with the help of the officials of the library, I could
manage to borrow books from other libraries and could do
some justice with my topic.
Moreover, the issues pertaining to the physically

challenged people used to be covered by the Department of
Social Work of any university. But this endeavour made it
possible to take this issue out of the fold of social work and
make it an inseparable part of the mainstream study. . It is
my strong feeling that inclusion should be made in its real
sense and spirit. It was this feeling which made me to take up
such an uphill task.
Working on physically challenged in general and visually

challenged in particular had been one of my cherished desires.
This became more suitable to me as I had been in the voluntary
work since 1975 and, being one of the activists, I had seen all
changes from agency work to self-help and the merger of
these two waves in the name of the World Blind Union so far as the sphere of visually
challenged is concerned. As I had
the first hand experience with the bureaucrats and various
leaders of India, it was my sincere desire to know how far
there is a difference between putting something in
documentation and executing it. I did not wish to rely on just
VI
documents and it is my strong feeling that without knowing

the opinion of the beneficiaries, there is no point to make
such a research.
Policy-makers are also one of the actors whose attitude,

understanding and preconceived notions play a vital role.
One of such notion is a sympathy which has both negative
and positive effects. These effects can be seen in the form of
window dressing. This can provide a job without realising
one's capacity and dignity. This was also one of the
inquisitivenesses.
A question which used to haunt my mind is that if other

employed persons can become a human resource for any
nation, why the same is not applied to the physically
challenged in general and the visually impaired in particular.
Astonishingly, no rational step is being taken in this direction.
Over this issue, it will be sufficient to state that even if one
believes in the data of the census of any country, why its
policy-makers are not showing their concern to this chunk of
society.
Why have I chosen visually impaired only for the research

within the larger spectrum of physically challenged? It is felt
that there is a necessity of an in-depth analysis of various
categories of the physically challenged and one should not
skip from realising its inherent contradictions and contrasts
just under the pretext that it is such a diverse section as does
not need such analysis. It may hamper the real zeal of social
work. There is a too much hue and cry over inclusion. It is
my strong feeling that without providing minimum objective
condition, this inclusion is a farce and it further marginalised
the already marginalised section of the society.
Voluntary organisations, may bring a lot of changes. So

is the case with majority of the countries. In this regard, one
may deem it fit to mention the role of the organisations relating
to the physically challenged in the United States of America
under their disability rights movement. No doubt, it gives
rise to the elites amongst the urban areas and, instead of
bridging the gap, it widens it.
VII
For the purpose of the sample of research, two countries

have been chosen, namely, South Africa and India. These are
two representative countries of two important continents, i.e.,
Africa and Asia. Majority of the countries of two continents
fall in the category of developing nations. It is not necessary
to repeat the points which become the viable reasons for the
comparison as it has been described vividly in the section
dealing with the introduction. However, it is sufficient to
mention that both the countries are multi-lingual, multicultural
and democratic. It is my feeling that analysing the
perspectives of the policies for the visually impaired, may
provide a probable policy for both Africa and Asia and also
address the issues like proper perspective of the policy-maker,
beneficiary and the voluntary organisations.
I
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Every research needs a guidance in the absence of which

the research fails to get proper direction and becomes an
unending task. Hence, I acknowledge my indebtedness to
Dr. S.N. Malakar, my supervisor Associate Professor, Centre
for West Asian and African Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru
University.
I owe my allegiance to Louis Braille, a giant personality

of 19th century who invented a script for the visually
challenged and opened a vista for acquiring knowledge
through print media in Braille and paved the way of storing
knowledge for the future visually impaired generation.
It will be un fair on my part if the role of two personalities

is not acknowledged. These are: Dr. William Rowland, the
President, World Blind Union, whose contribution is well-known
to the specially challenged in general and visually
challenged in particular of South Africa and late Mr. Lai
Advani, whose farsightedness became to develop such a
multifarious policy for the specially challenged in general and
the visually impaired in particular in India. Perhaps, there is
no single policy about this segment of society where we do
not find the indelible imprints of their wisdom.
Undoubtedly, it is pertinent to accept the role of various

libraries and its staff. It includes the Library of the South
African National Council for the Blind, Pretoria; Library of
University of KwaZulu Natal, Durban; Tape Aids for the Blind,
Durban; Library of Delhi School of Social Work, Delhi
University, Delhi; Library of the Blind Relief Association, Delhi
and, last but not the least, the Library of Jawaharlal Nehru
University, Delhi. Hence, I acknowledge, with thanks, the
contribution of these houses of knowledge.
It is pertinent here to acknowledge the contribution of
the technological developments in favour of the visually
challenged by developing screen reading softwares and special
software for scanning which made it easy for the visually
challenged to go through any printed material in English. It
is praiseworthy to mention that it has cut the cost of readers
for the same purpose.
I express my indebtedness to Mr. Jagdish Chander,

Lecturer, Hindu College, who helped me to arrange some
recent books on Disability rights movement from the United
States of America and that proved to be a major source of
developing theoretical perspective.
For the purpose of this research, I made four trips of

South Africa for which support was provided partly by the
Ford Foundation. Therefore, I deem it fit to pay my sincerest
thanks to Dr. Bishnu Mahapatra, the Director, Ford
Foundation. I also like to pay thanks to Mr. Surendra Sharma,
a famous poet of India who helped me to make another trip
to South Africa. I feel that without their help, it was virtually
impossible for me to do justice with the work I have been
assigned.
There are some personalities in South Africa who opened

the door to find the answer of my inquisitiveness for the
purpose of my research. First of all, I wish to thank Professor
Phyllis Zungu, of the Linguistic department, University of
KwaZulu-Natal, Durban who made it possible to introduce
me with some of the organisations of and for the visually
challenged. Then I wish to express my gratitude to Mr. M.
Krishnan Shunmugam, the in-charge of Disability Desk in the
University of KwaZulu-Natal, who facilitated me by arranging
the support base in many ways. It was his personal
contribution by which I could manage to contact variety of
visually impaired students of the university.
My sincerest thanks go to innumerable representatives

of various organisations of and for the visually challenged in
South Africa and India. In this regard, I wish to thank
personally to Mr. Jace Nair, the Chief Executive Officer of
XI
Natal Blind and Deaf Society, Durban, KwaZulu-Natal and

Ms. Saffura Khan, President, Phoenix Light Group for the
Specially challenged, whose eye-opener pieces of information
made me aware of the socio-economic and cultural background
of South Africa.
This milestone cannot be achieved without the

contribution of various dignitaries of the South African Council
for the Blind who facilitated me in terms of providing relevant
literature and pieces f information relating to the policies.
My special thanks go to Ms. Agnes Mansena, Secretary,
Department of Advocacy, South African National Council for
the blind/ who, through her commitment and sincerest
endeavour made it possible not only to arrange meetings with
different personnel of the Council but also made me feel at
home with her hospitality. It is because of her I never felt like
an alien in South Africa.
I express my indebtedness to those who helped me in

formatting the text of the thesis and also those who read
some of the manuscripts and did translation of some of the
texts in the African languages.
CONTENTS
Prefacev
Acknowledgement ix
Introduction 1
1. Ecology of the South Africa and India and
the Visually Impaired 14
1.0 Introduction 14
1.1 Physical Environment 15
1.1.1 The Land and Borders of South Africa 15

1.1.2 The Land and Borders of India 18
1.1.3 Climatic Conditions of South Africa 20
1.1.4 Climatic Conditions of India 21
1.1.5 Natural Vegetation and Natural 24 Produce of South Africa
1.1.6 Natural Vegetation and Natural 25 Produce of India
1.1.7 Mineral Resources of South Africa 26

1.1.8 Mineral resources of India 27
1.1.9 Geographical Conditions of 27 South Africa and India--
A comparison
1.2 Socio-economic Features 30
1.2.1 Socio-economic Features of
South Africa 30
1.2.2 Socio-economic Features of India 43

1.2.3 Socio-economic Environment 53 of South Africa and India --
A Comparison
1.3 Political Features 54

1.3.1 Historical Background of the 54
Political System of the

Republic of South Africa
1.3.1.1 Pre-colonial Era of the 54 South Africa
1.3.1.2 The Colonial Era 55

1.3.1.3 The Post-colonial Era 56
1.3.1.4 Political Structure of Post-Apartheid
South Africa 57
1.3.2 Historical Background of the
Political System of India 61
1.3.2.1 Pre-colonial India 62

1.3.2.2 Colonial Period 63
1.3.2.3 The Post-independent India 64
1.3.2.4 The Political Structure of India 66
1.3.3 The Political Systems of South 68
Africa and India-A Comparison
1.4 The Visually Impaired 69
1.4.1 The Visually Impaired in South Africa 70

1.4.2 The Visually Impaired in India 72
1.4.3 The Visually Impaired in
South Africa and India -- 77 A comparison
2. Changing Scenario of the Policy Perspectives for the Visually Impaired in South
Africa and India: A Historical Background 81
2.0 A Historical Analysis of the Changing
Policies for the Visually Impaired 81
2.1 Pre-Industrial Era and the Policies for the Visually Impaired 82
2.2 New Inventions and the Policies for

2.3 Religious Groups and the Policies for
2.4 State Support and the Policies for
2.5 Social Attitudes and its Impact on the

Policies and Programmes
of the Visually Impaired 104
2.6 Awakening and Self-dependence 118

and its Impact on the Policies
for the Visually Impaired
2.7 South Africa and India: A Comparison 140
3 Policies for the Visually Impaired in the Post-Apartheid

South Africa and India 144
3.0 Introductionl44
3.1 Basic Policy Documents for the 145 Visually Impaired
3.2 Prevention of the Visual Impairment 156
3.2.1 Definition of the Visual Impairment 158

3.2.2 Causes of the Visual Impairment 158
3.2.3 Policies for the Prevention of the 163 Visual Impairment in South Africa
3.2.4 The Policies for the Prevention of 165

the Visual Impairment in India
3.3 Educational Policies for the Visually Impaired 167
3.3.1 Educational Policies for the Visually Impaired in South Africa

179
3.3.2 Educational Policies for the Visually Impaired in India 192
3.4 Policies for the Rehabilitation of 203

the Visually Impaired
3.4.1 Employment Policy for the 205

Visually Impaired in South Africa
3.4.2 Employment Policies for the
Visually Impaired in India 227
3.5 Policy Relating to Other Rehabilitational
Issues 238
3.5.1 Policies Relating to Other Rehabilitational Issues in South Africa 238
3.5.2 Policies Relating to Other Rehabilitational Issues in India 242
4. Policy Implementation and Interaction
with Voluntary Organisation of and for the 245
Visually Impaired
4.0 Introduction 245
4.1 Preventive Measures by the Governments
247
255
264
264
1 270 276 1 279 286 1
TTTTMmTT'T"""""'"'"'"
liiuiUuhiiiiiiiUtii,
and the Involvement of the Non- 247
Governmental Agencies
4.1.1 Preventive Measures for the Visual Impairment in South Africa and the
Role of Non-Governmental
Organisations
4.1.2 Preventive Measures for the Visual Impairment in India and the Role of
Non-Governmental Organisations
4.2 Special Schools for the Visually Impaired
4.2.1 Special Schools for the Visually

Impaired in South Africa
4.2.2~Special Schools for the Visually

Impaired in India
4.3 Integrated and Inclusive Schools for the

Visually Impaired
4.3.1 Inclusive Education in South Africa

4.3.2 Inclusive Education in India
4.4 Services for the Reading Material for the
Visually Impaired 292
4.4.1 Services for the Reading Material

for the Visually Impaired in
South Africa 292
4.4.2 Services for the Reading Material

for the Visually Impaired in India 295
4.5 Services for the Recorded Material for
4.5.1 Services for the Recorded Material 297

for the Visually Impaired in
South Africa
4.5.2 Services for the Recorded Material 298

for the Visually Impaired in India
4.6 Identification for the Jobs for the 298

Visually Impaired and their
Status of Employment
4.6.1 Identification of the Jobs for 299 the Visually Impaired and their Status of
Employment in South Africa
4.6.2 Identification of the Jobs for the Visually Impaired and their Status of 311
Employment in India
4.7 Other Rehabilitational Facilities for the

Visually Impaired 319
4.7.1 Other Rehabilitational Facilities for 319 the Visually Impaired in South Africa
4.7.2 Other Rehabilitational Facilities 325 for the Visually Impaired in India
4.8 Role of the Voluntary Organizations in

Influencing the Policies for the Visually 330
Impaired
4.8.1 Organisations of and for the Visually 330 Impaired in South Africa
4.8.2 Organisations of and for the Visually Impaired in India 332
4.9 The Impact of Globalisation on the 339

Policy Perspectives for the Visually
Impaired
Alternative Policy Perspective for 344

the Visually Impaired
5.0 Introduction 344

5.1 Outlook of the Bureaucrats 347
5.2 Outlook of the Voluntary Organisations 354
5.3 Outlook of the Experts in the Field of
Visual Impairment 358
5.4 Expectations of the Concerned 361

International Agencies
Conclusion: Summary, Findings and

Recommendations
References 334
Bibliography 404
APPENDICES
426
Appendix A. Questionnaires
I. Questionnaire for Consumers

II. Questionnaire for the Representatives of Different Government Departments
III. Questionnaire for the Representatives of Non-Government

Organisations
Appendix B. The Persons With Disabilities 444
(Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights

and Full Participation) Act 1995,
Appendix C. Code of Good Practice on Key 477
Aspects of Disability in the Workplace
Appendix D Employment Equity Act No.55 of 1998 489
TTTTTTTTmmTTTTTm'TrmT'TTmmmTl
DEDICATION
This book has been dedicated to my mother, Late

Kaushalya Devi, a semblance of courage, source of
inspiration, true guide not only for me but also the
then movement of the persons with visual impairment.
By doing this, I am dedicating this book to those days
when the persons with visual impairment were
practically concerned to their worries and ready to
go to any extent for their upliftment.
1
Introduction
With the emergence of the nation states-may it be in India

or elsewhere, it is found that there was an apparent change
in the role of state in terms of policy-making. This drift was
categorically visualized with the advent of the industrial
revolution which gave birth to the bourgeois class which had
not only captured the industries but also captured the state
power in the name of democracy or under the guise of popular
representation. Hence, it became obligatory for any state,
whatsoever its intention maybe, to speak about the public
welfare. This development had two major effects. On the one
hand, the public was educated and was organized in the name
of their interests and, on the other hand, the state was forced
to adopt the policy of appeasement by serving the interest of one or the other group. This
relation is not very simple. It
takes the form of a dialectical relationship between the ruling
class and various interest groups. Despite of showing the class
characteristics, for the purpose of interest articulation, class
barriers were crossed and on the basis of small achievements,
elites were developed in each group.
In the competition of showing itself the most welfare

states, each state has started to lay down certain principles in
its constitution to safeguard the interests of the diverse groups.
Sometimes, a state becomes so benevolent that it goes a step
ahead in terms of inserting provisions in its constitution in
the favour of those segments of the society which are not at
all decisive participants of the state politics. This gives an
impression that everything is said and done for each and every
group.
2 Policy Perspectives for the Visually Impaired
physically challenged persons or disabled persons is one

of such groups which is a scattered minority and poses a
question why it should be given some weightage in terms of
incorporating safeguard provisions in the constitution or in
terms of making some Parliamentary law for it when
globalization is supporting private entrepreneur ship and
privatization has got no scope of reservation. It is opined
that there is no compromise with the quality and from their
vantage, reservation is a kind of compromise with the quality.
It is witnessed that more there is open competition, the state
is more harping upon these issues and, even making the
reservation provisions for such scattered minority groups.
There is a typical seemingly contradictory development in
both the policies. In real sense, this is a complementary step
because if such talks are not being made, an obvious sense of
being overlooked develops in such segments. So, a serious
need is felt to give them a magic band utility of which is
futile from the day it is given.
In a broader sense, the physically challenged persons

are being divided into three categories, sensorily impaired,
physically impaired, and cognitively impaired. But, in the
common parlance, despite all objections, the physically
challenged are being divided as hearing challenged (deaf and
mute), physically challenged (locomotor impairment) and
visually challenged/impaired (the blind). These disabilities
can also be categorized from the angle of visualized disability
and non-visualised disability. The more the disability is
visualized, it draws more attention or sympathy. That is why,
despite the gravity of the problems of the deaf and mute, less
attention has been paid towards them. But, the focal point of
the research is the visually impaired person and behind such
choice/preference, there is a rationale. Within the disability,
it is the most overlooked segment of the society because of
the prevalence of misconceived notions about not only its
potence but also its mannerism. The stress will be laid down
on the former part.
As, despite all these pitfalls, there is no special attempt
I
Introduction 3
to make exclusive policies for the visually impaired, there is

no option but to discuss the policies for the physically
challenged and find how much space/ attention has been paid
to the visually impaired.
The policy for the disabled has gone through various

phases and with the change of each phase, there is a shift in
the focal point of the policy. There is no clear cut view about
the state of the disabled in the pre-historical period or even
just after the creation of the state. If the maxim of 'the survival
of the fittest' existed in the pre-historical era, the same should
be true for the disabled and, in such case, there existence
would be beyond the imagination. But the literature gives
the proof of the existence of the few disabled who was shown
in the princely courts and was treated as a gesture of joke or
mockery. Everybody could not have reached to the court but
it seems there may be some provision-may not is very explicit-for
such segment of the society. Few writers refer to this
period as the asylum age in which these people were kept in
an asylum with the arrangements of their food and lodging.
It seems that prevention was no issue at all during that period
may be because of the lack of the sense of preventive measures
or may be a sense that why one should poke one's nose in the
affairs of god.
History took a major turn when it witnessed the glorious

revolution, French revolution etc. It is observed that after
every such revolution/movement, new vistas are opened for
the disabled in general and visually impaired in particular.
The first school for the visually impaired was opened in France
just after the French Revolution and the first school was
opened in India just after the foundation of the Congress by
A.O. Hume. That is why, it is said that every reformatory
steps brings something positive for the specially challenged
in general and the visually impaired in particular. Whether
this is a logical culmination or accidental-is a moot question.
However, it can be said that in a congenial atmosphere, some
attention is paid to the otherwise overlooked segment of the
society.
There are some countries like India where war disability

and the programmes for the disabled have some co-relations.
Just a year before the Second World War, the directions were
oiven to prepare a Report of the Blind in India and around
this period, first government-sponsored institute was opened
in Dehradun initially for the war-blinded and later on for the
blind in general. The announcement of the reservation policy
for the war disabled was made just after the completion of
the Bangladesh war of 1971 but, with the passage of time, the
same provision had covered in its fold the disability in toto
in 1976.
In 1995, the Republic of South Africa was going through

a major change in terms of the beginning of post-apartheid
period. During the apartheid period, the policies for the
disabled in general and the policies for the visually impaired
in particular were also divided along tine lines with the races.
That is why, the separate schools were opened for the separate
races and the South African Council for the Blind was also
divided on the same lines. This means that there was a
development in the field of the visually impaired but that
development was fragmented. It is the post-apartheid period
which has started thinking in terms of the development in
totality in the name of education for all and similar policies
for the employment. It is the historical legacy and the
ideological commitment which forced the Republic of South
Africa to include such provisions in its Constitution under
the non-discriminatory clause. From this vantage, it is
pertinent to have a look at its implication in favour of the
disability in general and the visual impairment in particular.
So far as the constitutions of both the countries are concerned,
there is no exclusive provision of the special article devoted
to the commitment of the solution to the problems of the
disability. However, the constitution of the Republic of South
Africa could make the reference of disability in its nondiscriminatory
clause. It seems that both the countries had
realized this fact in their own way and that is why, on the
one hand, the Republic of South Africa brought a series of
laws as Employment Equity Act, Education for All etc. and
Introduction 5
India brought forth the Persons With Disabilities (Equal

Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act,
1995 (PWD) Act on the other.
The Employment Equity Act is all-embracing in the

sense that it was the result of the nondiscriminatory
clause and, thereby, bound to cover race, gender and disability
at the same time whereas the PWD Act was exclusively for
the disabled. But as both the countries are having the
democratic pattern, it is a matter of debate how the
aeneralistic laws can be honestly implemented in favour of
the scattered minority which has got no vote base as the
mechanism of democracy only understands the language of
its vote bank.
The ninth decade of the 20th century witnessed the International Year for the Disabled
Persons which was
followed by the International Decade for the Disabled Persons.
Due to some problems, the International Year and the
International Decade for the Disabled Persons were not
observed in the same years in South Africa. At least in India,
a lot of paper work and the exhibitional work were done and
incidentally, this was the period when a large number of
physically challenged persons in general and the visually
impaired persons in particular could manage to get some jobs
through the special test conducted by the Staff Selection
Commission. During this period, the demand for the
Legislation for the Disabled was also in the air by some of
the leading voluntary organizations of the visually impaired.
Despite the fact that India was the country which proposed
in the International Labour Organisation Convention for
directing the countries to have either Legislation for the
disabled or some Executive Order for them, it could not
manage to bring some such legislation under the argument
that it has already got at its hand an Executive Order of this
effect. Through the various pressure groups, mainly led by
the visually impaired, the Government was forced to realize
that these Executive Orders are ineffective and there was a
dire need of some Legislation in favour of the disabled. In
1995, the Government of India could manage to bring forth a

legislation popularly known as People with Disability Act.
Aims and Objectives of the Book
Major objectives of the Book include the following :
To make a comparative analysis of the ecology of state

politics of the South Africa and India; to analyse the socioeconomic
conditions of both the states; to make the analysis
of the socio-economic conditions of the visually impaired in
both the countries; to find the sources of the policies for the
visually impaired by making a bird-eye-view of the history
of both the countries; to find and analyse the role of the state
in the development and formulation of the policies for the
visually impaired in both the countries in the period under
examination; to analyse and review the role of the voluntary
organization in the policies for the social change for the
visually impaired; to ascertain what effect the period.under
examination in both the countries have on the prevention of
the visual impairment; to find the alternative policy for the
proper development of the visually impaired of both the
countries.
An Overview of the Literature
The literature for this topic ranges from the primary

sources like The Census of India, Census of South Africa,
Constitution of India, Constitution of the Republic of South
Africa, Government Orders for Reservation in the Posts,
Government Orders for Age Relaxation initially to the defence
personnel and later on to the civilian disabled to join various
posts in India, White papers on Education and Training in
South Africa, Employment Equity Act and, last but not the
least, The People with Disability Act. Not only this, one is
supposed to go through the literature scattered over in the
Annual Reports of the leading organisations of the visually
impaired in India and South Africa. It is also pertinent to
look into the documents of the World Health Organisation to
know the definitional part of the visual impairment. One has
to look into the annual reports of the then International
Introduction 7
Federation of the Blind, World Council for the Welfare

of the Blind and the newly emerging bodies like World Blind
Union.
There is a need to go through the literature on the group

politics and its role in shaping and sharing the policies of the
state. Such literature talks of variety of groups to the extent
of the role of anomic groups. But it fails to make any
description of the groups formulated by the scattered
minorities. A trend is visualised to call such groups as nongovernmental
organisations which seems to be a vague term
particularly from the vantage of their role in effecting the
policy formulation. In practice, it has been witnessed that the
organisations of such scattered minorities like specially
challenged are being given representation in the nodal ministry
meant for them to put their voice. How far such voice is
effective is a debatable question. There is a need of making
some efforts to lay hand on such scattered litefature-may be
in the government records or in the annual reports of such
organisations. The echoes of their activities can be felt through
the press clippings.
To clarify the concepts regarding the specially

challenged, there is a book by Ali Baquer, which deals with
these concepts and various theories relating to this
development therefrom. It also deals with the understanding
of the people towards the specially challenged. How the
physical handicap develops into the disability which is nothing
but the outlook of the society towards them. This outlook
makes them disabled otherwise they are nothing but a physical
entity with a physical challenge.
After having the proper understanding of the concept

of physical challenge, there is a need of understanding the
problems of the physically challenged at the school level. For
this purpose, a book is devoted to the education of the
physically challenged popularly known as THE DISABLED
SCHOOL CHILD: A STUDY OF INTEGRATION IN
PRIMARY SCHOOL.Jt is written by E.M. Anderson. It has
described how the ordinary schools can be changed into the
special schools by making special provisions for the disabled

by providing resource rooms, specialised teachers and open
outlook towards them. Hence, it is dealing with the question
of the integration of the physically challenged persons in the
ordinary primary schools. It also deals with the social and
emotional adjustment of the children.
On the similar problem, N. Bennett and A. Cass bearing

the name FROM SPECIAL TO ORDINARY SCHOOLS: A CASE
STUDY IN INTEGRATION. In addition to the above
description, it also deals with the parents perspective and
administrative and policy decisions affecting integration.
To deal with the physical and psychological barriers,

there is a book known as ADJUSTMENT TO BLINDNESS
REVIEWED written by M.K. Bauma and N.M. Yonder. They
deal with the problems of the psychological adjustment with
the visually impaired in various categories of the people. For
this, they cite the examples of various types of the workers
and describe how the visually impaired persons adjust there
and how other people become conscious of their behaviour
with them.
To find the source of the policies for the visually impaired

in India, there is a report known as REPORT ON BLINDNESS
IN INDIA. It speaks about the educational policy and the
policy of prevention of visual impairment. In a report of 116
pages, an explicit attention is paid on the need of the education
for them. A reference is made of the 32 schools and steps for
opening of more schools.
To know about the history of policies for the visually

impaired and the history of their movements in South Africa,
there is a book written by V.H. Vaugham with the name of
HISTORY OF THE MOVEMENT. It also gives a historical
background of the services for them.
A lively description is made by T.N. Kitchlu in his book

A CENTURY OF BLIND WELFARE IN INDIA. It makes a
description of the welfare programmes for the visually
challenged in India. At the same time, it touches upon the
Introduction 9
aspects like employment, rehabilitation of the rural visually

impaired, legislation for them etc. The book traces out the
development in the field of welfare of the visually challenged
in India during the past hundred years containing articles
contributed by eminent persons who have had long experience
of working with the visually impaired. The problems of the
visually challenged in the field of education, employment,
rehabilitation and integration have been dealt with in the
proper perspective.
As Delhi is supposed to be the trend setter for the

country, there is a book written by P.R. Matani and M.S.
Yadav with the name of EDUCATION AND VOCATIONAL
REHABILITATION OF THE BLIND IN DELHI: A STUDY.
It describes about the welfare agencies for the visually
impaired in Delhi. It also describes various programmes run
by them and the benefit taken from it by the visually impaired.
As Delhi is the centre of India, most of the voluntary
organisations relating to the visually challenged, have their
head office in Delhi. Hence, this book manages to give a vivid
description of some of the leading organisations for the
visually impaired.
To understand the efficiency of the visually impaired,

there is a rational write-up by D.C. Macfarland, with the name
of A STUDY OF WORK EFFICIENCY OF BLIND AND
SIGHTED WORKERS IN INDUSTRIES. This book made a
database description of the efficiency of the sightless workers
in the industrial sector.
A book based on the study of the visually challenged in

Delhi is written by Sushma Batra entitled SOCIAL
INTEGRATION OF THE BLIND. This is a unique book in
the sense that it makes an endeavour to study the problems
of the visually impaired in the major chunk of the society by
treating him the part and parcel of it. It is different from the
stereotype approach of the segregation of the physically
challenged people.
A biographical description of some famous visually

challenged persons can be found in EMINENT BLIND
PERSONS OF THE WORLD written by B. Mishra. It has

depicted the lives of Rajendra T. Vyas, Helen Keller, Louis
Braille etc. It has also depicted how the visually impaired
could manage to overcome their challenges through their
courage.
A book is written by S.N. Gajendra Gadkar with the

name DISABLED IN INDIA. The book covers mentally
retarded and their problems, problems of the visually
impaired, rehabilitation, medicine, leprosy affected and their
problems, the problems of deaf and mute, and of cancer
disabled, arthritis, old age etc. This is an information book,
which attempts to study the multifaceted problems of various
categories of the physically challenged, people's attitude
towards them, contribution of voluntary agencies etc. It takes
up a critical look on rehabilitation as a policy.
As challenges are part and parcel of the physically

challenged, a book is written by Ali Baquer and Anjali Sharma
with the name of DISABILITY: CHALLENGES VS.
RESPONSES. It covers disability in general and makes a
description how these challenges are being faced by the
physically challenged people. It has also made some of the
recommendations about what kind of policies are desirable
for them.
Two famous bureaucrats have done a comprehensive

work on the policy perspective for the rehabilitation for the
physically impaired. They are R.S. Pandey and Lai Advani.
They wrote a book with the name of PERSPECTIVE IN
DISABILITY REHABILITATION. This book describes various
aspects of physical challenges and rehabilitation in India and
in some other parts of the globe which are relevant to the
third world. The concept and extent of disability, the status
of preventive measures, rehabilitation services in the area of
physical restoration, education, vocational training and
placement and role of legislation, media, technology, nongovernment
organisations and the aspect of manpower
development have been exhaustively dwelt upon in this
volume. It presents a concise historical background, an
Introduction 11
overview of the current status and an analytical review of

the existing services, etc. Several practical measures have been
suêsted including emotional programme on the model of
community-based rehabilitation as a public service in this book.
This book is a valuable reference source for the professional
policy-makers and administrators dealing with the people
having physical challenge.
On the issue of the education and employment, there is

a book known as EDUCATION AND EMPLOYMENT OF
BLIND IN INDIA which speaks about the general scenario
of the visually impaired in terms of their education and
employmervt. Though the focus of the book is on the West
Bengal, it gives a picture of the visually impaired in India
which stimulates to make a deep study over these issues. It
also speaks about the probable formation of the policies on
these issues.
A book known as COMING TO LIGHT written by

ANURADHA MOHIT is devoted to the status of the visually
women in general and speaks about their status as well as
their role in the world. As the writer is one of the activists in
this field, this book gives us a first hand experience over this
matter.
An informative and evaluative book on the organisations

of and for the visually impaired in South Africa is written by
W. Aubrey, Webson with the name of Empowerment of Blind.
It is a handbook giving information of the voluntary
organizations, its services to the community and its dialogue
on the ideology 'of the' and 'for the' blind. This is a dialogue
between the voluntary works vs. self-help. It also tells about
the programmes run by these organizations and their
contribution to the society.
The government of South Africa published a White Paper

on an Integrated National Disability Strategy in the year 2000,
which makes a picturesque description about the condition
of the education of the physical impairment in this country. It
also chalks out a policy framework for them. But there are
nominal description about the visually impaired and their
12
Policy Perspectives for the Visually Impaired
educational conditions.
As there is no exclusive literature on the visually impaired

and their role in pressurising in terms of shaping and sharing
the policies for them, one has to depend upon the literature
in general on the physically challenged people, in fact, the choice of making a research
on exclusively for the visually
challenged is because of the fact that it is a segment about
which there a lot of prejudices. Despite this, they have left no
stone unturned to prove their worth in the society. With in
the specially challenged people, they have a better
organisational network due to their comparative easy access
to the people because of the nature of their physical challenge.
Not only this, recent technical developments made them more
accessible to the information technology and some of the
people, at least a segment of the educated one, have started
to realize this. But majority of the people are yet having the
traditional and prejudiced opinion about them and it is a work
of research to find how far the visually impaired through
their organisations, manage to wipe out such concepts and
how far the society is trying its best to remove such baseless
notions about them.
Obviously, as no sincere attempt has been made to develop

exclusive literature for the visually challenged, this research work
makes it possible to put this scattered literature in a form of compilation
and try to develop an alternative policy perspective for them.
Expected Outcomes
It is expected that the study will lead to the outcomes

like throwing light on how political structures influence
government attitudes towards the marginalised sections like
the visually impaired; shedding light on community
perceptions regarding the education and work potential of
people with visual impairment; indicating as to what extent
the voluntary action in both the countries is influenced by the
political structure and to what extent the polity is supportive
of the voluntary action; revealing the extent to which the
voluntary action for the rehabilitation of the visually impaired
have gained momentum in both the countries and the extent
Introduction
13
to which they can pressurise the government to participate

more effectively in the rehabilitation of the visually impaired; and helping in developing
an alternative policy for the visually
impaired which may suit the needs of the Afro-Asian countries
On the basis of the analysis of both the countries.
1
Ecology of South Africa and India,
and the Visually Impaired Persons
1.0 Background
Since the inception of the welfare state, a rationale is

used to be given for taking up one or the other programme
for the minorities, despite the fact that for some, the state is
an instrument in the hands of a class or for others, state is a
representative of the interests of various groups. Initially, it
was the religion, which was a guiding force for these merciful
welfare activities, but, with the passage of time, the benefited
minor section of these minorities took a leading role in putting
forth their problems. Hence, some such attention became the
part and parcel of the policies of the welfare state-maybe as
an instrument of appeasement. But in the case of a scattered
minority like physically challenged people, such was not the
case. Historically, either they were in the asylum or were
used as a part of entertainment in the princely courts and,
with the passage of time, due to the benevolent attitude of
the god fearing religious people, they got some chances to go
to some special schools. The education brought a revolution
in the thinking of the physically challenged as education does
not only mean to know something but it opens a reasoning
faculty which brings a topsy turvey in anyone's life. Its effect
was also visualized in the society. In the case of the visually
impaired, the invention of Braille-a script or reading technique
for the visually impaired opened a scope of keeping the record
Ecology of South Africa and India
15
of the knowledge on paper. This brought a major change in

the sphere of education for them.
These developments opened the vistas of taking up their

problems not only by the governments of different states but
also by the various voluntary organizations to the extent of
providing them an opportunity to become an integral part of
the society. For the purpose of research, visually impaired is
taken as a sample of the physically challenged people and, as
the representatives of the state, the Republic of South Africa
and India are taken as a sample.
The rationale of this sampling can be found from this

fact that the policies for the physically challenged in general
and visually impaired in particular in South Africa reveals
the fact that everything is almost said and done for them to
the extent of providing monetary support in case of no job
and even constitutional guarantee of no disparity on the
ground of disability whereas in India, there is no constitutional
guarantee of such nature except a piece of legislation,
popularly known as People With Disability Act, but, on the
one hand, the physically challenged in general and visually
impaired in particular are found engaged in higher posts, on
the other hand, they can be found under-employed, jobless
and even totally depending financially on the mercy of the
society in both the countries. These dichotomies stimulate
any researcher to make a critical study in this sphere.
It is pertinent to have a brief look at the atmosphere of

both the states in which these segments of the society play its
role because no problem can be discussed in isolation and, at
the same time, whatever problem is faced by the visually
challenged, it is due to the socio-economic and political
atmosphere.
11 Physical Environment
11.1 The Land and the Borders of South Africa

In the following pages, a description is made about a
country which is known as 'The Rainbow Country'1 due to
its multi-culture, multi-lingual and multi-religious nature and,
despite its being the most criticized country during most of

the years of 20th century due to the apartheid policy, it has
become one of the countries which has been playing a
conspicuous role in the politics of the African continent. On
the one hand, this country is known for its NATURAL
resources, attraction for tourists for its natural beauty, on
the other hand, for a social scientist, the reminiscences of the
apartheid era and the interaction between various races in
the post-apartheid period have become a point of visit and
study. This country is known as 'Republic of South Africa'.
Its prominence can be understood from the fact that, in
common parlance, it is confused with Africa.
As is evident from its name, it is situated in the Southern
extremity of the African continent. With the exception of the
small area of the Northern Transvaal which lays poleward of
the Tropic of Capricorn, extending as far as latitude 34 degree
. 51 minute South.2
This country covers the area of 1,219,080 sq km. It has common borders with many
countries. On its North-West
lies Namibia whereas Botswana is situated on its North. The
countries like Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Swaziland are
situated on the North-East. Lesotho is completely surrounded
by South African territory. It is situated in its Eastern part.
Two-third of the total land of South Africa is comprised

of plateau. These are encircled with a long steep slope. On
the fringes of the plateau, there is a narrow coastal belt. The
height of the surface of the plateau is not evenly poised. It
varies from 600 M. to 2,000 M. above the sea level. But, in
most of the cases, its height is above 900 M. Its height shows
a downward curve towards the Kalahari Basin in the North-West.
Its maximum height is seen in the East and South-East.
This area can be divided into three sub regions: the High
Veld, the Bush Veld and the Middle Veld.
The lowlands margins which encircle the plateau of South

Africa can be divided into four zones: the Undulating to Flat
Transvaal Low Veld, the South-eastern Coastal Belt, the Cape
Ranges, and the Western Coastal Belt.
17
Kalahari Desert3: It is an arid and semi-arid region of the

plateau. It is spread over the Southern part of the African
continent. It covers the South-western part of Botswana and
the Northern part of South Africa. It is situated between the
Orange River and the Okavango River. It surface is generally
covered with red soil with the exception of its Eastern part
where the patches of sand are found. When a heavy rain
occurs, pans of water form in the extensive mud flats. It covers
the area of about 712,250 Sq Km.
Rivers of South Africa: The chief rivers of South Africa are

the Orange, Vaal and Limpopo. The Orange River is the longest
river in the country. It originates in Lesotho. It flows in a
North-West direction and falls into the Atlantic Ocean after a
course of some 2,090 Km. The westernmost section of the
Orange River forms the boundary between South Africa and
Namibia. The Orange River system4 drains the water of the
greater part of the plateau. Its Western part of its basin is
very dry because it fails to reach its mouth during the dry
season. The large scale Orange River Project fulfils the need
of the water for this area. It has two main tributaries: the
Vaal and the Caledon.5 The Limpopo6 River originates in the
North-East region and flows North-West to the Botswana
border and then East along the borders of Botswana and
Zimbabwe before entering Mozambique and falls in the Indian
Ocean.
In general, the rivers of the South Africa are irregular

in flow. Majority of the rivers are dry during much of the
year. Consequently, they are of little use for navigation or
hydroelectric power but are of some use for irrigation. Most
of the people of the country rely for water supplies on
underground sources supplemented by dams except the
riparian strips along perennial rivers.
South Africa is covered from the East and South by the

Southern Indian Ocean and from West, it is covered by the
South Atlantic Ocean. It has two islands,7 namely, Prince
Edward and Mary Norm some 1,920 Km. away from South-East
of Cape Town. The river mouths of the South Africa are
unsuitable harbours as during the most of the period of the

year, its entry is blocked by the sandbars. On the coast line
of about 3,000 Km., there is only one suitable natural harbour
known as Saldanha Bay.8
1.1.2 Physical Features of India
The description is made in the following pages about a

country which is the largest democracy in the world with
over 600 million voters, second largest population, tenth
industrialized country in the world, sixth country to go in
the outer space, areawise seventh Covering about 2.2% of
world's land area and is known for the presence of multi-cultures,
multi-religions and multi-languages. This is the
country which is globally known with the name of India
against the name of famous river Indus which is still known
for the then highly developed Indus Valley Civilisation.
It is situated in the north of the equator and, hence, it

belongs to the Northern Hemisphere. It is divided into almost
two equal parts by the Tropic of Cancer. The southern half
coincides with peninsular India and lies in the tropical zone.
The northern half belongs to the subtropical zone. India's
mainland extends between latitude 8 degree 4 minute and 37
degrees 6 minute North, longitude 68 degree 7 minutes and
97 degree 25 minutes East and measures about 3,214 km. from
north to south and about 2,933 km. from East to West. Hence,
in total, India covers the area of 3,287,263 sq. km. It has the
land frontier of about 15,200 km. It has got a very long
coastline having total length of mainland plus Andaman and
Nikobar Island is 7516.6 km.
As India is situated to the east of the Prime Meridian, it

also belongs to the Eastern Hemisphere. It is centrally situated
in this Hemisphere which creates the chance of sound
economic and commercial position through interacting with
various countries. India occupies the south central peninsula
of Asia which is not only the largest but also the most
populous continent of the world.
India is the part of the Indian subcontinent appears on
19
the map as a natural geographical unit which has developed a

very distinctive culture. At present, Indian subcontinent is
composed of Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh.
As the development of India has a historical legacy,

despite it is covered from three sides by sea and one side by
the Himalayan ranges, it does not have natural boundaries
everywhere. India is surrounded with many neighbouring
countries. To its northwest, there lies Pakistan and
Afghanistan; to its north Nepal, China and Bhutan and to its
east, there lies Bangladesh and Myanmar (Burma). Though
in the southern side, it has got a natural boundary in the
form of sea, the island states of Sri Lanka and Maldives are
the southern neighbours in the Indian Ocean.
The story of any country can be read through the analysis

of the various layers of the earth and through the presence of
the remains. So is the case with India. Geologists say that the
story of India is written in its rocks. It is said that the
Himalayas along with the northern plains which has been
playing a conspicuous role in the development of the glorious
civilizations, was not there millions and millions years ago. It
was occupied by a sea called 'Teethys'.9
India is divided into three main structural components,10 namely, (i) the Great Mountain
Wall of the North, (ii) the
Northern Plains and (iii) the Great Peninsular Plateau. These
three structures make it possible to have variety of
geographical conditions in India.
Thar Desert™ It is also known as the Great Indian Desert

is situated in the Southern Asia. It is spread over the Northwestern
part of India and Eastern part of Pakistan. The desert
is bounded on the North-West by the Sutlej River, on the
East by the Aravali Range, on the South by the salt marsh
known as the Rann of Kutch and on the West by the Indus
River, It is an extensive arid region most of the part of which
is situated in Rajasthan. This desert covers the area of about
390,525 Sq. Km.
Estuaries: There are several estuaries12 in India. The major
estuaries are being those of Narmada and Tapti in Gujarat. It

is blessed with deep natural harbours like Bombay and
Marmagao. The western strip of the coastal area is narrower
than the eastern strip.
Islands: There are two major islands.13 These are

Lakshadweep Islands and the Andaman Nicobar Islands. The
former are lying opposite to the coast of Kerala and the latter
located on a submerged hilly range in the Bay of Bengal. The
only active volcano14 of India is found in the Andaman Nicobar
Islands. Size-wise, Andaman Nicobar Islands are bigger than
the Lakshadweep Islands.
These geographical divisions of India are complementary

to each other. On the one hand, the peninsular plateau is the
stable block and had provided building material for the
northern plains and mountains, on the other hand, the northern
mountains are the major source of water which is seen in the
form of rivers on which the civilizations of India15 was
flourished and which has become the source of the fertile
land of India.
1.1.3 Climatic Conditions of South Africa
The climate of any state depends upon the geographical

conditions of the state. So is the case with the South Africa.
With the exception of some parts of the Northern Province,
the climate of South Africa is sub-tropical. Hence, In general,
nearly the entire Republic of South Africa enjoys a mild,
temperate climate. Except for the extreme South-West, most
of the country is under the influence of the easterly trade
winds, which blow from over the Indian Ocean. These winds
are laden with moisture and bring rain in this country. But
this general climatic condition varies from region to region.
This variation of the climate rests upon the height of the
surface and relief.
Despite the fact that South Africa receives the average

rainfall of 546 mm. against the average rainfall of the world
of 857 mm. 65% of the country has an average rainfall of less
than 500 mm. Hence, it is "regarded for successful dryland
Ecology of South Africa and India 21
farming"'16 The variation of the rainfall can be understood

from the fact that the Highveld receives about 380 to 760
mm. Annual rainfalls, amount of which is diminishing rapidly
toward the West. On the West coast, rainfall is often as low
as 51 mm. Per annum. The rainfall deposited by the trade
winds occurs mainly between October and April. In the drier
regions of the plateau, the amount of rainfall and the
beginning of the rainy season vary greatly from year to year.
The extreme South-West is under the influence of West winds
originating over the Atlantic Ocean. This region annually
receives about 560 mm. of rainfall, most of which occurs
between June and September.
The temperature of the various parts of the South Africa

varies even in a particular season. It can be understood by
the fact that the mean daily temperature in January in Durban
which is on a low-lying part of the Northeast coast is about
24'C. The corresponding temperature in Johannesburg, in
the North central area, is about 19'C. Johannesburg, although
closer to the equator than Durban, has a cooler summer largely
because of its great elevation (some 1,670 M. above sea level).
The mean daily January temperature in Cape Town on the
South coast is about 20'C. as this area is under the influence
of cool winds from the South Atlantic. The range of winter
temperatures follows the same regional pattern. The mean
daily July temperature is about 17'C. in Durban, about 9'C. in
Johannesburg and about 12'C. in Cape Town.
Snow is rare throughout the country, although winter

frosts occur in the higher areas of the plateau in the winter.
It has summer season from October to April. There is

an abundance of sunshine which coincides with rain. But April
and May are the pleasant months in South Africa. The rains
of South Africa are unreliable. The effect of this can be seen
in the fact that some of its areas are "afflicted by prolonged
droughts and often ends in severe floods."17
11.4 Climatic Conditions of India
Due to the diverse geographical conditions, India has a

diverse climate. This difference is very sharp not only from

place to place but also in one place even with the change of
day and night. There are some areas in which during the
summer, the temperature touches the mark of 50'C, in winter
it goes down to -45'C. There is a variation of temperature
even within 24 hours. In the areas like Kerala, there is a
difference of 7 to 8'C whereas in the Thar Desert, the day
temperature is around 50'C and night temperature is around
the freezing point.
The climatic condition of India can be understood in

terms of the annual cycle of seasons. It can broadly be divided
in four seasons, namely, (i) cold weather season, (ii) hot
weather season, (Hi) advancing monsoon season and (iv)
retreating monsoon season.
(i) Tlte Cold Weather Season: This season falls in the month
of December, January and February. In this season, High
pressure prevails over the northern plains. Northeast trade
winds prevail over this country. The direction of the blow of
these winds is from land to sea. Therefore, the season remains
dry in most of the parts of the country. The pattern of the
temperature reveals this fact that it shows the decreasing trend
from South to North. Even during this season, the temperature
varies from place to place. The month of January can be taken
as an example. In this month, the mean temperature of Calicut
is about 25'C. but in the northern plains, it is in the vicinity of
10 to 15'C. In the hilly areas, there is a slight frost. There is a
difference of temperature in the daytime as well as in the
night. The days are warmer than nights. There is a fine and
delightful weather in the Bay of Bengal whereas the peaks of
Himalaya are used to be covered with snow. In some of the
parts of India, the cold wave prevails which causes the
disturbances in the normal life.
(ii) The Hot Weather Season: In common parlance, this season is known as summer
season. The hot weather in India
starts from the month of March when the belt of great heat
moves from South to North due to the apparent movement
of the sun towards the North. The highest temperatures in
the month of March are found in the Deccan Plateau in the

vicinity of 38'C. In the month of April, this hot belt moves to
the northward to Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh and the
temperature gears up to 42-43'C. It moves further North in
the month of May and in the areas of Northwest, the
temperature rises up to 48-50'C. There are some plain areas
where hot wind is prevalent and is commonly known as loo.w Towards the end of May,
the elongated low pressure is
developed which is known as monsoon low pressure trough.19
(Hi) Advancing Monsoon Season: As the name suggests, it is the season in which
monsoon advances from south to north.
Monsoon is a moisture-laden air and brings rainy season for
almost four months. It starts in the month of June and
culminates in the month of September. The duration of this
season shows a downward curve from South to North and
from East to West The uneven distribution of the rain during
the whole year can be judged from the fact that out of the
total annual rainfall, there is about 75 to 90% rain falls only
during this season. Even during this season, there is no evenly
poised rainfall. The difference of the quantum can be
understood from the fact that Calcutta receives about 120
cm. Patna 102, Allahabad 91 and Delhi 56. The area and the
quantity of rainfall vary from year to year because of the
change of the axis of the monsoon trough. If the axis of the
monsoon trough lies in the plains, it will bring fair amount of
rainfall in the Northern plains. On the other hand, when there
is a shift of the axis to the Himalayas, there is a heavy rainfall
in the mountains these heavy rains may bring devastating
floods causing great damage to the lives and property. In the
absence of rain, it may cause drought as despite all
developments, still majority of the agriculture rests upon the
balanced rainfall.
(iv) Retreating Monsoon Season: It is self-evident from its name that in this season, the
monsoon retreats. The retreating
monsoon season falls in the month of October and November.
This retreat takes place because of the fact that the monsoon
low pressure trough becomes weaker and is replaced by high
pressure. By the beginning of October, the surface winds

withdraw from the Northern plains. During these months,
there is a change from the hot rainy conditions to the dry
winter conditions. The sky becomes clear. In the second half
of the month of October, the temperature starts falling down
particularly in the Northern plains. The tropical cyclones are
also visible during this period. Generally, the areas like the
deltas of Godavari, Krishna and Kaveri use to become its
target of devastation. There are some exceptional occasions
when these areas may remain disaster free.
In sum, it can be said that India is a country in which all

the seasons can be enjoyed with its varying intensity. It is a
country which is having the coastal areas wherein the variation
of the climate is not witnessed in its intensity. There are plains
which show significant changes with the change of the seasons. There is a desert area
which shows change of temperature
even with the change of the day or night. There are high
mountain peaks which remain covered with snow during the
majority of the period of the year. Despite all these variations,
there is a wind like monsoon which binds the nation at large.
1.1.5 Natural Vegetation and Agricultural Produce of South

Africa
The natural vegetation and crops of any country rests

on its geographical condition. It includes the kind of soil and
climate. The grasslands of the central South African Plateau
have dark to black soils. These are similar to the North
American prairies. In the Western parts where the rainfall is
less, the soils are poorer bearing the chestnut colour. In the
Southern parts, the soils are thin and often having the red
colour. The soils of the North-eastern parts are reddish and
yellowish. Soil erosion is a big problem in South Africa.
The natural vegetation20 of South Africa varies from

region to region depending upon the amount of rainfall. In
the Eastern Lowveld, there are big forests due to heavy
rainfall. Along the Southern coast of this region, there are
forests mainly composed of yellowwood, stinkwood,
ironwood and cedar. In the Eastern highlands, there is a
considerable growth of grass and trees. The areas of Highveld

are having no trees though it is having heavy grassland, the
orasslands of Bushveld are similar to savannah. In the areas
of Middleveld where rainfall is poor, there are scattered trees.
The grassland of this area is very poor. The Great Karroo
and Little Karroo are covered with scrubs. In general, the
vegetations of this country are comprised of desert grasses
which become green due to some rainfall.
As the climate and soil is not that much suitable for

farming, about 85% of the farmland is devoted to the raising
of livestock like sheep, goat, poultry farm, piggery etc.
However, despite the fact that most of the big farms are under
the control of the whites and the non-whites manage to do
the farming on the smaller farms with the traditional means
of productions, the country produces almost all the crops21 needed for the food. Hence,
its agriculture produce involves
the growing of sugar cane, corn, wheat, potato etc.
1.1.6 Natural Vegetation and Agricultural Produce of India
Indian soil also varies from region to region. Keeping

this in view, it can be divided broadly into four types: a.
alluvial soils, b. regur soils, c. red soils and d. laterite soils.
The alluvial soils cover 40% of the total land area and
the entire Northern plains are made of it. It is also found in
the Eastern coastal plains. It is consisted of varying proportions
of sand, silt and clay. This is a very fertile soil. The regur
soils are black in colour. That is why it is also called the black
soil. It is the most typical of the Deccan trap region spread
over North-West Deccan plateau and is made up of lava flow.
It is known for its capacity to hold moisture. It is sticky soil
and difficult to work unless tilled immediately after the first
or pre-monsoon showers. The South-eastern parts are covered
by this soil. It extends northwards in the Western parts of
India. It is comprised of loose gravel-a highly coarse material.
The laterite soils are spread over the Western coastal region
which receives very heavy rainfall. It is an invariably poor
soil and supports only pastures and scrub forests. Apart from
these soils, there are two main soils known as desert soils in
the West Rajasthan and the mountain soils in the Himalayan

region.
The natural vegetations22 of this country are divided into

four types, namely, tropical rain forests, the tropical deciduous
forests, the thorn and scrub forests and tidal forests. The
tropical rain forests contain the commercially valuable trees
like ebony, mahogany, rosewood etc. These are found in the
rainy slopes of the Western Ghats, Western plains and the
North-eastern parts of India. The tropical deciduous forests
are found in the Eastern slopes of the Western Ghats and
North-eastern parts of the peninsula. The trees like teak, sal
etc. are found in this region. Every plant or tree has its own
time of leaf shedding and as such at no particular time the
forests are absolutely bare. The thorn and scrub forests are
found in the North-western parts. Generally, the trees like
Kikar, Babul, Khair, dates etc. are found in these forests. The
common feature of these forests is the scattered trees with
long roots spread in a radial pattern. These forests fade away
into shrubs and thorny bushes. The tidal forests, as evident
from its name, are found in the areas spread along the coasts
and rivers. These forests are having the trees like Sundari,
coconut etc.
Due to the variety of the regions, there is a variety of

agricultural produce in India. Moreover, as Indian economy
is based on agriculture because of the fact that about two-third
population of this country depends upon it, it has started
laying stress on the increase of quantum of its produce and,
thereby, it has accepted the need of its commercialization.
The agricultural produce of India includes cereals, rice, wheat,
maize, sugar cane, potato, tea, jute, spices, cashew nuts, coffee
etc.
1.1.7 Mineral Resources of South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is known for its rich mineral

resources.23 Some of them include gold, diamond and coal.
The gold is primarily mined in Witwatersrand. It is the richest
site which was discovered in 1886. The Republic of South Africa
had a major share in the trade of gold. Uranium is also
extracted commercially in the Witwatersrand. The coal fields

are found in the North-eastern parts of South Africa between
Lesotho and Swaziland. Diamond is another mineral wealth.
It is chiefly extracted from Kimberley diamond field which
was discovered in 1869. Surface workings were soon
exhausted, but the diamonds were traced to their source rock
and mined by large-scale methods. Apart from these minerals,
there are some deposits of copper, nickel, platinum, asbestos,
chromite, fluorite, phosphates, vanadium, tin, titanium, and
manganese and iron ores.
1.1.8 Mineral Resources of India
India is bestowed with the vast mineral resources..24 Mainly, she has the deposits of iron,
coal, manganese and
mica. She has one-fourths of the total global deposit of the
iron. These deposits are spread over various states of the
country like Bihar, Orissa, Chattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh etc.
She has considerable coal reserves but unfortunately, the
quality coal required for producing coke is rather deficient.
Three-fourths of the Indian coal deposits are found in the
Damodar River Valley. Apart from this, these deposits are
found in the valleys of Godavari, Mahanadi, Son and Wardha.
Such deposits are also found in the Satpura range and in the Chattisgarh plains. Another
important mineral required for
ferrous industries is manganese. Its deposits are found mainly
in Orissa, Karnataka, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh etc. 90% of the
world's deposits of mica are found in India. On the one hand,
half of its deposits are found in three districts of Bihar and
Jharkhand, namely, Hazaribagh, Gaya and Munger. These
districts lie on the Northern edge of Chotanagpur plateau.
The remaining half is equally shared by Nellore district in
Andhra Pradesh and Bhilwara in Rajasthan. Apart from these
major mineral resources, India has the mineral resources of
gold, copper, limestone, bauxite, titanium, chromite, diamonds
etc.
1.1.9 Geographical Conditions of South Africa and India-A

Comparison
Despite the fact that both the countries became point of

28 Policy Perspectives for the VisuallyImpaired
attraction as they represent such continents which became

fascinating to the Europeans due to the availability of the
raw material and suitable market, there are some of the factors
on which comparison of both the countries can be made.
Both South Africa and India are situated in the Southern

part of their respective continent but the former is situated in
the extreme Southern part and the latter constitutes the
Southern central peninsula. The South Africa is situated in
the Southern hemisphere of the globe whereas India is situated
in the Northern hemisphere. Area-wise, South Africa is
smaller than India. The South Africa constitutes almost two-fifths
of the total area of India.
Both the countries do not have their natural boundaries

due to their historical legacies. South Africa has the common
borders with Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique
and Swaziland whereas India has the common borders with
Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Myanmar. Both the
countries are surrounded by the sea from three sides, i.e.,
Eastern, Western and Southern. South Africa is covered by
Atlantic Ocean and Indian Ocean but India is covered by the
Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea. India is protected by the
Himalayan ranges to its North but South Africa shares the
boundaries with various countries to its North.
Both the countries are having variety of geographical

regions. The most of the area of South Africa is comprised of
Plateau whereas the majority of Indian land is comprised of
plains. Of course, the Deccan plateau of India plays a major
role in developing the fertile land of India. Both are having
deserts with different names. Indian desert is known as Thar
whereas South African desert is known as Kalahari. Indian
rivers are suitable for irrigation and navigation whereas such
is not the case with most of the South African rivers.
Both the countries are having variety of climatic

conditions round the year with the difference of temperatures
and rainfall at one point of time due to the varying
geographical conditions in their respective countries. But the
range of the variation of the temperature of India is vaster
than South Africa. In India, the temperature in summer season

croes higher than 48 'C. and in winter, it is much below the
freezing point. In South Africa, the temperature hardly crosses
40 degree 'C. in summer but it goes around freezing point in
winter. The rainfall in South Africa is milder than India. It is
below the average rainfall of the globe. But India has got
some areas which are known for its maximum annual rainfall
and, at the same time, India is also known for some of its
areas which are having the minimum annual rainfall.
As Indian rivers are suitable for irrigation and the

average rainfall is also supporting the agriculture, India has a
variety of agricultural produces which are also being used
for the commercial purpose. But in the case of South Africa,
they are having subsistent agriculture which can generally
meet the demand of its country folks. Both are having different
kind of natural vegetations. The natural vegetations of South
Africa are comprised of yellowwood, stinkwood, ironwood,
cedar and desert grass. But Indian vegetations are comprised
of ebony, mahogany, rosewood, teak, sal, Kikar, Babul, Khair,
dates etc. However, the economies of both the countries rest
on the rural areas with the difference that one is purely
agricultural whereas other is depending upon rearing and
selling of the cattle. Even for this purpose, the South Africa
rests upon developing good grazing grounds for which a
kind of agricultural involvement is needed because
commercially it is impracticable to roam for the search of
grazing lands.
Both the countries are rich in the mineral resources. But,

on the one hand, South Africa is mainly known for having
the deposits of gold, diamond and coal whereas India is mainly
known for its deposits of iron, coal, manganese and mica.
Both of these countries are using their mineral resources for
the commercial purposes and there was a time when South
Africa was a point of attraction of the imperialist powers for
*ts gold mines and India became the target of the invaders
because it was known for its wealth chiefly concentrated in
the temples.
1.2 Socio-Economic Features
1.2.1 Socio-Economic Features of South Africa
When an analysis of the social group of South Africa is

made, despite all claims of the end of apartheid and
supposedly consequent end of racialism, it is not possible to
deny the role of these groups for shaping and sharing the
policies of this state. That is why, it is said that "Despite the
unprecedented political and social changes that South Africa
has undergone since its first democratic elections in 1994, racist
ideology and practices have persisted in all the sectors of
South African society, including academia. Indeed, not a day
passes without us being reminded that racism is not a
phenomenon of South Africa's past that was buried along
with the apartheid laws of the old order. Regrettably, its
remnants continue to feature as an integral aspect of
contemporary South African society."25 For this, one may say
that it is impracticable to wash out the imprints of more than
eight decades. Hence, it is pertinent to make a bird-eye-view
on the meaning of race and racialism.
The concept of race may be the subject matter of

anthropologists or biologists as they differentiate the races
on the basis of the colour of a skin or outward unique looks.
Sometimes, it is referred to a group of people who may have common genesis and are
being living in a specific area.26 But
in the case of the research relating to the policy, it is important
to understand the meaning of the term 'racialism'.
It is noted that, largely because of its multifaceted and

constantly changing manifestations, racism defies easy
definition. However, many of the more authoritative writings
on racism describe it as an ideology, and more specifically,
"an ideology through which the domination or marginalisation
of certain 'races' by another 'race' or 'races' is enacted and
legitimated."27 As an ideology, racism can be considered as a
set of ideas and discursive and material practices aimed at
reproducing and justifying systematic inequalities between
'races' or realised groups.28 Thompson viewed it as "the
conceptualisation of racism as ideology has one important
advantage, namely, that it highlights issues of power related

to the maintenance, functioning and perpetuation of the
problem."29 Despite enormous disagreements about the nature
of racism, most social scientists agree that racism is inextricably linked to processes of
social, political and
economic domination and marginalisation, and so involves
systematically skewed relations of power in all major spheres
of social organisation.
There are five major ethnic groups in the South Africa.

These are:
1. Khoisan (also known as Bushmen, Hottentots and

Bergdamara): They are the early survivors of the ancient
inhabitants of this land. They are likely the descendants of
the late Stone Age. It is understood that they were the hunters
who lived in small numbers. They lived in loosely patrilrneal
bands ranging from 20 to 200 persons. They were highly
mobile due to the dependency on hunting which made them
widely dispersed. The leadership of these groups was based
on the hereditary system.
It is generally being said that "Their political organisation

was very rudimentary. The chiefs, about whom little is known,
commonly seem to have had ritual importance in rainmaking
and in various other ways, and they seem to have been
respected as leaders of kin-groups, but to have had almost
no institutionalised authority at all."30
The historical descriptions of the 17th century indicate

that "Khoekhoe pastoralists were distributed in large patrician
groupings primarily along the coastal margins of South
Africa, but also inland along the Orange River in the Northern
Cape, and across the river into Namibia By the time of the
first European observers at the end of the fifteenth century,
the Khoekhoen had adapted to the seasonal rhythms of
moving between pastures in patri-dan territories Grazing and
water were held in common by the group, but defended
vigorously against contiguous groups, who were often seen
as enemies to raid for livestock.31 Commenting upon the power
°f the chiefs, it is said that "It appears that Khoikhoi chiefs
did not enjoy absolute power and, although chieftainship has

been described as hereditary, early accounts indicate that
political power and leadership resulted in part from wealth
in cattle."32
Some writers opine that they were having pretty large

group of cattle and in that sense, they were richer than the
ordinary European peasant. Others feel that they failed to
use their land wisely enough.33
The Khoekhoen have a system of cross-sexual naming

where girls are named after their father, while boys are named
after their mother. This 'principle of cross-descent' means 'that
a male acquires membership in the group of his mother and a
female in that of her father.
Pastoral activities were divided by gender and by age.

Boys and girls learned herding skills at a very young age,
and looked after small stock as soon as they were able.
Uninitiated y ouths herded and watered the larger stock, while
older girls worked closely with their mothers learning craft
and camp skills. Adult activities continued this separation,
with women looking after children, collecting plant foods and
milking the stock as well as making pottery, leatherwork and
mats to cover their huts.
In every Khoekhoe's house the women are the supreme

rulers. The husbands cannot intervene in the matters relating
to the inner management of the homes. While in public the
men play the vital part, at home they have not so much power
even as to take a mouthful of sour milk out of the tub, without
the wife's permission. If a man ever should try to do it, his
nearest female relations will put a fine on him, consisting in
cows and sheep, which are added to the stock of the wife.34
2. Bantu-speaking negroids: They fall in the variety of tribal

groupings. These are constituted of the groups like Nguni,
Sotho and Tswana. Ngunis are comprised of Zulu, Swazi,
Ndebele, Pondo, Tembu and Xhosa.
There was a myth that the Bantu-speaking peoples
arrived as immigrants on the highveld of the trans-Vaal about
the same time as the Europeans first settled in Table Bay.

This myth was made in innocence and, later on, was proved
wrong by the archaeologists. Initially, the presence of any
croup was linked up with the spread of the language. This
was a view propagated during 1935 but in the ninth decade
of the twentieth century, two exclusive views about their
spread were flourished.35 However, on the basis of the
Carbon-14 dating technique, the presence of Bantu-speaking
group was found during the period of 300-500 A.D. They
were known for their contribution in the Iron Age and
developing pretty buildings.
Generally, four groups are distinguished amongst the

Bantu-speaking people. These are: Venda, Tswana, Nguni and
Tsonga. "The distinction is essentially linked and die evidence
points to the likelihood that at some stage there were several
distinct southern Bantu cultures which subsisted for a coincide
period, either north or south of the Limpopo, in isolation
from each other."36
A vivid description about their spread, look and trade

is made thus: "At the time when the Kgatla and Kwena were
spreading across the Trans-Vaal, the Nguni were well-established
in the coastal regions of Natal and the trans-Kei.
Portuguese travellers shipwrecked off the southern African
coast came across Bantu-speaking peoples in the coastal
regions in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, and
received the impression of a considerably larger settlement
of people on the sweetveld pastures set back from the coast
they described on one occasion (1554) as 'very black in colour,
with woolly hair', and on another (1593) as herdsmen and
cultivators of millet, living in small villages in huts made of
reed mats, practising circumcision (which was not a Khoikhoi
custom), obeying chiefs called 'ancosses' (nkosi, an Nguni
term), and being prepared to barter cattle for iron and
copper."37
3. Europeans: These are chiefly comprised of the

descended from the Dutch, French and British settlers. In
common parlance, they are called 'whites'.
A vivid description of the entry of the Portuguese was

made thus: "That was the political and economic background
of the herdsmen who happened to be at Mossel Bay on the
February day in 1488. Gazing thoughtlessly, perhaps, to
seaward, they caught a sudden sight of something new,
unheard-of and terrifying. Two large objects, the like of which
had never been seen, floated on the surface and came to a
stop at no great distance from the land. They were Portuguese
caravels under the command of Bartolomeu Dias. Their arrival
signified that Portuguese seamen had at last, after half a
century of almost continuous effort, passed the southernmost
point of the continent and reached the Indian Ocean by sea
from the Atlantic. Dias had come down the west coast, keeping
close to the land until a gale had blown him out of sight of it
and far to the southward. Turning east again when the storm
subsided, he saw no land, and dared to hope that he had
found what so many had sought. The course of the ships was
set to the north; they reached the coast again and came to
anchor in Mossel Bay. The Hottentots did not know that this
event would lead to the extinction of their race, but they were
frightened enough to flee at once into the interior with their
cattle."38
English domination of the Dutch descendents (known

as Boers or Afrikaners) resulted in the Dutch establishing the
new colonies of Orange Free State and Transvaal. As a result
of various battles, the supremacy of the Britishers was
established and, with the passage of time, South Africa became
a colony of the Great Britain.
4. Coloured: These are comprised of the sons and

daughters of the mixed races.
5. Indian/Asian: These are mainly comprised of the people

from Indian sub-continent. It also includes Chinese and other
persons coming from different parts of Asia. Most of them
came during the second half of 19th century under the contract
made by the Britishers for agricultural work.
The description made above is to exhibit the presence of

the variety of groups and that is why, no detailed historical

analysis of the imperialist forces is made.
For the purpose of the numerical strength of all these

racial groups, the first and second categories are put together
and are named as 'Africans' or 'Black Africans' as is put in
the Census of Republic of South Africa. As per the estimates,
Black African constitutes 79.02% approximately, coloured
around 8.91%, Indian/Asian around 2.49% and European/
White about 9.58%.39 The numerical strength of the various
races is enlisted below:
Table 1: Data relating to the Races in South Africa
RACE
POPULATION
BLACK AFRICAN
35,416,124
COLOURED
3,994,505
INDIAN/ASIAN
1,115,429
WHITE
4,293,626
Source: Adapted From the Stats SA, 2001
Few of the Africans are living in the Western Cape, most

of them are moving to the large black townships on the
periphery of the major urban centres, more than 60% in those
rural areas which comprised the formal tribal reserves. They
also reside along the South-eastern coast and up to the
Northern Province and South-westward to the North-Eastern
Cape. The Europeans have a widespread geographical
distribution but more than 80% population of whites reside
in towns. Most of the coloureds are the residents of Cape.
Most of the Asians reside in the areas of Kwa-Zulu-Natal and
Witwatersrand.
The detailed province-wise analysis of the races is given

hereunder:
The province-wise distribution of the racial

representation in this country reveals the following facts:
1. The Maximum number of Black Africans resides in

Limpopo constituting approximately 97.2% of the total
provincial population and the minimum strength of the
Table 2: Province-wise Data of the races of South Africa
Province
Black
African
Coloured
Indian/
Asian
White
Eastern Cape
5,635,078
478,808
18,367
304,503
Free State
2,381,078
83,192
3,699
238,785
Gauteng
6,522,780
337,969
218,009
1,758,399
Kwazulu-Natal
8,002,407
141,887
798,278
483,446
Limpopo
5,128,604
10,179
8,589
126,275
Mpumalanga
2,886,336
22,163
11,239
203,239
Northern Cape
293,967
424,396
2,315
102,042
North West
3,358452
56,948
9,904
244.035
Western Cape
1,207,422
2,438,963
45,029
832,902
Source: Adapted From The Stats Sa, 2001
Black Africans is found in Western Cape constituting

about 26.7% of the total provincial population.40
2. The maximum number of coloured are found in Western Cape constituting

approximately 53.9% of its total
provincial population whereas the minimum quantum
of the coloured population live in KwaZulu-Natal
constituting about 0.2% of its total provincial
population.41
3. The maximum number of Indians/Asians resides in KwaZulu-Natal comprising of

approximately 8.5% of the
total population of the province and the minimum
number of the Indians/Asians reside in Free State
constituting approximately 0.1 % of the total provincial
population.42
4. The maximum number of whites resides in Gauteng comprising of about 19.9%

of its total provincial
population whereas the minimum numerical strength of
this race is found in Limpopo consisting of around 2.4%
of its total provincial population.43
In toto, the population of the South Africa, as per the

estimation of the Census of 2001, was 44,819,684. It was
37,944,018 in 199144 and it was 40,583,573 as per the estimates
of 1996.45 During the gap of five years from 1991 to 1996, it
showed the growth of approximately 7% in its population46
and during the period of 1996 to 2001, the growth of the

population was about 10.44%.47 This rise was most probably
due to the shift in the political regime which was treating all
Table 3: Gender-based Data of the Provinces of South Africa
Province
Race
Male
Female
Eastern Cape
Black African
2,589,197
3,045,881
Coloured
229,890
248,918
Indian/Asian
9,308
9,059
White
147,109
157,394
Free State
Black African
1,140,333
1,240,745
Coloured
40,852
42,340
Indian/Asian
2,059
1,640
White
114,349
124,436
Gauteng
Black African
3,319,692
3,203,088
Coloured
162,590
175,379
Indian/Asian
108,559
109,450
White
853,839
904,560
Kwazulu-Natal
Black African
3,720,796
4,281,611
Coloured
67,154
74,733
Indian/Asian
385,810
412,468
White
235,338
248,108
Limpopo
Black African
2,322,953
2,805,651
Coloured
4,793
5,386
Indian/Asian
4,746
3,843
White
62,288
63,987
Mpumalanga
Black African
1,380,188
1,506,148
Coloured
10,794
11,369
Indian/Asian
5,774
5,465
White
100,559
102.680
Northern Cape
Black African
145,002
148,965
Coloured
205,142
219.254
Indian/Asian
1,171
1,144
White
49,851
52,192
North West
Black African
1,669,256
1,689,196 Coloured
28,265
28,683
Indian/Asian
5,259
4,645
White
118,756 125,279
Western Cape
Black African
600,386
607,036
Coloured
1,170,946
1.268,017
Indian/Asian
22,341
22,688
White
398,638
434,264
Source: Adapted from the Stats SA, 2001

races at par and, consequently, there was a considerable

decrease in the atrocities on the major part of the society and
would have resulted in the decrease of the death rate in the
country.
If the gender ratio is analysed in all the provinces, it is

generally found that there is a female domination in most of
the cases. But, this dominance does not prevail in the same
ratio everywhere. To know the real picture, it is pertinent to
have a look at a detailed depiction of gender based analysis
of the population of different provinces which is given
hereunder:
At an outset, it can be said that there is a preponderance

of females over the males with few exceptions scattered here
and there. However, the analysis of the gender ratio within
the races and comparative analysis of various races depicts as
under:
1. The maximum gap between the quantum of males and females amongst the Black
African is found in Limpopo
wherein there are 54.7% females against the numerical
strength of 45.3% males whereas the minimum gap is
found in Gauteng in the negative sense i.e., in this state,
there is a slight edge of male over the females having
50.9% of the male population against the 49.1% female
population.48
2. The maximum gap between the gender ratios of coloured is found in Limpopo
having 52.9% population of females
against 47.1 % population of males whereas the minimum
gap between both males and females is found in North
West comprising of 50.4% females and 49.6% males.49 It
reveals that in all the cases, there is a dominance of
females over the males.
3. The maximum gap between the sex ratio of Indian/ Asian is found in KwaZulu-
Natal having the 51.7%
female population in contrast with 48.3% male
population whereas in six provinces there is a
dominance of male over the females. Percentwise,
maximum male strength is found in Free State having

54.7% male population against the 45.3% female
population.50
4. The maximum gap of sex ratio in White is found in

Western Cape having 52.13% population of females
against 47.87% population of males whereas the
minimum gap of sex ratio is found in Mpumalanga which
is comprised of 50.5% female population against the
49.5 % male population.51 Even in the case of Whites, there
is a dominance of females over the males in the entire
province.
If sex positivity is treated as a pointer of development,

the category of Indian/Asian are lagging behind in this
yardstick.
This state is more or less gender positive as, in most

of the cases, there is a preponderance of females
over the males. This can be found by the table given
hereunder:
Table 4: Province-wise Gender-based Data of South Africa
Province
Male
Female
Total
Population
Eastern Cape
2,975,504
3,461,252
6,436,756
Free State
1,297,593
1,409,161
2,706,754
Gauteng
4,444,680
4,392,477
8,837,157
Kwazulu-Natal
4,409,098
5,016,920
9,426,018
Limpopo
2,394,780
2,878,867
5,273,647
Mpumalanga
1,497,315
1,625,662
3,122,977
Northern Cape
401,166
421,554
822.720
NorthWest
1,821,536
1,847,803
3,669,339
Western Cape
2,192,311
2,332,005
4,524,316
At an outset, it can be said that all the provinces are

unevenly poised in terms of their population. Despite the fact
that there is gender positivity in all the provinces, its ratio is
not the same everywhere. The table given above reveals the
following facts:
1. The largely populated province is KwaZulu-Natal which

shares almost more than one-fifth (21%) of the total

population.52
2. The smallest strength of the population is found in Northern Cape which

constitutes almost one-fiftieth
(1.8%) of the national population.53
3. The maximum gap between both the genders is found in Limpopo which has
45.4% male population and 54.6%
female population.54
4. The minimum gap between the ratios of these groups is found in North West
having the 49.8% male population
and 50.2% female population.55
5. In terms of gender representation, Gauteng is an exceptional province which has

slightest edge in favour
of males having 50.3% population against the 49.7%
female population.56
6. The maximum strength of the male is found in Gauteng constituting 20.7% of the
total male population at the
national level.57
7. The minimum strength of male is found in Northern Cape constituting 1.9% of the
8. total male population of South Africa.58
9. The maximum number of the female population is found in KwaZulu-Natal which

constitutes 21.4% of the total
female population of the nation.59
10. The minimum quantum of the female is found in Northern Cape having 1.8%
share of the total female
population of the country.60
Hence, the general scenario of sex ratio reveals this fact

that there is a preponderance of females over the males with
few exceptions scattered here and there.
As urbanization is treated one of the developmental

syndromes, an analysis is made hereunder of the rural-urban
division of the South Africa. For this purpose, prbvincewise
rural-urban division is given below:
Table 5: Province-wiso Data of the rural-Urban population

of South Africa
Province
Rural Population
Urban Population
East Cape
3,936,529
2,500,234
Free State
654,660
2,052,115
Gauteng
246,380
8,590,798
Kwazulu-Natal
5,091,375
4,334,642
Limpopo
4,573,183
700,459
Mpumalanga
1,834,556
1,288,434
North Cape
142.267
680,460
North West
2,135,581
1,533.768
West Cape
435,626
4,088,709
The figures shown above reveal the fact that the process
of urbanization is not at the same pace in each and every
province. However, on the basis of these figures, the following
observations can be made:
1.
Numerically speaking, the maximum rural population
resides in KwaZulu-Natal whereas the maximum
percentage of the rural population is found in Limpopo
comprising of 86.7%61 of the population of the
province.
2.
The minimum numerical population in this category is

found in North Cape whereas the minimum percentagewise
strength is found in Gauteng comprising of 2.8%62 of the population of the province.
2.
The highest urban population is found in Gauteng and

even percentage-wise, it is the most urbanized province
comprising of 97.2 %63 of its population.
3.
Population-wise, the least urbanized province is

North Cape and percentage-wise Limpopo is the least
urbanized province comprising of 13.3 %64 of its total
population.
4.
If a comparative analysis is made of all the provinces, it

is found that four provinces are urbanized but this
process of urbanization in such states is also not at the
same pace.
The population of the Republic of South Africa is unevenly

distributed throughout the country. As most of the population
of the South Africa is related with the agro-based sources for
their livelihood, the population of this country is concentrated
in the areas of Eastern part and Southern Cape. The heaviest
concentration of the population is found in the mining
areas of Witwatersrand. The unevenness of the population
can be understood from the fact that as per the census of
1991, The Metropolitan area of Johannesburg had the
population of 1,916,061 and in and around the major ports of
Cape Town, during the same year, the population was
2,350,137. However, as per the census of 1996, the density of
the population of the South Africa was 33.3 inhabitants per
Sq. Km.
At the agricultural level, despite the variety of the climate

suitable for different types of crops, it has got 13 % land suitable
for arable farming because of inadequate rainfall. 132,000 sq.
km. (11 %) land is being used for the major crops according to
the World Bank in the year 2001. It has got confined irrigation
facilities due to the topographical factor though the country
has got in its hand the Orange River Project which is expected
to enhance the percentage to 37.5. This considerable
enhancement will be made with the completion of the projects
of Gariep and Vanderkloof dams. Despite the change in the
techniques and conservation methods during 1980s and 90s,
the South Africa remained amongst the comparatively poor
crop raising countries.
This situation has also adverse effects on the raising of

good grazing fields. In the absence of such good fields, the
occupation of animal husbandry is also affected despite the
fact it is the most suitable occupation to this country.
Moreover, from the international standards, the carrying
capacity of the land is very poor. However, the high degree
of specialisation, experience and advanced methods,
supported by the huge amount of capital investment made it
possible to make considerable contribution in the national
economy by exporting fruits and wool.
The backbone of the modern economic development

of the South Africa lies with the discovery of diamond
and gold in the latter part of the 19th century. The
discovery of gold gave birth to the huge heavy and light
industries in the interior areas of the country. There is a
decrease in the share of the production of gold from 70% in
1980 to 20% in 2000 "owing to a fall in the average grade of
ore mined and to increases in output in other parts of the
world."65
1.2.2 Socio-Economic Features of India
Indian society is known for its diversity. India has got

people almost from all major religions like Hindu, Muslim,
Christian, Parsee, Sikh, Buddhists, Jainis etc. However, the
majority of its population belongs to Hindu religion which is
further divided into various castes. These castes, despite all
rules and regulations, have drawn its boundaries in such a
way as certain castes are treated as untouchables. Despite all
big claims of tolerance, the peculiarity lies in this fact that
over the issue of caste, people become inhuman to the extent
of keeping themselves away from the shadows of certain
castes. Hence, India is known for its diversity in terms of
multi-religious and multi-cultural people. However, it is
generally said that despite all diversities, India is known for
its unity not only in terms of a political unit but also in terms of its ancient history. Before
dealing these aspects, it is
pertinent here to discuss some of the aspects which are treated
as the syndromes of a developed state.
Urbanisation is treated as one of the syndromes of

political development and, hence, it is said that the more the
country is urbanized, it is more developed. Of course, even
in India, there is a trend of decrease in the rural sector despite
the fact that India is known as a rurally-dominated state. The
process of urbanization is not at the same pace in each state.
To have a clear picture of various states in terms of rural-urban
ratio, it is pertinent to have a look at the statewise
data relating to the rural-urban population, detail of which is
enlisted in the table given hereunder:
Table 6: Province-wise Data of the Rural-Urban Population of India
State/Union Territory
Rural Population
Urban
Population Total
Population Andaman & Nicobar Islands
239.954
116.198
356,152
Andhra Pradesh
55,401,067
20.808.940
76,210,007
Arunachal Pradesh
870,087
227.881
1,097,968
Assam
23,216,288
3,439240
26,655,528
Bihar
74,316,709
8,681,800
82998509
Chandigarh
92,120
808,515
900,635
Chattisgarh
16,648,056
4,185,747
20,833,803
Dadra & Nagar Haveli
170,027
50,463
220,490
Daman & Diu
100,856
57,348
158,204
Delhi
944,727
12,905,780
13,850,507
Goa
677,091
670.577
1,347,668
Gujarat
31,740,767
18,930,250
50,671,017
Harvana
15,029,260
6,115,304
21,144,564
Himachal Pradesh
5,482,319
595,581
6,077,900
Jammu & Kashmir
7,627,062
2,516,638
10,143,700
Jharkhand
20,952,088
5,993,741
26,945,829
Kamataka
34889,033
17,961,529
52,850,562
Kerala
23,574,449
8,266,925
31,841,374
Lakshadweep
33,683
26,967
60,650
Madhya Pradesh
44,380,878
15,967,145
60,348,023
Maharashtra
55,777,647
41,100,980
97,878,627
Manipur
1,590,820
575,968
2,166,788
Meghalaya
1,864,711
454,111
2,318,822
Mzoram
447,567
441,006
888,573
Nagaland
1,647,249
342.787
1,990,036
Orissa
31,287,422
5,517,238
36,804,660
Pondicherry
325,726
648,619
974,345
Punjab
16,096,488
8,262,511
24,358,999
Rajasthan
43,292,813
13,214,375
56,507,188
Sikkim
480,981
59,870
540,851
Tamil Nadu
34,921,681
27,483,998
62,405,679
Tripura
2,653,453
545,750
3,199,203
Uttaranchal
6,310,275
2,179,074
8,489,349
Uttar Pradesh
131,658,339
34,539,582
166,197,921
WestBenaal
57,748,946
22,427,251
80,176,197
Source: Adapted'from Census of India, 2001
On the basis of the abovementioned table, it can be said

that Delhi is the most urbanized state as 93.18%66 population
lives in the urban area. This may be possible 35
due to the fact that, apart from being a state, Delhi is the
capital of India and in all probabilities, it has been getting the
facilities and benefits of the majority of the developmental
measures. Himachal Pradesh is the state where 90.2%67 population resides in the rural
area. If urbanization is treated
as the pointer of development, Himachal Pradesh is the most
backward state from this vantage. Hence, the table also reveals
this fact that the gap of the development is very wide.
However, if the analysis of the total scenario at the

national level is made, the sum total of the rural population is
742,490,63968 which constitute 72.18%69 of the total population
whereas the sum total of the urban population is 286,119,6897°
Any society which does not make difference on the basis

of gender or any society which is gender positive is called a
developed society. In India, this gender variation differs in
its degree in rural as well as urban areas despite the fact that
there is a common understanding that in the rural areas, it is
supposed to have better numerical strength of males than
females. To understand the reality of the Indian society in
terms of its gender ratio, it is pertinent to make a gender
analysis for which gender based details of the population of
the Indian States/ Union Territories is given hereunder:
From the abovementioned table, following conclusions

can be drawn:
1. In the rural sector, amongst the male-dominant states, the maximum strength of
the male is found in Daman &
Diu comprising of 63.1% of its total population whereas
the minimum percentage is found in Tamil Nadu having
50.2% of the total population.71 However, the sum
total of the rural male is 381,602,674 which constitute
51.39%.
2. In rural sector, there are few exceptional states which are having preponderance
of females over the males. These
are: Chattisgarh (50.1%), Kerala (51.43%) and Uttaranchal
(50.17% ).72 One can say that the ratio in favour of female
may be due to the higher rate of literacy. It can be true in
Table 7: Provincewise Data of the Gender-based rural-Urban

Population of South Africa
laiiiiuuuuiiaaihuuiu.
Rural Male
Rural
Female
Urban
Male
U rban
Female
Andaman & Niuobar
ISLANDS
128.961
110,993
64.011
52,187
Andhra Pradesh
27.937.204
27.463.863
10.590.209
10.218.731 Arunachal Pradesh
454.680
415,407
125,261
102.620
Assam
11,939,945
11.276.343 1.837.092 1.602.148
Bihar
38.594.996
35,721,713
4.648.799 4.033.001
Chandigarh
56,816
35.304
450.122
358.393
Chattisgarh
8.307.443
8.340.613
2.166.775 2.018.972
Dadra &. Nauar Haveli
91.832
78.195
29.834
20.629
Daman & Diu
63,606
37.250
28.906
28.442
Delhi
: 522.087
422.640
7.085,147 5.820.633
Goa
340,545
336,546
346.703
323.874
Gujarat
16,317,771 15,422,996 10.067.806
8.862.444
Haryana
8.052,988
6.976.272
3.310,965 2,804.339
Himachal Pradesh
2,756,073
2.726.246
331,867
263.714
Jammu & Kashmir
3.977,652
3.649.410
1.383.274 1.133.364
Jharkhand
10.679,596 10.272,492 3,205,441 2.788.300
Karnataka
17.648.958 17,240,075 9.249.960 8.711.569
Kerala
11,451,282 12.123,167 4,017,332 4,249.593
Lakshadweep
17,191
,__ 16,492
13.940
13.027
Madhya Pradesh
23.031.093 21.349.785 8,412,559 7.554.586
Maharashtra
28.458.677 27,318,970 21,941,919
19.159.061
Manipur
808.953
781.867
286.681
289.287
Meghalaya
946,999
917,712
229.088
22.5023
Mizoram
232,726
214,841
226,383
214.623
Naealand
859.716
787,533
187.425
155.362
Orissa
15.748.970 15.538.452 2,911.600 2.605.638
Pondicherrv
163.703
162.023
323.258
325.361
Punjab
8.516.596
7,579,892
4,468,449 3.794.062
Rajasthan
22.426.640 20.866.173 6,993,371 6.221.004 Sikkim
255,774
225.207
32.710
27.160
Tamil Nadu
17,531,494 17.390.187
13.869.415
13,614.583
Tripura
1,363.638
1,289.815
278.587
267.163
Uttaranchal
3,144,590
3,165,685
1.181.334
997,740
Uttar Pradesh
69,157,470 62,500,869 18.407.899
16.131.683
West Bengal
1 29.616,009
28.132.937 11,849.976
10.577.275
Source: Adapted from Census of India. 2001
the case of Kerala but it cannot be applied in the case of

Uttaranchal and Chattisgarh. The sum total of the rural
female population is 360,887,96s.73
3. In the urban sector, the highest numerical strength of the

males, amongst the male-dominated states is found in
Dadra & Nagar Haveli constituting 59.12% of the urban
population of the state whereas Daman & Diu is having

50.4% male population, thus, fall in such male-dominated
state as is having the minimum male strength. The sum
total of the urban male population is 150,554,098.74 This
constitutes 52.61 % of the urban population.
4. There are few exceptional states which are having female

preponderance in their urban area. These are: Kerala
(51.4%) and Pondicherry (50.16%)7S in both the cases,
5. Kerala maintains the preponderance of female over the

male but the same is not true in the case of the other
states. The sum total of the urban female at the national
level is 135,565/591.76
In general, most of the states have the male domination

because of which the male population in India is comprised
of 51.73%.77 There may be many reasons for this dominance
like conventional thinking in favour of male child, property
inheritance factor so on and so forth. However, the basic cause
behind all these lies in one's level of understanding. This level
is the result of the extent of the reach ability of the literacy.
Before dealing with the statewise rate of literacy, it is pertinent to know that the literacy
commission of India treats
literacy as capability of putting one's signatures. This amounts
to the awareness of few alphabets whereas, in practice, the
person who knows triple Rs-reading, writing and rhetorics-is
called literate. On these varying understandings about the
literacy, the figures given in the Census of India, 2001 can be
debated. However, one is supposed to depend upon the
country specific definition.
To get a clear picture of rate of literacy78 which is treated

as one of the indicators of development, one should have a
look at the figures of literacy in both rural and urban areas
details of which will be dealt in the sections relating to the
education in India in other chapter. However, it is pertinent
to state that Kerala tops the list in terms of the rate of literacy
having 80.04%79 and Bihar is at the bottom with 37.48%.80 In
general, the rate of literacy in India is about 56%.81
Indian society is divided both horizontally and parallelly.

On the one hand, this society is divided in various religions
like Hindu, Muslim, Christianity, Sikh, Parsi etc. Of course,
so far as the social problems are concerned, due to the legacy
of the Indian national movement which brought various
religion so close for the common cause and also because of
the fact that India opted for a secular country, religious
problems are not being considered so serious for which special
provisions were desired to be made in the Indian constitution.
However, the interest of Anglo-Indians was served by making
reservation in the seats in Lok Sabha (the lower chamber of
the Indian parliament).
This society is divided horizontally as well. The majority

of the Indian population belongs to Hindus who are further
sub-divided into Varnas which are, in common parlance, called 'Jatis'. In the ancient
period, these castes were known as Varnas. But, for all practical purposes, the term caste
becomes
the synonymous of Jatis as Varnas were divided into various Jatis and Upa-Jatis. In
general sense, caste stands for a social
stratification. The caste system has been divided into various
models like, the classical caste model of social stratification
which is characterized as status summation. In such a society,
writes Nadel, "a series of diverse relationships (domestic or
kin, economic, religious, political) will come to link the same
set of persons constituting a congruent set of linkages which
means that the society is to that extent rendered less complex
and more homogeneous."82 This model marks the absence of
internal differentiation among the members of the same caste.
All members of the same caste are like each other in that they
have the same levels of rituals, socio-economic and political
positions; rights, privileges and responsibilities. Members of
the same castes are>4hus, equivalent in regard to their
"achievable life histories."83 Vertically, these castes are
completely different from each other.
Apart from this, there are two exclusive views popularly

known as older and newer views. The older view which
portrays caste as a system of stratification in which little, if
any, mobility ever occurred, in which there were no

discrepancies or incongruities between the individual's
position in the caste dimension and his position in other
dimensions of social stratification. This view is as old as Hindu
sacred texts themselves and as Marriott observes, "has been
little change in two thousand years."84
The second view is newer view which is based on

empirical studies carried out by the sociologists and
anthropologists during last four decades or so. These
empirical studies point out the inaccuracies in the older picture
of static India. The examples and incidents of mobility are
cited. It emphasizes that, in practice, the social system was
different than the one portrayed in the classical model and
all rules and relationships were in practice not determined
by the caste system.85 The newer view seems to be closer to
the reality as it is based on the survey. Though this behavioural
approach can be questioned despite all its scientific claims as
it is also made by the human being and cannot escape from
the subjectivity.
Though the practice of different behaviour with

different castes is generally prevalent in Hindus yet, as most
of the Non-Hindus, i.e., Christians, Muslims etc. are converted
to their present religion, they also maintain, in one form or
the other, these caste differentiations. It is witnessed that
there is a difference between high caste and low caste in the
converted Christians and converted Muslims. "The former
identify themselves as Brahmin Christians or Nayar
Christians, or as Rajput or Tyagi Muslims.86 The Mandai
Commission (1980) observed, "... the caste system is a great
conditioner of the mind and life an indelible mark on a
person's, social consciousness and cultural mores."87 In their
annual meeting in January 1988, the Bishops of Tamil Nadu
noted that "the Scheduled Caste Christians, even after
conversion, continue to suffer from extreme social, educational
and economic backwardness arising out of the traditional
practice of untouchability."88 It is realized by the churches
that about 60% of the Christians maintain differences between
the converted and non-converted Christians. They are treated

as second class Christians in the South India.89
But in the case of Muslims, the situation is somewhat

different. There are no restrictions on any caste to attend the
mosque and, even there is no concept like untouchability but,
in their social relationships in terms of marriage etc., the caste
becomes the status symbol. It is a typical Indianised or subcontinental
behaviour.
The caste, as per the Hindu rituals, is a hierarchical one.

It is this feature of the society which became the concern of
the constitution-makers. Hence, they made special provisions
of reservation for the socially backward segment of the society
under Articles 15-18 of Part III, commonly known as
Fundamental Rights Section of the Indian constitution. This
reservation provision is made for the Jatis (castes) falls in the
list of Scheduled Caste and Tribes falling in the list of
Scheduled Tribes. By the table given below, an attempt will
also be made to find out whether there is any uniqueness in
the pattern of gender in various states or all the states are
following the same pattern. For the detailed analysis of
Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes along with its gender
break-up, the state-wise figures are given as under:
One of the concerns of any social scientist while analyzing

the social status of any nation is its density of population
which is measured in terms of population residing in every
kilometre. As per the Census of India, 2001, the density of
the population in India is 324 per Sq. Km. the increase is
witnessed during 1991-2001 in almost all the states in this
regard. West Bengal is still leading in the list of the states in
terms of their density of population having 904 persons per
Sq. Km. Bihar stood second pushing Kerala to the third.
If an analysis is made about the trend of the increase in

the density of population, one is bound to say that over the
five decades, it shows rising trends up to 1971 and during
the another three decades it keeps on shifting in one way or
the other. Irrespective of lot of money spent on family planning, the growth of the density
of population cannot be
Table 8: Province-wise data of the gender-based Population of the

Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes
"State/Union
Territory
Male
Population
of
Scheduled
Castes
Female
Population of
Scheduled
Castes
Malt
Population of
Scheduled
Tribes
Female
Population
of
Scheduled
Tribes
Andaman &
Nicobar Islands
0
0
29,469
14.342
Andhra Pradesh
6.228,011
6,111.485
2,548.295
2,475,809
Arunachal Pradesh
3,590
2.598
352.017
353.141
Assam
943.674
882.275
1,678,117
1.630.453
Bihar
6,784,676
6.263.932
393,114
365,237
Chandigarh
86,187
71.410
0
0
Chattisgarh
1.213.194
1.205.528
3.287.334
3.329.262
Dadra & Nagar
Haveli
2,159
1.945
67,663
69,562
Daman & Diu
2,498
2.340
7,190
13,997 6,807
Delhi
1.265.182
1,078,073
0
0
Goa
12,047
11.744
299
267
Gujarat
1,866,283
1.726.432
3,790,117
3,691,043
Haryana
2,188,585
1.902.525
0
0 Himachal Pradesh
763,333
738.837
122.549
122,038
Jammu & Kashmir
403.256
366.899
578.949
527.030
Jharkhand
1,640,583
1,548,737
3,565,960
3,521,108
Kamataka
4,339,745
4,224,185
1,756,238
1,707,748
Kerala
1,525,114
1.598.827
180,169
184.020
Lakshadweep
0
0
28,611
28,710
1 Madhya Pradesh
4.804.881
4.350.296
6.195.240
6.038.234
Maharashtra
5,063,062
4,818,594
4,347,754
4,229.522
Manipur
29.934
30.103
374,319
366.822
i Meghalaya
5,920
5.219
996,567
996,295
1 Mizoram
212
60
422.963
416.347
|_ Nagaland
0
0
910.950
858,611
Orissa
3,073,278
3.008.785
4.066.783
4.078.298
Pondicherry
78.140
79,631
0
0
^Punjab
3.714.350
3,314,373
0
0
[_Rajasthan.
5.067.679
4.626.783
3,650,982
3,446,724
Sikkim
13,807
13.358
56.940
54.465
Tamil Nadu
5.932.925
5.924.579
328.917
322.404
LTripura
283.186
272.538
504.320
489.106
IJJttaranchal
780.772
736.414
131.334
124,795
[JJttarPradesh
18,502,838 16,645,539
55.834
52.129
L_W_est Bengal
9.469.659
8.982,896
2.223,924
2,182.870
Source: Adapted from the Census of India, 200'1.
reduced below the mark of 20% per decade. In 1951, the

density of the population of India was 117 persons per sq.
km. which showed the increase of 21.37% in 1961, 24.65% in
1971, 22.03% in 1981, 23.61% in 1991 and 21.35% in 2001,90 This shows this fact that
there is a constant increase of the
human resources in India and, at the same time, to stand in
the race of development, there is a considerable shift from
the dependency on human sources to the dependency on
mechanization which might have helped the nation in
increasing the quantum of production, but it has reduced the
number of the people involved in the production. This
development had further laid stress on the nation for making
proper use of the human resource.
During the half century, Indian economy has made shift

from emphasis on privatization for smaller entrepreneur to
the nationalization of certain sectors and to the privatization
in the name of fulfilling the dictums of international agencies
impact of which has been risen due to the changing scenario
in the last decade of the 20th century. Due to the lack of space,
it is not proper to go into the detailed discussion over this
issue. However, an attempt is made here to explain the extent
to which the human resources are involved in the various
economic sectors in India.
1.2.3 Socio-Economic Environment of South Africa and

India-A Comparison
From the abovementioned analysis, the following

comparison can be made of the South Africa and India about
its socio-economic environment:
1. Tine society of both the countries is divided on the basis of cultures and religion.
But the society of the South
Africa is divided on the racial lines whereas the society
of India is divided not only on the basis of religions but
also divided on the basis of castes which, despite all
claims, become the part and parcel of its politics.
2. If the society of both the states is analysed from the viewpoint of gender, South
Africa is more gender
sensitive than India despite the fact that the prevalence

of sex related crimes in South Africa are no less than in
India.
3. So far as the rate of literacy is concerned, South Africa has higher rate of literacy
than India most probably due
to the influence of the West.
4. Both the states are marching towards the urbanisation, but while comparing both,
the society of the South Africa
is more urbanised than India.
5. Due to the different geographical situations, occupationally, the rural sector of

South Africa is basing
its economic dependence on pastoral business whereas
the majority of the Indian rural sector is engaged with
the agriculture or agro-based business for their survival.
6. So far as the strength of the economy is concerned, despite the downward curve
for a particular period after
the end of apartheid regime, the economy of South Africa
is stronger than India.
1.3 Political Features
1.3.1 Historical Background of the Political System of the

Republic of South Africa
The present political system of the Republic of South

Africa which is seen with various glorious objects enshrined
in its constitution is not simply the result of struggle against
racial discrimination or anti-imperialist forces, it is also the
result of the acceptance of the positive aspects of the pre-colonial
era. Hence, under this section, an attempt will be
made to cover these aspects which have influenced the mindset
of the constitution-makers. Of course, it is not possible to
deal all these aspects in detail, hence, this attempt will be no
more but to touch upon these aspects and, during this process,
the attempt will be made to deal with various periods of its
history.
1.3.1.1 Pre-colouial Era of the South Africa
Africa is known for its indigenous institutions on the

one hand and for an egalitarian society on the other. Alien to

the European concepts like equality, fraternity, democracy,
justice, profit-oriented agriculture etc., their society was
developed in such a way that they were called "The Cradle of
the civilisation'. However, despite all these qualities, they
were branded as 'white man's burden', 'a curse of god' or
'backwards'. Before becoming the focal point of the European
Countries, South Africa, in the absence of the knowledge of
its natural resources, remained almost a tribal society. It was
this period when one can find it as a judicious society known
for its egalitarianism, humanliness and mutual dependence.
Apart from its pastoral profession, the history gives example
of other professions like pottery, construction etc.
So far its economy is concerned, it was a subsistent

economy and nothing was produced for the purpose of export.
They had subsistent agriculture which means they used to
produce only as per their needs. It was more or less a
traditional society and, in most of the cases, having the
traditional head of the tribes who used to be succeeding
through the generations.
1.3.1.2 The Colonial Era
The colonial era for the most of the countries of the

African continent is nothing but the semblance of exploitation
in the reformist tone through which reform was made by
treating Africans as 'White Man's Burden'. This religion based
pious duty was performed in such a way as religion loses its
piety and reduced to the inhuman act of all the imperialistic
countries. South Africa is no exception to it. Its sufferings
were quite evident during the post-colonial period in the form
of racialism.
The colonial history of the Afro-Asian countries reveal

this fact that in the search of raw material for the rising
business due to the industrial revolution on the one hand
and in the search of market for the prepared goods, new
areas were searched which were initially economically
colonized and later on politically ruled.
The colonization by the Europeans started during the

17th century. It was colonized by the Portuguese, Dutch,
English and French. The period of their colonization was full
of the Traumatic experiences. For this purpose, South Africa
was made target seeing the value of cape as a strategic outpost
on the route to the eastern empires.
In the given space, it is difficult to make a detailed

analysis of the colonial era of the South Africa, however, it
can be said that apart from its negativity in the sense of racial
laws and inhuman atrocities, it made some positive
contributions in the sense of developing the need of thinking
for the modern values and institutions, giving importance to
the education and compelling it to become more human
oriented-maybe, in the name of struggling against the
apartheid. Whether such contributions are good or bad,
considering them as the need of hour, they have been accepted
by the present system of the Republic of South Africa.
1.3.1.3 The Post-colonial Era
The struggle for independence of South Africa could not

be finished just after the closure of the colonial era. This era
left such a legacy that the Republic of South Africa became a
synonym of racial discrimination which was known as
Apartheid regime. This pattern of rule, on the one hand
satiated the desire of whites, on the other hand, it had united
the Blacks to launch its struggle.
Initially, the purpose of the apartheid was to establish

the domination of the Whites and the racial segregation. The
Enactment of Apartheid was initiated in 1948 and, thus, the
South Africa became the first country to institutionalise
racialism. This racial segregation was executed around 60s
by laying stress on territorial separation and police repression.
This law touched upon every aspect of the life to the extent
of prohibiting the marriages between the Whites and the non-Whites.
In 1950, the Population Registration Act was passed

which required that all South Africans be racially classified
into one of three categories, namely, White, Black (African)

and coloured (of mixed descent). The Coloured category
included major sub-groups of Indians and Asians. Classification
into these categories was based on appearance, social
acceptance and descent. For instance, a White person was
defined as person who appears to be white or generally
accepted as a white. A person could not be considered White
if one of his or her parents were non-White. The determination
was obviously White would take into account his habits,
education, speech, deportment and demeanour. A Black
person would be accepted as a member of an African tribe or
race and a Coloured person is one that is not black or white.
The Department of Home Affairs was responsible for the
classification of the citizenry. Non-compliance with the racial
laws was dealt with harshly. The blacks were required to carry
passports containing fingerprints, photo and information on
access to non-Black areas. In the following Para, a brief
description is made of some of the acts passed during this
period.
In 1951, an Act was passed which was known as Bantu

Authorities Act for the separate establishment of the Bantu-speaking
people. Such settlements were known as 'homelands'.
This step was taken just to materialise their concept of
territorial segregation. These homelands were assigned in
accordance with their record of origin. Their right to vote
was restricted to their areas. Through this, they were
intending to make these people the citizens of the homeland.
Hence, they were no more the citizens of the South Africa.
They also lost their representation in the Parliament which
was having hegemony over the homelands. During the period
of 1976-81, four homelands were created and about 9 million
people were made denationalised. Not only this, they were
asked to obtain a passport to enter in the South Africa. Hence,
they were barred from their own country.
In 1953, the Public Safety Act and the Criminal Law

Amendment Act were passed. This gave them the power of
declaring the state of emergency. More powers were given
to the authorities by way of imposing penalty, fines and even

whipping-A
large group of tine Blacks in Sharpsville, during
the year of I960, refused to carry passport. Due to their
protest, an emergency was declared. It continued for 156 days
causing death and injury to certain number of people. Such
emergencies were continued intermittently till 1989. The
agitators were punished severely to the extent that anybody
can be sentenced to the minimum period of six months'
imprisonment without any sue. The legal dramas were also
played which were known as trials but they resulted in death
punishment, life imprisonment or banishment. In this regard,
an example of Nelson Mandela can be cited who passed his
major part of the youth in imprisonment.
The apartheid also touched the education of the children.

That is why, special laws were enacted for different types of
communities. These were included the university Acts on the
basis of four ethnic groups. These were enacted under the
argument that"... aggregated education was wrong if publicly
endowed."91
There was not even a single sphere of life in which the

law of segregation could not be witnessed during this period.
It was an all-embracing law touching employment, marriage
pattern, recreation and even travelling. The positive side of
this segregation can be seen in terms of uniting different
segment of societies which proved to be a forceful instrument
to fight against this suppressive and separationistic policy.
Hie fight against the racialism was launched not only

ideologically but also physically. As this is not the subject to
be covered in this thesis, it is sufficient to state that "By 1949
they have persuaded the ANC to adopt a more militant
programme of new forms of mass action by strikes, boycotts
and civil disobedience against repressive legislation."92 During
the dying years of the struggle against apartheid, it seemed
that the whole movement was centred on the Mandela.
Commenting upon this undesirable development, Winnie
Mandela commented, thus:
'"Botha talks about the freedom of my husband, but m

husband talks about the freedom of the oppressed!' Why isn't

there a single spokesman in some of these establishments who
can grasp this simple truth? The answer is that they do not
care. They do not know what it is like to be oppressed. Nor
can they imagine what it is like to yearn for freedom. The
liberation struggle is about unconditional and absolute
freedom of the oppressed masses from the tyranny of
apartheid. It is about equal opportunities, freedom from
exploitation of man-by-man, and human dignity. Offer of
conditional release of Comrade Mandela is an insult to his
revolutionary image. It is an attempt to discredit him by
implication. It implies that during all his years of struggle
and sacrifice, he was misled, and that he must now admit
that the concept of freedom he has fought for is an illusion, a
political mirage, some Utopian dream ... The challenge to
progressive mankind today is to apply pressure on P.W. Botha
to stop insulting Comrade Nelson and the oppressed masses oi South Africa, to force him
to abandon his political gimmicks
which threaten to engulf the whole of Southern Africa in a
blood bath. Nelson Mandela must be free to lead his people
and South Africa to peace and prosperity."93
As was stated that the then South Africa was divided

into homelands and the independent South Africa, none of
these homelands ever gain full diplomatic recognition from
the international community. With the dismantling of
apartheid in the early 1990s, the homelands were dissolveci,
and South African citizenship was restored to all homeland
residents as of January 1, 1994. From that year, this country
was known as Republic of South Africa. If one makes the
analysis of the current policies of this country, in almost all
the policies, one finds the influences of the long drawn
struggles and its impressions which can be seen in the
'Education for All', 'Employment Equity Act' etc.
1.3.1.4 Political Structure of Post-Apartheid South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is one of the democratic

countries which achieved its cherished desire of 'equal
treatment for all' after a long drawn struggle. Though its
independence is hardly a decade old, but the way they

adjusted themselves to all types of modern institutions, this
small period looks like a very big period in terms of its
qualitative achievement. Before touching upon various
achievements of this country, it is pertinent to have a look at
its political structure.
Structurally speaking, this political system is a federal

system having three levels of administrative units, i.e., centre,
province and the district. It has got three capitals-Cape Town
is its Legislative capital, Pretoria is its administrative capital
and Bloemfontein is its judicial capital.
It is divided into 9 provinces, area-wise detail of which

is given hereunder:
Table 9: Areawise division of the Provinces of South Africa
Province
Area (in Sq. Kms.)
Eastern Cape
169,600
Free State
129,480
Gauteng
18,810
KwaZulu-Natal
92,180
Mpumalanga
78,370
Northern Cape
361,800
Northern Province
123,280
North-West Province
116,190
Western Cape
129,370
Source: Stats SA, 2001
On the basis of the table given above, it can be stated

that the largest province of the Republic of South Africa is
Northern Cape which covers 29.794% of the total area of the
country and the smallest state is Gauteng covering 1.6%9S of
the total national area. Despite the fact that like most of the
African countries, South Africa also came into the existence

due to result of the division by the then European colonies, it
suffered the maximum exploitation by way of legalizing the
institution of racialism. Though racialism is not the crux of
the analysis of this thesis yet it is virtually impossible to speak
about South Africa without touching racialism description of
which has been given in the previous pages.
Official Languages: As has already been stated that

South Africa is a multi-lingual country. Its official languages
are:
1. Sepedi,
2. Sesotho,
3. Setswana,
4. SiSwati,
5. Tshivenda,
6. Xitsonga,
7. Afrikaans,
8. English,
9. IsiNdebele,
10. IsiXhosa and

11. IsiZulu.96
Constitution of the Republic of South Africa: The Constitution of the Republic of the
South Africa is divided into 14 chapters,
243 sections and 7 schedules. In the given space, it is difficult
to make a judicious discussion of the Constitution. However,
having a look at on its preamble, which states that "We, the
people of South Africa, Recognise the injustices of our past-Honour
those who suffered for justice and freedom in our
land; Respect those who have worked to build and develop
our country; and Believe that South Africa belongs to all who
live in it, united in our diversity. ..." makes any reader to
feel that the constitution-makers have a strong feeling against
the past atrocities and they value those who suffered for this
struggle.
That is why in the non-discriminatory clauses of the

constitution, they became as idealistic as to include even the
disability into it despite the fact that its effect is not witnessed
with the desired vigour.
So far as the structure of the government is concerned,

it is a presidential form of government almost on the pattern
of the United States of America. Its legislative body is having
two houses. Hie uniqueness of these houses lies in the fact
that it has got some members from the section of the physically
challenged.
1.3.2 Historical Background of the Political System of India
India is one of the biggest democracies of the globe

which can be proved by the fact that irrespective of all
evaluative statements, since its independence, it had
successfully maintained the minimum democratic norms in
terms of holding elections-no matter, the participation of mass
at large has shown variations. The maintenance of the
democratic norms can also be understood in terms of issues
debated and discussed so widely that with the passage of
time, there is a substantial increase in the number of the
political parties and their mass organisations. If the
democratic act like election is measured in terms of the economic involvement, one can
sarcastically say that even the
performance of this act is made at the cost of the involvement
of the huge national wealth which may raise the controversy
of political vs. economic interest of the people who are, by
and large, despite of all boastings of globalization, bound to
look to the government agencies for their betterment whether
the government is willing to do or not. Before making such
an analysis, it is pertinent to have a look at the historical
background of India which used to claim in the common
parlance of some of the writers as an oldest civilization in the
world.
Traditionally, the historians divide Indian history into

fcee parts. As this is not the focal point of the research, the
attempt will be made to touch upon some of the historical aspects to introduce the
political system of India. For this
purpose, its historical background can be divided into the

pre-colonial India, colonial India and post-independent India.
1.3.2.1 Pre-colonial India
The pre-colonial period will cover more than five

thousand years which will take in its fold the pre-Vedic period,
Vedic period, the period of small states and kingdoms and
medieval period.
The pre-Vedic period was related to the indigenous

people of India commonly known as Dravidas. Its remnants
can be seen in the Indus civilization which, later on, became
the victim of the Aryans and their so-called Indras who were
known as destroyers of the forts. The remnants of the Indus
civilization reveal the concept of the planned cities, its roads
and houses.
The rivers of India became the sources for the

development of the civilizations and, in the search of such
fertile lands and grazing grounds, the Aryans came to India
and brought with them some of the Vedas. Most of these
Vedas are written in the appreciation of the nature and it is
the last Veda which speaks about the God. The then source
of knowledge was nothing but getting the knowledge through
listening that is why the Slokas of the Vedas were known as
Shrutis. During that period, the visual impairment could not
be excluded from the sphere of knowledge. For a visually
impaired person, the invention of script and the invention of
printing is not at all a boon till the Braille scrip was invented
as, due to such inventions, his intellect fell in the flanks of doubts.
The outcome of the Vedic period was the division of the

society initially on the basis of one's activities and, later on,
on the basis of one's birth. That is why, the Varnas, with the
floggings of rituals, became Jatis (castes). This development
had divided the Hindu community into four major Jatis known
as Brahmins who used to involve themselves in education,
Kshatriyas who happened to be the warriors, Vaishyas who
used to do the trade and Shudras who were involved in the
I
cleansing activities These Varnas were further divided into

jjpa-jatis and Gotras. These divisions became so stereotyped
at they developed a sense of intolerance and, with the passage
of time, the state which was known for its toleration became
the semblance of intolerance.
This period had also witnessed the kingdoms of Guptas

which was used to be called as the golden age of its own
time. The ancient period of India and its remnants are being
preserved in the seal and flag of India. By the end of the first
millennium, India was divided into small states which used
to fight with each other on the petty issues which gave a chance to the invading groups
from the West.
The medieval period was a step towards reorganizing

of the major parts of India, maybe due to the expansionist
policies of the invading rulers. This period was also divided
into Ghulams, Khiljis, Tughlaks, Saiyads, Lodis and Moghuls.
It was during this period when majority of the area of India came under one ruler
examples of which could be seen during
the regime of Khiljis and Moghuls. By and by, Moghuls started
losing grips on India and once again the India was reduced into the petty states.
During 18th century, under the influence of the

industrial revolution and the consequent search of raw
material which brought the Europeans to the Afro-Asian
countries, made these people search India where they came
as the traders initially. But, with the passage of time, became
the rulers.
1.3.2,2 Colonial Period
Like many countries of Asia and Africa, India's

traditional economy was shattered and its raw material was
used for the new industries and it was also used as a market
for the purchase of cheaper goods. The handicraft of India
was destroyed not for the comfort of this country but to make
them parasite on the industrialized counterpart. These were
&e business groups of Dutch, France and British who came
initially as the companies and, ultimately, after their mutual
struggles, the East India Company of England could manage

to become the sole business group to control majority of the
business.
With the passage of time, they started taking interest in

the politics of India and, under one or the other excuse used
their expansionist policy to grab some of the Indian kingdoms.
An attempt was made by the then small princely states to
resist against the Britishers. This attempt was named by the
Britishers as Mutiny (Ghadar) and, in the Indian history, it
was called the First Freedom Struggle of 1857. This struggle
was lost by the Indians and, through an announcement, the
Queen of Britain declared India as one of its parts and, from
then, India became politically subjugated to the British
Crown.
The Indians struggled for nine decades and adopted

various paths to achieve independence. Sometimes, these paths
were contradictory to each other but the cherished desire of
the fighters was to free India. Of course, it is not possible to
make a detailed description of this struggle but it can be
said that during this period, one can witness all possible
means of struggle ranging from crude violence to the nonviolence.
The British dominance, may be for their own benefit,

made some positive contribution to India. This includes the
development of railways, postage, electricity, modern outlook
in terms of giving some values to the concept like freedom,
justice, equality and, last but not the least, the concept of
United India. As a legacy, the Britishers contributed in the
development of the institutions like Parliament and the
Judiciary. If one makes a look at the Indian constitution, one
cannot deny the role of the Act of 1935.
1.3.2.3 The Post-independent India
The aftermath of the World War II and the pressure of

the freedom fighters, India got freedom on 15th August, 1947.
This freedom gave birth to two nations known as India and
Pakistan. But the Indian constitution came into its real practice
on 26th January, 1950 and from then onwards, this day was
celebrated as the Republic Day as from this day India became
a republic, highest post of which can only be given to its
citizen.
Its constitution is comprised of 395 articles, 14 chapters

and several schedules. It has taken the best possible provisions
of the then existing constitutions. But still, it is being termed
as the 'heaven for the lawyers'. However, unlike South Africa,
it did not include specially challenged in its equality clause.
One can justify this by saying that it was not then in practice
to make such inclusion but one cannot find any rationale of
not including it in its equality provision by making the
amendment of this effect. This obviously question the
intention of this system and such apathy becomes the
semblance of double standard if one sees the role of India in
the International Labour Organisation where it was the
initiator of making sanction for all the countries to have either
constitutional guidelines or some piece of legislation in favour
of the physically challenged.
1.3.2.4 The Political Structure of India
Structurally, India is a federal state having 28 States

and 7 Union Territories. A country having the area of
3,287,263 sq. km. does not have evenly poised distribution of
all the States and Union Territories. To have a glance at the
area of all the components of India, its detail is enlisted
hereunder:
The description of area given above also covers the

description of the area of the 7 Union Territories names of
which are enlisted below:
1. Andaman and Nicobar

2. Chandigarh
3. Dadar and Nagar Haveli
4. Daman and Diu
5. Delhi
6. Lakshadweep
7. Pondicherry
Table 10: Areawise Data of the States and

Union Territories of India
Area (in Sq. Kins.)
Andaman And Nicobar Islands
8.249
Andhra Pradesh
275.068
Arunachal Pradesh
83.743
Assam
78.438
Bihar
94.163
Chandigarh
114
Chhattisgarh
135.194
Dadar & Nagar Haveli
491
Daman & Diu
112
Delhi
1,483
Goa
3,702
Gujarat
196,024
Harayana
44,212
Himachal Pradesh
55,673
Jammu & Kashmir**
222,236
Jharkhand
79,714
Karanataka
191.791
Kerala
38.863
Lakshadweep
32
Madhya Pradesh
308.252
Maharashtra
307.713
Manipur
22.327
Meghalaya
22,429
Mizoram
21.081
Nagaland
16,579
Orissa
155.707
Pondi cherry
492
Punj ab
50.362
Rajasthan
342.239
Sikkim
7.096
Tamil Nadu
130,058
Tripura
10.491
Uttar Pradesh
240,928
Uttaranchal
53,483
West Bengal
88,752**
Ecology of South Africa and India . 67
** It includes 78,114 sq. kms. Under illegal occupation of Pakistan, 5,180

kms. Illegally handed over by Pakistan to China and 37,555 sq. kms.
Under illegal occupation of China.
Source: Census of India, 2001
These States and Union Territories are further divided

into the districts, tehsils and villages details of which are not
being given as it is not intended to make such a micro level
study.
The description of the official languages of India

can be found in the 8th Schedule of its Constitution. These
are:
1. Assamese
2. Bangali
3. Bodo
4. Dogri
5. Gujarati
6. Hindi
7. Kannada
8. Kashmiri
9. Konkani
10. Maithili
11. Malayalam
12. Manipuri
13. Marathi
14. Nepali
15. Oriya
16. Punjabi
17. Sanskrit
18. Santhali
19. Sindhi
20. Tamil
21. Telugu
22. Urdu
It is a Parliamentary system with two houses and a
68 Policy Perspectives/or the Visually Impaired
President who is more or less a ceremonial head. However,

on paper, during the emergency, it becomes the most powerful
head of the state.
Like South Africa, it has a multi-party system. Initially,

it worked as single dominant party system but, with the
passage of time, the trend has changed into such a system
where alliances become the need of the hour. For some, these
alliances are the strength of the democratic system but, for
others, it is a weakness as it weakens the legislature and
executive which has to make a balance while appeasing all of
its allying partners and, more so, in the name of satisfaction,
the leaders of the alliances got ample reason of doing nothing.
1.3.3 The Political Systems of South Africa and India-A

Comparison
If a historical analysis of both the systems is made, it can

be said that phase-wise both had the pre-colonial and colonial
era. Incidentally, during the colonial period, mostly, both the
countries were under the control of Britishers. But, the South
Africa went through a phase known as post-colonial period
before getting his freedom in real sense. The unfortunate part
of this phase was the apartheid regime which virtually
legalized the racialism and it had to go through a long struggle
of almost eight decades to get rid of the clutches of the racialist
regime.
Despite the similar experiences of British domination,

India adopted the parliamentary system and the South Africa
adopted the Presidential form of government.
Both had the federal structure but India gave some of

its states the status of Union Territory.
The constitutions of both the countries speak about the

equality, freedom, justice and peace. But, so far as the
constitutional guarantee to the physically challenged is
concerned, the Constitution of South Africa is more vocal
about including the physically challenged (disability) into
its non-discriminatory clause whereas some reference is
made about the disability in the Constitution of India in its
I
Chapter IV which is nothing but a kind of directions to the

state policy.
Both the states are multi-lingual, but numerically

speaking, there are 11 official languages of the South Africa
whereas India has given official recognition to 22 languages.
Administratively speaking, both are having almost similar
administrative system with a major difference that in India,
the lowest administrative level is the Panchayat whereas the
lowest administrative level in South Africa is the Blocks.
1.4 The Visually Impaired Persons
Despite the fact that the visual impairment is treated as

a part of physically challenged and even on all fora, it becomes
the integral part of the discussion on it, it is a unique challenge
about which, due to one or the other reason, even the well-read
people use to draw a long sigh after seeing a visually
challenged person. The reason is quite evident that knowingly
or unknowingly, the world has given too much importance
to the visual sense as its loss seems to them the loss of
everything. During the public speeches, official discussions
or, even in the academic discussion one may plead the use of
other four senses, but the moment, the term 'specially
challenged' is used, it seems that he has been categorised as a
unique or extraordinary creature of the globe. This special
makes him so special that he becomes either above the normal
man or below the average. His average human instinct withers
away. Situation becomes worst if one fails to do away with
the preconceived notions about his potence. This is truer in
case of the visually impaired if a comparative analysis is made
amongst the physically challenged persons. Unfortunately, it
has been universally accepted that there is no need of making
separate policy for this segment of the society. That is why,
despite all developments in favour of the visually challenged
people, the outlook of the so-called intellectuals remained
almost traditional or unchanging and this segment has to
satisfy itself with almost the same traditional jobs like
teachers, typists, telephone operators/switch board operators,
chair recanners, so on and so forth.
At the global level, though no proper survey is available,

the estimated population of the visually challenged is around 1% and it is said that this
percentage is higher in the
developing countries due to illiteracy, malnutrition
and the superstitions. But, if the policies on the paper is
visualised, the developed countries have better policies for
the physically challenged in general and the visually
challenged in particular. But so far as the contribution in the
policy-making is concerned, with a couple of exceptions, in
most of the cases, the visually challenged is kept away from
such works.
Before making any statement about the position

of the policy on the visually impaired persons in South
Africa and India, it is pertinent to have a look at the scenario
of the persons with physically impairment in general
and visually impaired persons in particular in both the
countries.
1.4.1 The Visually Impaired Persons in South Africa
Generally speaking, it is said that the strength of the

physically challenged persons in South Africa is in the range
of 7 to 12 percent of the total population. However, the census
of 2001 reveals the fact that the total number of the physically
challenged persons is shown as 2,255,982 which are about
5.03 %97 of the total population and the number of the visually
impaired persons is shown as 577,096 which constitutes about
1.29%98 of the total population. If a gender based analysis is
made, there are 1,082,043 physically challenged males who
constitute about 47.96%" of the total population of the strength
of the physically impaired persons. If a gender based analysis
is made about the number of the visually challenged persons,
there are 245,682 which are about 42.57% 10° of the total
population of the visually challenged persons in the country.
It shows that in both the cases, there is a preponderance of
the females over the males. On the basis of the available data
of the visually impaired persons, the number of the visually
challenged in different provinces of South Africa is shown
here as under:
Ecology ofSouth Africa and India 71
Table 11: Data relating to the Provincewise Distribution of the

Visually Impaired Persons of South Africa
Province
Number of Visually
Challenged Persons
Eastern Cape
86,893
Free Slate
59,965
Gauteng
91,304
Kwazulu-Natal
110,937
Limpopo
69,727
Mpumalanga
49,431
Northern Cape
12,050
North West
62,507
Western Cape
34,282
Source: Stats SA, 2001
The available data reveals this fact that KwaZulu-Natal

is having the highest numerical strength of the visual
impairment whereas Northern Cape has the minimum
strength.
Despite their adoption of the newer ideas for the literacy

for the visually impaired persons, they are still facing problems
in accommodating them in the normal school under the
inclusive education scheme. So far as the literacy rate is
concerned, there are 593,670 physically challenged persons
who have no schooling at all. It constitutes about 26.32 %101 of
the total population of the physically challenged persons. If
the similar analysis is made about the visually impaired
persons, it is found that there are 156,439 visually challenged
persons who have never visited any school. It constitutes
about 27.11 %102 of the population of the visually challenged
persons. There is a decreasing tiend if one goes to the higher
education as is the case even in all the categories of the
persons. That is why, the education is still not very easy for
them details of which will be touched in the following chapters
while dealing with the educational policy for the visually
challenged persons.
Despite the constitutional guarantee of the equal

treatment and despite the existence of the Employment Equity

Act, more than 50% visually impaired persons are engaged in
the jobs like switch board operator and it seems that this is a
situation like Japan where physiotherapy became the accepted
job for them. This job has also become the synonymous of the
visual impairment. But, it is sufficient to state here that
there are 286,548 employed persons who are physically
challenged which shows that the employment rate in this
category is about 12.7%103 but if the similar analysis is made
about the visually challenged employed persons who
are 103,341 and it shows their employment rate about
17.91%.104
However, it can be stated that due to the "impact of the

globalisation and privatisation, the venues of the jobs and
the interestedness of the government has decreased to the
extend that the future for them is reducing to a question
mark."105
While interviewing the members of the organisations of

the visually impaired persons of South Africa, it was found
that even they are not satisfied w,ith the statistics of the South
Africa at least in terms of showing the number of the physically
challenged persons in general and the visually challenged in
particular. It is their belief that it should be much more than
what is shown in the Census 2001.
1.4.2 The Visually Impaired Persons in India
Despite of all big claims of literacy, India is still a political

system political cu Iture of which is traditional because of which
it has a lot of preconceived notions about its poverty-stricken
segment of the society. So is the case about the physically
challenged persons in particular and the visually challenged
persons in general. Before dealing with the outlooks of the
society and its influence on the policies, it is pertinent here to
have a look at the scenario of the visually impaired persons
in India.
So far as census for the physically challenged persons is

concerned, attempts were made during the British regime in
19th century. To be more specific, it was the year 1861 when

the census of this effect was made by them. It continued till
1931 and, due to the over involvement in the World War II,
no census over this population was made whatsoever despite
the fact that war is one of the causes which brings physical
impairment. This is also true that it was the World War II
which created first ever government sponsored institute
for the visually impaired persons which was established in
Dehradun and, perhaps it was the period of war which
stimulated the British Government to make a survey on the
educational condition of the visually challenged persons which
is known as a Report on the Blind in India. It is also understood
that such report was brought because of the fact that Lord
Webble was one-eyed and due to this challenge, he was
interested to take up this project. It was this report in which,
for the first time, a suggestion was made to bring an Act for
the visually challenged persons on the tune of the Blind Persons
Act which was in practice in England.
Unfortunately, no attempt was made by the Indian

government after the independence. Perhaps, it is an over-expectation
from a government which failed to pay any specific
interest for the visually impaired persons in particular and
the physically challenged persons in general in its Constitution
save some references in chapter IV which is nothing but a
guiding chapter for the state policy. Of course, by keeping
this matter in this section, the constitution-makers could
manage to express that there is a segment of the society for
which there is a need of being sensitised if the government,
at any point of time, wishes to bring any policy for them. It
was this provision, use of which was made for the
development of the educational institutions for them and it
was this provision which had laid down the foundation of
the first ever central government sponsored school in
Dehradun. One may say that some such institute was in
existence during the British regime but the fact is that that
institution was confined to the training and this training was
generally imparted to either the persons who became visually
challenged due to the war or to the later aged visually
impaired persons. The institute which was opened in 1959

with the name of Model School for the Blind was a purely
educational institute with the aim of providing coeducation
and to set a model for the future educational programme.
Prior to the Census 2001, the estimates of the numerical

strength of the visually impaired persons ere made either on
the wild guesses of the political and social leaders or on the
basis of the sample surveys and these data were so
contradictory that it used to give a confusing picture. On the
one hand, the leaders use to say that the numerical strength
of the visually impaired persons is in the vicinity of 10 to 11
million106but on the other hand, the sample surveys enumerate
them in the vicinity of 4 to 5 millions. An attempt was made by the Census Commission
of India to collect the figures of
physically impaired persons in 1981, but as there is a recent
survey of this effect, it is not suggested here to unnecessarily
deal with the report of that Census. Without falling into the
debate of these contradictory figures and without falling into
the debate of proper way of collecting the figures, an attempt
is made to present the figures mentioned in the Census 2001.
To understand the real scenario of the disability in general in
India, it is essential to have a look at the share of the
population covered by the disability for which a table is given
hereunder:
It can be said that the figures shown in the Census 2001

are not only surprising but shocking to any student/
social worker/organizer relating to the field of specially
challenged segment of the society as prior to this, it is
understood, as per the surveys of the World Health
Organisation, that 10% of any society falls in this category.
There are some reasons to such outcomes which need a critical
study. Moreover, it is desirable to state here that in the
absence of proper facts and figures, it is virtually impractical
to develop a concrete programme in favour of such segment
of the society. However, despite these seemingly differences,
in the absence of any authentic data for the physically
impaired persons, one is bound to rely on it. From the
Table 12: Provincewise Data of Gender-based Rural-Urban

Distribution of the Physically challenged in India
75
State/Union
Territory
Physically
Challenged
Males In
Rural
Areas
Physically Challenged
Females
in Rural
Areas
Physically
Challenged
Males In
Urban
Areas
Physically
Challenged
Females in
Urban
Areas
Total
Physically
Challenged
Population
Andaman &
Nicobar
Islands
3,059
2,023
1,167
808
7,057
Andhra Pradesh 590,258
460,142
183,713
130,868
1,364,981
Arunachal
Pradesh
17,848
9,608
4,327
1,532
33,315
Assam
261,460
206,653
36,056
26,131
530,300
Bihar
1,130,699
678,755
117,827
77,330
1,837,611 Chandigarh
1,097
559
8,441
5,441
15,538
Chattisgarh
188,571
156,422
43,197
31,697
419,887
Dadia&
Nagar Haveli
1,843
1,426
486
293
4,048
Daman & Diu
1,143
737
636
655
3,171
Delhi
8,424
5,008
136,448
86,006
235,886
Goa
4,846
3,713
4,043
3,147
15,749
Gujarat
415,093
304,274
189,837
136,227
1,045,465
Haryana
204,908
134,884
68,929
46,319
455,040
Himachal
Pradesh
83,646
61,110
6,798
4,396
155,950
Jammu &
Kashmir
129,443
100,275
42,373
30,579
302,670
Jharkhand
203,463
145,465
60,766
38,683
448377
Karnataka
375,809
285,330
161,921
117,583
940,643
Kerala
344,491
303,291
113,859
99,153
860,794
Lakshadweep
520
469
381
308
1,678
Madhya Pradesh 618,152
442,281
206,541
141,554
1,408,528
Maharashtra
600,603
419,768
333,264
215,947
1,569,582
Manipur
11,387
9,568
4,069
3,352
28,376
Meghalaya
12,052
10,688
3,265
2,798
28,803
Mizoram
5,228
4,463
3,535
2,785
16,011
Nagaland
12,778
10,742
1,763
1,216
26,499
Orissa
485,418
392,291
83,496
60,130
1,021335
Pondicherry
5,420
4,121
9,345
6,971
25,857
Punjab
177,552
119,466
^,304
52,201 I 424,523
Kajasthan
657,600
451,783
183,050
119,546
1,411,979
Sikkim
10,365
8,206
1,044
752 20^67
Tamil Nadu
446,948
498,071
344,737
352,741
1,642,497
Tripura
27,638
21,162
5,823
4,317
58,940
Uttaranchal
88,961
65,868
24,248
15,692
194,769
Uttar Pradesh
1,625,941
1,079,843
450,563
297,022
3,453,369
_West Bengal
774,521
579,732
284,164
208,757
1,847,174
Source: Adapted from the Census of India, 2001
abovementioned table, one can draw the following

conclusions:
1. Figuratively, the highest number of the persons with physical impairment is found
in Uttar Pradesh but if this
is analysed in terms of the share of the general
population, Sikkim is on the top of the list by comprising
3.77%107 of its general population.
2. The lowest strength of the population of the physically challenged persons is

found in Lakshadweep whereas
percentage-wise, the lowest strength is found in
Goa comprising of 1.17%108 of the total population of
the state.
3. In terms of the rural males in this category, Uttar Pradesh is the leading state, but
ratio wise Sikkim is on the top
comprising of 4.05% of the total rural male population
of the state.
4. The lowest strength in the category of rural physically impaired males is found in
Chandigarh whereas
percentagewise, the lowest strength in this category is
found in Meghalaya comprising of 1.27%"° of the total
population of the rural males of the state.
5. In the category of rural physically challenged females, the maximum strength is

found in Uttar Pradesh whereas
percentage-wise, the maximum percentage is found in
Sikkim comprising of 3.64% of the total population of
the rural females of the state.
6. In the category of the rural physically challenged females, the minimum strength
is found in Lakshadweep whereas
percentagewise, the minimum percentage is found in Goa
comprising of 1.1 %n2 of the total rural female population
of the state.
7. In the category of urban physically impaired males, the maximum strength is
found in Uttar Pradesh whereas
percentage-wise, the maximum percentage is found in
Arunachal Pradesh comprising of 3.45%m of the urban
male population of the state.
g T"he minimum population in this category is found in

Lakshadweep whereas percentage-wise, the minimum
percentage is found in Nagaland comprising of 0.94%114 of the total urban male
population of the state.
9. In the category of urban physically challenged females, the maximum numerical

strength is found in Tamil Nadu
whereas percentage-wise, the maximum percentage is
found in Sikkim comprising of 2.77%11S of its urban female
population.
10. In this category, the minimum numerical strength is found in Dadra and Nagar
Haveli whereas percentage wise, the minimum percentage is found in Nagaland
comprising of 0.78%116 of its urban female population.
11. In most of the cases, there is a preponderance of the male population over the
female with a few exception of
the state like Tamil Nadu in isolation but if a
proportionate analysis is made, the states like Daman &
Diu and Tamil Nadu falls in the category where there is a dominance of females over the
males.
While comparing the physically impaired population

from the vantage of rural-urban population, in most of the
cases, there is a preponderance of the rural population over
the urban population with the exception of Daman & Diu,
Delhi, Meghalaya, Tripura and Uttar Pradesh.
To understand the numerical status of the visually

impaired persons in the society, it is pertinent to have a look
at the state-wise details of the strength of the visually
impaired persons in India which is given as under:
1-4.3 The Visually Impaired Persons in South Africa and

India -A Comparison
As both are the developing countries, they are having

lie strength of the visually impaired people in the vicinity of
!%¦ Both the countries are having slightly better position of
the visually challenged persons in the urban areas but c°nstitutionalry-speaking, the
constitution of South Africa
guarantees certain rights through its equality proviso which
Table 13: Provincewise Data of Gender-based Rural-Urban

Distribution of the Visually Challenged Persons of India
State/Union
Territory
Rural
Visually
Challenged
Males
Rural Visually
Challenged
Females
Urban
Visually
Challenged
Males
Urban
Visually
Challenged Females
Population of the
Visually
Challenged Persons
Andaman &
Nicobar Islands
1,314
969
593
445
3,321
Andhra Pradesh
235,461
199,778
83,269
63,079
58137
Arunachal
Pradesh
12,630
5,699
3,653
1,097
23,079
Assam
132,655
111,448
21,481
16,472
282,056
Bihar
498,654
404362
58,034
44,555
1,005,605
Chandigarh
620
333
4,421
3,048
8,422
Chattisgarh
67,167
62,250
16,880
13,834
160,131
Dadar & Nagar
Haveli
1,054
806
299
187
2,346
Daman & Diu
730
431
339
398
1,898
Delhi
2,867
2,058
68,475
47312
120,712
Goa
1,157
1,094
1,159
983
4,393
Gujarat
184,883
152,258
88,811
68,672
494,624
Haryana
81,300
66,986
30,245
22,827
201358
Himachal Pradesh
31,163
26,969
3,656
2,334
64,122
Jammu & Kashmir
83,563
68,931
32,471
23,748
208,713
Jharkhand
78,292
63,817
25,855
18,252
186,216
Karnataka
164,907
139,794
76,532
59,642
440,875
Kerala
124,846
126,438
42,506
40,832
334,622
Lakshadweep
183
186
112
122
603
Madhya Pradesh
259,729
218,496
86,838
71,151
636,214
Maharashtra
201,617
174,269
118,849
86,195
580,930
Manipur
4,696
4,037
1,568
1,412
11,713
Meghalaya
5,114
4,529
2,056
1,682
13381
Mizoram
2,089
1,681
1,417
1,070
6,257
Nagaland
4,544
3,665
1,083
676
9,968
Orissa
230,381
205,024
43,770
34,929
514,104
Pondicherry
2,037
1,861
3,863
2,885
10,646
Punjab
60,743
51,854
32,410
25,846
170,853
Rajasthan
336,419
255,031
94,170
68,342
753,962
Sikkim
5,319
4,135
781
555
10,790
Tamil Nadu
219,696
333,635
17731
233,201
964,063
Tripura
12,824
9,735
2,805
2,141
27,505
Uttaranchal
35,336
31,468
11,098
7,766
85,668
Uttar Pradesh
808,866
636,279
233,517
173/109
1,852,071
West Bengal
329,861
280360
139,074
112,778
862,073
Source: Adapted from Census of India, 2001
is not the case in India which forced this segment of the society
to fight its case, and in 1995, People With Disability Act is
passed.
So far as the facilities are concerned, the conditions in

South Africa is far better in most of the Universities whereas
there are very few universities in India which are using the
best possible techniques for the reading material for the visually impaired.
In the sphere of employment, despite all big claims of

the constitutional guarantee in South Africa, India is far better
in providing employment to this segment of the society
perhaps because of the fact that they got this facility after a
lon^ drawn struggle and, perhaps also because of the fact
that the International Decade for the Disabled Persons could
show some effects in India which was not possible in South
Africa as it was not observing the same during that period.
Though the International Year of the Disabled Persons was
being observed in South Africa in 1986, yet it could not make
any substantial change in the scenario of employment for the
physically challenged persons in general and the visually
impaired persons in particular. One can say that during this
period, the policy-making was in the hands of racialist group
which was struggling for its existence and in the given
circumstances, it was not possible for such a government to
think about the scattered minority which has no substantial impact on the democratic
politics of South Africa. But, as both the states are traditional societies, the outlook about
the visually impaired persons is almost the same-both are treating the visually impaired
as the curse of the god or the result of the misdeeds of their forefathers. But, in India, the
theory of Karma has its worst impacts which are not seen in South Africa at the same
level despite the fact that one can visualise the statements in some of its policy
documents in terms of chaining the physically challenged Persons which can be worst of
its kind and, may be due to the humanitarian understanding, is not seen in India. At the
flost, Indian traditional outlook may force someone not to
)°in education and insist upon studying only the religion so
that one may not have to suffer the similar condition in the next life.
In sum, it can be said that the ecologies of both the states are not paying due heed to the
physically challenged persons
80 Policy Perspectives for the VisuallyImpaired '
in general and the visually challenged persons in particular

which are almost the 10% of the society because of the fact
that they are scattered minorities and, despite all claims of
the humanitarian attitudes, the compulsion of the politics
where votes and vote bank is counted put them to the level
of marginalisation. This never means nothing is being done
in both the countries, but it reveals the fact that if the reality
of the half filled glass is there, one cannot deny the reality of
the half emptied glass, unused segment of the society, a
segment which can be a human resource for any nation in the
process of its development. There is no justification of treating
this segment of the society as a useless entity. The days are
gone when "a missing of a part was understood as missing of
whole." It is in the interest of both the nations to make best
use of this segment of the society as a useful human resource
for its national development.
Changing Scenario of the Policy
Perspectives for the Visually

Impaired Persons in South Africa
and India: A Historical Background
2.0 A Historical Analysis of the Changing Policies for the

Visually Impaired
Presenting a brief historical account of the policies for

the visually impaired persons in South Africa and India, this
chapter attempts to find out how far these policies have been
affected by the changes in the history. There is a dialectical
relationship between the policies of the society and the
happenings in the given period. What comes first is a debatable
question. As no serious attempt has been made to analyse the
history of the policies for the visually impaired countrywise,
the analysis given in this chapter will be of a generalistic nature artd an attempt will be
made to see how far these
developments have some influence on South Africa and
fodia. Moreover, in the latter part of the history, despite the specific needs of the visually
impaired, the policies Used to be framed for the physically challenged in
§eneral, one is forced to make an analysis of such policy and try to find how much space
is given to the visually impaired m it. An attempt will also be made to find out how the
interest °* the particular segment suffers in the name of general
Policies.
2.1 Pre-Industrial Era and the Policies for the Visually

Impaired
It was an era when people were dependent, in most of

the cases, on manual labour and had a sense of involvement
in whatever they used to produce. This period was also known
for its community life in which there was not only an
interdependence on each other but there was also a due regard
to the skilled labour. The traditional understandings of the
then society used to treat every member as the responsibility
of the community in general. It had two effects on the growth
of the individual: on the one hand, it made a person confident j
that irrespective of anything, his life was secured but, on the ;.
other hand, it made a person inactive due to such security of |L
life. Such inactive segment of the society used to live on the If
mercy of the community in general. This protectionistic trend |
reduced them to live in an asylum. I
In most of the cases, the physically challenged persons ;

fell in such segment of the society. Within the physically
challenged people, the status of the visually impaired is
treated critical due to the preconceived notions about their
potence and due to a lot of prejudices against them. Though
the detailed description about the attitude of the society
towards the visually impaired has been made in other section,
it is sufficient to mention here that apart from the absence of :
the support base in terms of aids and appliances for the visually |
impaired, it is the attitude of the society towards them which
becomes the hindrance in their acceptance as a useful segment
of the society. The pre-industrial era was no exception to this
situation. Moreover, it was the period when there was no
development of the aids and appliances for the physically ¦
challenged in general and the visually challenged in particular; '
one can imagine their state of affairs. However, if an attempt
is made to trace the history of any concern shown by the
society to the visually impaired, some descriptions can be |
found about the education of the visually impaired even
during the period of the Mesopotamian Civilisation. It was
observed thus: "... there are records to show that letters were i
Changing Scenario of the Policy Perspectives 83
carved on clay to educate blind children in Mesopotamia

almost 3,300 years ago/'117
This period can also be analysed from the viewpoint of

the history of the political thought as there is a dialectical
relationship between the political thought and the prevalent
policies of the state. Hence, it is pertinent to have a look at
the history of the political thought in juxtaposition with the
policies of the state regarding the disability in general.
The history of the political thought is traced from the

Platonic age. It is this age about which it was commented that
"there was no difference between the state and society."118 It
was the period when the thinkers started differentiating
between man and the animal by saying that man is a social
animal and "he who is unable to live in society, or who has
no need because he is sufficient for himself, must be either a
beast or God."119 Emphasising on the active role in the society,
it is said that "We alone regard a man who takes no interest
in public affairs, not as a harmless, but as a useless
character."120 At the same time, it was the period in which ten
percent of the society is treated as citizens and others are
treated as slaves. It was the period which was known for its
two major city-states known as Sparta and Athens which were
known for its two exclusive philosophies about educating their
citizens. The former was stressing on the physical education
whereas the latter on the intellectual education.
In fact, this was a paradoxical period in which it was

thought that the "sweat and intellect cannot go together".121 This period was known as
one of the brutal periods in which
ten percent population was exploiting the 90% population.
Obviously, during this period, the policies were framed by
the ten percent of the society and it was called as a democratic
system.
As was stated that in Sparta, one of the Greek city-state,

there was a convention of leaving the child outside the home
after his birth and if child survived, he was treated as brave.
This convention implies that the weaker child was supposed
to be either killed or left on the nature for its survival. So
TTTTTmT""™TT""T" ""mml
LiUliUUttitiiiltilUiti,,
was the case with the physically challenged which included

the visual impairment. It is thus described that "There was a
time in Greek and Roman eras when children with disabilities
were exposed to the elements and were permitted to die."122 Plato supported the killing
of the physically challenged
children on the basis of this convention. Hence, obviously,
the same would have applied in the case of the visually
challenged child. It was stated that the literary personality
like Homer, Theresa and Phenox opposed this killing on the
ground of humanity. In its practical sense, this age was
supporting the maxim of 'the survival of the fittest'.
The medieval period witnessed the emergence of

Christianity, a religion which has been supporting moanism.
This was the period when the king was treated as the
representative of the god and this philosophy was supported
by Cicero and Thomas Aquinas. It was the period when the
king was treated as the messenger of the god and his functions
were governed by the churches. If it is wished to find out the
position of the physically challenged in general and the
visually impaired in particular, one has to see the religious
books and understand what is being said in it about them.
Miracle is the part of any religion and that is also

supposed to be depended on the faith of the god. The usual
adjective attached to such type of the faith was 'blind', the
word which is originally being used for those who have no
sight. In fact, this faith was nothing but to follow without
any argument. Such faith was called 'the blind faith'.123 It is
said that "It is the religion which played a negative role in
our development. Hence, it is against us."124
It is pertinent here to understand how religious people

used to find the cause of anyone's visual impairment or other
physical challenges. The oldest scriptures, which are oft
quoted, are the Vedas. In the case of Yajurveda, the treatment
for the visual impairment is suggested by praying the Sun,
the god of brightness and one can find even today, the visually
impaired people uttering: "Om Hansaay Namah". It was a
typical personification of sun and it was hoped if it was
pleased, it would give you some share of his brightness and

you will get your sight. Ironically, it was stated that "In all
countries where there is intense sunlight, great heat, and much
dust, a high incidence of blindness will usually be found."123 It can be saved if "the
population is sufficiently advanced
and intelligent to take the necessary precaution. ... Blindness
is for the most part preventable when the people are
sufficiently educated to adopt simple precautions and avail
themselves of medical advice even then this involves some
trouble and expense."126
Not only this, all the religious scriptures are full of such
stories which cure miraculously the visually impaired and give
the direction of following one or the other faith. In this regard,
one can find a lot of references in the Old Testament and the
New Testament. As is stated:
"I was eyes to the blind, and feet were I to the lame."127
The God about which there is a concept of all creators

and Almighty, one cannot make better expression than this.
The same is depicted to be applied in the case of curing the
visual impairment. It is stated thus:
"The LORD openeth the eyes of the blind: the LORD

raiseth them
That is bowed down: the LORD loveth the righteous:
The LORD preserveth the strangers; he relieveth the

fatherless
And widow:"
128
Such writers were not satisfied by mere mentioning of
such role of the God. They went to the extent of narrating
such miraculous stories reference of which can be found, with
slight changes here and there not less than half a dozen times
in The New Testament. It is not suggested here to make the
similar repetitive narrations, however, it is pertinent here to
cite one example, maybe pious to any religious man but from
any stretch of logic, the incidence seemed to be ridiculous. In a poetic form, it is stated
thus:
"...And they bring a blind man unto him, and

Besought him to touch him.
And he took tine blind man by the hand, and led him out
of fhe
Town; and when he had spit on his eyes, and put his
hands upon him, he
Asked him if he sawr ought.
And he looked up, and said, I see men as trees, walking.
After that he put his hands again upon his eyes, and
made him
Look up: and he was restored, and saw every man

clearly.129
The reference of this story has purposely been made as

this is a unique story of its kind because in this, not only it is
described that a visually impaired person is cured by the
Christ but also the way he is cured needs an assessment.
This does not mean that nothing has been stated in this
book regarding the physically challenged in general and the
visually challenged in particular which is not ethical. Ironically,
in fact it is the religious books and their concept of Service
which has initiated the welfare work in this field.
On the behaviour with such people, it is stated thus:
"Thou shalt not curse the deaf, nor put a stumbling block
before the blind, but shalt fear Jhy God: I am the LORD."130
Some such similar attitude is found in another religious

book which says:
"Their similitude is that of a man who kindled a fire;
when it lighted all around him, God took away their light
and left them in utter darkness. So they could not see. Deaf,
dumb and blind, they will not return (to the path)."131 Such
directions become pertinent in a society wherein it was taught
that the impairment is nothing but the punishment of some
superpower due to some misdeeds. Such teachings and
preaching may lead anyone to think that if it is a punishment,
1
why one should help them and, therefore, they should be left
on their own faith. But such preaching and teachings, as they
used to be the commands during that period, play a
conspicuous role in initiating the welfare work. The writer of The Old Testament
went to the extent of saying that in the churches.
Speaking over the over-protectionist and segregational
approach of a Baptist church, it was stated that "There is a
Sunday School class for the blind, the deaf, the crippled,
and the mentally retarded. They also have a separate area
in church for the blind, deaf, etc. For example, the blind
have a special section where they sit which is clearly marked
and no one else is allowed to sit there. Even in the eyes of
religion we are second-class citizens. Does this mean that
the blind will be placed in a special area before the
judgment seat?"132
Perhaps some such suggestions became the starting point

of providing the shelter to the then disabled persons and
that was the minutest symbol of the welfare work-may it is
in the name of God. That is why, it is not suggested to discard
the role of the religion outrightly but one can say that the
then affirmative role, with the passage of the time, is viewed
as a negative role by the rationalists as it put hindrance on
one's progress and make him fatalist.
During the 4th century, an asylum for the blind was

opened by St. Basil in Capadocia in 369. This was perhaps the
first written example of the beginning of some institution for
the visually impaired. Of course, this was not a part of the
state policy but it was due to the influence of the
institutionalized work of the religion. Commenting upon this,
it is said, "The earliest known institutions for the blind were
due to the development of charitable work by the early
Christian church and took the forms of refuge. Records exist
of the foundation of such homes as far back as the fourth
century, when St. Basil established one at Caesarea in
Cappadocia."133
Policy Perspectives for the Visually Impaired 88
During the medieval period, the references are found of

opening asylums for the war-blinded people such as Hospic
des Quinz Vingts134 in Paris founded by Louis IX about 1260.
Of course, this was an attempt by a king with the help of
some religious bodies to make a start with opening some space
to provide shelter to the war blinded. In fact, war has played
the conspicuous role in opening different institutions not only
for the visually challenged but also for other physically
challenged. While dealing with the history of the institutions,
one will find ample references of the institutions opened due
to the war as, apart from the death toll, war causes physical
injuries and any leader will feel pride in giving shelter to this
segment of the society to show his allegiance for their patriotic
sacrifice.
This commitment is not one-sided. The description is

found in the Bohemian history of the 15lh century when a
blind patriotic military genius played a conspicuous role to
save his country from the tyrants. His name was John de
Turcznow and was popularly known as Zisca (meaning one-eyed
person) who became totally blind during the war as his
other eye was hit by the arrow of the opponent army but he
continued to serve as general to save his country. After his
blindness, he was dissuaded by his friends not to join the
army, but he turned down their proposal by saying that "I
have yet to shed my blood for the liberties of Bohemia. She is
enslaved; her sons are deprived of their natural rights, and
are the victims of a system of spiritual tyranny as degrading
to the character of man as it is destructive of every more
principle; therefore, Bohemia must and shall be free." 135 His
bravery was expressed thus:
"On the 11th of January, 1422, the two armies met on

a large plain. ... Zisca appeared in the centre of his front
line [accompanied] by a horseman on each side, armed with a poleax. His troops, having
sung a hymn, ... drew their
swords and waited for the signal. Zisca stood not long in
view of the enemy, and when his officers had informed
him that the ranks were well closed, waved his sabre over
his head, which was the signal of battle, and never was
there an onset more mighty and irresistible. As dash a
thousand waves against the rock-bound shore, so Zisca
rolled his steel-fronted legions upon the foe. The imperial
infantry hardly made a stand, and in the space of a few
minutes they were disordered beyond the possibility of
being rallied. The cavalry made a desperate effort to
maintain the field, but finding themselves unsupported,
wheeled round and fled ... toward ... Moravia ..."136 He
was offered the crown of the country but he refused it by
saying that" While you find me of service to your designs,
you may freely command both my coun-sels and my sword,
but I will never accept any established authority; on the
contrary, my most earnest advice to you is, when the
perverseness of your enemies allows you peace, to trust
your-selves no longer in the hands of kings, but to form
yourselves into a republic, which species of government
only can secure your liberties."137
One can say that this is an extraordinary case. But the

reality lies in this fact that even this historical fact, may it
be extraordinary, was brought into light by two blind
historians. More so, histories are written about the kings,
brave soldiers so on and so forth and in most of the cases,
they are specially being referred due to their extraordinary
achievements. Not only this, his commitment to the
democratic values becomes more revealing and progressive
when he suggested developing a republican system for their
country.
The period after sixteenth century tells the story of the

physically challenged people from different countries who
played, may be through their individual attempts, a
conspicuous role in drawing the attention of the society in
general and the political systems in particular to think in terms
of developing some policies for this segment of the society.
But, in Most of the cases, it seems that the initiative is made
by the visually impaired themselves. That is why; this period
was known as the period of self-emancipation. Though the
description of this period is just the description of the

endeavours of some visually impaired individuals, but without
making their reference, the judicious historical description of
this era will remain unfinished.
During 17th century, a personality was found with the

name of Nicholas Sanderson, a famous mathematician, who
was born in 1682 and achieved the post of a professor in
Cambridge University. He became visually impaired due to
the small pox. He was a Britisher and developed a special
equipment for the visually impaired to solve the geometrical
questions. An honorary degree was given to him by the then
queen of England. At that time he was just 30 years of age
and he worked on this post till his death. He was made fellow
in Royal Society in 1719. He was awarded the honorary degree
of Doctor of Laws by George II in 1728. He was the stimulator
of the education for the visually impaired during the 18th century in Europe. He was died
in 1739.
The 18th century witnessed the achievement of a visually

challenged person with name of John Metcalf who was an
also a Britisher and was born in 1717. He was a civil engineer
and his expertise was related to the construction of roads
and bridges. He was died in 1810. This period also witnessed
the role of the personalities like Thomas Black Lock, the
Minister of Scotland (1712-1791), Fransova Huber (1750-1831),
Maria Theressa Van Paradis (1759-1824) etc.
The period of 'self-emancipation' covers both the pre-industrial

period and the industrial period. So the
personalities mentioned above were the figures which were
active during the dying era of the pre-industry.
If this period is analysed from the viewpoint of South

Africa and India, there is no chronological analysis found in
South Africa as even in their literature, one finds hardly any
example of the visually impaired as a part of their story,
whatever little description is found is relating to the 19th century onwards. It seems that
till that period, the visually
challenged people might be living on the mercy of the tribe
as in their tribal practices the visual impairment or any other
kind of physical impairment was treated as the result of the

sin of their forefathers.
There are two exclusive views about India. One believes

that it was a great civilization and had retained its greatness
by keeping its ideals even for the physically challenged. That
is why,' it is said that "It has been a part of India's cultural
heritage to help the poor and the needy even at a great
personal sacrifice. The responsibility of assisting the individual
in need was shared by tine community and the rulers. Devotion
and service towards one's fellowmen, love for charity and
brotherhood existed even in the feudal times. In keeping with
this tradition, every possible protection was given to the
physically handicapped by the society."138
One can find examples in the scriptures and epics of India.

According to Bhagwat Gita, "Charity is valid only if it takes
into account Desha (place), Kala (time) and Patra (recipient). The forms of the charity
were Artha (money), Vidya (education)
and Abhaya (courage). Religious institutions like temples, dharmashalns and maths
became the centres of social service.
They provided shelter and free kitchens to the poor. Thus,
religion emphasised the values of charity, philanthropy and
mutual help."139
Commenting upon the behaviour with the physically

challenged in India during the contemporary period of the
Greek civilisation, it is stated that "In India we do not find
any tangible instances of the inhuman practice of exposure
and destruction, which characterized the primitive attitude
towards the disabled."140 A foreign writer has stated that,
"In ancient India the physically deformed children were cast
into the Ganges."141 Refuting to this statement, it is said that
"Nowhere in the recorded history of India do we find any
evidence to prove that this was a general practice. On the
contrary, a reference to Mahabharata (an Indian epic) shows
that the physically challenged were then treated with
sympathy."142 In a story of Mahabharata, Narada (a sage in
Hindu mythology) interrogates Yudhishthira (a principal
character in the epic), " Do you treat as father, your subjects
who are afflicted with blindness, dumbness, lameness,

deformity, friendlessness and those who have renounced the
world?"143
It is said that during that period, the king was supposed

to be the protector and was expected to provide for the war
disabled and their dependents, for Narada again puts a
question to the eldest Of the five Pandavas (five brave brothers
of the epic Mahabharata): "Do you maintain the women of
those who died for you on the battle field? And do you also
maintain those who are wounded on the battlefield while
fighting for you?"144 Likewise the laws of Baudhayana (an
author of Hindu scriptures) enjoined -"Granting
food, clothing
and shelter, they (kings) shall support those who are incapable
of transacting legal business viz., the blind, idiots, those
immersed in vice, the incurably diseased, those who neglect
their duties and occupations, and so on."145 Some references
are made about the Vedic period and a glorious picture is
depicted by uttering the names of some of the visually impaired
Rishis or even about AshtaVakra whose eight organs were
said to be impaired.146 On the basis of the respect which he
got though his endeavours can make anyone to argue that if
a physically challenged could get respect even in. that age,
there must be something positive in the attitude of the then
people of India.
Contrary to this, the way physically challenged remained

an object to be looked down upon also demands to find the
bridge between these two extreme positions.
But sometimes, it becomes unbelievable when one finds

that for so many centuries, no reference is made to the visually
impaired except the reference of a poet known as Soordas.
The epic example of Dhritrashtra can be a typical example of
the ancient period. He, despite being shown so powerful,
was shown as a poor fellow who fails to convince even his
son to adopt a particular way and who has to depend on the
mercy of others.
Hence, it can be said that in both the countries, there is

no extraordinary trend which can be worth mentioning about
, viSually challenged people, whatever little is found was

Hie result of some individuals may it be Dhritrashtra of
Mahabharata, Soordas, the poet of the medieval period or
Vrijanand of the 19th century in India. The concerted efforts
which are witnessed in both the countries, it is only due to
the influence of the development taking place mainly in
Europe. It is due to the fact that majority of the developments
in the field of the betterment for the visually challenged were
made in the 18th or 19th century and most of the countries
have been benefited by those developments.
2.2 New Inventions and the Policies for the Visually

Impaired Persons
As industrial revolution is known for its new inventions

in terms of artificial hands and artificial legs, this section will
cover how these new inventions had opened new vistas for
the visually impaired in particular and the physically impaired
in general. During this period, some of the major revolutions,
like Glorious revolution, French revolution, took place, hence,
an attempt will be made to find out the impact of these
revolutions on the new dimensions of the policies and
programmes for the visually impaired. In the field of visual
impairment, a revolution took place by the invention of Braille.
An analysis will be made how this invention made a topsy
turvey in the life of the visually impaired and which were the
agencies which became active in the production of the literature
for them and why were they interested in it. An analysis will
be made about the kind of literature produced for this
segment and some conclusions will be drawn therefrom about
the intentions of these interested groups.
The 17th century is known for the invention of printing

Press and gun powder together. Perhaps, this is the starting
point when, due to inability to use to read such material,
¦ntellect of the visually impaired came in the sphere of doubt.
*n fact, this doubt also started from the period when the script was invented. But, as
during that period, the script,
Manuscript), was the wealth of the people who could be
counted on die fingers. But the invention of the press brought
the written material in the common hands and, hence, the

importance of remembering was reduced. Prior to the invention of the script, the base of
the knowledge was listening
and remembering because of which there was very little scope
to question the intellect of a visually challenged.
18th century witnessed the French revolution which was

famous for equality and democracy. Over the development
in the field of the physically challenged, it is described thus:
"The ferment of the French Revolution gave a special

stimulus to the ideas of liberty, equality and fraternity for
everyone. Great thinkers like Thoreau had a profound
influence on initiating the process of special education though
not directly. During the two decades preceding the French
Revolution Father D' Lepee developed a manual alphabet for
the deaf. At about the same time, Germany was developing a
system of lip-reading. In 1784, Valentine Hauy established
the first school for the blind in Paris." It was known as Institute
for the Blind Youth. In fact, some such events like opening
the schools or declaring the policies in favour of the visually
challenged and the revolutions and movements occurring at
the same time stimulates some people to think that there are
some linkages between these two happenings. The
protagonists in this field had developed some such theories
to prove this. This can be argued both ways. One may call it
an accidental and the other may call it a logical correlation in
terms of 'cause and effect relationship.' However, if the
equality and liberty were the major causes for such
revolutions, it is quite obvious that the same should apply for
the visually impaired which is, whether it is cared or not, a
segment of tine society which was supposed to be benefited.
Obviously, the policy-makers were bound to speak, though
not exclusively, about this group. If it is so, the claim of
relationship between revolutions and the programmes for the
physically challenged in general and visually challenged in
particular, seems to be logical. 147
Francua Lesruva, the only student of the above

mentioned School, was of the opinion that the blind should
be taught Music, some professions and Occupational therapy.

They made some alphabets from wood. Perhaps, it was the
first time when the importance of the touch -- a sense which is at its peak in the knuckle
of the fingers --was recognised.
For such alphabets, one has to cut the wood in the form of
the alphabets usually used for the accepted scripts for the
sighted.
Knowing the alphabet was not the sole point of the

satisfaction. Hence, embossed maps were also made. These
maps could be felt by touch and through the two-dimensions,
the attempt was made to impart knowledge to the visually
impaired.
This was time when even the representatives of the

visually impaired people had started realising that there would
be a limit to remember something and there would be some
other methods to keep records rather than cramming. Apart
from knowing the names of the things, one of the essential
parts of the education is the clarification of the concepts. For
this clarification, description is needed. To avoid the
repetitiveness of the description and to avoid the time and
again beginning from a, b, c, it is necessary to keep the record
of the past deeds. This necessitated developing a reading
method convenient and suitable to the needs of the visually
impaired. It is this for which inventions were needed.
As has already been mentioned that during the 17th century, there was a mathematician
in Great Britain and a
reference was also made about the development of some
mathematical equipments, reformed mathematical strip was
made by Sanderson. He also developed embossed alphabets
through the help of the allpins on a coach. It was a placing of
the allpins and the resultant shapes which helped the visually
impaired to understand the alphabets.
Inspiring from this school, during the lifetime of Hauy,

there were about 20 schools in Europe. In 1799, this school was closed by Napoleon by
stating that these schools were
^parting insufficient education. Later on, it was reopened.
This activity, the activity of opening schools was not remained
confined to France. A school was opened in Liverpool in

England by Edward Rusten. It was just a training centre
providing training in handicraft and other vocational fields.
As most of the students were adults, this school opened a
new vista for those who became visually impaired at the later
age including the visual impairment due to the accidents. A
school was also opened in Edinburough by Thomas Blacklock
with the assistance of David Miller.
Valentine Hauy opened a school in Russia despite the

claim by the then Tsar that there were no blind in his country.
Another school was opened by this personality near Berlin in
1806. The opening of such a school in Russia showed the
importance of the individual efforts in this field.
During the dying years of 18th century, a school for the

visually impaired was opened history of which was described
as "In 1791, the first institution of the kind in England was
established in Liverpool by Edward Rushton, who had lost
his own sight during a voyage tending a cargo of Negro slaves
who were stricken with malignant ophthalmia."148 Following
this, Blind Asylum was established in Edinburough.
A school for the visually challenged was opened in

Austria by John Wilhem Clean in 1804. It became famous for
writing books for the teachers of the blind. This was treated the first book relating to the
education for the blind students.
Valentine Hauy is known as Father of the Education for the
Blind because of the fact that during his lifetime numerous
schools were opened in Switzerland, Belgium, Spain,
Denmark, Italy etc.149
John D. Fisher got an asylum opened by getting a

legislation of this effect passed due to the influence of his
experiences of France. In real sense, HE opened a school in
1829. In 1839, a land was donated by Colonel Perkins for this
school because of which this institute got the name of Perkins
Institute Massachusetts Asylum for the Blind and even today
it is known as Perkins school for the blind. It is this Perkins
School for the Blind which grew into a research centre and
produced a lot of equipments for the visually challenged
copies. In 1832, another school was opened by Dr. J.D. Russ

îth the name of New York Institute for the Blind.
In Asia, the opening of the schools for the visually

jj-npaired started very late. In this regard, the beginning was
made by Japan. With the support of the Japan government in
the decade of 1870 a school for them was opened. In Kyoto,
in 1878, the visually challenged were also included in a school
which was previously being run for the deaf and mute. With
the support of the government, Model school for blind and
mute was opened in 1877 in Osaka. A society had opened a
school for the visually challenged in 1880 in Tokyo. This
Society for the Blind came in to existence in 1875. In 1885, the
school was brought under the government control. Now it is
known as Tokyo Government School for the blind. In 1899, a
section was opened for the deaf and this institute is still in
working condition.
This process is continuing till date despite the fact that

there is a change in the trend of the education which is
favouring the trend of inclusive or integrated school for the
visually impaired under the plea that they are also supposed
to get the family atmosphere.
However, over this historical development, a picturesque

comment is made thus, "The 160 years which has passed since
Valentine Hauy started that small school in Paris with its
solitary pupil, cover what has been a remarkable evolution,
in the status of the blind people-the change from the day
when they lived in beggary, ignorance and misery, to the
point where in modern countries, every blind person is
guaranteed a signified existence and where all of normal
mtelligence and health can take up remunerative and useful
occupation, as well as having full range of literary, musical
and other social interests to give them a full and happy life.
They have become confident, self-respecting member of the
community, of which they feel themselves a part and no longer
useless encumbrances."150
Without touching upon the history of Braille, one cannot

fr'ake justice with this section. There are 3 Parts of the history
of Braille: Pre-Braille, Braille and the Recognition of the

Braille.
Pre-Braille: Many scripts were prevalent during this

period such as String Script which was Prevalent in Peru of
South America. St. Mark of Scotland wrote through this
medium a religious book. Dumas, a French musician uses to
write by using the pieces of leather, cork or iron pieces in a
twain. Dr. Andrick Diago, a citizen of Columbia in South
America developed a script on the basis of Morse code. It
was named as Cardilery. It had one knot for dot and two
knots for dash.
Hauy started writing alphabets like roman script which

was known as Boy types alphabets. It brought some books.
Two tactile scripts were developed. These were known as
Line type and Arbitrary. Line type was a recognised script
whereas the arbitrary was not recognised. Braille was one of
its forms. There was another category of script which was
known as Elliston type comprising only big letters by Edmond
Fry. He got gold medal for this. James Gall developed in
1832 a tactile script based on the ordinary script. The angular
form was given to the Roman script and he established a press
in 1888 to spread it. There was another type of script which
was known as Moon type. It came in 19th Century. It is still in
practice in some of the areas. This script was developed by
Dr. William Moon who took advantage from both line type
and arbitrary scripts. It was helpful for the later aged blind.
The first book in this script was published in 1847. He
established Moon Society. The volunteers were sent to the
residences of the blind clients for learning this script and, in
a way, it was the beginning of the Home bound Programme.
That is why, he was known as the Father of this programme.
Later on, due to the recording services for the visually
challenged, this script has lost its importance.
Braille: The first Braille type script was developed by

Charles Barbarian. It was comprised of 14 Dots. Such script
was being used by the military people during the night to
send the secret messages. It was shown in the school of Louis
Braille and he had introduced it to his students. Later on,

due to the limitations of touch and knuckles, it was reduced
into six dots. The Principal of the School, Mr. Pioneer permitted
to use this script for the education in 1839. Due to the sudden
demise of the Principal of the school, there was a gap. But
1843 was the year which produced a book with the name of
A Brief History of France by Louis Braille. It was a first book
of its own kind in this script. It paved the way for reading,
writing and correspondence. Louis Braille died in 1852, but
the Braille was not recognised during his lifetime because
there were variety of scripts and presses.
First Braille press was established in 1868 by Thomas R.

Armitage (a visually impaired Britisher) and the first
International Conference for the teachers of the Blind was
organised in Vienna in 1873. In 1882, Armitage reported that
except some of the institutions of the Northern America,
almost all the institutions in the world have given recognition
to this script.
Post-Braille: There were 2 types of Braille: English Braille

and New York Point which was known in common parlance
as American Braille. To solve the problem of the variety of
Braille codes, the American Association Workers for the Blind
tried to develop a uniform code in 1901. In 1931, World
Conference on Workers for the Blind was organized wherein
uniformed laws were applied. A uniformed Braille code was
developed in 1932 in the meeting of the council and this was
known as the Standard English Braille. Generally, all prevalent
scripts were replaced by Standard English Braille in Europe and America. i
As the process of universalisation of Braille was confined to the abovementioned

countries, a letter was written to the
UNESCO to develop an international Braille. A conference was organised by the
UNESCO in Paris in 1950 known as
World Braille Conference in which it was decided to develop
this script on the basis of the pronunciation and, in 1952, the
World Braille Council was established. Henceforth, the World
Braille came into the existence. This was a script following
the pattern of Louis Braille, i.e., of six dots. In the context of

English, 3 grades of Braille are: Open, Contracted and Short
form, commonly known as abbreviation. ¦
Commenting upon the confusion of the common mass

treating it either a script or language and to make a lively
statement about its description, it is said that "...the Braille
system ...is based upon the permutations and combinations
of six dots arranged in two parallel rows of three dots.
Braille is neither a language nor a script. It is just a way
of writing and spelling. Spelling has to be the same
as used by people with sight. In 1950, at an international
conference, UNESCO recommended that the Braille
page should be a precise transliteration of the printed
page."151
The abovementioned developments reveal this fact that

the history of the visually impaired and the history of the
development of the various skills is nothing but a move from
the individual endeavour or invention to the group
involvement. In most of the cases, there is a negligible
contribution of the governments of the respective states which
are the focal point for the policy-making.
2.3 Religious Groups and the Policies for the Visually

Impaired
This section has been initiated with a reflection

on the relationship between religions and physically
challenged.
"The relationship between religion and disability must

be analysed on two levels. First, what kind of message do
various religious doctrines convey about disability? That is,
do they contribute to or help break down the myths and
stereotypes about disability? Second, what is the social and
political role of religion as an institution? That is, does the
church foster or hinder the movement for social justice?
Ultimately, though there are exceptions, religion, the most
influential ideological influence on attitudes and ideas, fails
on both counts."152
It is desired to make a critical evaluation of the

consequences of the abovementioned role of the religion in
the various walks of physical impairment in general and the
visual impairment in particular. So far as the role of the
religion in terms of breaking down the stereotype myths is
concerned, indisputably, it failed to play any direct positive
role in this direction because of which one finds a chain of
negative attitude about the physically challenged people and
worse is the case about the visual impairment. The detailed
analysis of the attitude of the society and its cause and effect
will be made in separate section.
So far as the role of the religion as an institution to

support the cause of social justice is concerned, in its dogmatic
form, it failed to support the social justice as, in most of the
cases, it remained the heritage of the limited section of the
society, the priests or so-called representatives of the God.
For the common mass, religion reduced to a sanction-a
sanction which one has to accept without any argument
because, as generally is propagated, faith has no argument.
Religion demands a group of faithful people, a flock of sheep.
But, in the name of reformism, though just to glorify the
religious faith with a rational touch, some positive role was
played by them. It was this reformism which opposed the
apology letters of the Roman Catholic Pope, it was this
reformism which played a role in India by way of opposing Sati Pratha (convention of the
burial of the widow with her
husband) etc. But, unfortunately, in the name of justice, one
faith was replaced by another faith, which, with the passage
of time, is bound to become a dogma. However, so far as its
impact on the development of the institutions for the visually
challenged is concerned, may be in the name of charity, its
role cannot be sidetracked.
As we know, the religion played a negative as

well as a positive role in formulating policies for the visually
impaired in general and the physically impaired in particular.
If an analysis of the programmes for the visually impaired is
made, it is found that the religion played a conspicuous role
immrmmmrmmmiMmmmmr'
in opening and supporting the schools and the institutions

for the visually challenged persons.
As charity becomes the part of any religion --maybe to

get some reward from the God --it contributed a lot to the
schools to meet out the cost of food, clothes and other essential
materials. One may question the intention of such support,
but the fact remains as it is that in the absence of such support,
as due to its political reasons, no governments is coming
forward except giving partial grant, to meet the cost in toto,
they will find virtually impossible to arrange the remaining
expenditures. In most of the cases, it is the religious sanction
which makes a positive contribution in realizing the cherished
desire of getting education.
Despite all rational claims, it is the fact that in a society

which is not able to provide due job venues or which is defunct
in terms of providing minimum requirements to the visually
impaired, they are bound to be left on the charity of the others
and that charity is nothing but the by-product of the religion.
It does not mean that religion has played no negative

role. In the name of creating taboo by saying that the
impairment or disease or deformity of any nature is because
of the sins either of oneself or of one's forefathers, it had
classified this segment of the society in a punished category
which will have to develop negative opinion about them.
If the role of the religion is analysed in India and South

Africa, there is a similarity in the sense that in both the
countries, first school was established by the missionary. In
the case of India, it was Amritsar which became the fortunate
city to have first school of this kind whereas in the case of
South Africa, it was Cape Town. The obvious reason for this
is the fact that both were being ruled by the Britishers and
missionary was playing its role in spreading the education. It
can be a point of controversy for any person that they were
spreading the education of its own kind. One cannot expect
from a faith following group to provide rational education.
But if an analysis is made of the personalities who left some
indelible imprints on the socio-political development, it will
1
be an astonishing reality that majority of these personalities

were the by-product of the schools run by the religious bodies.
The reason for such unknowing contribution is because of
the fact that the recipients of the education were not a passive
objects or dumb driven cattle. For them, education was a
around for further innovation and for innovation, the faculty
of reasoning is needed and, whether it is desired or not by
the religious groups, the sense of innovation stimulated them
to make substantial contribution for the social justice. Hence,
indirectly religion had also prepared a ground for the social
justice.
2.4 State Support and the Policies for the Visually Impaired
Despite the fact that the state is termed as a tool in the

hands of the oppressing class, the concept of welfare state, a
mechanism of appeasement, has contributed to some extent
even in the development of the programmes and policies for
the visually impaired in particular and the physically impaired
in general. The moment, in the name of the welfare, the
government had started opening the hospitals for the poor
people and treating them as a service, the visually challenged
of both the countries were benefited from this programme.
There was an opinion that it is necessary for a visually

impaired child to get special education to meet his specific
need. Though education was the basic need of any child yet,
due to the adverse effect of the World War II, the first ever
step taken by the then British government in India was to
open a training centre for the war-blinded people. Of course,
war is supposed to be condemned but in the field of the
government initiatives for the welfare programmes for the
visually impaired, war will be treated as a groundbreaking
factor. It was the World War II during which first institute
with the name of Dunston's Hostel for the War-blinded was
opened in Dehra Dun which, with the passage of time, was
made opened for the civilians as well. Though initially most
of the schools in both the countries were opened by some
social groups may be under the name of some religious
instincts, yet after some time, the governments of both the
countries had started taking interest in either opening some

special schools for them or providing maximum possible
grant-in-aid to such schools.
At least in India, we find the opening of the government-sponsored

Braille presses but in South Africa, there is no fully
government-sponsored Braille press.
So far as the job opportunities are concerned, despite all

humanitarian claims, the attempt of making some reservation
in their favour was made very late. In the case of South Africa,
such exclusive reservation is not witnessed but they speak in
terms of employment equity which is, in real sense, is not
fully favouring the visually impaired because if one is visually
impaired, negro and woman, only then his case may become
a strong case as he will be representing three categories for
which preferential treatment has been proposed in the
constitution.
In general, it can be said that there are some attempts

being made by the government but they are of the welfare
nature. No real attempt is made by treating this segment of
the society as an ordinary member so that he can join the
mainstream in real sense. Even in the case of the government,
it is the charity which speaks much rather than the necessity.
It raises the question of the use of human resource for the
nation-building process.
2.5 Social Attitudes and its Impact on the Policies and

Programmes of the Visually Impaired
There is no social policy which is neither being influenced

by the social attitude for the beneficiaries nor the result of
the reaction over such attitude towards the stakeholders.
Social policies are generally the replica of the attitude or its
reaction. The policies for the physically challenged in general
and visually challenged in particular are no exception to it.
Hence, it is pertinent to have a look at the social attitude
towards this segment of the society. Despite the fact that the
research is confined to the visually impaired, this exclusive
attention to this segment of the society becomes unavoidable
as within the physical impairment, it is the visually challenged

people whose integrity is always questioned or whose potence
are always wrongly assessed due to the over-emphasis on
the role of vision not only by the common masses but even
by the medical practitioners many of whom say that the loss
of vision reduces 84% of knowledge. Obviously, this
statement has something to do with the capability of the person
with visual disability. Before analysing this in detail, an
attempt is made in the preceding paragraphs to analyse the
social attitude about the persons with physical challenges.
Before making some such analysis, it is pertinent to have

a look at two excerpts of two different books commonly used
by the students in the United States of America which is
supposed to be the trend setter and progressive in its attitude. These are as under:
Caring for the Handicapped
The blind, the deaf, the dumb, the crippled, and the
in-sane and the feeble-minded are sometimes known
collec-tively as the defective-people who are lacking some
normal faculty or power. Such people often need to be
placed in some special institution in order to receive proper
attention.
Many blind, deaf, and crippled people can do a

consider-able amount of work. The blind have remarkable
talent in piano tuning, weaving, wickerwork, and the like.
The deaf and dumb are still less handicapped because they
can engage in anything that does not require taking or giving
orders by voice.153
The similar passage which had been used in the high

school classes of the U.S.A. throughout the nation, says, thus:
The blind may receive aid from the states and the
federal government, if their families are not able to keep
them from want. There are over one hundred institutions
for the blind in the United States, many of which are
sup-ported wholly or partly by taxes. Sometimes it seems as if blind people are partly
compensated for their
misfortune by having some of their other talents developed

with exceptional keenness. Blind people can play musical
instruments as well as most of those who can see, and many
activities where a keen touch of the fingers is needed can
be done by blind people wonderfully well. Schools for the
blind teach their pupils music and encourage them to take
part in some of the outdoor sports that other pupils enjoy.154
Attitudes can be expressed through the language--verbal

or written. Writers may, sometimes, be over conscious in
writing when they consider it not the part of sheer enjoyment
but the role of contribution to the society. But this is not the
case with the lingua franka.
It is said that it is the language which gives shape to the

ideas and expression. It gives birth to an image. A famous
Russian linguist termed it as 'experience is organized.'155 When
a word is used time and again, it starts establishing a meaning,
an image and a reality. If an analysis of the words used for
the physically challenge is made, it will reflect the
backwardness of variety of cultures. Linda Nicholson, treating
language as a social product, remarks, "Thus, many terms in
our language, such as 'production/ 'mothering' and 'sex' are
ambiguous between possessing a strictly limited physical
meaning and possessing a more culturally loaded meaning."156
Language is a process and its liveliness rests in the fact

that it should adapt itself with the new developments. For
this, the interaction between the language and the culture
and society is inevitable. The terms like 'cripple', 'invalid',
'retard', 'confined to a wheelchair', 'blind as a bat', 'single
eyed as crow' and 'deaf and dumb' generate the meaning
which have an ideological understanding. Therefore, it has
social and cultural impact. Obviously, the words used for the
physical impairment are carried with the social meanings. As
language is not meant for oneself and is a way of expression
with others, for many, the language is known as "the most
social of all social facts."157
Here are some of the words of different languages used

for the disability. The word 'chirema is used for physically
challenged (disability) in Shona and it means totally useless or a failure. In Ndebele, the
word 'isigoga' is used for
impairment and that means helplessness. For deafness, the
word 'matsi' is used in Shona and in Ndebele, it is called 'isacuthe' and both the words
carry the meaning as one who
needs help. Bernhard Helander writes that all the words used
by the Hubeer in southern Somalia to describe particular
disabilities connote illness. Similar expressions are found in
the languages of Africa, Asia and Latin America. 158
Not only this, there are some proverbs in these languages

which represent its culture in an explicit way. Not all proverbs
are giving negative messages. Some of them carry, in its own
way, the message of behaving properly the physically
challenged. These are reproduced thus:
"In Shona, chirema chinemazano chinotamba chakazendama kumadziro translates as "a

disabled person can be clever and
dance if he is leaning against a wall." It means all people have
abilities as long as they try and seek help. It is similar to
"God helps those who help themselves." Another common
adage is seka urema wafe, or "laugh at disability when you are
dead." It means do not tempt fate. In Ndebele, ubulima
kabuhlaleli translates, as "disability does not wait for anybody."
A somewhat similar saying has a more pejorative effect: okwehlela inja lemuntwini
kuyaflka, "what may happen to a dog may happen to you tomorrow." This means do not
think the
disabled are stupid or despise them because the same may
happen to you."159
If the use of language is analysed in terms of the words

and phrases used by different people about the visually
impaired, the depiction made hereunder will draw a precarious
scene about them.
To begin with English which claims itself to be one of

the progressive languages, one of its famous dictionary known
as Webster's New World Dictionary of the American
Language defines blind, in its edition of 1912, as "without
the power of sight; sightless; eyeless; lacking insight or
understanding: done without adequate directions or
knowledge; as, blind search. Reckless; unreasonable; not

controlled by intelligence; as, blind destiny; Insensible;
drunk; Illegible; indistinct. In architecture, false, walled
up, as, a blind window." How slowly these meanings
change can be understood by making a reference of the
fifty-year's later edition of the same dictionary which
defines blind as "blind. Sightless. Lacking discernment;
unable or unwilling to understand or judge; as, a blind
choice. Apart from intelligent direction or control; as, blind
chance. Insensible; as, a blind stupor; hence, drunk. For
sightless persons; as, a blind asylum. Unintelligible;
illegible; as, blind writing."160
Even if one has a casual look at the meaning given by

these two editions, one can easily understand how slowly
this so-called language is moving in terms of giving the
proper meaning to this word and that is too, in a country
which is known as the father of the Disability Right
Movement (DRM). Commenting upon the description made
in both the edition, it is said that "The primitive conditions
of Jungle and cave are gone, but the primitive attitudes
about blindness remain. The blind are thought to live in a
world of "darkness," and darkness is equated with evil,
stupidity, sin and inferiority."161
In Hindi and some other North Indian languages, the words like 'Netraheen' (eyeless),
'Pragya Chakshu' (eye of wisdom), 'Nhera' (darkness) etc. give negative meanings.
In Shona, the word for the visual impaired is 'bofii' which
means 'someone without freedom' and in Ndbele, it is
called 'isiphofu' which means 'helpless'. A typical style of
addressing the blind is found in Northern India where any
blind is called as 'soordas'. Its typicality becomes more
heinous when one finds the style in which he is being
called. Here, it is needless to say that Soordas was the
greatest poet of his time who was known for the illustrious
description of the childhood of Lord Krishna because of
which a controversy took place whether he was born blind
or became blind later on. Obviously, the word 'Soordas'
should denote a respectable word but generally the users are unaware of its belonging and
that is why they are using
this word in a derogatory sense.
Not only this, there are some proverbs in Hindi that

depict an appalling picture of the visually challenged
persons. A famous proverb in Hindi goes like 'andha bante revari, phir phir apanon ko
de'. It means that if a blind is distributing some sweets, he gives time and again to his
nears and dears. In turn, it means that the blind favours
his nears and dears and it implies that the blind is spreading
the nepotism. If one analyses the sphere where such practice
exists, one will rarely find a blind. There is another proverb
which says, 'Andha kya Jane basant bahar' the literal translation
of which is 'how a blind can know the weather of spring.'
It can be understood in two ways: one, that the spring
season carries the visual beauty only and the visually
challenged person due to his visual limitation cannot enjoy
the beauty of spring or two, the visually impaired has
nothing to do with the aesthetic sense. Another proverb
draws a more precarious picture about the visually impaired person. It is 'Andhe he aage
rona, apne naina khona' which literally means, 'weeping in front of blind amounts
to doing harm to your own eyes'. In turn it means as if a
visually challenged cannot understand the feelings of other.
Last but not the least, the proverbs like'annkha gayi tojahaan
gayaa' which means 'if eyes are lost, the world is lost' reduce
the whole world into an entity which can only be enjoyed
by seeing. Thus, the fact cannot be denied that such usages
played a negative role in the development of the image
about the visually impaired.
For last two decades, a struggle is made by the

disability related organizations at academic, philosophical,
legal and policy level about the use of the words for the
specially challenged in different languages so that its use
fliay become more neutral and more responsive to the
changing political and cultural world. But it is not an easy
âsk. As it is said that "Think of how profound it has been
in our world to say the word 'Black' in a new way. In order

to say 'Black' in a new way, we have to fight off everything
else that Black has meant.... The entire metaphorical structure
of Christian thought, for example." m
Some gradual differences are witnessed due to this

endeavour in terms of the change of verbal expression like
the use of 'person with disability', 'person with handicap',
'person with physical challenge' so on and so forth.163 But
the alternative words suggested by the DRM are not yet
become the part of the dictionary and if those words are
told to the students and if by chance, the try to find in the
dictionary, they will find nothing about it and may ask the
obvious question about its credibility. One can give them
the answer that "we will not accept the oppressors just
because some book perpetuates stereotypes and myths we
are fighting to breakdown. The DRM has targeted language
as an important issue for just this reason."164 The similar
change is witnessed in China where the word 'canfei' was
used for the disability and now it has been replaced by
'canji' which means 'disabled". This change has taken place
after the foundation of the China Disabled Persons
Federation. Commenting upon this change, it is further
stated that "The experience is similar in Asia, Africa, and
Latin America since disability-related organizations have come
under the con-trol of people with disabilities. Ultimately, the
language used to describe people with disabilities will change
because it is now being actively contested by those it
describes.165
It is not only the language which has left its imprints

on the attitude of the society, the culture has also played a
negative role in this direction. The importance of the explicit
look of the body and the related question of the beauty
poses a question pertaining to the attitude towards the
physical challenge. As it is put, "Our traditional account of
disability casts it as a problem located in bodies rather than a
problem located in the interaction between bodies and the
environment in which they are situated."166
The outlook of the beauty varies from country to

country. One can take the example of a scar on the face. In
America/ it is considered as a deformation but for the
Dahomey of Africa, it is considered as a sign of honour. In
most of the cultures, fat is considered unattractive but in
Polynesia, it is treated as beautiful. If a scar or fatness can
become a point of deformity, one can think how one feels
if an organ is missing or defected. As deformity is also
equated with the lack of potence, the potence of the
disabled is also challenged because of this.
This outlook affects the attitude towards the female

disabled or physically challenged in graver manner.
Rosangela Berman Bieler rightly puts it, "In spite of the similar
discrimination disabled men and women face, there is a
point where they differ: in sexuality and affection. Latin
countries like Brazil have machoist aesthetic values that
make a woman with a perfect body the 'ideal' type. This
notion, which is exhaustively exploited by the media,
generates an enormous gap between women and men,
disabled or not."167
The negative attitude towards them starts from the

fact that they are not being allowed to use full mirror under
the plea that it is not desirable to see the deformed organ
of the body. Not only this, they are not being treated to be
fit for marriage and since their childhood, they are being
instructed to help their brothers or other family members.
In a way, their natural instinct of sex is being crushed in
the name of their physical challenge. Their everyday body
issues like their appearance, expressions and body language are neglected.
This disability and the consequent attitude of the
deformity and ugliness lead to the thinking that they are
asexual. Even their paternality comes in the scope of doubt.
'* can be understood by a life experience made by Maria
aula Teperino, "When I was married many people asked

Ur maid if she could hear whether we had sex. Everyone on the street would ask me. For
example, if we could have a
baby. That was the first question many people thought

about."168 ' |
There is well spread doubt about getting a child with

physical impairment from the parent with physical challenge, I
A vivid remark was made by Cornelio Nunez Ordaz thus,"]
“I got married in 1978 when I was twenty-five. I met my wife ¦
on the way to the Rehab Centre. First we were friends and ' then we got married. It was
very difficult for her to be with
me because her friends thought she shouldn't date a disabled
man, they assumed we wouldn't or couldn't have sex, I'm
not sure. During my wife's first pregnancy a lot of family and
friends told us they were afraid that the child would be born
with a disability."169 <¦
There are typical understandings about the sex and

beauty. It can be understood from the remark made by Maria
Paula Tepertno which says, "There is a cult of the body in
Brazil. We call it culto ao corpo. You really need beautiful
legs and bottoms in our culture. Machismo is very strong,
and it affects the way many men think of women. Because of
its prevalence, machismo leads many men to believe that a |
disabled woman can't satisfy him many even believe that
disabled women cannot have children. Sons are considered
"necessary by Brazilians.... Even though my mother always
encouraged me to dress well and look pretty [as I grew up],
1 believe she never thought I would get married, It's strange
because I know she believed I would lead an intellectual and
independent life, but the issue of dating and sexuality never
was discussed. This was a double message and confusing
but looking back on it, I shouldn't be surprised. The myth51
and stereotypes about disability and sexuality based in otf
macho culture taught her these ideas." m
The similar backward attitude towards the physical1!

challenged women can be seen in Zimbabwe, a depiction ° which is made by Lizzie
Mamvur, "In Zimbabwe, the attituo"
toward disabled women are very backward For example ¦
my village, but also in Bulawayo, I was told many times f1 no man would want me as a
woman because I had a disab"1
A
In fact, there was a strange man who always said 1 was his
wife and this was very annoying. Finally, after a lot of effort,
I built up my nerve and told him to stop this practice. He said
no one would want me so he was doing me a favour. 1 stood up to him, and from then on
I felt a lot stronger. I felt the
power of talking for myself. The women's project I coordinate
has this issue as a major goal. That is, to hold meetings and
workshops that trains leaders and others to be assertive. To
speak up, to articulate our rights --the right to work, to get
married, have kids. Unfortunately, we are a small minority.
The biggest problem is that it's very difficult for disabled
women to get married and to find a job. Even if a man were
interested in marriage, his parents wouldn't allow it. They
believe that having their son marry a disabled woman would
bring misfortune or bad luck to the family. Also, there is
widespread unemployment and Zimbabwean culture expects
women to stay in their Village. It is doubly bad for a disabled
woman because she is shut off by people in the village and
even her family."171
The Western cultures are no exception to it. Commenting

upon the conditions of the physically challenged daughters,
it is said that "There is a myth in our society that disabled
people are asexual. ... Because so much of female sexuality
has focused on physical appearance, disabled women are
particularly likely to be misperceived as asexual."172
The presumption that specially challenged people is
asexual means that they are not socially and emotionally
Prepared to experience their own sexuality. Analysing this,
R°usso points out that "Parental difficulty in recognizing and
affirming the social and sexual potential of disabled daughters
can be understood in terms of the individual dynamics of the

Parents and family, and in terms of broader societal values.
Or mothers in particular, affirmation of sexual potential and
. °'"nanhood may require the mother's ability to see herself

"er daughter and to be able to identify with her. As a
,, about of their own dynamics and history, for some mothers
the daughter's disability may loom too large and make the
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fTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT I
daughter seem too disparate; the mother may then have difficulty identifying and seek to
keep her distance. For
example, the disability may remind the mother of her own
feelings of imperfection, and she ma}7 be reluctant to
acknowledge that part of herself. Or, having a disabled child
may seem like punishment for wrongdoing, a source of guOt
safer dealt with from afar. Fathers also play an important
role in the confirmation of a female child's heterosexuality.
For fathers to affirm their daughter's heterosexuality, they
must be able to see in their daughters the potential to become
the kind of woman they could choose as a mate. Again, as a
result of feelings of inadequacy, guilt, or other dynamics, the
father may have difficulty seeing his daughter in this light."173
Apart from the print media, the visual media is also

playing a negative role in developing the image of the
physically challenged. Leave aside some exceptional films,
most of the Indian movies used to depict the physically
challenged either as a beggar or a person miraculously
awarded power by the Unseen. A film centring on a mentally
retarded child revealed that he got some miraculous power
from some heavenly creature and suddenly he becomes as
powerful as to learn everything in no time or he can defeat
anybody in any game. Very recently, a film was produced to
depict the problem of the deaf and is widely appreciated. Of
course, the efforts like Black or Sparsha are some of the
exceptional attempt by the Indian films. But in most of the
cases, one has to accept the view of Longnore, one of the best
North American writers on disability imaging, that "The most
prevalent image in films and especially in television during |
tlie past several decades has been the maladjusted disabled
person. These stories involve characters with physical of
sensory, rather than mental handicaps. The plots follow a
consistent pattern: The disabled central characters are bitter
and self-pitying because, however long they are disabled
they have never adjusted to their handicaps, and never
accepted themselves as they are."174 Similar comment is made g
by Maria Paula Teperino that "Our culture is shaped so much
in Brazil by the media. The media forces the picture tha*
disabled people is not able to do certain things like have sex

and be happy. An example was the polio and virus vaccination
campaigns in the past. Brazil eliminated these about ten to
I twelve years ago. But in the television propaganda that was
used to encourage people to get the vaccine, the message
always was, until about four years ago, you had better get
these shots or you will get the disease, become disabled, and
your life will be ruined because you will be sick for the rest
of it... Many of the angry characters in our soap operas use
wheelchairs. When they stop being meant, they're cured of
their disability. Disability, then, is in your head. A lot of the
disabled on the TV soaps turn out not to have a disability, it
was only in their heads. So when they are feeling better and
are happy, then they become cured of their disability."175
Religion is a part of culture. Hence, it plays a major role

in building the attitude of an average person. Chronologically
speaking, Hinduism is one of the oldest religions. Its all claims
that there is a difference between religion and Dharma and
that Dharma means the characteristic, the fact remains that it
has created such a fabric of the philosophy in which either
one can think in terms of self-emancipation by so-called
activities of the Yoga or one can enjoy the result of the deeds/
misdeeds of his past life by way of happy or sorrowful life.
As is happening in most of the cases, in the absence of any
proper causes of certain effects, most of the people create one
or the other supernatural entity, so was the case with the
Hinduism. It started treating all the natural entities as the
gods and was trying to find the remedy of their problems
from them. In the case of no remedy, there was a need of
another philosophy. It is understood that it was this which
would have led to the philosophy of Karma (literally means
as action). But, in fact, Karma means more than that. Through
¦ this theory, on the one hand, an attempt was made to develop : an endless cause and
effect chain and on the other hand, an
attempt was made to convince the common mass to do rightful
things by showing the terror of its consequence in the next
We. Like other religions, there are many questions pertaining to Hinduism answers of
which cannot be found and that is
why the preachers talk about the faith. But those creators of
the religion were unaware of its impact on physically
challenged people in terms of their way of thinking as well as
in terms of how others think about them.
Apart from the theory relating to the reincarnation of

the mankind, there are some understandings that a disability
is coming from the spirit of the ancestors or God's spirit or
witches. It is felt that it is because of some sin or lack of the
ancestral homage. Commenting upon this belief, Alexander
Phiri remarked that "In our culture, disability is looked at as
shameful not just for the disabled person but for the family.
This is connected to witchcraft, to some notions that somehow
the ancestors are upset because the family is not acting in the
traditional way or honouring them enough. The traditional
religious churches do not even attempt to change these ideas
because they are afraid of losing members."176
As the persons with physically challenge belong, in most

of the cases, to the villages, the representatives of the God
play a vital role by way of suggesting one or the other remedy
for the cure of the disability. These remedies may range from
witchcraft, to observing fast or praying a particular god. If
the person is not cured, it is treated as the curse of the ancestor
or his Karma or his luck or the order of the god. Whatever
the case maybe, in all probabilities, as the religion is supposed
to maintain the status quo and, thereby against the change,
its negative role also affects the attitude of the disabled as
such and, in most of the cases, generally the attitude of the
specially challenged is also status quo oriented. Their sense
of satisfaction proves to be a hindrance in their progress.
In sum, it can be said that it is a strong belief that "the

question of what caused a disability is of primary importance -- not the medical cause,
but the spiritual cause. All disabilities
are believed to be caused by some failure on the part of
someone to follow a tradition, fulfil a responsibility, and
appease an ancestor."177
Most of the religions preach passivity as they deny the

role of human being in the name of the destiny. The concept
like 'unfolded future' can make think that when everything

is decided by the destiny, why he/she should make some
contribution. Examples of such passive creatures are seen in
both Afro-Asian countries. Over-emphasis on spiritualism has
also to do something with the passivity.
Over the issue of an interesting socialization formula is

given thus: "disability = sickness/deformation; sickness =
helpless and deformation = abomination; helpless = protection
and abomination asexuality; asexuality = childlike; childlike
= helpless/protection; helpless/protection = pity; pity =
disability. The message can be simplified: disability = invalid;
invalid = inferior; inferior = disability. The logic is circular,
but it works."178
' The sum total of the impact of the language and culture
leads to the development of not only some negative attitude
but also the extremist attitude. The visually challenged is
either understood as over intelligent under the argument that
if God takes one thing, it gives another or under the concept
like 'sixth sense' or treated as stupid, a cut adrift creature of
the society or insensible. Such attitudes are summed up by
Kenneth Jernigan as "Nevertheless, it is widely felt that loss
of sight involves a total personality transformation which
leaves its victims mentally incompetent, psychologically
abnormal, socially inept, and physically helpless. That is one
side of the stereotype: a thoroughly pessimistic and defeatist
picture of the physical effects of loss of sight. On the other
side, no less significant and no less wrong is an attitude of
casual optimism if not unconcern toward the social limitations
imposed by the sighted community upon the blind. These
social limitations include discrimination in employment;
segregation in and from ordinary social relations; exclusion
from living accommodations, public and private; rejection
from many of the normal activities of the community; and
relations with government in which they are viewed as wards
rather than citizens, or as patients rather than clients. They
have not yet been fully emancipated and are very far from
being accepted on a basis of social equality and individual
capacity. Their inferior and deprived status is thought to be

their normal, natural, and inevitable lot."179
The relationship of attitude and the physically

challenged in general and the visually challenged in particular
can be summed up by saying that the things remain as it is
but it is its relativity or the human thinking which is the by
product of the language and culture which shapes or reshapes
in the desirable or undesirable way. Marx has aptly stated,
"A Negro is a Negro. Only in certain conditions does he
become a slave. A cotton-spinning machine is a machine for
spinning cotton. Only under certain conditions does it become
capital. Torn away from these conditions, it is as little capital
as gold by itself is money, or sugar is the price of sugar."180 So
is true with the physically challenged in general and the
visually impaired in particular. Hence, it is said that "No one
is likely to disagree with me if I say that blindness, first of
all, is a characteristic. But a great many people will disagree
when I go on to say that blindness is only a characteristic.
It is nothing more or less than that. It is nothing more
special, or more peculiar, or more terrible than that suggests.
When we understand the nature of blindness as a
characteristic-a normal characteristic like hundreds of others
with which each of us must live-we shall better understand
the real need to be met by services to the blind, as well as
the false needs which should not be met. By definition a
characteristic-any characteristic-is a limitation. A white house,
for example, is a limited house; it cannot be green or blue or
red; it is limited to being white. Likewise every characteristic-those
we regard as strengths as well as those we regard as
weaknesses-is a limitation. Each one freezes us to some extent
into a mould; each restricts to some degree the range of
possibility, of flexibility, and very often of opportunity as
well.181
2.6 Awakening and Self-Dependence of the Visually

Impaired and its Impact on the Policies
For more than four decades, a change has been witnessed

in the field of the visually impaired in the United States of
America when, through the National Federation of the Blind

(America), the visually challenged persons started putting
their demands to the government. This movement was, in its
history, was known as the self-help movement. Of course,
this was an ideological stand by an organisation against the
agency outlook of the voluntary organisations for them. It
was not a casual approach for a particular point of time or for
a demand specific. Irrespective of the broader movement in
the name of Disability Rights Movement, it is still felt that
the visually impaired should have their own voice. However,
a trend has been witnessed for around three decades to have
an integrated approach in terms of including all the disabilities
for putting forth their demands as it is learnt from the time
tested fact that "... when others speak for you, you lose."182 This idea is generated from
the common say that wearer
knows where the shoe pinches are. That is why, the emphasis
is laid on the use of the organisations which are led by the
physically challenged themselves. Though derived from the
liberal philosophy of Lasses Faire, its tone was no less than
an interest group which is supposed to be explicit and assertive
to put forth his interest in the exclusive manner rather than
depending upon others. It is quite understandable that it was
learnt from the experience that there is no political party or
any agency which can speak on behalf of the physically
challenged. Hence, it is pertinent for them to come forward
and put their demands in the emphatic manner.
This awakening made them to speak about their

oppression-a gamut of oppression which is not just due to
their physical impairment but also due to the outlook of the
society and the consequent limitations posed by it. This
awakening made them pohcical activist and humanist to
change its outlook of treating itself as a mere medical entity. They have started realising
that there is a need to give a
humanitarian mould to their demands and make a claim that
like others, they should also be treated as human beings.
It is a raised consciousness which is described by Sandra

Bartky, Thus:
"This experience, the acquiring of a "raised"

consciousness, in spite of its disturbing aspects, is an
immeasurable advance over that false consciousness which it
replaces. The scales fall from our eyes. We are no longer
required to struggle against unreal enemies, to put others'
interests ahead of our own, or to hate ourselves. We begin to
understand why we have such depreciated images of
ourselves and why so many of us are lacking any genuine
conviction of personal worth. Understanding, even beginning
to understand this, makes it possible to change. Coming to
see things differently, we are able to make out possibilities
for liberating collective action and for unprecedented personal
growth, possibilities which a deceptive sexist social reality
had heretofore concealed. No longer do we have to practice
upon ourselves that mutilation of intellect and personality
required of individuals who, caught up in an irrational and
destructive system, are nevertheless not allowed to regard it
as anything but sane, progressive, and normal. Moreover,
that feeling of alienation from established society which is so
prominent a feature of feminist experience may be
counterbalanced by a new identification with women of all
conditions and a growing sense of solidarity with other
feminist consciousness, in spite of its ambiguities, confusions,
and trials, is apprehended by those in whom it develops as
an experience of liberation."183
A raised or empowered consciousness can only bring

changes. Changes cannot be brought just per chance or by
waiting for the appropriate time. Has it been the case, there
would be no necessity for the organizations and the
organizers. This can be more revealing if experiences of some
of the personalities relating to this awakening are reproduced.
"I called the independent living centre in Chicago and

they put me in touch with a number of disabled suburban
women who were organizing a meeting around
transportation. The first meeting 1 went to I was totally
intimidated. I kept thinking throughout the meeting that I
am not like these people and they are not like me. I'm a
businesswoman. But there quickly began an amazing shift in

n\v consciousness. We decided to start going to the public
transit board meetings and organizing protests. Once we
started meeting with the professionals at that agency, I felt
in my element, except immediately 1 was categorized as "you
people." What do "you people" want? We were asked. So
that radicalised me. That was, you might say, the greening of
Judy Panko Reis. My businesswoman view was collapsing. 1
started realizing the people I was with were more like me
than anybody else... Unless I had become pissed off at my
condition and gotten into transportation advocacy when 1
had, 1 may have never recognized my own self."184
Another fellow expressed thus, "In 1981, I was invited

to go to Singapore to the Disabled Peoples' international
conference, representing the Philippine National Commission
of the Disabled. That one event changed my life. I went there
to have some fun and get a free trip but as soon as I got there
I became involved in all these controversies about how
disabled people could take control of their lives. I remember
seeing Ed Roberts and thinking that if a man with the disability
he had could do so much, I could do something, too. This
was the first time I had met activists from anywhere outside
the Philippines. When I returned, I was committed to
''185
The idea behind this change in the consciousness was to

empower others in education, to fight for their rights and
facilities, adopting various tactics to achieve the goal of finding
economic dependence for oneself and for the segment of the
society. This empowered consciousness is the result of the
experiences of the individuals which they were having in their
families, groups or institutions in terms of oppression
(psychological or biological) and the resentment against it
develops their feeling in terms of spreading this consciousness
to others. This culture is being spread in the society which is
described as "Disability culture which Says, what? Aren't
disabled people just isolated victims of nature or circumstance?
Yes and no. True, we are far too often isolated --locked away
in the pits, closets, and institutions of enlightened societies

everywhere. But there is a growing consciousness among us...
Because there is always an underground. Notes get passed
among survivors. And the notes we are passing these days
say, "There's power in difference. Power. Pass the word."
Culture. It's about passing the word. And disability culture
is passing the word that there's a new definition of disability
and it includes power."186 Such similar development can be
perceived in the development of the culture in the labour
class. It developed in the coffee houses, bookshops and
churches. It went to the extent of reading aloud the
newspapers to those who were illiterate. This development
is summed up by Thompson, "Thus working people formed
a picture of the organization of society, out of their own
experience and with the help of their hard won and erratic
education, which was above all a political picture. They
learned to see their lives as part of a general history of
conflict."187
This consciousness developed a coherent culture in the

disability. But this was not a development in the sense of
other groups who were having their own history. It is said
that"... I believe disability is a marginalized status that society
assigns to people who are different enough from majority
cultural standards to be judged abnormal or defective in mind
or body ... But in the ideal world, my differences, though
noted, would not be devalued. Nor would I. Society would
accept my experience as "disability culture," which would, in
turn, be accepted as part of "human diversity." There would
be respectful curiosity about what [have learned from my
differences that I could teach society. In such a world, no one
would mind being called Disabled."188
Though inspired from the European countries and the

U.S.A., the experience of the DRM in the Afro-Asian countries
is different as it is not being drawn from the group which is
affluent or from those parents of the disabled who have some
political or social influence. The movement in Africa and Asia
is mainly joined by those activists who are not even politically
conscious or awakened. Their consciousness is the

consciousness of the problems of the society. The issue of the
awakening in the disabilities is also linked up, as was stated,
with the issue of the human rights. This linking has a
meaningful potential " because it raises three crucial and
interrelated issues: (1) democracy --are people included in
decision making? (2) Equality --is the distribution of wealth
fair? And (3) sovereignty -- is the international distribution
of power uneven? Local and national elites do not want to
consider the issue of democracy. They want to control who is
included in all decision making. Transnational firms do not
want to address the issue of equality. They are making superprofits
and do not want anybody raising questions about the
increasing poverty and pauperization of the world's people.
U.S. political elites who control the world's dominant military
power do not want to address the issue of sovereignty. They
want everybody to believe that the "age of imperialism"
vanished with Vietnam. Each of these issues raises questions
about the systemic, relation of power to oppression. Each
heralds the need for resistance to the status quo. But the
influence of liberal orthodoxy on the DRM and its ideological
embrace of that status quo (the capitalist world order) is a
real harness on its ability to take up human rights as a primary
demand. It would call into question activists' own privileges,
patriotism, and prejudices."189
The issue of the human rights is also concerned with the

independence and integration and since 1983 the DRM is
propagating these issues. The issue of independence is related
with the empowerment and the issue of integration is related
with the civil rights. The influence of the civil rights has been
seen on the DRM for the last three decades.190
Another wave in this movement is seen in terms of

supporting power and feeling that it will automatically bring
the integration. It is not even supporting independence as it
is but it supports the idea of interdependence. As Gill states
that "The struggle shouldn't be for integration, but for power.
Once we have power, we can integrate whenever we want."
Crescendo, another supporter of this wave quotes: "We're

looking for interdependence, not independence. We're
looking for power, not integration. If we have power, we can
integrate with who we want."191
There is another understanding that much has been

achieved through the DRM and there are some differences
based on the disabilities. Commenting over this
understanding, Young says, "Today in our society a few
vestiges of prejudice and discrimination remain, but we are
working on them, and have nearly realized the dream those 1
Enlightenment fathers dared to propound."192
Self-help and self-determination are the ideas which are

supposed to be cornerstones of the DRM. It is these ideas
which shows the uniqueness of the idea of the DRM and
separates it from the other new ideas. These two ideas are
not only categorical but also non-ambiguous. Self-help is
purely referred to do away with the charity and it exclusive
be a means to achieve the self-determination process. Self-determination
opposes the paternal approach of deciding the
way of development as per their whims and fancies. Both
these terms have been interpreted in the easiest possible ways,
as "Self-help and self-determination, in contrast, are simple
and clear-cut they require people with disabilities to control
all aspects of their collective experience. They simply mean:
we are able to take responsibility for our own lives, and we
do not need or want you to manage our affairs; we best
understand what is best for us; we demand control of our
own organizations and programs and influence over the
government funding, public policy, and economic enterprises
that directly affect us. The demand for self-determination
provocatively and intuitively attacks the ideology of
paternalism; the existing political elite and power structure;
social institutions like family, school, the medical
establishment, social agencies, and charities; and the political,
economic, and social dependency people have been forced
into."193
After having a look at this theoretical aspect of the DRM,

it is pertinent to have a look at the history of this movement.

The history of the DRM goes back to the period of 1970s.
Perhaps, it is because of the fact that it was first time in the
history when thinking was developed to take cognisance of
the problems of the disability at the generalistic level. Of
course, it has, despite the broader spectrum, its own
limitations which will be discussed at the later stage.
In the history of the DRM, it is said, that the two years,

i.e., 1973 and 1981 proved to be the milestones. It was during
the early seventies that people with disabilities in the United
States and Europe, influenced by and directly involved in
antiwar, student, and civil rights movements, began to
organize on disability-related issues. Many activists, especially
in Europe, Africa, and Latin America, were also influenced
by leftist politics. Throughout southern Africa, where the DRM
began on that continent, the influence of national liberation
movements was important. Many of these people began to
make political connections between their own lives and other
social conditions and events. Commenting over such
development, Rachel Hurst said, "Vic Finklestein is a really
interesting man from South Africa who had joined the
Communist party there. After he sustained a spinal cord injury,
and after he had been in prison for some time, he escaped
and moved to England. He was one of the founders of the
Union of Physically Impaired Against Segregation in 1975.
He was one of the first people to understand our segregation
because he had seen segregation so starkly in South Africa.
We owe him a great debt."194 Influenced by the social
movements of his time, similar comments were made by Ed
Robert, "So much of the good that has happened to me and
the good I've done have to do with being in Berkeley in the
sixties. There was such energy, so much optimism. We were
the generation that could and would change the world. There
were all sorts of alternative living experiments and new ideas.
Like everybody else, I just got caught u p in them. Fortunately,
there were other people with disabilities who were also
affected. We were together at the right time at the right place."115
As 1981 was declared as the International Year for the

Disabled Persons (IYDP), variety of activities was seen around
this year. Sharing his experience, Narong Patibatsarakich said,
"In 1981, the International Year of Disabled Persons, Thailand
had its first workshops about disability that people with
disabilities actually participated in. At the end of that year, 1
was selected to go to Singapore for the Disabled Peoples'
International Congress. Before this meeting, I had no ideas
about philosophy, politics, and so on...-When
I heard Ed
Roberts speak, he had a big impact on my ideas. When I came
back to Thailand I was committed to starting DPI-Thailand.
First, we meet with alumni of the deaf schools to get them
organized. Next, we met with the Parents Association of the
Mentally Retarded. Then I started the Association of the ¦
Physically Handicapped. One year later, we met and formed
DPI-Thailand. We had our first Congress in Chiang Mai in
1983."196
It looked that the proposal of the celebration of the IYDP

yielded some positive results and it is found that the
organisations relating to the disability became active. The
events in Brazil around this year were summarised by Eugene
Williams thus, "As a consequence, in 1980 Brazil hosted the
first National Meeting of Entities of the Disabled with nearly
one thousand participants representing the blind, deaf;
[physically] disabled and Hansen diseased. Guidelines for
action were established and also the foundation of a national
coalition in an attempt to encompass the areas of disability.
Moreover, a new policy was defined for the following year,
the IYDP. The policy consisted of representation by disabled
people and not by the 'specialists"197
It was not the case that everything which was taking

place, was positive for all the organisations as it was this
declaration which had suddenly charged the physically
challenged in terms of realising their identity. Consequently,
in June, 1980, a split took place in the Rehabilitation
International over the issue of the composition of the delegate
assembly by the 50% of the disability members. The Resolution
ved of this effect was defeated by 61 votes against 37 votes.
was a P°int °f annoyance for the disabled who were
specially called for this occasion. It resulted in the formation
f Disabled peoples' international having international
headquarters in Winnipeg, Canada. In fact the creation of the
pisabled Peoples International was a reaction against the
Rehabilitation International which was mainly comprised of
the professionals of the field of disabilities. Expressing his
experiences, Joshua Malinga said, "When I went to Singapore
I was conservative, but when I returned I was very radical."198
Similar Comment was made by Danilo Delfin: "The

Singapore conference had a big impact on me. I realized I
wasn't so disabled, that it>was possible to have a family and
work. Alter that conference I started working on disability
issues full time."199
How far such a movement can reach within a span of

more than one and a half decade can be understood by the
fact that "self-help
groups have formed in leprosy communities
in southern Africa, in refugee camps in Kampuchea and
Mexico, and on remote islands in the Philippines, Palau, and
Fiji. A village in the mountains of Mexico is controlled by
people disabled from drug-related violence, and has attracted
hundreds of people with disabilities from throughout the
country. Economic development projects like supermarkets
and agricultural collectives have been set up in Africa by these
organizations. The first centres for independent living have
appeared in a number of cities in South America. Most of
these groups are relatively new, small, and fragile; Their roots
are in the 1980s. Most exist without funding or developed
programs. Others, like the National Council of Disabled Persons Zimbabwe and Disabled
People South Africa, are
quite sophisticated organizationally and politically."200
Most of the organizations of the DRM were founded
between 1979 and 1986. The National Council of Disabled
Persons Zimbabwe, initially registered as a welfare Organization, became a national
disability rights group in 1981;
the Organization of the Revolutionary Disabled was set up in
the wake of the Sandinista victory in 1979; the Self-He^

Association of Paraplegics (Soweto) (SHAP) was started ^
1981 as an economic development project; the Program Of ¦
Rehabilitation Organized by Disabled Youth of Western
Mexico (PROJIMO) also began in 1981 as a rural community.
based rehabilitation program; Disabled Peoples International-Thailand
was established in 1983; the Southern AfriCa Federation of the Disabled was formed in
1986 as a federation
of non-governmental organizations of disabled persons; and
so on. It was during this time that most Centre of Independent
Liviing as well as many other disability rights groups,
including ADAPT, were established in the United States.
This declaration also paved the way for enhancement of |

paraphernalia of some of the organisations. Initially, in Brazil, ¦
the organizations were found for the athletic and social clubs
but later on by 1980s, these organizations crossed the
boundary of the country. 1984 was the crucial year for
structuring the organizations. There are national coalitions in
South Africa, Zimbabwe, India, Thailand, and numerous other
countries. But the experiences of the Philippine were not as
desired by the organisers
Despite the fact that the common denominator of all

these organizations, with some exceptions, was self-determination
and human right, it is not the case that all the
organisations adopted one type of programmes to exhibit their
concerns. Different organisations had different approaches
on the basis of their priorities. However, these priorities can
broadly be categorised as under:
1. Local Self-help Groups,

2. Local Advocacy and Programme Centres,
3. Local Single Issue Advocacy Groups,
4. Public Policy Groups,
5. Single Issue National Advocacy Groups,
6. National Membership Organisations,
7. National Coalitions/Federations of Groups,
8. National Single Disability Organisations,
9. Regional Organisations and
10. International Organisations.201
As the Disabled Peoples International is one of the

wcraest organisations representing the DRM, it is pertinent
here to give its brief description. If is an organisation which was founded in Singapore in
1981. Its programme emphasizes
on leadership development, Community organizing and self-help.
It was involved in UN World's Programme of Action
concerning disabled persons in 1982. At present, it has more
than 70 countries as its chapters. Its membership is consisted
I of national assemblies for which it is necessary that the

organization concern should be controlled by the disabled.
This organisation is divided into 5 regions. These are: Asia/
Pacific, Africa, Europe, Latin America and North America/
Caribbean.
Of course, the emergence of such a movement rise not

only the expectations in the minds of the stakeholders but
also poses the question concerning to the end of the
oppression. This situation is depicted in a picturesque manner
with thus:
"What makes the DRM subversive is paradoxically the

extraordinary worldwide oppression of people with
disabilities. The oppression is systematic. The principles,
demands, and goals of the DRM cannot be accommodated by
r the present world system. These aspirations, when fully
considered, lay bare the concealed horror of that world system arid dominant culture.
Although the DRM cannot subvert that-domination
in its totality, it can and does chip away at it, in
fte immediate institutions of everyday life. Time will tell if
'he powerful principles and convictions of the DRM will help to produce a long-term
transformation of that domination."202
There is a dialectical relationship between the oppression a^d the empowerment. Hence,
it is not an easy way to Comment upon or thinking in terms of the vanishing of the
oppression because its causes are multifarious. Even if one is
self-sufficient, one is supposed to move in the variety of people and those people,
knowingly or unknowingly, suppress yOl) by their gesture or otherwise. Basically/ this is
a subject matter
of human nature coming from the ages and cannot be resolved
in one shot. Moreover, the extent of suppression also varies
from disability to disability due to the over-emphasis on the
importance of one or the other organ. At the same time, some
disabilities are non-revealing. Such disabilities which cannot
be seen with the naked eye are falling in such categories. As
the person concerned is unaware of the disability, his reaction
can also be unpresumable.
Commenting upon this situation, it is said that "in most

of the researches, the notion of the difference between the
disabilities is missing. This is the case in Erving Goffinan's
influential book Stigma. Goffman not only de-politicised the
oppression of people with disabilities, he treated disability
as uniform. Goffman's deviance theory failed to comprehend
the divergent forms and experiences of oppression because it
did not recognize differences among people with disabilities-One
only has to ask simple questions to raise serious doubts
about its explanatory power. For example, what about those
with hidden disabilities (is cancer "stigmatised" only if people
gossip?), or the "stigma" status of a destitute, black, gay mar
with AIDS? Does deviance theory help us to understand why
a non-verbal Mexican immigrant with cerebral palsy dies
mysteriously in a Chicago hospital after an alleged
experimental treatment? Why do Maoris with renal failure
find no access to dialysis? What about the class, race, oi
gender differences within disability? Does anyone imagine
that a black sixteen-year-old boy with a spinal cord injurj
received from a gunshot, who lives in a housing project ir
Brooklyn, experiences the same stigma or stereotyp pounds "problems" of a sixteen-year
old spinal cord-injured wbij pounds girl who was hurt in a diving accident and lives on
Martha
Vineyard?"203 |
In sum, it can be said that all the organisations join111'

the DRM have a common agenda of self-help and sell'
determination and these are the organisations which are

generally being managed by the persons with physical
challenge themselves. In their individual capacity and in the
capacity of a group as such, all these organisations are facing,
by and large, the social oppression and pooling their resources
to develop the zeal of empowerment to develop a feeling of
self-sufficiency. Hence, it is not wrong to say that this
movement is bound up in the dialectics of oppression and
enforcement. Through their own experiences of the
oppression and the experiences of the other oppressed groups,
these organisations have paved the way of tearing the ideology
of paternalism and charity.
Of course, this disability movement has its impact on

both the countries in question. Though two different events
may become a source of inspiration in terms of making a joint
venture for realising the cherished desire of the well being of
the physically challenged by the organisations of and for them.
In South Africa, the declaration that "The state may not
unfairly discriminate directly or indirectly against anyone on
one or more grounds, including race, gender, sex, pregnancy,
marital status, ethnic or social origin, colour, sexual
orientation, age, disability, religion, conscience, belief,
culture, language and birth"204 In India the enactment
of the Persons With Disabilities (Equal Opportunities,
Protection of Rights and Full Participation) ACT, 1995 opened
a venue for forcing the government to take up positive actions
in favour of the specially challenged. The Constitution of the
Republic of South Africa came into force in February, 1997
whereas the Persons with Disability Act came into its actual
force in the month of February, 1996. For a country like South
Africa, this constitution itself was an epoch-making document
and the mention of Disability in the 'nondiscriminatory'
clause seems to be a big achievement. But if the time frame of
both the constitutions are analysed, the Constitution of
India which was developed in 1950, did not have the
advantage of some set examples in terms of giving some space
to the disabilities under the fundamental rights as
any document which is developed in any particular span of
time is supposed to be made by taking into consideration of

the best available trends of its time. However, the
Constitution-makers gave some space to the disabilities in
Article 43.
This is true that both the countries had different types

of problems while developing their constitution details of
which will be discussed at the later stage, but the fact remains
that so far as the disability is concerned, a path-breaking step
was taken by both the countries in the second half of the
tenth decade of the 20th century. But the difference lies in this
fact that in the Republic of South Africa, it was an initiative of
the Government itself whereas in the case of India, it was the
result of untiring pressure of the voluntary organizations of
and for the disabled. This difference itself reveals this fact
that the amount of concern of the implementation of the policies
differs in both the countries and this difference has its own
impact on the development of the Disability Rights Movement
in the country concern.
It is pertinent here to describe about the Disability Rights

Movement in South Africa by Quoting Joshua Malinga, "I
believe in South Africa they have as strong a movement as
we have in Zimbabwe. Probably because of the struggle
against apartheid the disabled community is more politicized,
so it has progressed well."205
Logically, this expression should be acceptable. But there

is a difference between fighting against a so-called alien
group206 and fighting against the government which is, in its
document, promising no discrimination for the disabled are
two different things. Hence, after the beginning of the non-apartheid
rule, there is no substantial pressure from the
voluntary organizations of and for the disabled. Moreover,
South Africa had an advantage of making claim in terms of
favouring disability by showing their representation in their
Parliament in whatsoever number. More so, if one takes the
example of one of its peak organization of the specially
challenged, the South African National Council of the Blind,
the majority of its high post holders is visually impaired.
,jovvever, by this, it is not suggested that nothing has

happened in South Africa.
To awaken the people at large, there is an organization

with the name of People with Awareness on Disability Issues
(PADI). This is one of such organizations which can be
categorised under an anomic group. Stating over the
development of some such organizations, Fadila Lagadien, a
founder of PADI, says
"I met Kathy Jagoe who was a high-level quad who had
moved to Cape Town and had lectured about disabilities in
different parts of the world. Kathy suggested that I start a
disability awareness group and, with her help, we started
People with Awareness on Disability Issues. This experiential
workshop lasted for a couple of years, and many issues came
up, like transportation and accessibility, but mostly we talked
about disability awareness. We started to use computers to
communicate our issues. Then we decided to start a newsletter
because attitudes about disability are so bad. I got a volunteer
who was from Texas whose husband was working in Cape
Town to help with computerizing the newsletter. ... So after
a lot of work, we now produce a 24-page newsletter that we
mail to three thousand people throughout South Africa. We
have been invited to places like Zimbabwe and Canada to
talk about our experiences.
We have the idea to set up an independent living centre

now. PADI is a small organization that is an affiliate of
DPSA."207
Over the issue of the data shown by the Census of South

Africa in their census 2001, different organisations raised their
objection but that is nothing but they remained confined to
the correspondence with the government.
Despite this fact that South Africa is one of the countries where the slogan of 'nothing
about us without us' is being
echoed by some of its leaders, yet they are reluctant enough to persuade its government to
absorb or to give due
presentation to the disability in different types of jobs.
Unfortunately, the mouthpiece of most of the disabilities is coming fro^f, the

economically sound families and, more or
less, with an ideology of openness or free competition
whether in the name of it, one is asking all unequals to compete
with each other at par. This issue will be dealt with in details
in some other sections while dealing with the policies for the
employment.
In contrast with South Africa, the DRM seems to be more

vocal. This trend becomes more surprising if we realise this
fact that "There is no single cross-disability movement in
India, which unites all disabled people. Blind people, deaf
people, and those with orthopaedic impairments have their
own single-disability federations, but there is very little
linkage between them. The logistical problems of organizing
a single cross-disability movement, with so many languages,
such vast numbers, and distances so great, are formidable.
With over 14,000 indigenous rural development NGOs
working in India, the task of co-ordination and information
sharing about any aspect of development becomes
daunting."208
If the 1996 are treated as one of the sources of

stimulations, the experiences of ten years are the glaring
example of the series of activities through which not only the
Government of India was pressurised but its autonomous
bodies were also forced to face Public Interest Litigations.
Some of the events during this period include organisation of
the World Disabled Day on India Gate to encourage the
solidarity of the people with disability and to focus some oi the issues concerning them;
campaign for the inclusion of he
disability in the Census 2001; opposing non-disabled Chief
Commissioner for People with Disability; accessibility of the
disability in the general elections of the 2004 for their free
access to enfranchisement etc. It may be a point of controversy
that how far such issues useful to the en masse. It all depends
what type of the section within the disability one is talking
about.
Conceptual framework of the DRM has been discussed

by G.M. Kama in his book "United Nations and Rights of

Disabled Persons: a Study in Indian Perspective" from the
perspective of various school of thoughts which are being
supported by the writers which include Mike Oliver (New
Social Movement), Jenny Morris (the last civil rights
movement), Harlan Hahn (Disability Rights Movement), and
M. Mason (an organization). On the basis of these schools of
thought, he develops a workable definition of the disability
movement as "a social or civil rights movement directed
towards the integration of disabled people into the
mainstream of society."209
For such a movement, he gives four major characteristics

of new social movements, which are: existence on the margins
of political systems; providing a critical evaluation of society;
concerned with an equitable distribution of resources as a
matter of right; and international in nature and scope. m
Kama holds this view that "There is no doubt that the

DRM in India has all these characteristics. However, the
movement is not based on any tradition and is reactionary in
nature."211
But if an analysis of the awakening in the visually

impaired in particular is made and if an attempt is made to
trace the history of the organisations or some sort of union of
them, one will find some facts scattered over the world in
the span of a millennium. The history of the organisations of
the visually challenged can be seen during the medieval period
of china when an "a guild comprised of blind persons who
made a career of singing, entertaining, and storytelling.
Parents would seek to place a young blind son into this guild
so that he might learn a trade for his future lifelong
employment. As he succeeded in the required skills, he would
rise in status in the guild to the level of master."212 It is said
that it was a group leadership of which was used to be
comprised of the visually challenged and only for the post of the Secretary; they used to
select a sighted person.
But in Europe, some such guilds developed in the

medieval period. One of the famous groups was the
213 During
Congregation and House of the Three Hundreds,

the eighth decade of the 19th century, a development of the
voluntary organisations was witnessed. First organisation of
this nature came into existence in 1871 with the name of
Friedlander Union of Philadelphia. Just after six years, an
organisation emerged with the name of New York Blind Aid
Association. By the end of the century, the number of such
organisations started increasing.
In the year 1921, an agency-oriented organisation

emerged with the name of American Foundation for the Blind
to work primarily as a research and coordinating organ of
the agencies for the blind.
Newel Perry summed up the nature and trend of the

evolving national movement in a 1940 editorial. During the
last forty years, he wrote, a growing group consciousness has
been noticeable among the blind of our country. Practically
every state and large city now has an active organization with
a membership composed exclusively of blind persons. These
clubs seek to improve the economic conditions of the blind
through the enactment of legislation and through other means.
The dream of a national organization is now to be realized
against the ideology of the agency outlook. 2U In mid-November
of 1940, the National Federation of the Blind came
into existence in America. During the first year of his
mobilisation, Tenbroek said to his visually challenged fellow,
"in dealing with the public, especially in its many
governmental forms, we, as handicapped persons, have long
known the advantage and even the necessity of collective
action. Individually, we are scattered, ineffective and
inarticulate, subject alike to the oppression of the social worker
and the arrogance of the governmental administrator.
Collectively, we are the masters of our own future and the
successful guardian of our own common interests. Let one
speak in the name of many who are prepared to act in his
support, let the democratically elected blind representatives
of the blind act as spokesmen for all, let the machinery be
created to unify the action and concentrate the energies of
the blind of the nation. The inherent justice of our cause and
the good will of the public will do the rest."215 He further
says, "The time has come to join our state and local blind
organizations in a national federation. Only by this method
can the blind hope to cope with the nationwide difficulties at
present besetting us.... But the mere listing of them shows
the imperative need for organization upon a national basis,
for creating the machinery which will unify the action and
concentrate the energies of the blind, for an instrument
through which the blind of the nation can speak to Congress
and the public in a voice that will be heard and command
attention. Until the blind become group-conscious and support
such an organization, the)' will continue to live out their lives
in material poverty, in social isolation, and in the atrophy of
their productive powers."216
This new developed group was emphasising on the socioeconomic

rehabilitation of the visually challenged.
Commenting upon keeping the visually impaired at par with
the pauperised people. Tenbroek said, "This definition must
be rejected by anyone having even the slightest acquaintance
with the needs of the blind. A needy blind person has a greater
need than paupers, indigents, and the aged, because there
are additional elements comprising it. Besides the physical
necessities of life, his need consists in some fair utilization of
his productive capacity. This can only be obtained by restoring
him to economic competence in a competitive world. Without
it his need will never have been terminated. With it he is a
normal, useful, self-respecting citizen. Hence his need is as
broad as the effects of his blindness. It can only be met by a
rehabilitation that is social, economic, and psychological, and
these are the objectives within the intentions of the legislatures
of many of our states in their statutory schemes providing
aid to the blind."217
As has already been stated that the war, which is

condemned by most of the people around the world, proves
a boon to the disabled because it forces nations to develop at
least some policies for their veterans who became disabled
due to it. With the passage of time, such policies are

generalised and the civilian disabled also get its benefit. In
juxtaposition with the development of the National Federation
of the Blind in America, there was a development of the organisation of the war-blinded
veterans who became blind
during the course of the Second World War. This organisation
was known as Blind Veterans Association. The contribution
of this organisation can be understood from the viewpoint of
its emphasis on equal treatment for all. In fact, this was an
organisation which laid emphasis on non-racialism.
Commenting upon this view, Russell Williams, one of the
founding members of the Blind Veterans Association said,
"blindness imposed "maturity" of judgment on the veterans
and thus forced them to see that racial prejudice was as
unreasonable as the prejudice against the blind.... what
possible difference does skin colour, of all things, make when
you are blind?"218
The uniqueness of this organisation lies, as its name

suggests, in that it was the organisation of the war-blinded
and for them the blindness was "a rebirth due to the psychosocial
and biological change."219
It was the period when the use of white cane was treated
as a stigma to the visually impaired and the emphasis was
laid on the use of the facial vision. With the passage of time,
they realised that it was the white cane which could make
them independent. They were staunchly against the charity
to the extent that they preferred to find their work by ¦
themselves in lieu of finding the support of any sheltered
mercy.220
It was this development which stimulated the Afro-Asian

countries to develop the organisations of and for the blind.
But so far as the awakening of the blind in South Africa is
concerned, one will have to go back to the third decade of
the 20th century when the South African National Council
for the Blind came into existence which, with the passage of
time, became an umbrella organisation for majority of the
organisations in the country irrespective of the fact whether
¦ they are agency~oriented or the organisations propounding m ^'philosophy of the self-

help.
In contrast to this, in India/ irrespective of the

development of the body like National Institute for the
Visually Handicapped, an autonomous body with a view to
take up innovative researches, could not become a point of
attraction to develop as an umbrella organisation due to its
specific structure. Hence, despite the claim of the 'no difference
in the 'of the' and 'for the' ideologue, the existence of such
organisations is found and on certain issues, they still maintain
their differences.
On the pattern of agency-based organisations, one of

the biggest organisations is known with the name of the
National Association for the Blind which was initially Mumbai-based
but now has branches in many Indian states. In practice,
it is a project-oriented organisation. Commenting upon the
nature of this organisation, it is said, "NAB has always
opposed activism and contentious politics believing that it is
wrong to antagonize government and public 'on whom we
depend/"221
Almost after two decades of the existence of the national

Association for the Blind, an organisation was developed by
a handful graduates in 1971 with the name of the National
Federation of the blind. Of course, before its existence, there I was a federation in
existence on the tune of 'of he blind' with ¦ the name of the Kerala Federation of the Blind
which, with
the passage of time, became the affiliate of the National
Federation of the Blind. This was an organisation which was
influenced by the ideology of self-help propounded by the
Americans. It was this organisation which had spearheaded
the role of the awakening in the visually challenged. Apart
from the spreading the ideology in the eighth decade of the
last century, during the dying years of the decade and in the
first half of the ninth decade, this organisation led the pressure
groups of the visually challenged for their jobs relating to the
education and the employment. It was this organisation which,
through its varying tactics, could manage to force the Indian
government to come on the table and discuss and find the solution (May it be temporary)
of the problems of the
employment at least in the Government sector where
Government has all say. It was the first organisation in India
which, for the first time through its memorandum, asked the
Government to bring an Act for the visually challenged. One
may call this a parochial approach but as the organisation
was solely concerned with the interest of the visually impaired,
it would be too much if it is expected it to become the
spokesman of the disability in general. But the fact
remained as it is that whenever some laws, job identifications
or other rules and regulations were made, they were
always made for the physically challenged in general
irrespective of the fact that till that time no such demand
was put forth.
Commenting upon the effects of the National Federation

of the Blind, Culshaw holds that NGOs such as the NFB
helped raise consciousness within government circles and
certain sections of the public. This in turn prompted a shift in
perception of persons with disabilities: from passive receivers
of services to self-advocates.222 But his argument that it is
due to the support of the missionaries is totally baseless as
the projects run by this organisation had nothing to do with
the agitational approach of the Federation. If one makes a
critical view of the activities of the Federation, one will find
that during the period of maximum activisation, less attention
was paid on the projects. It was opined that it was a matter of
choice.
On the basis of this analysis, it can be said that

irrespective of all claims by some organisations to develop a
solid forum for the physically challenged, one cannot deny
the role of the organisations of the visually impaired for
preparing a solid ground to launch a movement with an
integrated approach.
2.7 South Africa and India: A Comparison
Unfortunately, there is a dismal effort to write the

history of the physically challenged in general and the history
f the visually impaired in particular. More so, in the case of

lie history of the South Africa, no strenuous effort is made to write a history of this
country. Whatever written sources are available, they are harping on the tune of one or
the other
extreme. In the case of the visually impaired in South Africa,
it becomes very difficult to trace any history of this segment of the society even during
the 19th century as even the literary
figures also failed to choose a visually impaired as a part of
their writing. Thereby, it is not suggested to say that prior to
the 20th century, there was no visually impaired in this country
and, it is also not proper to say that the pre-colonial stage of
the South Africa was inhuman to kill or embarrass the visually
impaired. But before reaching to any conclusion, one is bound
to say that even the supporters of the high time of the pre-colonial
age failed to make any reference of the physically
challenged in general and the visually impaired in particular.
It seems that for them, as happened with most of the
historians, it was not the subject matter to bank upon.
So far as India is concerned, the reference of Ashtavakra

(which means eight kinds of deformities) in its epics reveals,
even if it is treated as a story, that those writers had a flight
of imagination through which they could create a roll model
who became impatient when he came to know that his father
was imprisoned and had not only did save his father but also
got an honour of the wisest courtsman of the King Janak. The
references are found about a helpless but mighty visually
impaired known as Dhritrashtra and a physically challenged
Shakuni. In the Buddhist literature, references are found about
some rules laid down by the then kings in favour of the
physically challenged. Medieval history of India made a
reference of a visually challenged poet with the name of
Surdas, which was generally treated as the synonym of the
Usually challenged man. As his poetry is still the inseparable
Part of the Hindi literature, its integrity cannot be doubted,
during the 19th century, a reference is seen about Swami ayanand's teacher who was
known as Swami Vrijanand.
"is contribution can be understood by the fact that he
Prepared a student who not only revived the Hindu religion
but gave it a new name as Arya Samaj role of which has even
today been the point of controversy.
If a comparison of the history of both the countries is made, one can say that in the
absence of any written proof or
otherwise, one is forced to point out that there is nothing to
talk about the history of the visually impaired in South Africa
before the 20th century. It becomes more shocking for any
scholar if he makes a cursory look at the documents provided
by the Government, the description made about the situation
of the visually impaired is pathetic.
So far as the institutionalised work for the visually

impaired in both the countries is concerned, it started with
the initiatives of the missionary. In the ninth decade of the
19th century, first school for the visually impaired was opened
in India and in the beginning of the 20th century, similar
opening was made in South Africa.
So far as the attitude of the society is concerned, despite

some differences of the historical figures, both the countries
are falling in the group of having, in most of the cases, a
negative attitude towards the visually challenged persons.
Despite all big claims of the urbanisation and treating at par,
there is something which makes a visually challenged in both
the countries either extraordinary or Rousseau's innocent man.
As has already been mentioned that these attitudes are the
part of one's culture which is the by-product of the language
and the religion and unfortunately, due to whatever reason,
the dominant religions in both the countries treat visual
impairment as the curse of the god.
Tus, it1 can be stated that both South Africa and India, as
being ruled by the British, were influenced by the
developments not only in the ruling country but also by the
European and the Americans to develop their programmes,
policies and the voluntary organisations. The people of South
Africa had to see the period of apartheid effect of which was
visualised on the development of separate community-based
schools and organisations which was, in the exact sense, not
the case of India though the similar stereotype development
is being witnessed in the schools run by some religious groups

in terms of giving priority to a particular group or overemphasising
a particular way of living. This over-emphasis in
both the countries develops a sectarian mental make-up in
the visually impaired and this puts a hindrance on their proper
development. In such cases, despite all claims of rainbow
culture, the political system of South Africa is bound to
produce 'black blind', 'White blind', 'Coloured blind' or
'Indian blind' which was sensed strongly during interviewing
the visually impaired citizens of the country. So is the case
with India which is, even after the freedom of more than half
a century and even after the big claims of secularism, is
producing 'Hindu blind', 'Christian blind' or 'Muslim blind'.
By saying this, no attempt is made to undermine or snatch
the freedom of religion or sect but this analysis and emphasis
is made to clarify the difference between the claims and its
results and the consequent effect for the development of this
segment of the society which is already a scattered minority.
Obviously, it is a challenge for both the countries while
drafting the policies for them.
Policies for the Visually Impaired
People in the Post-Apartheid
South Africa and India
3.0 Introduction
Both South Africa and India play an important role in

their respective continents not only as the leaders to champion
the cause of the developing nations in the international arena
but also strongly holding a stand about the betterment of the
physically challenged in general and the visually impaired in
particular on the related international fora. By hosting the
Conference of the World Blind Union and with a chance of
leading this Union by way of the election of Dr. William
Rowland as its Chairperson, it shows not only the popularity
of the South Africa at the global level but also shows, in all
probabilities, a rise in the stature of this country in such a
small span of time to provide a leadership to the globe to
take some decisive action in favour of the visually impaired.
On the other hand, since the inception of the World Blind
Union, India got the chance to maintain the office of one of
its region for majority of the period. Despite the fact that the
visually impaired persons constitute more than 1 % share of
the population of both the countries, India, being the second
largest country in the world in terms of its population, the
number of the visually impaired therein are almost 25% of
the total population of South Africa. More so, South Africa
has a more solid economic base in comparison to India.
Obviously, it raises the expectations in terms of better
1
Post-Apartheid South Africa and India 145
treatment or better support base to the segment of the society

;n question. Moreover, due to the historical legacy of the exposure to the European
countries, it becomes a bonus point
to its development. Of course, the best use of all these benefits can be understood in
terms of policy realisation. Before
dealing with the policy realisation, it is pertinent here to have
a look at the available policy arrangements with both the
countries.
3.1 Basic Policy Documents for the Visually Impaired
As the policies for the physically challenged are

fundamentally relating to the issue of human rights, it is
pertinent here to have a look at the international scenario in
terms of the declarations made by the United Nations which
came into existence with the purpose of safeguarding the
human rights. Such examination becomes more pertinent as
most of the policies relating to the physically challenged in
general and the visually impaired in particular are dealing
with the issues like health, education, employment etc. which
are also the major concern of the human right. Hence, before
dealing in details the policies of the respective countries, an
attempt is made here to discuss in brief about the source of
these policies, i.e., the international covenants over the human
rights.
World Programme of Action Concerning Disabled Persons: Most important result of the
IYDP was the adoption of the
World Programme of Action Concerning Disabled persons
which was, in common parlance, known as WPA. In a way, it
was a programme which was supposed to be taken up during
the course of the UN Decade of the Disabled Persons which
was observed from 1983 to 1992. Through this programme, it
was aimed at promoting effective measures for the prevention
°f disability, rehabilitation and the realisation of the goals of
full participation," "equality" of disabled persons in social
We and development. This meant ensuring that disabled
People have opportunities equal to those of the whole
Population, and an equal share in improvement in living
conditions resulting from social and economic development.
It was recommended that governments should undertake to B

implement the WPA and a number of strategies for achievina
this, at national level, was proposed thus: participation of 1
disabled people in decision-making process, rehabilitation of I
the disabled persons, equalisation of opportunities for
disabled people and prevention of impairment, disability and
handicap.
Through these strategies, it was aimed at making the I

people with physical challenge as an incongruent part of the
society by providing them the right to full participation and
making decision over their problems. In fact this was a major
shift in the outlook in terms of including the physically
impaired in the policies and programmes of the society by
giving them due representation. So far as this ideal is
concerned, it is a praiseworthy ideal but without the change
in the outlook and under the practical democratic styles, its
implementation cannot be saved from the shades of doubts
as, practically speaking, in the name of the participation of
the physically challenged, it is found that a typically and
stereotypically developed elite represents this segment and,
in doing this, a sentence in the reports of the government is
added that the due representation is given to this section of
the society.
Standard Rules for the Equalisation of Opportunities for Disabled Persons: To provide
clearer guidelines on actions to
be taken, the United Nations developed some Standard Rules
which was adopted by its General Assembly on December
20,1993. The aims of the Standard Rules were as under:
"They imply as strong moral and political commitment

by the state to take action for the equalisation of opportunities
for persons with disabilities.
"They offer an instrument for policy-making and action-The

purpose is to ensure that all persons with disabilities may
exercise the same rights and obligations as other citizens.
"They outline crucial aspects of social policies in the

disability field and provide models for the political decision
making proves required for the attainment of equal opportunities.
"They propose national mechanism for close

collaboration between the state, organs of the UN, Non-Governmental
Organisations and Disability Persons
Organisations."223
These aims exhibit the desire of the apex global body to

treat the disabled at par with the general people at large and
provide them the maximum opportunity to play a role in the
decision-making process. On the similar basis, the objectives
of these Rules include:
- stressing that all actions in the field of physically

challenged presupposes adequate knowledge and
experience of the conditions and special needs of persons
with physical impairment;
- emphasising that the process through which every aspect

of the organisation of society is made accessible to all as
a basic objective of socio-economic development;
outlining crucial aspect of social policies in the field of

physical impairment, including, as appropriate, the active
encouragement of technical and economic cooperation;
- providing models for the political decision-making

process required for the attainment of equal
opportunities, bearing in mind widely differing technical
and economic levels; the fact that the process must reflect
keen understanding of the cultural context within which
it takes place, and the crucial role of persons with physical
challenged in it;
~ Proposing national mechanisms for close collaboration

among states, the organisations of the UN system, other
inter-governmental bodies and organisations of persons
with physical impairment.
The International Bill of Human Rights comprises the

Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International
^ ovenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the
Internationa] Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Convention on the Rights of the
Child and the Convention
on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against
Women, as well as the World Programme of Action
concerning disabled persons.
The discussion cannot be closed without referring to the

2 main documents which had been adopted in the year 2006
with a humanistic viewpoint and taking some care of the
respect and dignity of the persons with physical challenges.
A brief description of both the documents is followed
thus:
UN Convention on the Rights of persons with Disabilities: The International Convention

on the Rights of Persons with
Disabilities was adopted with consensus on 13th December
2006 in the 61st UN Assembly under the chairpersonship of
His Excellency Sheikh Haya Rashed Al Khalifa in New york.
This document is comprised of 50 articles and is adopted wit
a view to lay emphasis on the rights and dignity of the persons
with physical challenges.
The Convention recognizes that every one is entitled to all the rights and freedoms
without distinctions of any kind
and that disability is an evolving concept resulting from the
interaction between persons with impairments and attitudinal
barriers that hinder their full and effective participation in
society on equal basis. It also recognizes that discrimination
against any person on the basis of disability is a violation of
the inherent dignity and worth of the human person. Tine
purpose of the Convention is to promote, protect and ensure
the full and equal enjoyment of all human rights and
fundamental freedoms by all persons with disabilities, and
to promote respect for their inherent dignity. To this end,
the convention makes it obligatory for the States to adopt all
appropriate legislative, administrative and other measures
for the implementation of the rights recognized in the present
Convention; take all appropriate measures, including
legislation, modify or abolish existing laws, regulations/
customs and practices that constitute discrimination against
persons with disabilities; take into account the protection and

promotion of the human rights of persons with disabilities in all policies and
programmes; take all appropriate measures
to eliminate discrimination on the basis of disability by any
person, organization or private enterprise; and provide
accessible information to persons with disabilities about
mobility aids, devices and assistive technologies, including
new technologies, as well as other forms of assistance, support
services and facilities.
Commenting upon this Convention, it is stated, "It is

very appropriate (that) it targets a community that has been
marginalized for so long, ... The most important tiling is to
recognize that where we are today is already a testimony to
the empowerment of a community which has a long history
of disempowerment."224
Optional Protocol to the Convention on the rights of Persons With Disabilities: The
protocol requires the States to agree to
form a Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
The Committee shall consider a communication

inadmissible when: the communication is anonymous;
the communication constitutes an abuse of the right of
submission of such communications or is incompatible with
the provisions of the Convention; the same matter has already
been examined by the Committee or has been or is being
examined under another procedure of international
investigation or settlement; all available domestic remedies
have not been exhausted. This shall not be the rule where the
application of the remedies is unreasonably prolonged or
unlikely to bring effective relief. Tine Committee shall bring
any communications submitted to it confidentially to the
attention of the State Party. Within six months, the receiving
State shall submit to the Committee written explanations or
statements clarifying the matter and the remedy, if any, that may have been taken by that
State.
Before making the analysis of the policies of both the

countries separately, it is pertinent here to have a look at
different models regarding these policies which are, in a way,
a historical development of the policies. As these models have

been used in the context of the general disability and as the
visual impairment is the part of the general scenario of the ¦
physical challenge, the discussion will be made in a general '
manner.
The Medical Model: From the dawn of the history, the

physically challenged has been treated as a part of health and
welfare and as the state has got this legacy from the voluntary
organisations, this subject has been treated even by the state
governments as an entity which can be taken care of as a
problem relating to the health or an entity which is the
responsibility of the state to be taken care of. This resulted in
treating the physically impaired as a responsibility on the state
and its civil society was supposed to be solving its problems.
Hence, it confined the disability to the Ministry of Health or,
at the most, to the Ministry of Social Welfare. On this basis,
the medical model may mean not more than service providing
institutions. Under such provision, "organisations for people
with disabilities are usually controlled by non-disabled people
who provide services to people with disabilities."225 Majority
of the organisations were created by this outlook and, in its
own way, this attitude prevails with its different intensity,
despite all big claims of inclusion in the society even in the
recent period.
There are two fundamental assumptions in this model:

Firstly, it locates the problem of disability within the individual.
Secondly, it seeks the causes of the problem as "stemming
from the functional and psychological limitations that arise
from the individual disability."226 Under this model, overcoming
the disability was the main theme and even the disabled are
treated as 'invalid'.227
This model speaks about the abnormalcy of tine physically

challenged and pools all its resources to make him normal. Such
approach develops different therapies to cure the physically
impaired. "Consequently, the therapeutic focus overrides a
sense of fun and play, with play becoming recreational
therapy, art being transformed to art therapy, and, music
and theatre, taking the role of drama therapy. Every
ai
activity is construed as a way to making the disabled 'better'
and supports the premise that they are not good enough,
adequate and normal. Rehabilitation is thus inextricably
linked with oppression and a direct result of social and
cultural commitment to 'normalcy' as a kind of 'perfection'
where normal standards of ability, appearance, and
behaviour are the criteria for what is allowable: if you don't
measure up, you are inferior."228
Main aim of this model was to provide treatment or to

create alternative programmes for begging or hiding away.
Of course, initially, it was an unavoidable philosophy as it
was aimed at "not to be hated or feared, but rather to be
pitied or helped as part of the deserving poor."229 Under this
model, people with disability had hardly any say and they
were just depending on the benevolence of the respective
organisations or the group of the people. The programmes
and policies developed under this model had an emphasis on
dependence and whatever assistance was provided, its focus
was on the nature of impairment. This reduced them to an
entity of a patient because of which "all interventions were
based on assessment, diagnosis and labelling, with therapy
programmes developed separately and through alternative
services."230 In such cases, the ordinary needs of the physically
challenged are not being taken account of.
It is an isolationistic model as it isolates the people with

disabilities and their families from the mainstream and made
them dependent on the state assistance. In turn, this weakens
them and "has seriously reduced their capacity and confidence
to interact on an equal level with other people in society."231 This model has also been
named as an individual model which
is aimed at making a biological or psychological description
of the disability.232 This model has also been known as the
welfare model which means that this model deals the
disabilities as a liability which has, more or less, no
contribution in the developmental process of the_ society at
Social Model; This model supports the view that it is the

barriers posed by the society which prove to be hurdles for
the physically challenged rather than their limitations. Thjs model believes in the fact that
it is the social process which
makes a physically challenged person disabled. This process
can be modified and the challenge can either be reduced or
eliminated. It is argued that "we can learn a great deal about
disability debates by examining them within the context of
the life course. Here, the life course is understood as a central
organizing principle in modern societies, rather than as a
description of individual life careers."233 Hence, in this|
context, adopting the life course means "examining the ways!
in which disabled lives are understood, organised and'
governed within societies--from the regulation of birth and
reproduction to the social organization of death and dying
(and all points in between) ."234
This deals with the question of disability in a narrower

sense as it takes short ranged issues like adulthood disability
in the employment. Hence, its main concern is to find the
reason why the disability uses to be excluded from the normal
citizenship. These short ranged issues become the base for a
long range analysis as through the individual experiences one
can deduce some general conclusions and may find out the
causual relationship between the both.
This model also discusses about the institutional

discrimination which is complex in nature. It leads to a
collective disadvantage to the group as a whole. Commenting
upon this discrimination, it is said that "this discrimination is
fundamental to the way society thinks and operates."235 Supporting the belief that these
are socially created
discriminations, it is commented that "the circumstances of
people with disabilities and the discrimination they face are
socially created phenomena and have little to do with the
impairments of disabled people. The disability rights
movement believes, therefore, that the "cure" to the "problem"
of disability lies in restructuring society."236
The implication of this model lies in the fact that it

brought a conceptual change in the analysing the problems of the disability. TTiis change
is visualised thus:
" -- It is the stairs leading into a building that disable the

wheelchair user rather than the wheelchair.
-- It is defects in the design of everyday equipment that

cause difficulties, not the abilities of people using it.
-- It is society's lack of skill in using and accepting

alternative ways to communicate that excludes people with
communication disabilities.
-- It is the inability of the ordinary schools to deal with

diversity in the classroom those forces children with
disabilities into special schools."237
This model emphasises on two things: one, the society

is careless about giving due regards to the needs of the
physically challenged and two, one should take into account
the abilities and capabilities of this section of the society.
This necessitates to make due changes in the atmosphere

to meet the demands of the diverse society. It is this change
which can make the physically challenged more capable. On
this basis, it is said that "The Social Model, therefore, implies
that the reconstruction and development of our society involve
a recognition and intention to address the developmental
needs of disabled people within a framework of inclusive
development. Nation-building, where all citizens participate
in a single economy, can only take place if people with
disabilities are included in the process."238 This approach has
two sided effects. On the one hand, it is demanding from the
society to make necessary arrangements or changes which
may make the physically impaired more useful and, at the
same time, it demands from this segment to make the best
use of their calibre for the benefit of the society.
The discussion on the social model which is also known

as the minority model and which have a holistic approach can
be summed up by commenting that "Thus, social scientists
have increasingly come to view disability as the product of
complex social structures and processes, rather than as the
simple and inevitable result of individual differences or

biology. This historic shift of emphasis, from the individual
to the social, has allowed both activists and academics to
promote a fundamental and far-reaching critique of the way
in which societies disable people with perceived impairments,
and to envisage the possibility of more enabling social
alternatives. Grasping the underlying distinction between
individual and social models of disability is therefore a key
to understand contemporary disability debates."239 It can
also be concluded by saying that "Hence disability, according
to the social model, is all the things that impose restrictions
on disabled people; ranging from individual prejudice to
institutional discrimination, from inaccessible buildings to
unusable transport systems, from segregated education to
excluding work arrangements, and so on. Further, the
consequences of this failure do not simply and randomly fall
on individuals but systematically upon disabled people as a
group who experience this failure as discrimination
institutionalised throughout society."240
Both the Republic of South Africa and India, following the developments and directions
of the international fora,
initiated certain policies for the people with physical challenge
in general and the visual challenge in particular. In the case
of South Africa, its policies for this section are derived from,
the constitutional provisions, specifically the provisions
relating to the equality whereas these policies are derived in
India from the Directive Principles of the State Policies which
is enshrined in the Part Iv of its Constitution. But these policies
were, after 1996, got a legal support when the Indian
Parliament, without any debate as it does with most of the
normative declarations, had passed an enactment which was
known as The Persons
With Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of

Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995. In common parlance,
it is known as P.W.D. Act. Of course, this is a comprehensive
Act and covers most of the aspects of the problems faced by
the physically challenged.
Exposed to the West, the Republic of South African

movement stressed to follow the social model which can be
revealed thus: "The South African political and democratic
system seeks to achieve optimal social cohesion, in which
people with disabilities will not be mere curiosities but form
part of the mainstream of society bringing out the best quality
of human beings in every family and in every South African.
People with disabilities, somehow, remind us of our common
humanity."241
Before dealing with the role of the government of the

Republic of South Africa, it is pertinent here to give an example
of the role of the physically challenged in the protests lodging
against their demands which can be understood by this
depiction:
"My next memory is of a DPSA congress a few years

later. Jerry Nkeli -a
future Human Rights Commissioner takes
the floor and calls for proceedings to be suspended and
for us to take to the streets to protest against the government's
handling of disability grants, for the majority their only source
of income. And so we break up into action groups -transport, slogans and posters, media -
and
two hours later we are on
the road and singing freedom songs.
"As we reach the bottom end of West Street in Durban,

the lead cars draw level with each other, and stop dead. It is
rush hour on a Friday afternoon and there is instant mayhem,
with the traffic gridlocked and motorists swearing at us. We
disembark and begin to toyi toyi and chant our slogans. And
this goes on for three quarters of an hour before the riot
police show up and try to find the leader of the protest, as
we deliberately confuse them."242
Some such descriptions can be found in the literature of

South Africa but as it is not the pressure tactics only for the
demands of the physically challenged, hence, it is not
advisable here to make a detailed description of this pressure
tactics. However, it is suffice to state that "Those were exciting
times, but stressful. And there where many such occasions."243
The policies for the physically impaired in general and

visually impaired in particular in South Africa can be derived
from its constitution. Hie policies relating to the physically
impaired are scattered over various documents but most of
such documents, so far as education is concerned, are general
in nature as, in the name of inclusiveness, it covers all diverse
sections including Blacks, Women and the persons with
disability. This inclusion has proved to be an ideal but, at the
same time, it is prone to give generalistic statements about
varied sections of the society. Detailed description of these
documents will be made in the separate sections. In the case
of India, initially these policies were scattered in various
documents and, more or less, of the ethical nature, but, with
the passage of time and due to the concerted efforts of the
voluntary organisations, it was compiled in an Act with a legal support. The detailed
analysis of these policies will be
made in the preceding sections. But, it is pertinent to state
here that all these policies were made exclusively for the
physically challenged. In any case, there is no exclusive policy
for the visually impaired in both the countries which have its
positive and negative implications.
3.2 Prevention of the Visual Impairment
Before making any analysis of the prevention of the

visual impairment, it is important to have a look at the
understanding of the prevention of the physically challenged.
It is stated that "Disability prevention is not limited to health
sector interventions. It also includes all types of social,
vocational, educational, legislative and other interventions,
the best results will be achieved only if all these interventions
are combined."244
In general, the prevention of the physically challenged

can be divided into three levels. First level prevention includes
steps aimed at reducing the occurrence of impairment, e.g.,
provision of safe water and sanitation facilities, vaccination
against infectious diseases, public health education, the
encouragement of proper child-rearing practices, improving
in-takeof nutritious food, maintaining hygienical atmosphere,
Post-Apartheid South Africa and India . 157
i vsical fitness of the people, limiting the availability and

e of alcohol, psychotropic drugs and tobacco; termination
f pregnancies to prevent congenital disease; passing

ipaislation to reduce the number of accidents and to diminish
occupational health hazards; effective control of the side-effects
of therapeutic drugs; education of the public to reduce
accidents; improving the general level of education and
preventing gross child neglect and abuse. Second level
prevention involves early and effective treatment of diseases,
use of effective drugs, proper care, if necessary, early surgery,
vocational and educational counselling; provision of suitable
work, elimination or reduction of risk factors changes the
attitude of the family and the community. Third level of
prevention includes provision of therapy (including
physiotherapists, occupational therapists, speech therapists
and psychologists), self-care training, Providing technical aids,
providing social and vocational training; Public education for
the change of community attitude towards specially challenged
persons; provision of suitable jobs, housing and transport
facility for restricting self-care ability or mobility and, last
fautnotthe least, elm jnatibn of the physkalbardeis?45
Commenting upon the third level prevention, it is

stated that "There is some overlap in the definition of
"rehabilitation/' and "disability prevention," especially with
regard to 'third level prevention.' These two approaches can
be said to complement each other, preventive techniques being
used as the first effort to reduce disability and rehabilitation
and care becoming necessary when preventive measures fail
and disability or handicap sets in, or when appropriate
preventive measures and technology are lacking."246
For the purpose of research, an attempt will be made to

restrict the policies of the prevention of the visually challenged
to the strictest medical sense.
Even if the medical model is discarded, the reality lies as it is that nobody wants to be a
permanently physically
challenged and so is the case with the visual impairment. At
the initial stage, every parent tries his level best to find the
medical solution of the problem of a visually impaired person

Whether one likes or not, at the initial stage, all physically
challenged are treated as not more than a medical problem
The moment it is decided that there is no remedy to the
problem of a particular individual, it becomes the duty Of
any sensitive state to treat him/her as a contributory segmerij
of the society and to make best use of him/her by providing
opportunities to use his/her worth. From this viewpoint, of
course, one cannot do away with the role of medical
institutions.
Before making an analysis of the policies for the

prevention of the visual impairment, it is pertinent to have a
look at what is the visual impairment and what are the major diseases involved in this
impairment.
3.2.1 Definition of the Visual Impairment
The term 'visual impairment' is referred to the total and

partial loss of sight (vision). It amounts to less than the normal
vision. This loss may cause by birth or due to any disease or
even accident.
In its documents, Ind ian Government has defined visual

impairment (blindness) as "a condition where a person suffers
from any of the following conditions namely:
(I) total absence of sight; or visual acuity not exceeding

6/60 or 20/200 (snellen) in the better eye with correcting
lenses; or
(II) Limitation of the field of vision subtending an angle

of 20 degree or worse.247
The South African Government defines visual impairment

on similar lines.
I
3.2.2 Causes of the Visual Impairment
As has already been stated that there can be many

reasons which ma}' cause into visual impairment. Under the
given space and because of the limitation of the subject, itlS not possible to discus in
details about various diseases whi<^
may lead to visual challenge, however, some of the names or
uCh diseases are given hereunder: albinism, anaridia,
chrornatopsia, cataract, diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma,
macular degeneration, myopia, night blindness, optic atrophy,
premature retinopathy, presbyopia, retinitis pigmentosa,
retinal detachment, retinoblastoma, strabismus and trachoma.
As this is not a study on medical science, no attempt is

made to go in deep about all the abovementioned diseases
relating to the visual challenge, however, it is felt that it is
necessary to touch upon some of the major diseases occurring
to the persons who have to suffer from visual challenge.
Cataract is defined as opacity in the lens that interferes

wiiivisbn:48 If it reduces visual acuity to 20/30 (6/9) or
less, a visual disability is said to exist."249 This is a disease
which is treated as the primary cause in both South Africa
and India as it develops with the development of one's age
and the aged or senior citizens in any political system and is
comprised of no less than 15% of any population and this
impact of cataract is almost in the people constituting no less
than 5% of the aged people. Hence, if this segment is treated
as visually impaired, such segment will constitute no less than
0.75%. Undoubtedly such visual impairment can be cured if
operations are made timely.
Glaucoma is a disease characterised by intraocular

pressure sufficient to cause either temporary or permanent
impairment of vision. It causes too much visual impairment
especially due to the ignorance of the patient and even due to
the improper treatment. The solution of this disease lies in
the intelligent application of the knowledge about this disease.
It is not necessary that the patient of glaucoma has to suffer
pain.250 This is the second major cause of blindness in South
Africa.251
The importance of diabetic retinopathy as a cause of visual challenge has increased

because of longevity and decline 111 the other preventable cause of visual impairment in
the
developing countries. A diabetic can have a serious eye disease ar|d not even know it
until irreversible vision loss has
°ccurred. It is estimated that by the year 2010 the world
diabetic population will have doubled, reaching an estimated

221 million.251 The timely diagnosis and referral fOr management of diabetic
retinopathy can prevent 98% of severe
visual loss. Early diagnosis and treatment of diabetic
retinopathy in Sweden has resulted in the virtual elimination
of visual impairment due to diabetic retinopathy. It js stated that "an estimated 2-5% of
diabetics have proliferate
diabetic retinopathy which, if not treated, causes visual
impairment in more than 50%. Therefore, it would be
correct to state that the underlying cause of visual
challenge in the majority of diabetic patients is not
diabetic retinopathy but the misdiagnosis of diabetic
retinopathy."253
Night blindness is one of the diseases which are one of

the major causes of the visual challenge. Its main reason is
the deficiency of the Vitamin A. In the medical terminology,
Night blindness, also known as hemeralopia and nyctalopia,
results from impaired dark adaptation by the light-sensitive
retina. It is said that "Night blindness was previously
considered only to be a secondary sign of zerophthalmia
and an unreliable criterion for assessing the burden of
Vitamin A deficiency."254 In general and even in the
practical sense, it is a disease in which one finds problem in
seeing in the night. Most field assessment of childhood night
blindness have relied on parents reports of the condition.
However, the validity of this method for assessing the true
level of night blindness has recently been the subject of
discussion.255
It is generally understood that such patients can count

the fingers from the distance of 3 metres. If this is the
case, there are about 14 to 17 million visually challenged
persons in the world suffering from this disease. Such
persons can be cured through the operation. However, it is
said that "cataract is the main cause of blindness, accounting
for at least one-half of all blindness. Its treatment is not very
costly.
Last but not the least, one of the commonest diseases is

inown as retinitis pigmentosa which is a hereditary or

netical jisease Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is the name given
to a crroup of inherited eye diseases that affect the retina. It
causes the degeneration of photoreceptor cells in the retina.
These cells capture and process light which help us to see. As
these cells degenerate and die, patients experience progressive
vision loss.
The most common feature of all forms of Retinitis

Pigmentosa (RP) is a gradual degeneration of the rods and
cones. Most forms of RP first cause the degeneration of rod
cells. These forms of Retinitis pigmentosa, sometimes is called
rod-cone dystrophy, usually begin with night blindness. Night
blindness is somewhat like the experience normally sighted
individuals encounter when entering a dark movie theatre
on a bright, sunny day. However, patients with Retinitis
pigmentosa cannot adjust well to dark and dimly lit
environments. As the disease progresses and more
rod cells degenerate, patients lose their peripheral vision.
Patients with Retinitis Pigmentosa often experience a
ring of vision loss in their mid-periphery with small islands
of vision in their very far periphery. Others report
the sensation of tunnel vision, as though they see the
world through a straw. Many patients with Retinitis
Pigmentosa retain a small degree of central vision throughout
their life.256
On the basis of the aforesaid description, it can be said

that the diseases causing visual impairment can broadly be
divided into four categories, namely, hereditary or genetical,
congenital, acquired due to one or the other disease and
accidental. In the above description, this categorywise
division is avoided as it may lead to detailed analysis.
However, an attempt is made in the abovementioned
paragraphs to touch upon some of the major diseases causing visual impairment.
However, in the Indian context, broadly speaking, causes of the visual impairment can be
found from the following table:
Table 14: Causes of the visual impairment in India and

its Changing Patterns
S.No.
Causes
Icmr**l Studv
(1971-74)
Who**2-Nspl^H
Survey (1981-86)
1.
Cataract
55%
81% "^
2.
Malnutrition-Vitamin
A
Deficiency
2%
0.04%
3.
Trachoma
5%
0.2% ~~
4.
Glaucoma
0.5%
2%
5.
Smallpox
3%
Nill
6.
Injuries
1.5%
N.A.
7.
Comeal Opacity
N.A.
3%
8.
Refractive Errors
N.A.
7%
9.
Other Infections
15%
N.A.
10.
Other Causes
18%
7%
Source: Adapted from Perspectives in Disability and Rehabilitation by

R.S. Pandey and Lai Advani p.41.
Note: * * 1. Indian Council for the Medical Research

**2. World Health Organisation
**3. National Society for the Prevention of the Blindness
Data given in the abovementioned table are self-explanatory

but as they are gathered in the different periods,
they also reveal the progress of India in terms of especially
the smallpox which is shown during the ninth decade as a
withered away disease.
Commenting upon the major cause and the programme

for its prevention, it is stated, "Vitamin A deficiency, coupled
with protein, energy and malnutrition, is a major cause of
childhood blindness. A Prophylaxis Programme Against
Blindness Due to Vitamin A Deficiency was started by the
Government in 1970 under which children in 1-5 age-group
are given an oral dose of 0.2 million IN of vitamin A in
oil every six months. The programmes covers 30 million
out of 80 million children in target group. Significant
reduction in childhood blindness has been noticed over the
years."257
It is said that "80% of the blindness is avoidable (either

preventable or treatable) by inexpensive means."258 Despite
fact and despite all claims of Vision 2020, there is no nSjderable decrease in the visual
impairment. However, it
pertinent to have a look at the policies for the prevention
|,f the visual impairment.
3 2.3 Policies for the Prevention of the Visual Impairment in South Africa
Before making any analysis of the policies of the South

Africa, it is pertinent to bear in mind that apart from its
Constitution, the major direction for all policies relating to
the disability section has been taken from the Integrated
National Disability Strategy. At the same time, it was
mandatory for the Provincial Interdepartmental Disability
Forum to implement the recommendations given therein.
These recommendations are as under:
1. The prevention of disabilities

2. Public education and awareness rising
3. Health care access
4. Rehabilitation services
5. Barrier free access
6. Access to public transport communication and access to information
7. Information and research

8. Education and access to centres of learning
9 Employment
10- Human resource development
11 Legislation
'2. Monitoring of violations against people with

disabilities.259
As per the Census of 1996 of South Africa, it is said that

êre is 0.75 % of the total population which fall in the category
°f the visual impairment. Of course, this data is debatable as most of the leading
organisations and even its apex body are
°' the view that this percentage should be much higher than
this. They are of the view that this percentage should be mOr than 1. Whatever the
percentage may be in this country, ft js said that "In 1999, the WHO launched a global
plan for the elimination of avoidable blindness by the year 2020. The South
African National Prevention of Blindness Programme is a component of this global
initiative, and is committed to the
elimination of avoidable blindness in South Africa by the year
2020."260 This is a plan given by the World Health Organisation.
It had the following objectives:
-- To provide support to the Prevention of Blindness

Programmes in provinces of South Africa and the
countries of Southern African Development Community.
-- To coordinate the Prevention of visual impairment

Programmes in South Africa.
-- To protect and promote the rights of persons with visual

impairment.
-- To reduce the prevalence of visual impairment in the

country from 0.75% to 0.50%, by the year 2005.
On the basis of the national programme, the provinces

may have, at least, the aims of developing an access to the X
primary eye care centres, clinics and the community health
centres; developing the provisions of secondary and tertiary
eye care and pooling Its resources to fulfil the aim of the
reducing the visual impairment from 0.75 to 3.5. They are
also allowed to add some more programmes on the basis of
their resources. Hence, at all levels, these programmes were
divided into primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary ^
levels. These are explained as under:
1. Primary: Under the provisions of this prevention, there

are the steps to prevent diseases, injuries or conditions
that can result in complications, impairments or physical
impairment. Such measures include health education/
immunisation, maternal and child health services and
safety promotion. In sum, they are comprised of mai°|
component of primary health care. Prevention of cornea
scaring from malnutrition, infection and trauma is all
1
important primary prevention activity in prevention of

the visual impairment in South Africa.
2 Secondary: This prevention is consisted of early

identification and intervention in the treatment of
diseases, injuries or conditions to prevent the
development of complications or impairments. Early
detection and treatment of diseases/conditions and
injuries may prevent complications, impairments and
blindness. Glaucoma is a good example of it.
3. Tertiary: This prevention is c onsisted of measures to limi t or reduce impairments

or disabilities. Cataract surgery
is an important tertiary prevention activity in prevention of visual impairment in South
Africa.
4. Quaternary. This prevention is consisted of steps to reduce the effect of

untreatable diseases or disability.
Rehabilitation of the visually challenged is an important
quaternary prevention activity in such prevention in
South Africa.
3.2.4 The Policies for the Prevention of the Visual

Impairment in India
So far as India is concerned, it has developed a national

plan for prevention of Visual impairment and control of
blindness including trauchoma control with the main objective
of providing eye health care services to the community with
emphasis both on prevention and cure. This control strategy
of the programme included the following:
(A) health education to the community;
(B) temporary measures to provide immediate and comprehensive eye health care by
establishing mobile
units in different parts of the country; and
(C) creation of permanent infrastructure for eye care in three-tier

system of general health services.
However, as majority of the issues relating to the

Physically challenged persons have been covered under the pWD Act of 1995, it is
pertinent here to have a look at the
.UUiiliUUilltl
concerned clauses of the Act. Chapter four of the Act deals

with prevention and early detection of the disabilities. It is stated that "Within the limits
of their economic capacity and I
development, the appropriate Governments and the local
authorities, with a view to preventing the occurrence of
disabilities, shall --undertakes or causes to be undertaken surveys, investigations and
research concerning the cause of
occurrence of disabilities; ..."m \
Obviously, this is a general statement regarding the

investigations, surveys etc. But the Act is not limited to this.
In its sub-section (B), it is suggested to promote various
methods of preventing disabilities. Not only this, under this
policy document, it is suggested to screen all the children
once in a year for the purpose of identifying cases at risk.
This early screening may help in providing treatment or
guidance in advance to stop the occurrence of any disease
whatsoever relating to the physical impairment.
Certain suggestions are given to create such an

atmosphere like providing facilities for training to the staff
at primary health centres; sponsor awareness campaigns and » disseminate information
for general hygiene, health and
sanitation. It has gone to the extent of suggesting measures
for pre-natal and post-natal care for mother and child.
Suggestions are given to create awareness through television,
radio and other mass media about the causes of the physical
impairment and other preventive measures and educate the
public through the pre-schools, primary health centres, village
level workers and anganwadi workers.
Of course, through this section, an attempt is made to

touch almost all the facets of prevention and early detection
of the physical challenges, but it is so generalistic that one
fails to understand what kind of diseases are being taken
under this paraphernalia. Sometimes, these generalistic views
reduce to escaping as is said that touching everything amounts
to touching nothing. It is strongly felt that there is a dire
need of sincere and emphatic policy to prevent and, if possible,
eradicate diseases that lead to physical challenges.
,3 educational Policies for the Visually Impaired
Like many other policies for the physically challenged

in aeneral and visually challenged in particular, the stimulating
force for both the countries remains the West to adopt the
policy for the education for them. Before dealing with the
educational policy and its changing perspectives, it is pertinent
to understand actually what the education for the disabled
is.
The conspicuousness of the education for the physically

impaired can be understood if an analysis of the society is
made in which such an education is planned to be imparted.
Such an atmosphere is depicted thus:
"Very often it (the society) even tends to deliberately

ignore them, preferring to reject them, to treat them as
outcasts, to shut them up in special institutions whose principal
purpose is to allow society to forget them--whereas what
the handicapped need, on the contrary, is to get out of their
ghettos, assert themselves as individuals in their own right,
participate fully in social and cultural life, and perhaps
even become essential contributors to productive
activity."262
Under such a condition where the society itself is

disinterested to take any exclusive initiative to accept the
physically challenged persons as a contributory part of the
society, whatever action is initiated for them is nothing more
than a charity. However, if such steps are deemed fit to be
taken, it is need of the hour to organise special education for
them. "In every case, instruction and training must be
provided and supervised by specialized teachers, and it must
be given at an appropriate pace, following appropriate
syllabuses and methods, using suitable equipment and with
adequate medical assistance. This calls, more so than in normal education, for an
individualized form of teaching that takes
account of differences, strives to ^dapt to the particular needs
°f each group and each individual and encourages the
Members of a group to help -- rather than compete with -- one
another."263
168 Policy Perspectives for tlxe Visually Impaired
Some such inspirational speeches can be guidelires to

the specialised group of the society but the truth lies in the
fact that the issue of their education is either treated a birden
or treated as an ideal which fails to realise their confines and
reduce them to an extraordinary creature of the society, That
is why, similar expressions are found about the education of
the physically challenged persons. Commenting upon tiis, it
is stated that "Many readers will probably wonder why,
when so many ordinary children are still illiterate wej
should bother about children whose 'achievements'
will always be limited and who will, in any case, be
expensive to educate. Hence the question-mark h the m title. There are two answers.
First, the right to eduation, *
which is recognized for all, cannot be denied to the
handicapped. Secondly, a child who, through sjecial
education, has learnt to look after himself as far ;s his
disabilities allow will no longer be entirely dependeit on
others for his support."264
No doubt, that the majority of tl.e writers agree m this

view that the physically challenged should be given eduation
not only to be the part of the mainstream but also contibute
its worth in it. Of course, it looks charming and eaier to
make a generalistic comment about the education f>r the
specially challenged. However, if an analysis is made catgory-wise,
despite the fact that "the case of a blind child s less
tragic than that of a deaf child who has not been tavght to
speak", the world of sight (vision) even doubts the posability
of educating the visually challenged despite the fact thit they
have the examples of Homer, Soordas etc. to whom a lbel of
extraordinary creature is given but the ordinary potece of
the ordinary visually impaired is doubted. Of course,in her
writings, Helen Keller made the similar observation tiat he
can talk to his parents, his friends, his toys; later on Le can
develop his mind just as a sighted person can, because ie will
be able to use textbooks published for him in Braill. This
will require a greater effort because reading in Braille i slow-each
sign which makes up a word must be identified, ad the
speed of reading is conditioned by the rate at whih the
reader's fingers move. But this obstacle is soon overcome by

practice.
This is an experience of a person who was suffering from

hearing challenge, mute and visually challenged. As she does nOt belong to a poor
family, she could not understand the
plight of the poverty and its consequences which reduce any
physically challenged person to a disabled in the world of
the able-bodied. As the study is confined to the visually
impaired, without falling into this debate, a glance is made
over the development of the education for the visually
impaired.
As has already been stated in Chapter II, while dealing

with the development of the educational services for the
visually challenged that during the Greek and Roman
civilisation, no effort is made even for the survival of the
physically challenged as they were not fit to the war-ridden
society. Leave aside couple of endeavours here and there,
some organised attempt in this direction was made in the 18th and 19th century in
Europe. It is needless to say that one can
get the example of Didymus, a well-known Arabic visually challenged scholar,265 but
one will not find any signs of the
structured educational system before the French revolution
which is known for its propagation of equality, liberty and
fraternity. Since then, the history of the education of the
physically challenged in general and the visually impaired in
particular has travelled a path from the special education to
the integrated education and even to the inclusive education
which is proposed to be the best suited way of teaching
irrespective of the fact whether it is bearable for the poverty
stricken physically challenged person. The details of the modus
of operandi will be discussed in the next chapter when the
question of the implementation of the policy will be discussed
but it is sufficient to mention here that there is no generalistic
model which can be applied on each and everyone.
Remarking over this, it is stated that "Each child's unique

needs would be met through a tailor-made programme."266 Seeing this uniqueness and
the variety of the physically
challenged persons, various models of the education were

suggested such as special schools, special class, distance ¦
learning, Home-based education, itinerant teacher model ^^to
resource room model, dual teaching, consultant model, Para-^W»
teachers, learning corners and inclusive school. 267 |
JayaCommenting upon the inclusive educational system, it

is said, "Inclusion is defined as a shared value which promotes
a single system of education dedicated to ensuring that all!
learners are empowered to become caring, competent and
contributing citizens in an inclusive, changing and diverse
society."268
Every policy has some philosophical background.

Discussing over such philosophy, it is said, "An inclusive
philosophy has become central to the educational policies of
large numbers of developed and developing countries and
has emerged as an important aspect of international
discussions about how best to respond to learners who
experience difficulties in school.269 It is further described in
details as "regular schools with an inclusive orientation are
... the most effective means of combating discriminatory
attitudes, creating welcoming communities, building an
inclusive society and achieving education for all, moreover
they provide an effective education to the majority of children
and improve the efficiency and ultimately the cost-effectiveness
of the entire education system."270 This statement
was endorsed by 92 countries and 25 international
organisations.
The Salamanca Statement is unequivocal in asserting that

inclusion is a right, that appears to be universal, seeing the
creation of inclusive schools as part of the creation of an
inclusive society. However, much of the debate on the
implementation of inclusive education in the school system
has focused on the nature of inclusive schools as organisations.
The result has been that the discourse based on the notion of
an inclusive system is yielding extreme results. Sometimes, in
the absence of proper resources, some children cannot cope
up with the situation and lag behind and in other cases, it
Post-Apartheid South Africa and India ,,. 171
suits those who are coming from a better economic uackffound, such resources are
managed by their parents
and they show their best in the class.
The abovementioned description reveals this fact that

despite the claim of supporting the inclusive education, it is
not suggested to apply any particular pattern of education to
each and every physically challenged.
Before dealing with the policies relating to the education

of the persons with physical challenge in general and the
visually impaired persons in particular, it is pertinent here to
make a brief sketch of the special needs and consequent special
arrangements for the visually impaired student while starting
their learning process through a formal education. For him,
reading, writing and rhetorics have different meaning in terms
of using unique method despite all claims of technological
developments.
For a visually challenged person, reading process starts

by learning a dotted method of teaching, commonly known
as Braille, detailed description of which was made in Chapter
II. However, it is sufficient to state here that it is a method
which is totally dependent upon the touch of the knuckles.
Apparently, it looks a difficult process to a common man but
as a common man makes his eyes habitual to see the ink print,
so is the case with the knuckles. Of course, in this case, it is
virtually impossible for a visually challenged to read
something from a longer distance which puts a realistic
hindrance on the unlimited or comparatively more limited
scope of the sighted person. That is why, it is stated that "It
is interesting to note that the greatest possible range of a
given perceptive experience of the blind through touching is
the extent of his outstretched arm. For a sighted person,
light gives a long distance touch with colour added; for the
blind, touch is possibly near sight minus the sensation of
colours (but with the sensation of feeling, too)."271
So far as the paper for this purpose is concerned, a

Usually challenged person needs a thicker paper normally Used for drawing or normally
known as a chart paper. Of
course, the paper which is needed for Braille is costlier and

the matter covered in a normal sheet in ink, for Braille, despite
the use of contractions and abbreviations, they needed three
times more paper. Hence, the education of a blind is costlier
even if he does not make any use of the book. Moreover, if
the cost of the books is included, despite some subsidy by
both the governments, i.e., the Government of South Africa
and the Government of India, its cost never comes less than
the ink print books. It is also pertinent to mention here that
despite all logic in favour of new technique in terms of calling
the Braille books very bulky, still its dependence is not
reduced and any sensible person cannot suggest, at least at
the primary level, to shirk from using the Braille books. To
decrease the weight of these books, a way was suggested to
use the plastic sheets, but in case of both the countries, which
are having most of the time the temperature more than 20
Degree, reading of these books may cause perspiration in the
fingers which is against any medical norm.
For a visually impaired person, writing means writing

in Braille, a universally accepted way of writing in six dots
with the help of a slate,272 pocket frame273 or Braille
typewriter.274 For writing on both slate and pocket frame,
one needs to make the use of stylus.275
So far as the rhetorics is concerned, a visually challenged

person needs to use a tailored frame.276 An Abacus was also
developed to teach the arithmetics and a significant role in
India was played by Mr. S.H. Kazmi for its development to
cope the need of the small children. For geometry, Bonham
device is used. Through this equipment, one can draw any
raised shape which can be touched. It is needless to say that
as industrial revolution found the mechanical alternatives of
different organs, the thinkers of its time contemplated in terms
of making use of one sense in lieu of other and also thinking
in terms of the importance of touch for the blind.
Though the discussion is made about the education of
the visually impaired person in general, it is pertinent here to
give some information about the way partially visually
1
I
ii
iaixed persons are taught. A partial vision may range from
' \e sioht to the low vision which can be corrected through
use of lenses or spectacles. Such problems may vary from
I e defect in different type of visions. Different means are
see! to teach them. Normally, a partially sighted is taught

,iroUcrh the large print or with the use of close circuits. For
m6/ mere use of magnifying glass is more than sufficient as

jt can multiply the size of the print. There are some partially
sicrhted who can even read the Braille with the naked eye. It
is not suggestible as it may reduce their sight.
Although there has been a slight change over the years

as regards the fundamentals of the education of the partially
sighted, the basic components are still very much the same.
The four cornerstones, on which the education and training
of the partially sighted child are based, are: 1. the partially
sighted seen as a sighted person, 2. Development and
utilization of residual vision, 3. compulsion of change in the
methods and educational processes due to variation of the
acuity of vision and 4. System of differentiated education.277
The discussion over the education of the partially sighted

person can be concluded by referring a study by Peabody
and Birch involving 1084 partially seeing children.
"They concluded that there is a great and urgent need

for increased emphasis on two educational procedures. First
is pre-school identification and planning for partially seeing
children. The most important parts of pre-school assessment
should be a full evaluation of the nature, extent and prognosis
of the visual disability and a thorough analysis of the
educational needs and potentialities of the child. Put together,
these should point the way to a second procedure, a special
educational plan to be initiated when the child begins school.
Fhis should be a considered decision, with progress being
observed and aided as necessary through special education."278
h In any case, it is suggested that there should be separate

classes for both as teaching methods, teaching aids and general aPproach will be entirely
different. The blind needs more
Personal attention whereas in the case of a partially sighted,
personal attention is not needed much. To make them mOre

attentive, one can make use of some equipment which can
maintain the concentration of the partially sighted. Partially
sighted does not need the use of model, they can be
introduced things by enlarging its picture. It is necessary fOr a partially sighted to make
best use of his residual vision.
As the policy of the education of both the countries is

influenced by the development at the international level, it is
desirable here to give a brief resumae of this international
development. As has already been stated that the education
has travelled a path from complete segregation to inclusion,
it is needless to say that the initial educational institutes were
opened as a special schools for the visually challenged and
they happened to be preferably the residential one. It was
thought that as they need special guidance and special
technique, it is appropriate to keep them separate for their
education. It was also opined that it would be difficult for
the visually impaired to cope with the sighted counterpart at
the primary or middle level.
JayaIf the history of making the education compulsory for

the visually impaired person is traced, one will be astonished
to know that United Kingdom made education compulsory
for the visually challenged and the hearing challenged children
in 1793. By making this statement, it is not suggested here
that nothing was being done prior to this year in the field of
the education for the visually impaired, but this step shows
the concern of the political system to the issue of the education
for this segment of the society. Unfortunately, no such
exclusive declaration is found in India though one can say
that the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan of 1986 implies even the
education for the visually challenged.
Though the idea of integrated education was floated

during sixties and seventies of the 20* century, but it was
being materialised in Great Britain after the passing of new
Legislation, the Education Act of 1981. There is a substantial
change in the special schools of the country in terms 0'
introduction of new subjects and in terms of compulsory
rhers' training which was being recognised by the
nartment of Education and Science. But the persons who
playing the supportive or advisory role were not being
sked to take up this training.279 This contradiction shows the

double standard of this approach in which the difference is
,nade between the professionals and the social workers. It, of course, becomes a matter of
deeper study and puts a
uestion mark on the intention of the supporters of the

integration. However, as the area study is not Great Britain,
it is not advisable to probe in details over this matter. But it
is sufficient to say here that this paved the way for resource
rooms and the role of the special schools as providing expertise
on this matter. It was, thus, stated, "Financial constraints as
well as the philosophical debate on the merits of integration
have resulted in many Local Educational Authorities setting
up some kind of provision for the visually impaired within
their own boundaries rather than sending children to special
schools in other areas. This provision has been characterised
bya rapid growth in the peripatetic/advisory/visiting teacher
services for the visually impaired and by the setting up of
units attached to both primary and secondary schools to act
as resource bases for fully or partly integrated pupils."280
Some special schools are playing the supportive role. As

the West seems to be the trend setter, it is pertinent to give a
description of the supportive role by these special schools.
These institutions explain the effects of visual impairment

and how it can affect the child's daily functioning. That is
why, an endeavour is made to perform the following
functions:
~ It can make assessment of the child's needs and advise

the class teacher on setting objectives and planning
programmes.
"~ It can provide advise on classroom placements and

lighting conditions.
It can work with the child, teachers, parents and other
agencies involved.
-- It can assess visual functioning and provide training

the use of residual vision and co-ordination with the
other senses.
-- It can monitor visual conditions and, if necessary, refer

to other agencies, e.g. Low Vision Clinic.
-- It can provide training in the use of real and abstract

forms to help with visual discrimination and perception
-- It can develop tactile and other sensory skills to

complement vision.
-- It can increase short and long-term memory skills.
-- It can help with self organisation.
-- It can develop communication skills including listening,

reading, spelling, handwriting (especially for the low
vision learners) and keyboard skills.
-- It can help with the acceptance of the impairment, self-confidence

and independence.
-- It can help with social skills.
-- It can develop mobility skills.
-- It can give advise on resource materials for teachers and

children, i.e., large print, raised work surfaces, low vision
aids, personal computers.
-- It can provide In-Service training for teachers and staff.

In the USA, long after the 1975 law that requires teaching
disabled children in the least restrictive environment, i. e.>
with non-disabled whenever possible. However, it is stated
that "some 67 per cent are still taught in separate classes,
schools and resource rooms, while only 33 per cent spend
most of their day in a regular classroom, according to a recent
report of the US department of education."281
This is true that a physically challenged child is a child

who needs a support. This support should be need based and
cannot be generalistic in nature. If the physical impairment is
mild, he should be given education in an ordinary atmosphere under the integrated system
and it will help in his natural
ovvth. But if it is greater or severe, there is no other option

but to provide education in the specialised scheme so that his
verity may not become the cause of his inferiority complex.

The uniqueness of the Act is known by the fact that "an
individualised approach has to be developed for each child
in consultation with his parents. The parents also have the riaht to go to a court of law if
they are not satisfied with this
plan."282 Due to this provision, it is found that there is a
reversal process of the visually impaired students in terms of
coming back to the specialised education.
It would be improper to put an end to this discussion

without making an observation about various discourses of
the education for the physically challenged. It is stated that it
is a move from medical discourse to right discourse.
According to Fulcher, there are four main kinds of discourse,
namely, medical discourse, charity discourse, lay discourse
and rights discourse.283
Through a resolution on Equalisation and the status of

education for the physical challenge, it was stated that
"Education in mainstream schools presupposes the provision
of interpreter and other appropriate support services.
Adequate accessibility and support services, designed to meet
the needs of persons with different disabilities, should be
provided."284
By the abovementioned analysis of these changes in the

education for the visually impaired in particular and the
physically challenged in general, it is not to be understood
that such changes are accepted as it is, in all the countries. "In
Holland, by law, handicapped children are placed in
segregated schools. Even in Finland and the Russian
federation, special schools are favoured. In Ethiopia, all
handicapped children are placed in special schools at the
Primary stage. Mainstreaming is encouraged at the secondary ar>d collegiate levels."285
With the over-emphasis on the inclusive education which

gives the impression of supporting the homogeneous policy
or the education of the visually challenged under the rationale
of the financial constraints, there is a fear that it may lead not

to provide proper attention to the specific condition of tllp visually challenged. Such
atmosphere is described thus:
"Presently, a large number of children who are not totally

blind have to learn Braille due to the inadequacy of low vision
aid and absence of teachers for children with low vision aids
Quite a few low vision children do not go to special schools
for the blind which are considered good only for the totally
blind. They do not adjust well even in the schools for the
normal children in the absence of adequate facilities. All
visually handicapped children cannot be treated as one I
homogeneous group for purposes of education. Each low I
vision child needs precise assessment of his residual vision
and suitable aids for learning. There are also problems
regarding availability of special educational aids in time."286
3.3.1 Educational Policies for the Visually Impaired persons

in South Africa
As most of the modern institutions are developed in

South Africa by the Britishers, so is the case with the!
educational institutions. South Africa is nowhere an exception
in terms of the development of the educational institutions
for the visually impaired by the missionaries. A brief sketch
about the history of the schools for the visually impaired was
made in Chapter 2.
Change in the philosophy of the education for the

disability was influenced by the changes in the perspective of
the broader framework. The development of liberal
progressive democratic thought has shaped the movement
towards inclusive education. A context is a pre-requisite for
the understanding of experience, behaviour, problems and
phenomena. There has been change in South African society
which has also made an impact in reform in both general and
special education. It is only once it is understood the changeS that have occurred and
what these changes hope to achieve will be able to understand the need for and the
reasons <°
the move towards the new system of education in South Afric^-The
system advocated for is an inclusive system whic
rOvides support to all learners irrespective of race, gender,

exual orientation, disability, religion and the like. It should ue noted that both the national
and international social
contexts have contributed towards facilitating this move under
the rhetoric of democracy and a system of equal opportunities
for all.
Prior to the system of inclusion, advocates of special

education made issues related to practical efficiency such as
the curriculum, teaching methods, individual needs and
individual and group attitudes and perceptions. These were
their focal point of concern. However, with the development
of global trends, and the promotion and consolidation of
democratic political thought under a system of freedom,
equality, and human rights, the focus has shifted away from
the practical, to what is arguably referred to as the
ideologically theoretical. Commenting upon the changing focal
point of the education for the disabled, it is said, "An inclusive
philosophy has become central to the educational policies of
large numbers of developed and developing countries and as
emerged as an important aspect of international discussions
about how best to respond to learners who experience
difficulties in school."287
The constitution which boasts a spirit of equal

opportunities and equal liberties for all individuals in South
African societal life has spread its morality to the education
system in the country as well. In the 1970s the normative
system of children having special needs being confined and
isolated in special schools from their mainstream counterparts
was placed under scrutiny and great criticism. The shift
towards a social rights discourse led to the realisation that it
was not the impairments of people that handicapped them
from achieving their full potential, but rather it was society and its normative limitations
that hampered and handicapped
them. It was this philosophical realisation that led social policy
takers to the conclusion that society had to change to accommodate and include disabled
persons in all sectors
deluding education, instead of marginalising and neglecting
them to suit society. The system of inclusion of all learner

into a single education system, it was believed, had to occur
gradually. This gradual process was referred to a system of
integration. Integration is the process where learners are
given the freedom to go to any local community school but
are taught separately from other learners in a resource room
created specifically for learners with special needs in the
school. Although integration involved more extensive
participation of learners with special needs in appropriate
activities with non-disabled peers, significant time instruction
in separate settings still prevailed. Integration did not amend
or transform the organisation of the school curriculum, and
continued to adapt the curriculum according to individual
needs. There were still separate settings created with separate
instruction time and different activities for learners with
special needs. On the other hand, integration, being based
on the human values of participation, saw placement in the
mainstream as depending on the balance of advantage for
particular learners. Thereby, also underlining differences, the
more recent movement towards inclusion sees it as a matter
of human rights, transforming the human values of integration
into the immediate rights of excluded learners. Inclusion does
not focus on how to accommodate and incorporate learners
with different needs into the mainstream school, but
concentrates on constructing and adapting new and existing
schools with an aim to include all learners in the same teaching
environment, curriculum and education system. All of these
dynamics follow from the philosophy that all individuals need
to be a part of and not apart from society.
This is a Utopian philosophy, but while implementing it,

one has to take into the consideration the variety of limitations
which are supposed to be faced by one teacher. How far and
up to what extent he can judiciously deal with variety of
challenges and consequent need is a moot question about
which despite the serious objections by various writers, no
serious attention is being paid and this change, may be with
half-heartedness is being accepted in the name of making these
segregated segments of the society as a part of mainstream
[n the preceding paragraphs, a historical analysis of the

inclusive education and its implications has been dealt with a view to understand what the
policy framers have thought
vvhen taking South Africa as a case for drafting such policy.
At the national level, major changes were taking place

as a result of the new democracy in South Africa. The South
African Federal Council on Disability (SAFCD) called for the
development of a single inclusive education system for South
Africa. It was, thus, stated, "Learners with Special Education
Needs (LSEN) have a right to equal access to education at all
levels in a single inclusive education system that is responsive
to the diverse needs of all learners, accommodating both
different styles and rates of learning, as well as different
language needs in the case of deaf learners where their first
language is sign language, and ensuring quality education to
all through appropriate curricula, organisational arrangements,
technical strategies, resource use and partnerships with their
communities."288
Twenty-eight organisations and institutions are active

in development or this statement. What emerged was a strong
international and national call for inclusive education, a call
which dovetailed with the key themes of the South African
Interim Constitution, the White Paper on Education, and the
Education and Training Policy Framework of the majority
party in the Government of National Unity, the African
National Congress.
The South African Federal Council of Disability (SAFCD)

was not alone in its call for a non-discriminatory type of
education. Even the Constitution of the Republic of South
Africa was laying emphasis by enshrining the provision that
'Every person shall have the right to basic education and to
equal access to educational institutions."289
Moreover, the government draft White Paper on

Education declares that it is essential to increase awareness
°f the importance of National Committee for Education
Support Services (NCESS) and National Commission on Special
Education Needs and Training (NCSNET) which are
II
LUUUUiUuUUi
committed to equal access, non-discrimination and redress

and which needed to target those section's of the learning
population which have been most neglected or are most
vulnerable. Hence, it is stated that "the NCSNET and NCESS
had to take into consideration the Constitution, all relevant
submissions contributed towards the formulation of the White
Paper on Education and submissions made by national and
international specialists and organisations such as UNESCO,
inputs from the national and provincial government
departments with line functions (e.g. Education, Welfare,
Health and Labour It are quite clear that the suggested
documentation that needs to be taken into consideration is
very compatible with the rights discourse and the work of
the NCSNET and NCESS had to be underpinned by this
discourse."290
It is against the above-mentioned background that the

new Ministry of education appointed the NCSNET and NCESS
in 1996 to investigate and make recommendations on all
aspects of special needs and support services in education
and training in South Africa. Although the commission and
committee were commissioned to conduct the research
separately, the comprehensive scope of special needs and
support resulted in a joint investigation. The general terms of
reference of the NCSNET and NCESS were to advise the
Minister of Education on the following matters:
-- Tine immediate and long-term national and provincial

needs and strategies for the education of learners with
special needs in education
-- The support structures required by the Minister of
Education, the provincial Ministers of Education, and
the departments of education or any other relevant
authority for implementation of the strategies the training
of personnel for specialised education and education
support services
-- The implications of the policy of mainstreaming for

general education and strategies for marketing the policy
to communities
_ The organisation, governance and funding of schools

providing education for learners with special education
needs
_ An implementation plan to effect the above Guidelines

for the involvement of international agencies and their
interaction en provincial and local level
-- A project plan and time frame when it is made available.291
It was decided that both NCSNET and NCESS have to

work under the following principles:
-- Amalgamation of the NCSNET and NCESS, to address

historical fragmentation in these areas
-- A commitment to democratic processes in the NCSNET/

NCESS in a participatory and transparent manner,
involving all members in decision-making and in all areas
of work
-- A participatory approach to public involvement,

attempting to involve relevant stakeholders in the fullest
manner possible
-- A listening approach forming the basis of both research

and consultation work, the aim being to learn as much
as possible from all relevant sources before putting
forward recommendations, this listening does not,
however, exclude a critical engagement with
contributions made
-- Finding indigenous responses to South Africa's needs while

international opinion and trends are important to
consider in the process of developing policy, the thrust
has been on seeking radical problem solving in an attempt
to address local needs.292
It was necessary to put these principles into practice
which was not possible without the maximum participation
of varying agencies. For this purpose, several steps were taken
which include: reference Group was set up to assist the
NCSNET/NCESS in its work to played a key role in mediating
information flow between the NCSNET/NCESS and key
stakeholders, The National Coordinating Committee

(NaCoCo) for the Education of Learners with Special
Education Needs (ELSEN) and the Education Support Services
(ESS).
Provincial teams were formed by the members of the

NCSNET/NCESS. These teams were responsible for _
conducting site visits, participating in stakeholder meetings, fl
and facilitating provincial workshops and hearings in all nine ^|
provinces.
During the month of March, the NCSNET/NCESS's first

public discussion document was released to the public with
the aim of outlining their initial proposals for a future vision,
principles and strategies. This document was used as a basis
for the workshops held in all 9 provinces during the months
of March and April.In the month of August, a discussion
document was compiled to outline initial findings and
recommendations of the NCSNET/NCESS. This consultation
process was culminated in the National Conference of
September.
Later on, the final recommendations of the report were

developed in the context of the analysis of the all submissions
made during this period. This research was further structured
through joint task groups, aiming at focussing on the main
aspects of the terms of reference of the NCSNET and NCESS.
These task groups were comprised of core members (members
of the NCSNET/ NCESS), commissioned researchers and
additional consultants. Its primary function was to conduct
research in all areas relevant to the task groups' focus, utilising
literature from within and outside South Africa, and, where
appropriate and possible, conducting primary research in
South Africa. Each task group was then responsible for
developing research reports and discussion documents.
Submissions received from the public, as well as reports on
site visits, meetings and workshops, were incorporated in
the development of these documents. The documents were
then used as a basis for developing both the public discussion
document released in August and the final report.
Additional research was then conducted in areas

^sufficiently covered in the early work of the NCSNET/
I\jCESS. Reports on these investigations, as well as analyses of submissions received by
the Secretariat before and after
the development of the public discussion document, were also
incorporated into this report.
Treating the commonly known definition of the inclusive

education as insufficient, clarity was provided in the report
of NCSNET/NCESS. It was stated that the separate systems
of education which presently exist (special and ordinary) need
to be integrated to provide one system which is an able to
recognise and respond to the diverse needs of the learner
population. Within this integrated system, a range of options
for education provision and support services should be
provided. Learners should have the ability to move from one
learning context to another, e.g., from early childhood
education (ECD) to general education and training (GET),
from a specialised centre of learning to an ordinary centre of
learning, or from a formal to a non-formal programme. The
system of education should be structured in such a way that,
irrespective of the learning context, opportunities for
facilitating integration and inclusion of the learner in all aspects
of life should be provided.293
In order to make sense of the conceptual definition which

refers to a system of education that is inclusive of diverse
needs, it is crucial that the conceptual definition be
operationalised. The operational definition thus speaks of a
single education system and the closure of the dual special
ordinary education system. Further, it articulates the need
for support services which ensure a range of options for the
provision of education. The support services will include
educators with specialised competencies, parents, community
homes, community-based transportation, NGOs and
dedicated posts of personnel in all sections of the education
departments.
After having a look at who will be the participators in

developing inclusive education, it is pertinent to have a look
iiiUiihuiumuiuui
at the proposed policy of building an inclusive education and

training system. It is stated in Education White Paper 6 that
"The Ministry accepts that a broad range of learning needs
exists among the learner population at any point of time, and
that, where these are not met, learners may fail to learn
effectively or be excluded from the learning system. In this
regard, different learning needs arise from a range of factors,
including physical, mental, sensory, neurological and
developmental impairments, psycho-social disturbances, and
differences in intellectual ability, particular life experiences
or socio-economic deprivation." 294
Different learning needs may also arise because of the

negative attitude of the society which creates stereotype
differences amongst its varying segments. It may also develop
due to rigid curriculum, language of learning and teaching,
inadequate support services, insufficient policies and
legislation, non-involvement of the parents of the disabled,
inappropriate training of the education managers and
educators etc. If it is accepted, it is essential to acknowledge
that the learners who are most vulnerable to barriers to
learning and exclusion in South Africa are those who have
historically been termed 'learners with special educational
needs', i.e., learners with disabilities and impairments. Their
increased vulnerability has arisen largely because as there
are diverse learning needs, obviously there are varieties of
factors which contribute in it. While going through these
factors, it is possible to trace barriers to learning in action
within the learners or the education and its training system.
There are possibilities that one may realise them in the learning
process and those may be of a temporary in nature. These
can be attended by making use of variety of mechanisms and
processes. For this, it is desired to use some mechanisms or
adopt some strategies at different levels such as the classroom,
school, district, provincial and national departments. This will
help in making learning more effective. This will also help in
saving the number of exclusion as timely intervention may
make certain chances as per the specific needs because there
cannot be any full proof system which may make claim of its
biective success as it is being used on human beings and one

cannot deny the dynamism in it.
Any policy which speaks in abstract may remain an empty

schema. But in the case of the inclusive education, the policymakers
provided some concrete planning which starts from
describing about what kind of human resources are provided
for the classroom educators who are, as is said, "will be our
primary resource for achieving our goals of an inclusive
education and training system."295 This made necessary for
them to have up-to-date knowledge of modern teachings
techniques and have open-mindedness to adapt itself with
the changing needs and aspirations of the students. For this,
some guidelines are provided in the Whitepaper 6 which is
being summarised as under:
The priority will be given to multi-level instructions in

the classroom so as to make it possible for the educators
prepare main lessons with variations as per the needs of the
learners and their challenges for which it is needed to take
into consideration the factors like cooperative learning;
curriculum enrichment and finding the way how to deal vdth
their behavioural problems.
Instead of focussing on the shortcomings of the variety

of learners, there is a need of prioritising orientation to new
roles and new approaches which lay emphasis on problem-solving
and the development of learners' strengths and
competencies.
Even in full serving schools, similar priorities should be

given. An orientation and training should also be given to
the education support personnel within district support
services so that they may provide support to all teachers and
other educators. The focal point of this training should by on
supporting all learners, educators and the whole system so
that the full range of learning needs can be met. The focus
should be on teaching and learning factors, and emphasis be
Placed on the development of a good teaching strategies; for
the benefit to all learners; on overcoming barriers in the sysitem
that prevent it from meeting the full range of learning needs;
and on adaptation of and support systems available in the

classroom.
With the goal of identification of barriers and addressina

them, management and governance development programmes
are to be revised so that proper care is taken of different
categories of institutions such as special, full-service and
mainstream within the inclusive education and training
system ?96
The interventions made for removing the barriers are

the process in continuum with a learning-centred approach
to teaching and learning. It accepts the fact that through this
process one is developing the strength of the learners and
preparing them to participate actively and critically in the
learning process so that the causes of difficulties are identified
and can be overcome. It is emphatically stated that "It is
consistent with new international approaches that focus on
providing quality education for all learners."297
It is also pointed out in the Whitepaper 6 that there are

some barrier relating to the curriculum and institutions and
they can be removed for realising the goal of inclusive
education. In a special and ordinary school, one of the most
conspicuous barriers is the curriculum. It may arise from
different aspects of the curriculum which include the content,
the language or medium of instruction, organising and
managing lecture in the classroom, the methods and processes
used in teaching, the pace of teaching and the time available
to complete the curriculum, the learning materials and
equipment that is used and the pattern of assessment.
These are some of the challenges which can be met with

making some adjustments with the curriculum which should
make balance between the needs of the learners and the desire
to do justice with the curriculum. It is felt that this should be
the ideal way of dealing with this problem. But the emphasis
of the Whitepaper is other way round which says, "The most
important way of addressing barriers arising from the
curriculum is to make sure that the process of teaching and
learning is flexible enough to accommodate different learning
Post-Apartheie South Africa and India 189
needs and styles. The curriculum must therefore be made

more flexible across all bands of education so that it is
ccessible to all learners, irrespective of their learning needs.

One of the tasks of the district support team will be to assist
educators in institutions in creating greater flexibility in their
teaching methods and in the assessment of learning. They will also provide illustrative
learning programmes, learning
support materials and assessment instruments."298
It should not be understood that by just adopting this

approach, it becomes the final declaration of the policy. For
this, one has to take into consideration the situation of
different provinces. In fact, this policy, while implementing,
will work as a process success of which will depend on a
"substantive understanding of the real experiences and
capabilities of our provincial systems and education and
training institutions, the setting of achievable policy objectives
and priorities over time and regular reporting on these.
Successful policy implementation also relies upon the
identification of key levers for policy change and innovation
within our provincial systems and our educatjpni^nd training
institutions."299
Against this background, following six key strategies

are levers are identified for establishing inclusive education
and training system in South Africa:
- There is a need for the qualitative improvement of special

schools and setting for the learners so that they can serve
as resource centres which can be integrated into district-based
support teams.
It is targeted that approximately 280,000 children and

youth should be moved outside of the traditional school \ system.
- It is proposed to change at least approximately 500 out

I of 20,000 primary schools to full-service schools,
beginning with the 30 school districts that are part of

| the national district development programme. Similar \ steps are supposed to be taken
for adult basic, further
and higher education.

-- It is proposed that the general orientation arid

introduction of management, governing bodies arid
professional staff to the inclusion model will be made
within education with a view to make early identification
of disabilities and intervention in the Foundation Phase
-- It is also proposed to establish district-based support

teams for providing a coordinated professional support
service which may be able to draw on expertise in the
further and higher education and local communities to
target special schools, specialised settings, designated
full-service and other primary schools and educational
institutions. For this, it is decided to make a begin with
30 school districts.
The priority will be given to the implementation of a

national advocacy and information programme in support
of the inclusion model which will focus on the roles,
responsibilities and rights of all learning institutions,
educators, parents and local communities. These programmes
will be highlighted and reporting be made on their progress
so that one may get responses from different involved
categories.300
Before dealing with the policies for the higher education,

it is pertinent here to mention that the overstress on meeting
the needs of the physically challenged students pose a question
mark over the judicious dealing with the curriculum. It also
raises the controversy of curriculum vs. beneficiaries. If
curriculum is adjusted to the need of the physically challenged
person, there should be some limit to it, as in most of the
cases, the curriculum of the school is developed with a view
to meet the needs and demands of the given time. If that is
not being properly met with, there are all chances that the
students may lag behind. At the same time, if one is really
wishing to include all variety of physically challenged, the inflexible curriculum will
hamper their performance and may
make them disinterested in the education which, in turn, ^ defeat the purpose of inclusion
and will enhance the num^
of drop-outs. Moreover, due to its enthusiastic spirit, tfti
¦yj-jjtepaper fails to acknowledge the need of home-based

education. Irrespective of the desire of 100% inclusion, the
fact lies that there is a segment, may be very dismal, which
needs home-based education due to their severe challenge or due to unfriendly
geographical conditions. There is no point
to deny their right of access to information and the right of
education.
So far as the higher education is concerned, some

commitments are made in terms of increasing the access of
learners with special education needs. Hence, it is expected
from the institutions to indicate in their institutional plans,
the strategies and steps by mentioning the time span it will
take to increase enrolment of these learners. For the admission
of the physically challenged, the recommendations will be
made by the Ministry to the higher educational institutions
for minimum levels of provisions for them. The emphasis is
also made on making these institutions friendly for the
physically challenged.
So far as the higher education for the hearing and visually

challenged persons is concerned, a sorry figure was cut by
saying that "It will not be possible to provide relatively
expensive equipment and other resources, particularly, for
blind and deaf students, at all higher education institutions.
Such facilities will therefore have to be organised on a regional
basis."301 This description highlights the inherent contradiction
in the policy and the preferences developed therefrom.
Irrespective of the fact that in some of the provinces, with
the assistance of different sources, the visually challenged
are able to manage to get that much financial source as they
may purchase most modern equipments and some of the
universities are providing infrastructure for both totally and
partially visually challenged details of which will be discussed lr* the next chapter, but
the policy itself realises the inner
contradictions while dealing with the physically challenged
Persons. It reveals that it is a matter of priorities in terms of
Providing ramps or providing special equipments. Not only
has this, majority of the universities failed to provide Braille
numbers on the room which need meagre fiscal involvement

This can also be seen from other viewpoint that despite there
are couple of visually impaired in the legislative assembly
they fail to lobby for the incorporation of the needs of the
visually impaired in a judicious manner in the National Pl^
for Higher Education announced by the Ministry of Education
in February, 2001. j
It is needless to say that as South Africa has got better

chance to get opportunity to have Western exposure, it took
variety of policies and programmes from the West and tried
to incorporate in its plan even during the seventh and eighth
decade of the 20th century.
If a critical analysis is made of the inclusive education

policy, one can say that at an outset, one should not doubt
the intention of the policy makers and their logic. But it raises
the questions about the fate of the curriculum, about the
performance level and its influence over the non-challenged
students etc. Even within the physical impairment, there are
variety of needs and level of understanding which is supposed
to be catered. So far as the visually challenged is concerned,
there is a need of specially trained teacher or facilitator who
can teach reading, writing and arithmetic at the primary level.
Even if the special schools are converted into the resource
centres, how their teachers will meet the requirement of the
students studying in different schools of a district and even
if there will be a provision of sending the students to these
resource centres or vice versa, how far it will be practicable
to provide them consistent man to man learning which is a
necessity at least at the primary level. These are some of the
barriers which are supposed to be dealt with.
3.3.2 Educational Policies for the Visually Impaired Persons in India
As the education was not compulsory in India up to the

9th decade of the 20th century, the source for such policy is found in the Directive
Principles for the State Policy which #
enshrined in the Chapter IV of its constitution. It says: "The state shall, within the limits
of its economic capacity and
development, make effective provision for securing the right

work, to education and to public assistance in cases of nen-iployment, old age, sickness
and disablement, and in
other cases of undeserved want."302
Similar provision is made for the children. It says: "The

state shall endeavour to provide within a period of ten years
from the commencement of this Constitution, for free and
compulsory education for all children until they complete the
age of 14 years."303
As these provisions are the part of the Directive

Principles of the State policy, it is neither a compulsion for
the government nor a claim by the citizens for which they can
cto to the court. Despite its sincere intention, it is nothing but
a golden letter of a book which may look nice to preach but hard to act upon. However,
inspired from it, not only the
schools were opened for the general category, but also
endeavours were made by both the government and the nongovernmental
organisations to open the schools for the
physically challenged in general and the visually challenged
in particular.
The responsibility of the education of the physically

challenged was initially entrusted to the Ministry of Education
and in June, 1954, it was transferred to the Department of the
then Social Security304 which was renamed as Social welfare
and now is known as Social Justice and Empowerment. How
such schools were started and what kind of activities used to
take place in it, can be understood by the fact that "Many
educational institutions in the beginning were initiated by
the missionary groups. Most of the special institutions for the care, training and education
of the handicapped are still being
run by voluntary organisations, with some State assistance.
M°st institutions provide primary education combined with
Gaining in a few simple handicrafts, including music for blind, v°cational training is
more frequently given in residential mstitutions than in day schools."305 The effect of
this policy on the special schools for the physically impaired in general
and the visually challenged in particular will be dealt in detail
in the next chapter. As these schools were meeting the need

of the limited number of the students, it was recommended
to take up integrated education system.306
Keeping the limitations of the special education in view

particularly its homogeneous approach, its location far from
the villages, its financial implications etc., a new approach
was developed to educate the visually impaired and other
physically challenged persons. It is known as the integrated
educational system. It is a system in which a visually
challenged or other physically challenged student is supposed
to study in the ordinary school, if possible, with the provision
of a resource room for them. This policy was suggested,
basically, for the mildly challenged students. Over this issue,
it is stated in the National Policy document that "The objective
should be to integrate the physically and mentally
handicapped with the general community as equal partners,
to prepare them for normal growth and to enable them to
face life with courage and confidence. The following measures
will be taken in this regard:
(i) Wherever it is feasible, the education of children with

motor handicaps and other mild handicaps will be
common with that of the others.
(ii) Special schools with hostels will be provided as far as

possible at district headquarters for the severely
handicapped children.
(iii) Adequate arrangements will be made to give vocational

training to the disabled.
(iv) Teacher's training programmes will be reoriented, in

particular for teachers of primary classes, to deal with
the special difficulties of the handicapped children.
(v) Voluntary effort for the education of the disabled will

be encouraged in every possible manner."307
Prior to this, the Ministry of Social Welfare had already
initiated a centrally-sponsored scheme of Integrated
Education of the physically challenged. Nowadays, thi5 scheme is being handled by the
Ministry of Human Resource
I
n velopilien': and the latest revision has been made in 1992.

Jaya-i-ujs Scheme which was also known as Integrated Education
f the Disabled Children (IEDC) was destined to provide
ducational opportunities for the physically challenged
children in common schools, to facilitate their retention in
the school system, and also to place in common schools such
children already placed in special schools after they acquire
the communication and daily living skills at the functional
level. The scope of the scheme includes preschool training for
the physically challenged children, counselling for the parents,
special training for the hearing handicapped children, mobility
and orientation training for the visually handicapped children,
daily living and communication skills training required by
children with other physical challenges and training in home
management of these children. It has made the provisions for
the following facilities:
"A disabled child may be given the facilities at the rate

prevalent in the state/ UT concerned. The facilities should as
far as possible be given in kind. In case similar incentives are
not being offered by the state government/UT administration
under any other scheme, the following rates could be adopted:
(a) Actual expenses on books and stationery up to Rs.400 per annum,
(b) Actual expenses on uniform up to Rs.200 per annum,
(c) Transport allowance up to Rs.50 per month. If a disabled child admitted under the
scheme resides in the school
hostel within the school premises, no
transportation charges would be admissible.
(d) Reader allowance of Rs.50 per month in case of blind children up to class V.
(e) Escort allowance for severely handicapped with lower

extremity disability at the rate of Rs.75 per month.
(0 Actual cost of equipment subject to a maximum of Rs.2000

per month for a period of five years."308
It has also been stipulated in this policy that in case of
iiliilittiUtiUhUI
severely orthopaedically afflicted children, it may be necessary

to allow one attendant for 10 children in the school. The
attendant may be given the scale of pay prescribed for classl
IV employees. If there are no educational facilities for such
students in the nearby areas, the children are allowed to stay
in hostels and the actual board and lodging charges, not more
than Rs.200 per month, are paid. An employee of the hostel
willing to give help to severely orthopaedically handicapped
children, be given a special pa)' of Rs.50 per month. It is also
stated that Except for children with locomotor disabilities,
the teacher-pupil ratio is 1:8. The teachers are required to
have the same qualification and pay-scale as the teachers for
the normal schools but are required to have prescribed training
in special education after acquiring which they are given a
special pay of Rs.150 per month in urban areas and Rs.200 in
rural areas. Training in handling the multi-category disability
is preferred.
To provide the necessary feedback, it is suggested that

a resource room, having all the essential equipment, learning
aids and material, is supposed to be provided under the
scheme for a cluster of schools implementing the scheme of
integrated education. The NCERT has prepared a handbook
which also indicates the type of facilities which may be
provided in the resource room. The average cost of such
equipment is estimated at Rs.30,000.
The scheme for integrated education was expected to

be implemented by governmental and non-governmental
organisations with grants provided by the union Ministry of
Education for meeting various costs such as teachers' salaries,
facilities to students in terms of board and lodging allowance,
readers' allowance, transport allowance, escort allowance, cost
of equipment, cost of uniform, cost of removal of architectural
barriers, provision of resource room etc. The scheme,
however, was not as popular as expected. It was felt that the
lack of expected result was perhaps due to inadequate
awareness and lack of co-ordination between school
authorities who were generally government employees and
voluntary agencies implementing the scheme and availability of manpower.
To find the solution of the problem, the Ministry of

Human Resource Development with the assistance of the
UNICEF, has adopted in 1987 the composite area approach
or Project Integrated Education for the Disabled (PIED)
through NCERT. This approach was a new experiment in
terms of adopting the cluster approach in lieu of the individual
approach. It was taking into account a group of schools usually
belonging to a block of people. Under this project, all the
schools of the area are expected to enrol the children with
physical challenge. There were three types of the training
programmes to be given to the teachers. Under the level I
programme, the training of a week was given to the teachers
of the primary level and they were supposed to develop
knowledge of the genralistic nature. A more intensive training
is given in some of the schools and it is known as the Level II
training. This is an education relating to the physically
challenged. These 30 to 40% teachers were supposed to learn
how to handle these persons. It is a training of six weeks
only. The level III training is imparted for a year. This training
is provided in the colleges of the NCERT. The idea behind
providing this training is to tell about multi-category
problems. There is no specialised training. These teachers were
then sent to the block where such programme is supposed to
be started. How far such an attempt reach to its practical
ground, can be understood from the fact that "Since 1987 this
project has been implemented in one administrative block each
in Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Nagaland, Orissa,
Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Haryana, Mizoram, Delhi Munucipal
Corporation, and, Baroda Municipal Corporation."309
The latest development in this field is found in terms of

delusive education which speaks about providing a support-base
to the persons with physical challenge. This approach
does not want to leave these persons without any support
°ase and for this purpose, the special schools and their
technical knowhow was planned to be used. It was proposed
that such support base should even be provided to the

moderate and severely challenged child. It was the feelin» that even such child should
also be provided a support base
and should be taught in the ordinary school. Inspiring from
such developments, it was suggested that "These
developments are relevant for India."310
For enhancing the literacy rate, emphasis has been laid

on the non-formal education. It can also be used for educating
the physically challenged, particularly, to the severely
challenged. Tine idea behind such programmes is to make
education reach to the most unreachable. It has its pros and
cons and one can debate either way. However, while making
provision for the education of the persons with physical
challenge in general and the visual impairment in particular,
one should borne in mind that "A handicapped child is a child
requiring special support in education. This support has to be
child-specific. The only question is where such a support can
be best given. The answer is that to a majority of disabled
children it can be extended in the integrated set up, at tower
cost and near their homes but to a small number in whose
case the severity of disability is much greater and, therefore,
the support required is much more, it can be provided in the
special schools."311 In fact, the course of action suggested in
the National Policy on Education, 1986 would appears to be
the wisest.
Keeping in view the cost-effectiveness, a provision is

made for the scholarship for the physically challenged
students. It starts from the class nine and is permissible up
to the level of post-graduation. Commenting over its history
and purpose, it is stated that "In order to enable the physically
handicapped children belonging to the economically weaker
sections of society to benefit from the educational facilities,
the Union Ministry of Social Welfare has been granting
scholarships since 1955, for general education and professional
or technical or vocational training from the IX class
onwards."312 Starting from a modest 22 scholarships in 1955,
the number rose to 8,500 in 1979-80 involving a disbursement
1
of Rs.50.10 lakhs.313 However, the beneficiaries do not receive

the scholarships promptly. Ignorance on the part of the
concerned persons results in malpractices. In this regards,
the Administrative Reforms Commission undertook a study
of the procedures for the award of scholarships and
recommended measures to expedite the process of selection and payment.314
Initially, this scheme was centralised but later on, it

became the state based. It is assumed that about 50,000
students with various disabilities are being benefited by it.
Since both State and national provisions for the handicapped
come within the jurisdiction of departments of social welfare,
the scholarships are listed as a welfare service rather than as
educational service. In spite of such incentives relatively few
handicapped children continue into post secondary or higher
education. Despite these shortcomings, it is remarked, "This
special educational institutions and the scholarships scheme aim at helping the
handicapped children to become useful
and independent citizens."315
The recent status of the educational policy can be

understood by the provisions stipulated in The PWD Act,
1995. Of course, this Act is dealing with the Disabilities in
general as its name suggests, but some references are made
about the education for the visually impaired and, hence, the
description given below will mainly be confined to the visually
challenged persons.
The description of the education policy for the physically

challenged is given in the Chapter V of the PWD Act. It starts
with about the general provisions regarding the free education
to the physically challenged persons up to the age of 18.316An
emphasis is made to promote integrated education by way of
allowing the students with physical impairment to join the
normal schools. But at the same time, it is also suggested to
"promote setting up of special schools in Government and
private sector for those in need of special education, in such a
manner that children with disabilities living in any part of
the country have access to such schools."317 These two
provisions suggest that the policy-makers are still interested

to retain both type of educational systems for the physically
challenged persons and they are very particular about the
special schools having an open approach in terms of allowing
the students from all parts of the country probably with the
consideration that still there is a scarcity of such schools.
It also lays the importance on the vocational trainings in

the special schools. Perhaps, it seems that the policy-makers
accept this reality that the access of the visually challenged to
the normal school will generally be with the urban-based or
well settled families who are having the wards with physical
challenges.
It also speaks about the provision of non-formal

education in which the reference is made to the part-time
classes for the physically challenged students after class five
or for functional literacy in the age group of sixteen and above.
It also speaks about the non-formal or open school education
and about the provision of free of cost books and jH
equipments.318 ^\
It is suggested to prepare a comprehensive educational

scheme. It says, "Without prejudice to the foregoing
provisions, the appropriate Governments shall by notification
prepare a comprehensive education scheme which shall make
provision with--
Transport facilities to the children with disabilities or in »

the alternative financial incentives to parents or guardians to J
enable their children with disabilities to attend schools; fl
JayaThe removal of architectural barriers from schools,

colleges or other institutions imparting vocational and
professional training;
The supply of books, uniforms and other materials to

children with disabilities attending schools;
The grant of scholarship to students with disabilities;
Setting up of appropriate for a for the redressal of

grievances of parents regarding the placement of their children
with disabilities; :j|
Suitable modification in the examination system to

eliminate purely mathematical questions for the benefit of
blind students and students with low vision;
Restructuring of curriculum for the benefit of children

with disabilities;
Restructuring the curriculum for benefit of students with

hearing impairment to facilitate them to take only, one
language as part of their curriculum."319
As the abovementioned Para is the reproduction of the

proposed educational scheme and its planned provisions
stipulated in section 30 of PWD Act, if a critical analysis is
made, one will find that, apart from the provision mentioned
in (F), all are of the generalistic nature. Even when speaking
about the 'removal of the architectural barriers', no special
mention is made about the specific need of the visually
challenged. It fails to make the provisions of access to the
information which is the main hindrance in the case of-the
visually impaired.
Of course, a special provision is made in Section 31 about

providing amanuensis (writer) and it reads:
All educational institutions shall provide or cause to be

provided amanuensis to blind students and students with
low vision.
This provision also seems to be limited in nature as it

fails to associate it with the modern technique. By making
this statement, it is not suggested here to underestimate the
need of the writers for the visually challenged students but it
would be proper if some space be provided in the Act about
the use of typewriters or computers for the purpose of the
exams as there is a provision of the development of such a
software in which one cannot make any correction of what
he has written and hence, it can be as objective as it is desirable
for any student. Such provision would have developed a sense
°f confidence in the students of this category. However, it is
ftot denied that under the given scenario, the reach to such
sophisticated equipments is very low but if an attempt is made
to use the provision of providing equipments or making tlle research in this field, in all
probabilities, it is possible to proving
such equipments to those who are educated or engaged in
education.
Apart from this, it was felt necessary to reserve some seats for the students with special
challenges in the educational
institutions. That is why, Section 39 of the Act mandates that
every school aided by the state shall offer 3 per cent seats tol
children under this category. Some such steps becomel
unavoidable keeping in view the prejudices in the mind of
the organisers of the institutions. It is this mindset which
necessitates for such provisions in the absence of which, under
one or the other guise, the admission is denied to the specially
challenged student in general and the visually challenged in
particular.
Despite such a positive policy framework for educating

the physically challenged, it is stated that "Currently, less
than one per cent has access to education, although PWD Act,
1995, promises free access to education for every child between
3-18 years of age. Thus although a legal framework does exist,
it has not been translated into reality for most of the children
having special needs. Therefore, a powerful thrust on the part
of the state and voluntary organizations is urgently needed
to achieve what the law promises."320
If a comparative analysis of the educational policies for

the physically challenged in general and the visually challenged
in particular is made, it can be stated that both the countries
have accepted to follow the directions and developments in
the educational policy sphere at the international level. Some
experiments are seen in India even during the sixth decade of
the last century, but, despite the affinity with the European
countries, such developments is not witnessed during that
period may be because of the apartheid regime. However/
the keenness in this direction was shown in the policy-makers
of South Africa after 1995. But if the policy provided by both
the nations is compared, it is more or less the same as it is
deriving from the directions of the international agencies. So
far as the visually challenged are concerned, the policy-makers of both the countries fail
to give due emphasis on the need of
the visually challenged at least at the primary level in their
scheme of inclusive education. How far both the countries
have reached in terms of its implementation in favour of the
visually challenged will be discussed in the chapter to be
followed.
Jaya3.4 Policies for the Rehabilitation of the Visually Impaired

Persons
Before dealing with various policies under the

rehabilitation, it is important here to understand its meaning.
"Rehabilitation has been defined as the process of restoration
of the handicapped to the fullest physical, mental, vocational,
economic and social usefulness of which they are capable."321 On the basis of this
meaning, the aims of the rehabilitation
may include:
(i) Providing adequate Vocational and professional training

facilities for the blind;
(ii) Finding suitable jobs in the industries and other working

places;
(iii) Lessening the dependence on sheltered and

unproductive jobs;
(iv) Rectifying the imbalance between regular jobs and subcontract

work;
(v) Helping in self-employment and

(vi) Encouraging cooperative efforts.
Through these aims, an attempt is made to provide

facility for the all round development of the visually
challenged persons so that they may become an inseparable
part of the society and may play a contributory role in it.
Though, from different outlook, it is felt that "EVERY nation
of the world has been facing problem of rehabilitation of its
handicapped people since time immemorial. The problem is
as old as civilization itself. It is so gigantic and varied that no
nation has been able to tackle it successfully. In spite of rapid
scientific and technological developments even the mOs( advanced countries have not
been able to rehabilitate all th?
handicapped persons so that they can be useful, productive
and contributive members of the community. Their prope,
rehabilitation is a major socio-economic responsibility of even
nation. In this direction various schemes and programme;
have been adopted from time to time to mitigate then
hardships."322 In other words, "The essentials of rehabilitatior
would consist of efforts which minimise the adverse impac
of disability and promote the latent abilities to the fulles
extent possible."323
There was a time when a visually impaired was regardec

as a subject for commercial exploitation. They were trainee
for the occupation of a professional beggar or even considerec
as an object of pity. Scientific methods or measures of medica
and sociological studies have opened up a new horizon fo
such individuals. But if this promise is to be fulfilled and thi
visually impaired is to have his full independent life, theri
must first be a new evaluation of visual impairment whicl
should be based on the guiding principles discussion abou
which is made in the following paras.
At first, the visually challenged person is an individua

with full human rights which he shares in common with th others. He is entitled to
receive from his country ever
possible measure of chance and opportunity for hi
rehabilitation. Secondly, by the very nature of his challenge
he is exposed to the danger of emotional and psychologies
disturbance resulting from a deep-seated deprivation am
frustration. He may think in terms of having a special clairj
on society for sympathy and constructive help. The formed
feeling is the by-product of his social atmosphere whicl
reduces him to a piece of sympathy and the latter feeling ma
develop if he is given a chance to develop a sense of realisatioi
in himself. Thirdly, he is capable of developing his residue
resources to the extent of becoming an asset to his family i
lieu of a burden on them. Fourthly, the visual impaired has
responsibility to the community in terms of contributing t
economic welfare of the nation at large by getting due
cational training and also by being absorbed in some viable
urce of earning. Fifthly, the main desire of the visually
1 aliened person is to achieve independence within the
'ommunity, instead of depending on them. That is why, in
ny case, mere humanitarian approach will not serve the real
purpose. Such approach may yield some support to a section
of the people for a certain period of time but in the long term,
this will be proved as a lopsided contribution.
3.4.1 Employment Policy for the Visually Impaired Persons
in South Africa
Before dealing with the employment policy for the

visually impaired in South Africa, it is pertinent to have a look at the background in
which such policy is formulated.
Any policy which is developed in South Africa is a reaction to
its background in which this country has experienced the
atrocities of the apartheid regime which resulted not only
due to the economic crisis of the Whites but also a stereotype
feeling of the whites that this division will help them in their
progress. This scenario is precisely described as "The
Employment Equity Act was introduced against a background
of extreme disparities in the distribution of labour market
opportunities, particularly in terms of race, gender, and
disability. Most of the disparities in the workplace are a direct
legacy of past discriminator laws, particularly those laws
that deliberately excluded black people, women, and people
with disabilities from key jobs, and skills development
opportunities."324
As is evident from the abovementioned statement that

during the apartheid regime, it was the blacks who suffered
the most and, hence, it was the segment whose interest was
iiost overlooked. Apart from them, less attention had been
Paid to the employment of women due to the traditional negative outlook about them.
Irrespective of any gender, the
Physically challenged was a segment of the society which was
being treated almost null and void by the traditional society
^d even during the British colonial rule and the rule of the
206 Policy Perspectives for the Visually Impaired '
apartheid, nothing substantial could be done for them. Keepir,

this legacy in view, whatever policy for the employment w* developed, it was taken up
exclusively for these three sections
of the society.
It was strongly felt by Mac Rae and Pitt that there are
six norms which may be derived from administrative law or
rule. These are:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Public administration must occur legally, in that all

actions of public officials must take place strictly within
the framework of the existing legislation.
Public officials must be able to account to the public in

relation to their actions. «
1
Public officials must treat all members of the public
equally.
Public administration must occur in an efficient manner.
Public administration must be sensitive to public needs.

Officials must be in a position to determine public needs
and arrange these needs in order of priority.
6. Public officials must be able to act within a clear

conscience, so that they are able at all times to account
to the public for their actions.325
As has already been stated that the policies for the
visually impaired in particular and the physically challenged
in general was framed in South Africa were formulated for
the promotion of the right to equality which were guaranteed
in its Constitution. It was strongly felt by the constitution-makers
that during the apartheid era, the blacks, women and
the disabled (physically challenged) were secluded from the
minimum facilities which can make them the inalienable part
of the society. This policy was also formulated to show the
commitment of the country for democracy. As democracy
speaks about the participation of each and everyone, the women, blacks and physically
challenged are also part an
parcel of the people at large. It is the duty of any democrats
government to give due share of participation to its segrega

arnent of the society. This Act is also relevant with a view

to remove unfair discrimination which can be proved by
oiving equal opportunity to the overlooked sections of the
society. This will give a chance to each and everyone to make
substantial contribution for the development of the nation
and, thereby, they will prove themselves to be a useful work
force. Such provisions also become pertinent from the
viewpoint that the Republic of South Africa is the member of
the International Labour organization which makes obligatory
for its members to develop some legislation or executive orders
in favour of women and disabilities.
Keeping this in view, an Act was developed with the

name of the Employment Equity Act which was general in
nature. It was supported by a Code of Good Practice which
was brought forth to support the cause of disability which
was less generalistic in nature.
EMPLOYMENT EQUITY ACT: People with disabilities

in South Africa have said to be excluded from all mainstream
avenues, including employment, economy, sport and social
formations. It is stated that "unemployment remains a
fundamental problem affecting the majority of people with
disabilities and their families."323 Keeping this in view, the
Republic of South Africa brought forth a legislation and was
passed by the Parliament on August 21,1998 which was known
as Employment Equity Act No. 55 of 1998 with a view to
achieve equity in the workplace by "Promoting equal
opportunity and fair treatment in employment through the
elimination of unfair discrimination; and implementing
affirmative action measures to redress the disadvantages in
employment experienced by designated groups, in order to
ensure their equitable representation in all occupational
categories and levels in the workforce."327
This Act was guided by some ethical principles and

values which include (1) the promotion of the constitutional
right of equality and the exercise of true democracy, (2) the
Prohibition of unfair discrimination in employment, (3)
Ensuring the implementation of employment equity to redress
Post-Apartheid South Africa and the effects of past discrimination, (4) achieving a
divers? I
workforce that is representative of the country's
demographics, (5) the promotion of economic development
and efficiency of the workforce and (6) to comply with terms
of the International Labour Organization (ILO) since South
Africa is its member.
In short, it can be said that he entrenched value of this

Act is empowerment, which is based on capacity building
and enabling people to take charge of their lives. Through
this, it is aimed at making these segments self-dependent and I
capable to shape and share the future of the nation.
As has already been stated that the policies for the

employment of the persons with physical challenge were made
in accordance of the ILO Convention and as has already beenB
mentioned that the Republic of South Africa is the member of
this body, it is pertinent here to mention about the concern of
the ILO about the discrimination of the physically challenged
in respect of employment and occupation. This Convention
has been ratified by South Africa and must be followed. It
"requires a member states to pursue a policy that includes:
-- method appropriate to national conditions and practice,

equality of opportunity and treatment in respect of
employment and occupation, with a view to elimination
of discrimination in respect thereof.
-- Undertaking special measures which are designed to

meet the particular requirements of persons who, for reasons such as sex, age, disability,
family responsibility
or social or cultural status, are generally recognized to
require special protection or assistance."328
This Convention speaks about making laws or adopting

procedures in accordance with the limitations of a country to
remove the discrimination in the employment and other
vocations based on gender, age, family responsibility, social
status and special challenge. The idea behind such measures
is to make them the integral part of the society. But the phrase
'methods appropriate to national conditions and practice
1 aves all chances of using and misusing and even escaping

from the responsibility of taking such measures as even,
Respite all big claims, the physically challenged in general
and the visually impaired in particular are not being treated aS a useful and participatory
segment of the society or the
nation. It is this reason which makes any sensible person to
say that mere ethical statements cannot improve the condition
of the majority of the physically challenged people. However,
it is stated that "The Employment Equity Act is designed to
fulfil South Africa's obligation in terms of this Convention
and others, such as the International Convention on the
Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women
(1979) and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of
Disabled Persons (1975)."329
After discussing its background and the factors which

influenced this Act, a bird-eye-view is made about various
facets of this Act.
At an outset, it can be stated that the Employment Equity

Act is comprised of 6 chapters and 65 clauses. It ranges from
defining some of the terms to developing some bodies which
are supposed to ascertain its implementation.
In the preamble of this Act, the reference is made of

'unfair discrimination' and the need is expressed to 'redress'
such behaviour because "those disparities create such
pronounced disadvantages for certain categories of people
that the}' cannot be redressed simply by repealing
discriminatory laws."330 This necessitates developing an
abovementioned Act. Apart from this, this Act was brought
due to the reasons which include promotion of the Right to
Equality enshrined in the Constitution, exercising true
democracy, elimination of the unfair discrimination in
employment, ascertaining the implementation of the
Employment Equity to redress the effect of discrimination, to get diverse workforce from
the sections which are broadly rePresentatives of the people of South Africa, promotion
of economic development and efficiency among them and
filling the obligation of being the member of the ILO.
In its Preamble, the reference of discrimination is made

and also said that this discrimination is primarily due to the
legacy of the apartheid and other discriminatory laws. The
phraseology of 'other discriminatory laws' is ambiguous as it
fails to mention what type of these discriminatory laws is
and who is affected by it. It can be argued that preamble is
supposed to be precise but, in the name of precision, one
cannot justify a mute preamble. It fails to pinpoint the effected
segments of the society-may it be blacks, women and the
physically handicapped. Preamble is known as the spirit of
any law and is supposed to be presented in such a way that it
can inspire the reader and prepare his mind to go through
the whole Act.
Chapter I of this Act is devoted to the definition,

purpose, interpretation and the implementation of some of
the terms used in the Act.
According to this Act, 'people with disabilities' means

"people who have long-term or recurring physical or mental
impairment which substantially limits their prospects of entry
into, or advancement in, employment."331
It speaks about the physically challenge in terms of time

span and in terms of its happening time and again. At the
same time, the Act is showing its concern in terms of a
disability which hinders the entry in the employment. The
concept of 'Long term' disability is described as "the
impairment has lasted or is likely to persist for at least twelve
months."332 This is a unique feature of this Act in which even
if the physical challenge is for a period of a year, he will be
provided the facility during the span of this challenge under
the procedures of the facilities provided to the specially
challenged.
The term 'recurring impairment' is described as "one

that is likely to happen again and to be substantially limiting-It
includes a constant underlying condition, even if its effects
on a person fluctuate."333 This also shows a broader outlook
of the policy-makers as they are looking at this problem o11 the humanitarian grounds
and are not emphasizing that
e condition of the physically challenged should remain the

me-
The
provision mentioned above also makes reference )Out the impairment which has been
defined thus,
[npairment may be physical or mental. Physical impairment
eans a partial or a total loss of a body function or part of
e body. It includes sensory impairment such as being deaf,
aring impaired or visually impaired and any combination
physical or mental impairments. Mental impairment means
clinically recognized condition or illness that affects a
rson's thought processes, judgement or emotions, e.g.
jurosis, psychosis."334
Apart from describing the meaning of the physically

allenged, there are many other terms meaning of which
as given but as all these terms are not relevant for this
scussion, they are left untouched. However, for the purpose
convenience, it is pertinent here to understand the meaning
the term like 'Basic conditions of the Employment Act'
lich means the basic conditions of Employment Act, 1997
d 'designated employer' means:
. a person who employs 50 or more employees;
a person who employs fewer than 50 employees but has

a total annual turnover that is equal to or above the
applicable annual turnover of a small business in terms
of the Schedule 4 of this Act;
a municipality, as referred to in Chapter 7 of the

Constitution;
an organ of state as defined in section 239 of the

Constitution, but excluding local spheres of government,
the National Defence Force, the National Intelligence
agency and the South African Secret Service; and e. an
employer bound by collective agreement in terms of
section 23 or 31 of the Labour Relations Act, which
appoints it as a designated employer in terms of this
Act, to the extent provided for in the agreement."335
Its definitional Section also defines the terms like
'employee', 'employment law', 'family responsibility', 'Labou Relation Act', 'medical

testing'. The definition of these term
is given hereunder because of the fact that these are those
terms which may be used time and again while analyzing this
Act.
Employee: The term 'employee' means "any person other

than an independent contractor who --
a. works for another person or for the State and who

receives, or is entitled to receive, any remuneration; and
b. in any manner assists in carrying on or conducting the

business of an employer."336 This term primarily include
two things: the working under somebody and getting
remuneration. It goes to the extent of including the
contract but such contract should not be an independent
one.
Employment Law: It means "any provision of this Act or

any of the following Acts:
a. The Unemployment Insurance Act, 1966 (Act No. 30 of

1966);
b. the Guidance and Placement Act, 1981 (Act No. 62 of

1981);
c. the Manpower Training Act, 1981 (Act No. 56 of 1981);
d. the Occupational Health and Safety Act, 1993 (Act No.

85 of 1993);
e. the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases
Act, 1993 (Act No. 130 of 1993);
f. the Labour Relations Act, 1995 (Act No. 66 of 1995);
g. the Basic Conditions of Employment Act, 1997 (Act No.

75 of 1997);
h. any other Act, whose administration has been assigned

to the Minister."337
Family responsibility: The meaning of this term is "the

responsibility of employees in relation to their spouse or
partner, their dependant children or other members of their
ii
nmediate family who need their care or support."338 The Act ; talking about the
responsibility of those family members
fho are incapable of earning. They may be below the age of
8 or may be the old one above the age of 65.
Labour Relation Act It means "the Labour Relations Act,

995 (Act No. 66 of 1995) ,"339
Medical testing: This testing includes "any test, question,

iquiry or other means designed to ascertain, or which has
ie effect of enabling the employer to ascertain, whether an
mployee has any medical condition."340 This generalistic
nderstanding of the medical test, in the absence of the Code
f Good Practice, in its all probabilities, exclude the physically hallenged as, in a common
parlance, they are treated as ledically unfit. Even if these policies are formulated from
ie approach of social model, it is not yet being understood
y the ordinary employer and, hence, it is needed that one
hould be specific about the physically challenged (disabled),
lowever, for the purpose of this Act, it should be borne in find that such tests are
prohibited unless otherwise it is made
ompulsory under any legislation.
Its second chapter is related to the prohibition of unfair

iscrimination. It is covered under the sections from 5 to 11
^hich include the elimination, and prohibition of the
liscrimination. It also talks about different types of medical
ssts which include the psychometric testing in which it is
ssessed to understand the mental level of the person
oncerned. Such tests are prohibited unless it is necessary
mder certain legislations so as to stop taking any subjective
'pinion about the employee. It also talks about the disputes
elating to such discriminations.
Under the section relating to the 'elimination of

Uscrimination', it is stated that "Every employer must take
teps to promote equal opportunity in the workplace by
liminating unfair discrimination in any employment policy
t practice."341 As is evident from the abovementioned
tatement that it is the equal opportunities through which the
hances of discrimination can be eliminated. As this statement
iTnUMmimimmimmi
UUiiliUUlUiUitiiUUiil
seems to be insufficient, that is why provisions under this chapter have also been made
for the prohibition of the
discrimination which states:
"(1) No person may unfairly discriminate, directly or

indirectly, against an employee, in any employment policy or
practice, on one or more grounds, including race, gender,
sex, pregnancy, marital status, family responsibility, ethnic
or social origin, colour, sexual orientation, age, disability,
religion, HIV status, conscience, belief, political opinion,
culture, language and birth.
(2) It is not unfair discrimination to -- a. take affirmative

action measures consistent with the purpose of this Act; or b.
distinguish, exclude or prefer any person on the basis of an
inherent requirement of a job.
(3) Harassment of an employee is a form of

unfair discrimination and is prohibited on any one, or a
combination of grounds of unfair discrimination listed in
subsection (I)."342
At an outset, this section has three sub-sections. Subsection

(1) is related with the grounds on which no
discrimination should be made. It is an exhaustive section
which not only covers different segments of the society which
have been secluded due to historical reasons and the reference
of some diseases are made about which there are lot of
misconceptions, but it also makes reference about certain
physical conditions like pregnancy and it is prohibited to make
any discrimination on this ground. Such exhaustive sections
are rarely found.
Under sub-section (2), the provision is laid down to

make some discrimination which is necessary to maintain
equality. These should be made on the ground of the inherent
necessity of a job or for the purpose of the affirmative action.
The term 'inherent necessity' can be misused as it has not
been described in details anywhere.
Sub-section (3) is related to the harassment and it is said

that this should be treated as an unfair discrimination. Of
Of course, it seems that such Section is incorporated with a view

to develop a positive atmosphere for the segregated segments
of the society so that they cannot be harassed on the ground of representing it.
Under the Section relating to the medical testing, it is

stated that:
"(1) Medical testing of an employee is prohibited, unless --

a. legislation permits or requires the testing; or b. it is
justifiable in the light of medical facts, employment
conditions, social policy, the fair distribution of employee
benefits or the inherent requirements of a job.
(2) Testing of an employee to determine that employee's

HIV status is prohibited unless such testing is determined
justifiable by the Labour Court in terms of section 50 (4)
of this Act."343
Unlike sections relating to the medical testing in most of

the Acts, under this Section, medical testing of the
employees is prohibited unless it is compulsory under
certain legislations.
Over the disputes emerged from the discrimination, it

is stated that:
"(1) Tn this section, the word 'dispute' excludes a dispute

about an unfair dismissal, which must be referred to the
appropriate body for conciliation and arbitration or
adjudication in terms of Chapter V1I1 of the Labour
Relations Act.
(2) Any party to a dispute concerning this Chapter may refer the dispute in writing to
the CCMA within six months
after the act or omission that allegedly constitutes unfair
discrimination.
(3) The CCMA may at any time permit a party that shows good cause to refer a
dispute after the relevant time
limit set out in subsection (2).
(4) The party that refers a dispute must satisfy the CCMA that-
I
a. a copy of the referral has been served on every

other party to the dispute; and b. the referring party
has made a reasonable attempt to resolve the|
dispute.
(5) The CCMA must attempt to resolve the dispute through conciliation.
(6) If the dispute remains unresolved after conciliation-a. Any party to the dispute
may refer it to the Labour Court
for adjudication; or b. all the parties to the dispute may
consent to arbitration of the dispute. ¦
(7) The relevant provisions of Parts C and D of Chapter VII of the Labour Relations
Act, with the changes required
by context, apply in respect of a dispute in terms of this
Chapter."344
In most of the cases, it is suggested under this provision

that the disputes should be decided through the Labour
Relations Act.
Chapter three is covered under the Sections 12 to 27.

The chapter of the Act talks about the affirmative action for
the segregated or historically disintegrated segment of thej
society and it deals with several other things. However, for
the purpose of this chapter, some of its relevant sections will
be discussed. Under Section 15, the Act speaks about the
steps taken for the affirmative action. It is stated that:
"(1) Affirmative action measures are measures designed to

ensure that suitably qualified people from designated
groups have equal employment opportunities and are
equitably represented in all occupational categories and
levels in the workforce of a designated employer.
(2) Affirmative action measures implemented by a

designated employer must include-a. measures to
identify and eliminate employment barriers, including
unfair discrimination, which adversely affect people from
designated groups; b. measures designed to further
diversity in the workplace based on equal dignity and
respect of all people; c. making reasonable
accommodation for people from designated groups in

order to ensure that they enjoy equal opportunities and
are equitably represented in the workforce of a
designated employer; d. subject to Subsection (3),
measures to --
i. ensure the equitable representation of suitably qualified

people from designated groups in all occupational
categories and levels in the workforce; and ii. Retain
and develop people from designated groups and to
implement appropriate training measures, including
measures in terms of an Act of Parliament providing for
skills development.
(3) The measures referred to in subsection (2) (d) include preferential treatment and
numerical goals, but exclude
quotas.
(4) Subject to section 42, nothing in this section requires a designated employer to
take any decision concerning
an employment policy or practice that would establish
an absolute barrier to the prospective or continued
3" employment or advancement of people who are not from

designated groups."345
The steps relating to the affirmative action are suggested

with a view to give due representation to the qualified persons
and with a view to give equitable representation to each and
every segregated segment. This should be implemented by a
designated employer which includes the removal of the
barriers which hinders the entry of the designated employees
and this diversity should be represented in such a way as to
maintain the dignity and respect of all the employees. It is
also suggested to make reasonable accommodation for
different types of groups. It implies that under these measures
it is not only suggested to give due representation to each
and every section of the society but it is also suggested to
uiake necessary arrangements so that certain section may not
be excluded due to its specific demand for the adjustment.
It gives due regards to the status of the employees under
the Section 16 which deals with the consultation with

employees. Under this Section, the group of words
'consultation with employees' means "(1) A designated
employer must take reasonable steps to consult and attempt
to reach agreement on the matters referred to in section 17__
(a.) With a representative trade union representing members
at the workplace and its employees or representatives
nominated by them; or (b.) if no representative trade union
represents members at the workplace, with its employees or
representatives nominated by them.
(2) The employees or their nominated representatives with whom an employer

consults in terms of subsection (1)
(a) and (b), taken as a whole, must reflect the interests of--a.
Employees from across all occupational categories and levels
of the employer's workforce; b. employees from designated
groups; and c. employees who are not from designated
groups.
(3) This section does not affect the obligation of any designated employer in terms of
section 86 of the Labour
Relations Act to consult and reach consensus with a workplace
forum on any of the matters referred to in section 17 of this
Act."346
The term 'employees' in this Section is used not only for

the employee in general but also the employee who falls under
the segregated section and his representative who looks or
serve his interest. Hence, this term is used in a wider
perspective which includes an interest group.
There is a Section especially devoted to the employer,

i.e., clause 13 relating to the duties of designated employer.
Under this section, it is stated, "(1) every designated employer
must, in order to achieve employment equity, implement
affirmative action measures for people from designated groups
in terms of this Act.
(2) A designated employer must--A. consults with its

employees as required by section 16; B. conducts an analysis
as required by section 19; C. prepare an employment equity
plan as required by section 20; and D. report to the Director-General

on progress made in implementing its employment
equity plan, as required by section 21".
Under this section, certain duties have been assigned to

the designated employer. He is not only supposed to
implement the policy but he is also supposed to develop a
plan in consultation with the employee and make its analysis
for its proper implementation.
Under this chapter, a section is devoted for disclosure

of information which says:
"(1) When a designated employer engages in

consultation in terms of this Chapter, that employer must
disclose to the consulting parties all relevant information that
will allow those parties to consult effectively.
(2) Unless this Act provides otherwise, the provisions

of section 163 of the Labour Relations Act, with the changes
required by context, apply to disclosure of information."347
The provisions under this section are made in the interest

of the relevant parties and it is said that this disclosure cannot
be made if there is any contextual change as per the section
163 of the Labour Relations Act.
Chapter four is devoted to the provisions for the

commission for employment equity. This chapter covers from
sections 28 to 33 which encompass in itself the provisions for
the establishment, composition, function, arrangements of the
staff for the commission.
Over the provisions of establishment of a Commission

for this purpose, it is stated that "The Commission for
Employment Equity is hereby established, (Date of
commencement 14 May, 1999)"348 which will be composed of
"a chairperson and eight other members appointed by the
Minister to hold office on a part-time basis."34"
These members must include two people nominated by
those voting members of NEDLAC who represent organised
labour; two people nominated by those voting members of
NED LAC who represent organised business; two people nominated by those voting
members of NEDLAC wh0 represent the State; and two people nominated by those
votino-members
of NEDLAC who represent the organisations of
community and development interests in the Development
Chamber in NEDLAC,
It was ascertained that "A party that nominates persons

...must have due regard to promoting the representativity of
people from designated groups."350
Over the qualification of the Chairperson and other

members of the Commission for the Employment Equity, it is I
stated that:
"A. must have experience and expertise relevant to the

functions contemplated in section 30; B. Must act impartially
when performing any function of the Commission; C. may
not engage in any activity that may undermine the integrity
of the Commission; and D. must not participate in forming or
communicating any advice on any matter in respect of which
they have a direct financial interest or any other conflict of
interest."351
The attempt is made to develop the maximum sense of"

impartiality in the members of the Commission to the extent
that they are asked to shirk from performing any act which
may undermine the interest of the designated group or involve
in any such activity which has any direct financial link because
of which there may be any interest dash. i
It was decided that the tenure of each member or

chairperson shall not exceed more than five years and there
are some provisions of the removal of the member or
chairperson by the concerned minister. Such removal can be
made if there is any serious misconduct, if he or she becomes
permanently incapable of contributing his worth, if he or she
remains absent from three consecutive meetings without
showing any substantial reason for it or he is found engaged
in any activity which may undermine the integrity of the
Commission.352
This commission has to perform the following functions:
"(1) The Commission advises the Minister on A. codes c aoOd practice issued by the
Minister in terms of section 54;
g regulations made by the Minister in terms of section 55;
and C. policy and any other matter concerning this Act."353
The functions of the Commission mentioned above are

of the advisor}' in nature which shows that this Commission
is basically developed with a view to assist the minister in
terms of giving the requisite advice and despite the fact that
it is a part of the Act, its existence is not more than any
advisory body. As this Act is supposed to be made with a
serious note of the discrimination against the certain sections
of the society, such functions stipulated in the Act put a
question mark on the total utility of the Act as it is this
Commission which is supposed to be the axis of the whole
Act in terms of its materialization. However, in its Subsection
(2) some other functions are mentioned which include make
awards recognising achievements of employers in furthering
the purpose of this Act; research and report to the Minister
on any matter relating to the application of this Act, including
appropriate and well-researched norms and benchmarks for
the setting of numerical goals in various sectors; and perform
any other prescribed function.
The functions mentioned above seem to be covering the

developmental aspect in terms of future goal setting and also
inspiratory as the provisions are given to pay due respect to
the achievement of the designated segments by way of giving
award to them.
Under chapter five of the Act, the provisions concerning

to monitoring, enforcement and legal proceeding relating to
the Act is covered. This chapter is divided into two parts,
"art 'a' of this chapter covers in its fold from sections 34 to 45 which are related to the
provisions for monitoring this Act and its part 'b' is related to the provisions for legal
Proceedings of the Act. It is covered under sections 46 to 52. Or the purpose of the
discussion, some of the provisions c°vered under both the parts are given in the following
paras.
For the purpose of monitoring, this Act makes provisj0 of the involvement of the
employees and the representative
of the trade unions. Of course, some such provisions are
required in case of the contravention of this Act and these
representatives are permitted to raise objection against any
staff member of the Commission.354
The provisions for legal proceedings are covered under

part B of Chapter V. In case of any conflict of proceedings, it
is stated that: "(1) If a dispute has been referred to the CCMA
by a party in terms of Chapter II and the issue to which the
dispute relates also forms the subject of a referral to the
Labour Court by the Director-General in terms of section 45,
the CCMA proceedings must be stayed until the Labour Court
makes a decision on the referral by the Director-General.
(2) If a dispute has been referred to the CCMA by a

party in terms of Chapter II against an employer being
reviewed by the Director-General in terms of section 43, there
may not be conciliation or adjudication in respect of the dispute until the review has been
completed and the employer
has been informed of the outcome."355
This section shows the supremacy of the Labour Court

and, apart from this, it makes the reference of two sections
which are read as under:
"If an employer fails to comply with a request made by

the Director-General in terms of section 43 (2) or a
recommendation made by the Director-General in terms of
section 44 (b), the Director-General may refer the employer's
non-compliance to the Labour Court."356 If he does not deem
it necessary to send it to the Labour Court, he can adopt one
of the following actions:
"(1) The Director-General may conduct a review to

determine whether an employer is complying with this Act
(2) In order to conduct the review the Director-Genera'

may --A. requests an employer to submit to the Director-General
a copy of its current analysis or employment equity
plan; B. requests an employer to submit to the Director'
reneral any book, record, correspondence, document or
formation that could reasonably be relevant to the review
f the employer's compliance with this Act; C. request a
meeting with an employer to discuss its employment equity
plan, the implementation of its plan and any matters related
to its compliance with this Act; or d. request a meeting with
any _ i. employee or trade union consulted in terms of section
16; ii-Workplace
forum; or iii. Other person who may have
information relevant to the review."357
By giving supremacy to the Labour Court, attempt is

made to develop a sense of impartiality by this Act. However,
such preference is made only in the case if the Director-general
cannot find any solution to the disputes of the designated
segment of the society.
Chapter six of the Act is related to the general provisions

under this law. It is covered under sections 53 to 65. Under
this chapter, a section is devoted to the Codes of Good
Practice, details of which will be discussed separately as it is
a separate document brought forth by the government of the
Republic of South Africa. In fact, it is felt that some such need
is necessary basically due to the special needs of different
segments of the society. For the purpose of the necessary
discussion for the thesis, The Code of Good Practice related
to the specially challenge will be discussed separately.
However, it is sufficient to state that it is stipulated in the
Act that:
"(1) The Minister may, on the advice of the

Commission --A. Issue any code of good practice; and B.
change or replace any code of good practice.
(2) An}/ code of good practice, or any change to, or replacement of, a code of good
practice must be published in
the Gazette."358
The authority of developing code of good practice is

not verbal but the provisions are made for its publication in
ê Gazette which reveals seriousness on the part of the
Policy-makers. This Chapter also authorizes the concerned
' sSBrW
Minister to make some regulations over the 'prescriberi

matters in the Act'.359
Of course, this Act is facilitating the employees in ^

best possible ways but they are not left unbrindled. That k
why, it is stated that "(1) If it is alleged that an employee while at work, contravened a
provision of this Act, or engaged
in any conduct that, if engaged in by that employee's
employer, would constitute a contravention of a provision of
this Act, the alleged conduct must immediately be brought to
the attention of the employer.
(2) The employer must consult all relevant parties and must take the necessary steps
to eliminate the alleged conduct
and comply with the provisions of this Act.
(3) If the employer fails to take the necessary steps referred to in subsection (2), and
it is proved that the
employee has contravened the relevant provision, the
employer must be deemed also to have contravened that
provision. \
(4) Despite subsection (3), an employer is not liable for the conduct of an employee if
that employer is able to prove
that it did all that was reasonably practicable to ensure that
the employee would not act in contravention of this Act."360
Apart from this, there are four schedules which speak

about the provisions relating to the fines for the contravention
of the Act, repealing of laws, arrangements for the transitional
period and entry of the turn over which is applicable to the
designated employer.
Apart from the rules and regulations about the

employment of the overlooked segment of the society, this
Act also suggests about the Employment Equity Plan. This
plan is enshrined in Chapter III, Section 20 of the Employment
Equity Act in which the process of compiling such plan is outlined. Its major provisions
are as under: j
-- The objective to be achieved for each year of the plan.

Tine employment barriers to be identified in the analysis

and the steps be decided which the employer will take
to eliminate these barriers.
The positive measures that the employer will implement.
,_ The numerical goals to achieve equitable representation

of people from designated groups within the workplace.
_ The timetable within which this will be achieved.
__ The strategies by which the employer intends to achieve

these goals.
- The timetable for each year of the plan for the

achievement of the goals and objectives other than
numerical goals.
- The duration of the plan, which may be shorter than 1

year or longer than 5 years.
- The procedures that will be used to monitor and evaluate

the implementation of the plan and whether reasonable
n progress has been made towards bringing about

I employment equity.
- The internal procedures for resolving disputes about the

interpretation of the plan.
- The person in the workforce, including senior managers,

responsible for monitoring and implementing the plan.
In fine, it can be stated that the Employment Equity Act

which was brought for the historically and attitudinally
segregated segment of society, is a legal but generalistic
document in nature. It attempts to make reference of the
physical impairments (disabilities) in general and the visual
impairment in particular just to reveal that this Act also covers
them and, that is why, it is necessary to pay heed to its
definitional part. However, it is remarked that "The EEA has
been enacted to promote the constitutional right of equality arid the exercise of true
democracy. This policy legislates
^ruination of unfair discrimination in the workplace and
provides an opportunity for members of the designated groups 0 contribute to the
economy of the country."361 As is stated
in the Commission for Employment Equity Report, 1999-2001.

"It is one of the state policies that is for the promotion of
equality and anti-discrimination particularly in the workplace
The Act will assist previously disadvantaged groups tn
achieve maximum productivity and efficiency."362
It is an internationally recognized policy and good for sustainable economic and social
development of the country
Without making any specific reference of using such a bia
ban of the people for the nation, it shows its concern over the
trend of overlooking this group of the society either due to
the historical legacy or due to the preconceived notions about
their capabilities. To make this Act more popular, it is stated,
"It is clear that efforts have been made to develop awareness.
This has been done through the Consultative Forum, online
communication and through road shows (visiting different
areas, districts, and institution to educate and empower the
intended group with information i.e. EEA implementation.
In addition there appears to have been fairly wide ranging
consultation which is in accordance with Chapter 11, Section
16 of the Employment Equity Act of consulting with all parties
such as labour, all occupational categories, and employees
from designated groups."363
Commenting upon the fact that mere paper writing will

not help the overlooked sections of the society, it is said,
"Managers should be provided with training where particular
skills do not exist, such as training on diversity management,
coaching and mentoring programmes. The Department had
workshops for managers on areas such as change management,
transformation, and diversity management. According to
Chapter II, Section 19, of the Employment Equity Act, 1998 a
designated employer must collect information and conduct
an analysis, as prescribed, of its employment policies,
practices, procedures and working environment, in order to
identify employment barriers which adversely affect peope from designated groups. A
Workplace profile was done by
the department in the form of the Gap Analysis Report on
EE, June, 2001 and some policies were reviewed."364
Despite such an Act it is not an easy task to implement

. jf) terms of providing the jobs. Commenting upon this, it is
stated/ "Following difficulties are faced while making reCruitments under the EEA:
_ It is difficult to recruit PWD as they do not disclose their

disability
_ Recruitment still has a problem of attracting people with

disabilities
_ It is difficult to address staff about the Act because of

the race issue
Nature of the jobs available and equipments are not

appropriate for PWD
- Lack
of required skills, qualifications from PWD to meet
the requirements of the advertised posts."365
If it is analysed in terms of the facilities provided during

the period of education and training, it is found that, apart
from the materialistic needs or physical environment or
aftitudinal problems, there is a need of strong will power by
the system to take initiatives to implement the Act in the
absence of which it will be reduced to no more than a golden
letter.
As it is an all pervasive Act which covers in its fold the

Blacks, women and physically challenge, its most of the
provisions are of a generalistic nature. However, it covers
under its section relating to the physically impaired, all kinds
of specialty challenge-may it is physical or mental and makes
generalistic provisions about them.
3.4.2 Employment Policies for the Visually Impaired Persons

in India
India has a large group of the population of the visually
¦repaired. As has already been stated in Chapter 1, it c°nstitutes more than 1% of its total
population. Before
analyzing the policies developed for this section, it is pertinent
to remark here that like other countries, generally, the policies
have been developed for the physically challenged in general.
I
228 Policy Perspectives for the Visually Impaired '
But, an attempt is made by the policy-makers to divide thj

segment into three categories and, initially, instead of making
provisions on the tone of affirmative action, a provision is|
made for an exclusive division on the basis of certain
percentage and there lies its uniqueness which can also be
debated either way. However, there are some Basic principles
for Employment in India about the policies for the visual
impairment which can be enumerated as under:
1. A visually impaired worker must be able to meet the physical requirements of the
job and must have sufficient
skill and physical abilities to perform the job.
2. Such worker must not be a safety problem to him and must not hinder the safety
of others.
3. The job must not aggravate his disability.
4. If such worker is able to fulfil the conditions for work 9 efficiency or is able to
meet them, there should be no
valid reason for the employer to reject him.366
Despite the fact that even after almost three decades of

the independence, there was no exclusive policy for the^_
employment of the physically challenged in general and theBB
visually impaired in particular, there were the cases in which
visually impaired were employed. This employment was
generally restricted to the schools meant for them or there
were some of the government and semi-government agencies
which were providing work to this section of the society in!
the form of repetitive jobs or jobs relating to the light
engineering. It is pertinent to draw the attention to the fact
that the first Employment Exchange for the Physically
Challenged was opened in the then Bombay in 1959. Until
1973, there was no policy discussion over the matters relating
to the employment of the physically impaired in general.
As had happened with the first Government institute

for the visually challenged which was opened around the
World War II, so was the case with the policies for the
employment. It was the year 1973, when a declaration was
made by the Indian government over the issue of the war
Minded military personnel who lost their vision after the

Bangladesh War which took place in 1971.
With the passage of time, an exercise took place to enlarge

the scope of this reservation for all physically challenged
persons. Keeping this in view, an Executive Order was released
to make 3% reservation exclusively 1% each for visually
challenged, hearing challenged and orthopedically challenged
persons?67 For its proper implementation, an exercise, though
at the later stage, may be in the name of the International
Year for the Disabled Persons or International Decade for
the Disabled Persons, of identifying the posts for each
category detail of which will be discussed in some other
section. However, over the issue of implementing this
percentage, it is stated, "The total number of vacancies to be
reserved in Group. C and Group D vacancies is to be computed
on the basis of the total number of vacancies occurring in all
Group C and Group D posts respectively under each Head of
Department in a Ministry/ Department/Office, although,
recruitment of the handicapped would be only made in the
post identified to be suitable for them.368
This policy also speaks about the provisions of 'carry

forward' and 'exchange of jobs'. Unlike the reservation policy
for the Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST), it
has got less time for the use of the provision of carrying
forward the job for the physically challenged reasons of which
can be twofold. At a political plain, it can be said that as this
section of the society is scattered minority and cannot
constitute a vote bulk, no serious attention is paid on it and
at a level of the availability, it can be stated that due to the
failure of the serious attempts by the policy-makers to
properly implement the educational and vocational
programmes, it is very difficult to find trained people suitable
for the jobs and it is irrational to keep any post vacant for a
long time.
There is a provision of exchange of jobs in the reservation

policy if the suitable candidate is not available. It is stated
that "Inter-se exchange of reservations, among the OH
(orthopedically handicapped), the VH (visually handicapped)

and the HH (hearing handicapped) is permissible if candidates
belonging to a particular category for which the job has been
reserved are not available or if the vacancies in an office are
such that the category of persons for whom the reservation
has been made cannot be appointed against those vacancies" .K9
There is a provision of age relaxation for the purpose of

appointment to Group 'C and Group 'D' posts filled through
Employment Exchanges and Staff Selection Commission which
means that the upper age limit in the case of Visually
Handicapped, Hearing Handicapped and Orthopedically
Handicapped person would be relaxed up to 10 years.370 They
are also exempted from passing the Typing Test which is one
of the essential qualifications for recruitment to posts of lower
division clerks. However, if such physically handicapped
person who is otherwise qualified to hold clerical post and
who is certified as being unable to type by the Medical Board
attached to Special Employment Exchange for the
Handicapped (or by a civil surgeon, where there is no such
Board) should be exempted from passing the typing
test.371
There are some provisions for the relaxation of

Standards. If sufficient number of physically handicapped
persons are not available on the basis of the general standard
to fill all the vacancies reserved for them, candidates
belonging to this category would be selected under the
relaxed standard of selection to make up the deficiency in the
reserved quota subject to the fitness of these candidates for
appointment to the post in question.
Not only this, there is a provision of Preference in

Appointment. In categories of posts in Group 'C and Group
'D' which are identified as being suitable for handicapped
persons, other things being equal, preference should be given
to the handicapped persons even in excess of the quota
reserved for them.372
Physically handicapped candidates who have been

appointed on regional basis may be given as far as possible,
tosting nearby their native places. Similarly, the request for

ransfer by the physically handicapped persons for group 'C
ind 'D' posts under Central Government will be given
preference?73 This enables the physically challenged to get
hemselves transferred to the nearby place because of which
hey consume less span of time and their difficulties relating
o the transport are also reduced.
Some provisions are also made for the creation of Suitable

Posts for the physically challenged. The entire work of
recanning of chairs in Central Government offices should be
done by the visually impaired persons. For this purpose,
Vocational Rehabilitation Centres and Special Employment
Exchanges for the physically handicapped may be contacted
by various Departments. Also, where the volume of work is
such as to justify a full time chair Recanner, the question of
creation of a post in suitable scale may be considered in
consultation with the finance in accordance with the normal
procedure.374
The physically challenged are exempted from Payment

of examination fee and application fee prescribed in respect
of competitive examinations held by the Staff Selection
Commission and Union Public Service Commission for
recruitment to various Group 'C and 'B' posts and posts
pertaining to the above categories which have been filled
through recruitment by selection. This exemption will be
available only to those physically challenged persons who
would otherwise be eligible for appointment to the posts on
tlie basis of standards of medical fitness prescribed for the
posts for them.
The physically impaired employees with disability of a

minimum of 40 per cent-permanent partial disability of either
the upper or lower limbs or 50 per cent permanent partial
disability of both upper and lower limbs together and the
visually handicapped employees are granted conveyance
allowance of 10 per cent of the basic pay subject to a maximum
of Rs. 100 per month. Conveyance allowance is also admissible
to the Central Government Employees who suffer from spinal
deformity. This conveyance allowance has been revised time and again. The current
situation of the conveyance allowance
reveals this fact that it will be double to the conveyance
allowance permissible to the employees who are not physically
challenged to the maximum limit of Rs.1,600 if the distance
between the work place is not less than one kilometre from
one's residence or no office conveyance is provided for this
purpose.375
The procedures are also made to intimate the Reserved

Vacancies to the Special Employment Exchanges and
Vocational Rehabilitation Centres. All the appointing
authorities are required to notify the reserved vacancies for
the physically challenged to the Special Employment
Exchanges and Vocational Rehabilitation Centres.
These reservations are mandatory. Reservation of jobs

in Group 'C and Group 'V posts for the physically challenged
covers all Ministries/ Departments of the Central Government.
However, if a Department considers that it is not possible to
provide for the physically impaired to the extent of
reservations in view of the nature of duties expected to be
performed by the employees, that Department could be
partially or fully exempted from the reservation orders. This
provision leaves ample scope for its misuse as even in the age
of developed technology, people are either less interested or
prejudiced about selecting them. In this regard, the situation
about the employing the visually impaired is worst. However,
keeping this in view, job identification was made to find out
the suitable jobs for them.376
As these were just the executive orders and as, despite

all exercises of the identification of the jobs for the different
categories of the physically challenged, in the absence of any
legal bindings, there was a fear of its not being duly
implemented which can be seen if an analysis of the
implementation of these order is made. It was strongly felt
that there should be some legislation in favour of their all
round development the non-implementation of which can be
challenged in the court of law. Though the demand of this
¦ffect was made in 1980, yet it was recommended even during

|ie British rule.377
This issue was in debates during the sixties and seventies.

)ver this issue, it was commented that "the petty done, the
mdone vast, is the first answer. We do not have any studies
lone, researches undertaken, comprehensive policy
ormulation made nor any significant legislation yet on the
ubject."378 But, there were other personalities who were of
he view that "legislation is not a panacea for every ailment,
t is not in fact a panacea for any such ailment."379
To sum up this debate, it was stated that "A social object

ike the object of social reclamation must be achieved
mncipally by a sustained effort or movement in an
nnumerable diversity of forms to educate, instil into the
:onsciousness of the able bodied and the disabled alike that
he disabled are potentially as normal as any other individual
n the matter of social production. Legislation can only be an
luxiliary in this process. Thus, legislation is necessary to have
i precise definition of the rights, duties and obligation of
iifferent sections of the community and of the State in
:onnection with movement for social reclamation and a means of enforcing such rights,
duties and obligations. In our
:ountry a part of it is being sought to be achieved by
idministrative action. This latter is a poor substitute for
egislation in matters of rights, duties and obligations."380
A committee to consider legislation for the physically

challenged was set up under the Chairmanship of Shri Baharul
Islam, Member of Parliament. The Committee was set Up inter
ilia to work out the scope, objectives and general scheme of
legislation for the physically impaired covering various aspects
af prevention, rehabilitation, social security and welfare of
this section of the society. The Committee submitted its report
to the Government in June, 1988.
The recommendations of the Committee were examined

in consultation with the concerned Departments/Ministries
°f the Government and other experts. The Government has aPproved the enactment of
legislation for the setting up of a
Board for the welfare and protection of rights of the physically

challenged, and a trust for the welfare of persons with mental
retardation and cerebral palsy. Based on these decisions of
the Government two bills were introduced in the Rajya Sabha
during 1990-91,381
While dealing with the 'Self-awakening in the Society'

in Chapter II, it had already been mentioned that due to the
constant pressures from various organizations and due to the
international pressure, the Government of India brought forth
PWD Act, 1995. While dealing with the jurisdiction of the
Act, it has been stated that it will cover both the state and the
central governments in its fold. This can be known by the
fact that while defining various terms, it is stated that
"'appropriate Government' means "in relation to the Central
Government or any establishment wholly or substantially
financed by the Government, or a Cantonment Board I
constituted under the Cantonment Act, 1924, ... in relation to
a State Government or any establishment wholly or
substantially financed by that Government, or any local i
authority, other than a Cantonment Board, the State'
Government; ..."382
Hence, like all other acts, it encompasses the whole'

country except Jammu and Kashmir. Apart from this, under
the document comprised of fourteen chapters and 74 sections,
an attempt is made to cover all the major aspects of the
problems of the physically challenged persons. It covers
prevention, education, employment and other rehabilitationalj
aspects as to make it all pervasive. Of course, it is not an
exclusive Act for the visually impaired, however, it touches
upon, may be casually, some of the aspects of their problems.
Under this section, an attempt will be made to confine to the
employment problems of the disabilities in general and the
visually challenged in particular.
Chapter VI of the Act deals with the problems of the

employment of the physically challenged. It seems that on
the basis of the experiences of the past, an attempt is made to
take up this issue more methodologically. Before announcing
any provision about the employment, this chapter speaks about t]ie "identification of the
posts which can be reserved for
persons with disabilities."?S3 But it did not stop by making a
statement. It went on adding that "at periodical intervals not
exceeding three years, review the list of posts identified and
up-date the list taking into consideration the developments
in technology."384
This section, apart from suggesting for the identification

of posts for the physically challenged persons, suggests that
this identification should be reviewed after every three years
because of the development of the new technologies. At least,
on paper and in its legal documents, the Government realised
and upheld the view that under-developed technology is also
one of the hindrances in providing the job opportunities to
the disabled. In a more scientific tone, it has also realized the
upward movement of the history in terms of the technological
development.
Before analyzing the section relating to the reservation

in the posts, it is necessary here to reproduce the text in its
original form. It says:
"Every Appropriate Government shall appoint in every

establishment such percentage of vacancies not less than 3%
for persons or class of persons with disability of which 1 %
each shall be reserved for persons suffering from--blindness
or low vision; hearing impairment; locomotors disability or
cerebral palsy,
In the posts identified for each disability:
Provided that the appropriate Government may, having

regard to the type of work carried on in any department or
establishment, by notification subject to such conditions, if any, as may be specified in
such notification, exempt any
establishment from the provisions of this section."385
I In an outset, this section is making provision for aPpointing persons or class of persons
with physical challenge and specifying that it should not be less than 3% of the vacancies
and amongst it, 1% each should be given to the
visually, hearing and locomotors disability. But while makirto

a careful reading, one should not divert his attention on the
phraseology used in the latter part of the section which says "in the posts identified for
each disability" and the condition
specified in the section also needs special attention which says,
"Provided that the appropriate Government may, havino-regard
to the type of work carried on in any department or
establishment, by notification subject to such conditions, if
any, as may be specified in such notification, exempt any
establishment from the provisions of this section." The latter
part of the section puts certain restraints on this seemingly
exclusive provision for the reservation in vacancies. It suggests
that the reservation is only in the identified posts and it raises
the question whether identification of the posts for the
physically challenged was made to facilitate the physically
impaired or to work as a guillotine for them.
It is also worth mentioning that through exempting some

of the establishment, it tried to further reduce the percentage
if it is seen in totality. Moreover, it is pointless to ask for
what a physically challenged cannot do but putting such
explicit provision and that is to an absolute manner shows a
malafied intention behind such provisions.
If this provision is compared with the Executive Orders,

one is forced to say that despite it is being legally sanctioned,
it is a step back as the Executive Orders have the provision
for the reservation in total vacancies. It seems that in the name
of identification, an exercise which was praiseworthy, al
negative step has been taken and the consumers are convinced
that this has got a legal sanction. Had there been clear
intention, while restricting the number of posts, the policy makers would have thought in
terms of increasing the
percentage. J
While analyzing various categories covered under this

provision, so far as the visual impairment is concerned, it has
taken a wider spectrum by including low vision. But in the
absence of any specification in terms of how much share will
go to each group, it has paved the way of overlooking the
J
totally visually impaired on the one hand and, sometimes

overlooking the low vision due to the pressure from the
aroups relating to the totally visually impaired. This
dichotomous position is quite evident when one is enlarging
one's paraphernalia. One cannot do away with the inherent
contradiction in the variety of sections and rather than
enjoying this position, the policy-makers should have specified
the ratio.
Like previous Executive Orders, the provisions are made

to carry forward the unfulfilled vacancies. It will be discussed
at length in some other section while dealing with its
implementation. It has also made some provisions which are
termed as 'schemes for ensuring employment of persons with
disabilities.'386 It is pertinent to state here that the policymakers
were not satisfied by laying down a general policy.
That is why they took up the exercise of pointing out some of
the sectors where it was felt that there are some probabilities
of better chances. In this regard, the reference of educational
institutions387 and poverty alleviation schemes388 are made.
Thus, it can be stated that despite the legal sanction

provided by the PWD Act, it looks like going a step back
from the position of 1976 except the fact that The Executive
Order was confined to 'C and 'D' categories of posts and it
is silent about it which, in turn may amount to be applicable
to all posts. But the moment it talks about the identified posts,
it puts a check over the new vistas as, in practical sense,
without the pressure, no bureaucrat is going to review the
'ist of identified posts every three years despite the fact that
technology is moving at the speed of rocket so far as the
progress is concerned.
If the employment policies of both the countries is

analysed, both the countries fail to give requisite attention over the use of the potence of
the visually challenged though
'he policies of the Republic of South Africa developed a parallel
document known as the Code of Good Conduct,. Of course,
ê PWD Act also talks about the aids and appliances for the
'sabled but such provisions are discussed in a separate
238 Policy Perspectives for the Visually Impaired |
chapter with the name of "Affirmative Action" and in an acre I

where positivity of the bureaucrats is questioned and in an
age where under the name of globalization and privatization
the expenditure of the infrastructure is lessened, such separate
' chapters will always be overlooked.
3.5 Policy relating to Other Rehabilitational Issues
Of course, the policies relating to prevention, education

and employment are vital in both the pulitical system for the
visually challenged but bother the systems must have thought
about other issues of the visually impaired and attempt will
be made here to touch upon them in brief.
3.5.1 Policies Relating to Other Rehabilitational Issues in

South Africa
While visualising "A Society for All", it was strongly

I! : felt that a Disability Programme was established in the Office
of the Minister without Portfolio in the office of the President

to facilitate the integration of the disability fully into the
Reconstruction and Development Programme. Due to the
: closure of the Ministry, the office on the Status of Disabled
Persons was formally established in the Office of the Deputy

President.
If an analysis of the policy objectives is made, one will

find that it is stressing on proper data collection of the living
condition of the people with physical challenge and full access
to all informations that affect their lives. Of course, this is a
most methodical step if really one wishes to develop the status
of the people with physical challenge in general and the
visually challenged in particular.
The concern was shown for the social security of the

persons with physical challenge. That is why, it was stated
that "The present social security legislative framework, and
its administration and allocation systems, tend to be
discriminatory, punitive, insensitive to the specific needs or
people with disabilities, uncoordinated, inadequate anu fraught with high levels of
fraud."389
It is stated that the policy should include appropriate

facilities; appropriately trained officials and administrative tall; effective feedback
mechanisms, and a coordinated social
security safety net.
A concern was also shown over the grant to those

physically challenged who could not meet the minimum
household subsistence level calculated by the Institute for
planning Research in 1992. It means that the income of many
people with physical challenge and their families falls far
below the estimated subsistence level. This emphasises the
need to link social security benefits with income generation
strategies.
It is concerned with the development of the skills which,

in turn, work for the benefit of the political system. Such
development it termed as developing human resources which
need proper training. For such training, it is suggested that
there should be a "transformation of mainstream vocational
training services to provide more accessible and accessible
training for people with disabilities. This should include
making available of the necessary support services."390 If such
provision is accepted and put into practice, analysis of which
will be made in the next chapter, it may create an atmosphere
in which the role of the physically challenged in general and
the visually challenged in particular can be visualised and
they can best be used as a genuine human resource, and pave
the way for inclusive training which is also known as
mainstreaming.
A concern was also shown over the inaccessible housing.

't was stated that "Existing dwelling/housing and environments are often inaccessible due
to poor design,
utfrastructure and overcrowding. This often forces people with disabilities into
institutions without their wishes."391 This becomes the major barrier in their normal
social contacts. That
is why, it is stated that "Housing schemes very seldom make
Provisions for barrier-free design which excludes people with
disabilities from obtaining housing or visiting relatives and f%\ds."392
Hence, it is proposed to develop such a policy to provid

people with physical challenges and their families with saf
shelter and dwellings of their own through equitable access
to range of options in the housing subsidy scheme. Jts components will include
institutional housing, residential
facilities, home ownership etc.393
A concern is also shown for the recreation of the

physically challenged. It is held that "People with disabilities
experience the same need for sport, including competitive
sport, and recreation as their non-disabled peers. Sport is
generally regarded as one of the vital components in the
integration of people with disabilities into society. It is also
often a vital component in the successful rehabilitation of
people with disabilities."394 Hence, it is suggested to include
Spartan concept of education for the physically challenged in
general and the visually impaired in particular not only in the
special schools but also in the integrated education where its
absence is badly felt due to the common understanding that
these people are just passing their lives and it hardly matters
whether they are physically fit or not. That is why it is
suggested that "Community sport centres should be
developed in consultation with organisation of disabled
people to ensure not only barrier-free access, but also
integrated universal design to allow both non-disabled and
disabled athletes to use the facilities simultaneously."395 As
this is not an easy task and that is why, it is suggested to
include public education, mainstreaming such sports for
judicious sponsorships and some other steps are needed. It is
also suggested that both the existing bodies for the sport for
the physically challenged should work in a coordinated
manner to avoid the possibilities of the varying opinions.
A concern is also shown to have a legislation for the

disabled which should change the attitude towards the
physically impaired, by taking affirmative action, should be
assimilated in the society and, last but not the least, their dignity be protected by making
best use of their capacity'
Need of such legislation is felt due to the fact that "... people
,jth disabilities as a group experience further discrimination n the basis of their

disability."396 It is suggested that this
^vork should be conducted in partnership with NGOs both in
the disability and legal sector, the Human Rights Commission, the South African law
Commission and other appropriate
institutions and organisations.
This proposed involvement shows the democratic

attitude of the policy-makers while reaching at a conclusion
like making legislation.
It is also admitted that there was no legislation as such

for the physically challenged and whatever was existing was
some considerations here and there. In a way, these provisions
were nothing more than that of appendages to various laws.
Hence, it is admitted that "There is ... no coherent or
comprehensive legislation pertaining to people with
disabilities and their rights."397 This is also the fact that the
segregated approach of the apartheid period brought variety
of laws for different segments of the state and, hence, in the
absence of general laws, overlooking of the law or legislation
for tine physically challenged is a self-evident reality. It is
also admitted that "It has also not been possible to use the
common law to promote the rights of the disabled people."398 This was a vacuum and
supposed to be filled. It was also felt
that mere law-making was insufficient and there was a need
of establishing some national institutions and mechanisms.399 Such legislation may
provide important referral source for
redress and offers enforceable Support.
Such legislation should be having two-level approach.
First, it must address the past inequalities in details to control
the tendencies towards further discrimination. Secondly, it
must champion the principles of the Constitution and other
mternational human rights instruments. This legislation should
apply vertically and horizontally. It means, it should apply
between state and citizen and between citizen and citizen. It

would cover the diversity of people with disabilities, and
So acknowledge service providers to this sector."400
The policies referred above are of the general nature
I
and, thereby, speaks not much about the problems of th

visually challenged except couple of sweeping references here
and there.
3.5.2 Policies Relating to Other Rehabilitational Issues in India
As both the political systems are guided by the

international sanctions, they have almost similar policies for
the physically challenged in general and the visually impaired
in particular. However, it is necessary here to have a look at
the provisions given for the physically impaired in general
and the visually challenged in particular in major policy
document for then in India. So far as the political system of
India is concerned, the source of the policies for the physically
challenged is found from the PWD Act, 1995.
It shows concern for the need of the allotment of the

land for the physically challenged and, hence, the provision
is made by stating that "The Appropriate Governments and
local authorities shall by notification frame schemes in favour
of persons with disabilities, for the preferential allotment of
land at concessional rates for --
house; setting up business; setting up of special

recreational centres; establishment of special schools;
establishment of research centres; establishment of factories
by entrepreneurs with disabilities."401
There are various aspects which are covered under the

provision of non-discrimination. These provisions include the
issues like transport, built-in environment and government
employment.
For non-discrimination in transport, laid down

provisions speak about taking special measures to make
adaptation in rail compartments, busses, vessels and aircrafts
for the easy access to the persons with physical challenge ana
adapting toilets of various transports for the convenience o-the
wheelchair users.402 There is a discussion about easy &cce but the access seems not to
be taken in a broader manner an
that is why it gives a feeling that the case of the visual)
challenged is taken inappropriately as the changes for the

access of information like the knowledge of the seat number,
compartment etc. is the main point of access which is not at
all mentioned.
Over the issue of safe road for the physically challenged,

it is suggested to install auditory signals for the visually
impaired at red lights; make curb cuts and slopes on the
pavement for wheelchair users; make engraved zebra
crossings and on the edges of railway platforms for the low
vision and other visually impaired and warning signals at
appropriate places etc.403
A concern was shown regarding the built-in environment

and it is suggested to make ramps in public buildings like
hospitals, primary health centres and other medical care and
rehabilitation institutions; adaptation of toilets for wheelchair
users and Braille symbols and auditory signals in elevators
or lifts.404
Over the issue of the Government employment, despite

the reservation proviso, attention is paid even under the nondiscriminatory
clause which says that "No establishment shall
dispense with, or reduce in rank, an employee who acquires
a disability during his service: Provided that if an employee,
after acquiring disability is not suitable for the post he was
holding, could be shifting to some other post with the same
pay scale and service benefits: Provided further that if it is
not possible to adjust the employee against any post, he may
be kept on a supernumerary post until a suitable post is
available or he attains the age of superannuation, whichever
is earlier."405 In fact, this is a clause for a kind of calamity in
the form of sudden mishaps which cause impairment. But the
latter part which talks about various probabilities and reduce this provision to the status
of ifs and buts, there lays the
weakness of the provision as the conditions are analysed by
the administrator and, in the case of visually impaired, the
understanding of the administration may be ridden by the
Preconceived notions.
Its sub-section speaks about non-denial of a promotion

merely on the ground of the physical challenge, is also

conditioned by saying that the establishment may not have
sought any exemption and the exemptions are also sought in
a particular time frame and it is not necessary that the person
who is seeking exemption is fully updated with the
development of techniques in favour of the physically
challenged.
All these provisions seem charming but if they are

conditioned by the terms like 'within the limits of their
economic capacity and development for the benefit of persons
with disabilities', it reduces to a normative provision where
all excuses can be found in the name of economic limitation
and ignorance of the development for the benefit of the
persons with special challenge.
If a comparative analysis of both the states are made,

one can say that both are influenced by the sanctions of the
international agencies but in the case of the Republic of South
Africa, in the absence of any act for the physically challenged
in general and the visually impaired in particular, irrespective
of the fact that they talk about some kind of legislation, there
concerns, though drawn from the provisions of equality and
non-discriminatory clauses, remain no more than some
strategies but as India could manage to provide an act for
this segment of the society, it paves, at least for the haves
(upper class) a way by which they can knock the door of the^
judiciary and venture for some favour.
1
Policy Implementation and
Interaction with Voluntary
Organisations of and for the
Visually Impaired Persons
4.0 Introduction
It is generally said that a policy without implementation

is a normative statement which can be written with the golden
letters and can be useful for an enchantment. It is needless to
say that the usefulness of any policy lies in its implementation
in terms of how far it benefits its users quantitatively and
qualitatively.
These activities will be analysed in two ways. One, it

will be analysed by going through the documents such as
reports, press clippings, articles in journals etc. or one can
interview the relevant sections of this segment of society and
deduce some conclusions on the basis of the pattern of their
responses. Of course, it is admitted here that the period under
examination differ in terms of the years but the choice made
for this is primarily on the basis of their decisiveness, i.e., a
time when both the countries were free to take the decision about this segment of society
independently. So far as the
Republic of South Africa is concerned, despite the arwouncement in the constitution
about no disparity on the
oasis of disability and despite the consequent attempts of its
government to take affirmative steps from the same year, it
has got about a decade which will be the point of analysis.
I
Hence, for this purpose, the interview with the help Of

questionnaires will be conducted.
As it is a comparative study, despite the fact that the

period of analysis of the implementation is comprised of almost
seven decades and one can get literature scattered over here
and there, but in the interest of comparison, even the analysis
of the implementation of the policies in India is also beim
made on the basis of questionnaires.
For this purpose, structured interviews were taken at

three levels, namely, the consumers406 (beneficiaries), the
government officials and the voluntary organisations, an
endeavour will be made to know how far the policies laid
down by both the political systems are useful for its
beneficiaries which are one of the important segment of the
physically challenged but are the most neglected if a
comparative analysis is made within due to the preconceived
notions about their potentials and reactions in terms of their
behaviour. Random sampling is made from both tine political
systems while interviewing the persons from the aforesaid
three groups. So far as the consumers are concerned, 75
persons are chosen from each country, ten persons from each
country are interviewed who are directly or indirectly
representing departments relating to welfare, labour and law
and five national organisations were selected from both the
countries and five members from each voluntary organisation
was taken for interview. As the implementation of the policies
relating to the diverse section is not an easy task due to thei
dialectics between rising expectations and source limitations,
however, it is pertinent to see how far the executive bodies
find it possible to realise these policies and how far the
recipients take best possible benefits from their way of implementation. It will also
involve the issue of the level of
the consumers as well as the level of the bodies which
implement these policies. Hence, while making analysis of
the implementation of the policies, one has to take into
consideration its multi-dimensions. The analysis made in the
forthcoming sections is based on the responses which are
Organisations of and for the Visually Impaired Persons 247
further quantified for the convenience of the research.
4.1 Preventive Measures by the Governments and the Involvement of the Non-
Governmental Agencies
As is dealt in the last chapter that both the systems

emphasised on the urgent need of framing a policy for the
prevention of the visual impairment and, thereby, they were
intending upon showing their concern over the famous say
that "prevention is better than cure". The emphasis on
developing these policies was also laid down because of the
fact that most of the doctors used to say that more titan 80%
of the visual impairment is curable. Moreover, an attention is
drawn by some of the writers that "the cost of rehabilitation
is many times more than the cost of prevention."407 This can
be understood from the fact that if the preventable measures
are properly implemented, there will be a considerable
reduction in the percentage of the occurrence of the physical
impairment. If such occurrence is reduced, obviously, the
government has to implement its programmes for the lesser
number of the people. At the same time, prevention or, even
treatment, is a one time cost whereas the rehabilitation is a
cumulative work and need a lot of recurring fund. Hence, it
is proposed that the government should understand the
importance of the preventive measures so that the burden on
the economy may be reduced.
Such measures can be taken at three levels. Without going

into details, these three levels can be summarised as "Primary
prevention refers to avoidance of the occurrence of
impairment by tackling the basic causes; secondary prevention
refers to methods for limiting or reversing disability caused
by impairments such as by treatment, surgery etc.; and,
tertiary prevention refers to measures to stop impairment
from developing into disability and handicap such as taking
care of the environmental and external factors."408
4.1.1 Preventive Measures for the Visual Impairment in South

Africa and the Role of Non-Governmental Organisations
It is opined that if prevention is taken seriously, there

are 80% visually challenged people whose visual impairment

can be cured. Hence, before dealing with the stimulus in terms
of asking questions and the organised response, it is pertinent
here to make a brief sketch of the facilities available in South
Africa for the implementation of the prevention policy for
the visual impairment. Apart from the ophthalmological
departments in the Government hospitals where free or
concessional treatment is available, there is a special organ of
the South African National Council for the Blind
(SANCB)whose representatives move around the countryside
of the nation and provide services of eye care ranging from
the check up to operation if necessary.
This organ of the SANCB is known as the Bureau for

the Prevention of Blindness which came into existence in 1944
and has been internationally recognised as one of the effective
agencies in the provision of primary, secondary and tertiary
eye care services in Africa. It does not restrict itself only to
provide medical aids. Hence, the Bureau also facilitates
international workshops to train and equip eye care workers
with the latest information on developments in the field of
eye care, techniques to prevent blindness, the planning of
regional eye care programmes as well as improving
existing services. This academic exercise in the field of
the prevention helps to prepare up-to-date medical
practitioners and provides better facilities to the beneficiaries
or consumers.
It works through hospitals and health institutions in

addition to its mobile units. The Director of the Bureau is a
member of the National Committee for the Prevention of
Blindness. Currently the Bureau facilitates and performs over
four thousand surgeries a year. It provides subsidies for
cataract interventions. For example, the normal cost of cataract
surgery is about 1000 Rand. The provincial council provides
50% subsidies while the Bureau takes up the rest of the cost.
Mainly, the Bureau gets sponsorship from SANCB, Christoffel
Blindenmission, Lions International etc. The Bureau has firmly
established a National Eye Care Awareness week once a year.
^
During this week one eye condition is identified and

highlighted. The aim is to create awareness and to provide
information about management of these eye conditions. In
collaboration with the International Centre for Eye Health
(ICEH) in London, the Bureau has opened an information
centre on prevention of blindness and other related issues as
well. It treats various eye conditions such as glaucoma and
prescribes spectacles. Since its inception the Bureau has
screened close to 1 million people.
The Bureau provides three different programmes to meet

the eye-care needs of rural and township areas of South Africa.
These include provincial and Sight Saver tours where full
teams undertake visits to hospitals, Permanent Eye Care
Centres where a full stock of equipment and drugs and
dressings is maintained by the hospital and where only an
ophthalmologist needs to be sent and finally urban tours
where people from townships and squatter camps who do
not have access to suitable medical care and be referred to
weekend clinics in urban areas. It is also very actively
involved in the vision 2020 campaign, 'the right to sight' and
has developed a strategy to make South Africa the first
developing country in the world to eradicate cataract
blindness.
The Bureau focuses on reaching people with eye diseases

in under-served rural and township areas in South Africa
where no such services are available. Tours are undertaken
to all 9 provinces by the bureau's mobile unit. The Bureau is
in fact a well-known service of the SANCB.
There are some specialist's services provided by the

South African Optometric Association which operates a
Welfare Eye Clinic at Optima College. A complete low vision409 service was started at
Optima College in 1992. The clinic
provides evaluation, counselling and training of people with
low vision which is a new field. "The smaller number of
patients and the prohibitively expensive nature of low vision
aids have limited the financial viability of low vision services.
Therefore, very few optometrists venture into this field
despite their often extensive training. This has resulted in

much of the burden for low vision services being carried by
the NGOs such as the National Council of the Blind Society.
The partially sighted population is estimated at 131,000."410 Low vision can be caused
by all the conditions/diseases
previously discussed.
The visual impairment in the children is around 4.7%

and basically the same mal-nutrition and the deficiency of
Vitamin A are remarked as the cause of this impairment.
However, it is said that "The causes of childhood blindness
in South Africa are changing. Corneal disease is gradually
reducing and cataract and glaucoma are increasing."4"
How far economy of a system is related to the status of

the visual impairment can be understood by the fact that more
the economy is shown towards the upward curve, lesser the
occurrence of the visual impairment is witnessed. That is why,
it is stated that "It was noted that there is a relationship
between the economy/health care of a country and the
number of visually challenged. In a good economy/health
care system, 0.25% of the population are blind. If the economy
is OK then the percentage is 0.50%. In poor and very poor
economies, we have 0.75% and 1.00% respectively."412 It can
be understood from the fact that the continent like Europe is
having the prevalence of the visual impairment not more than
0.3%, Africa is having 1.00%, Latin America 0.5% and Asia
0.7%. This becomes the concern of the people at global level.
That is why, 2020 is being made a target to control the
blindness. These key players include UN Agencies,
Ministries of Health, Professionals, and Non-governmental
Organisations. To control blindness, vision 2020 was launched.
It aim is to eliminate all avoidable visual impairment in the
world by the year 2020. Specifically, vision 2020 aims at
reducing the present visually challenged population of 75 million to 25 million by the
year 2020.
A Global Task Force has been constituted with the

representatives of World Health Organisation (WHO)/
International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB)/
and twelve International Non-Governmental Development

Organisations (INGDOs). The function of this task force is to
promote and implement Vision 2020 through coordination,
planning, resource mobilisation and advocacy. Its Regional
Councils are comprised of representatives of IAPB and WHO.
The Regional Councils for Africa are situated in almost

all the regions. In Southern Africa. Apart from IAPB, there
are the representatives from the countries like Angola,
Lesotho, Mozambique, South Africa, Zambia, Botswana,
Malawi, Namibia, Swaziland and Zimbabwe. In the region of
East Africa, apart from the involvement of IAPB, there are
the representatives from Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia, Sudan,
Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. In the region of West Africa,
apart from the involvement of IAPB, there are the involvement
of the representatives from the countries like Ghana, Liberia,
Nigeria, Sierra Leone and the Gambia.
This scheme will not end up by making the programme
up to regional level. That is why, it is stated that "At the
national level is the National Programme (NP), which is
mandated to co-ordinate, plan, mobilise resources, set
indicator statistics and evaluate the programme. At this level,
there are three units: The Training Centres (TO) which is
responsible for training of ophthalmologists, training of
cataract surgeons and training of paramedical eye workers.
Then there is the Surgical Unit (SU), which provides surgical
services for cataract and treatment of common eye diseases.
Next is the Community Health Unit (CH), which has
responsibility for raising awareness and prevention of primary
diseases."413
Against this background, an attempt is made to interview

tiie consumers, government officials and the representatives
| of the non-governmental organisations on the basis of which an endeavour is made to

draw some conclusions. It is also
| tried to find the gap between the claims made by the

government and how far such aims are realised.
First and foremost question is related to the definition

°f the visual impairment and low vision. This question was
not addressed to the consumers as majority of the consumers

fall under non-medical student category. Hence, the question
was confined to the government officials and the Non-Governmental
Organisations (NGOs). Over the question of
the definition of the visual impairment and low vision, there
were 35 respondents. Out of them, 29 respondents affirmed
the fact that there is a definition of both visual impairment
and low vision. This constitutes approximately 83 %. But only
20 persons (57% approximately) could tell the definition. This
is true that there is a Definition of both the visually impaired
and low vision. The definition of the visual impairment has
been dealt with in the last chapter and the definition of the
low vision is being referred in footnote 2 of this chapter.
Hence, it is not suggested here to make its repetition.
The claims of the concern over the prevention of the

visual impairment can only be judged by making a regular
check up of the visually challenged. As no field in the medical _
science which can make any ultimate statement of the^B
impossibility of cure and as this science remains always in theH
process of development, chances of new inventions cannot
be denied and, hence, chances of new patterns of diagnosis!
and consequent new theories and the related remedies may
come up which open new aspirations for the present
generation. Hence, a regular check up in case of the visual
impairment is supposed to be a common phenomenon. That
is why a question is asked to the consumers whether there is
a regular check up of their visual impairment. 80% gave their
response in affirmation and it is told that at the tertiary level,
the quantum of such check ups is reduced. The reason is quite
obvious that when the visual impairment is ascertained, the
check up becomes useless until and unless some miraculous
inventions are made in the field of medical science.
Prevention of any disease becomes useless if there is no

arrangement of the medical service. It becomes beyond the
reach of the ordinary persons if such services are expensive.
When the consumers and the Governmental officials are asked
about the availability of the services for the prevention of the
. ual impairment, 70 respondents falling in the category of

nnsuffiers, out of 75 (80 %) answered in affirmative but there
,as not a single respondent amongst the government officials who denied the presence of
such services. When asked
whether these services are free of cost, 66% amongst the
consumers confirmed about the free treatment whereas 80%
Government officials gave the answer in affirmation. When
an opinion was sought over these services, it was a divided
opinion by the consumers but majority of them could not find
it to the level of excellence. In the case of the government
officials, 80% called it an excellent one from the viewpoint of
the available means. Over the similar question, the NGOs
also feel that the services are not excellent as only 20%
organisations called them excellent whereas more than 50%
treat these services up to the mark of satisfaction. Rest of the
respondents were totally dissatisfied with the services for
preventing the visual impairment.
So far as the actual situation is concerned, in the

government hospitals, the treatment is almost free depending
upon the level of one's income. But as is the case with most of
the developing countries, there are better facilities with the
private hospitals but as poverty and disability goes side by
side, these better facilities are not accessible to the poverty-stricken
visually impaired people.
As the realisation of the programme of Vision 2020 is

I not possible without taking the Non-Governmental
Organisations (NGOs) into confidence, some basic questions
were posed to these organisations. Asking about the causes
°f the visual impairment in terms of inheritance, accident,
'gnorance or it involves almost all the causes, all the NGOs
§ "firmed the fact that there is variety of causes but the cases
°f accidents are rare. But on the understanding that majority °* the visual impairment is
preventable, 60% cut the sorry
jSures. Of course, it is contradictory to the understanding of
^doctors almost throughout the world.
I ^ When the NGOs are asked about the role of the

j aOvernment in this regard, it was told by 80% of the
organisations that they contributed their capacities to som

extent. But when the question about the role of the Mqq
was inquired, 60% responded that, to a greater extent, they play a positive role. To
ascertain how far their statement wa
true, a question relating to the outcome of their endeavou
was asked. The majority of the NGOs informed that it
awakened the urban people. Only 20% agreed that they could
even approach the rural area and could manage to raise the
level of awakening there.
Accidental visual-impairment
is one of the undeniable
facts. Hence, the NGOs were asked about their role and about
the beneficiaries. 40% respondents clearly mentioned about
their policy of running crisis courses, another 40% told that
they are providing both but 20% felt that it should be the
duty of the state. But in terms of the beneficiaries, only 20%
respondents NGOs could support more than 10 persons for
last three years. This shows that over the issue of prevention
due to the accidental cases, there is a need to sensitise the
NGOs.
A question was asked about the national programme

for the prevention of the visual impairment and it was found
that the NGOs are fully sensitised about the Vision 2020 and
they are also aware of the fact that it is jointly being run by
the government and the NGOs. But when they were asked
about the reference of the special cases of visual impairment,
80% expressed their doubts and only 20% talked about only
the arrangements of the funds for this purpose. This is true
that over the issue of prevention, there are some clubs who
are sensitised and are using funds for its prevention.
Over the issue of the visual impairment due to the older

age and the related disease like cataract, all the NGOs spoke
about the role of the SANCB and its Bureau. But it was
observed that due to its limitations, desired results could no-be
achieved even by the Bureau.
When the NGOs were asked about the health worked

to make the rural people aware of the primary health caieJ? the visual impairment, 60%
responded in affirmation.
reality lies in the fact that still there is a lot to be done at the ural level wherefrom the
visual challenged people come.
Generally, it is the ignorance and related superstitions which
force these innocent people to believe in mesmerism,
witchcraft, local treatment or the mercy of the god.
Over the issue of the Vitamin A deficiency, all the NGOs

opined that it is this deficiency which is the major cause of
the visual impairment. Such deficiency is predominantly found
in the rural areas despite the fact that if one depends upon
the natural resources properly and include natural Vitamin A
in his diet, there are chances that the occurrence of this disease
can be reduced to a greater extent.
Some questions were asked about the problems of low

vision. In particular, for this purpose, the Government officials
were asked about the arrangements of clinics and evaluation
process of low vision. 60% respondents told that there were
ample provisions for the evaluation and treatment in the clinics
and were evaluated with the best possible arrangements of
measuring their sight and, if necessary, they were referred
to the specialists. Over the question of providing lenses to
the low vision people, both the NGOs and the government
officials responded in affirmation that they were
manufactured indigenously but one had to seek sponsorship
from the benevolent section of the society so that these lenses
could be provided at the viable or concessional rates.
4.1.2 Preventive Measures for the Visual Impairment in India

and the Role of Non-Governmental Organisations
Despite the fact that India has got, like South Africa,
different apex bodies for the major four categories of the
Physically challenged and for the visually unpaired, there is a
body known as National Institute for the Visually
handicapped in Dehradun, but it does not have very

categorically separated unit for the prevention of the visual imPairment. That is why,
Rajendra Prasad Centre, the
Part of All-India Institute of Medical Sciences, has been
°rking as an apex body in the field of the prevention of the
lsual impairment. It cannot be denied that with the enactment
I
of the Legislation for the People with Disability and with the
inclusion of some of the clauses about the policies relating to
the prevention of the physical impairment in general and the
visual impairment in particular, the issue of the prevention
got a legal shape. It does not mean that nothing took place
prior to 1996.
First and foremost task in the field of prevention starts

from the child and mother care. How enthusiastic were various
agencies in this field can be understood from the fact that it
is no more a secret that most of the congenital deformities
are traceable to unhealthy pre-natal environment, A good
system of maternal and child health services, would go a long
way towards prevention of congenital defects. Unfortunately,
these services are not so well-developed in the India. The maternal mortality rate in India
is about 10 per 1000 as against
0.64 per 1000 in UK and 0-47 per 1000 in the USA. Although
it was m 1920 that the need for care of the new mother and
child in India received the attention of voluntary bodies like
Red Cross, it was only in 1945 that the Bhore Committee set
up by the British Government, chalked out a plan fOr primary
health centres. After Independence of India, a considerable
amount was spent on the provision of maternal and child
welfare services. In 1952, the Indian Council for Child
Welfare was established at New Delhi. In 1953, another
association under the name of Child Health and Care
Association of India were founded under the presidentship
of Rajkumari Amrit Kaur, former Health Minister of India.'.
Besides, the Kasturba Gandhi National Memorial Fund also'
has been devoting much of its resources towards the training
of nurses and midwives, and welfare of women and children,
particularly in rural areas. The All-India Women's Conference and the National Council
of Women offered medical care to
women and children at centres to run training classes for
midwives and nurses. The mobile vans, attended by a doctor
and a nurse in each van, go daily to die villages taking free medical aid to the remotest
corners of the country. The Guild
of Service in Madras is running similar health projects in the
South. Some Indian and Foreign Missions run maternity
hospitals, clinics and welfare centres in different parts of

India-414 This enthusiasm is still prevailing in its own way with a shift that even some
welfare organisations have also started
taking part in this field. But still, leave aside some attempts
in the tribal areas where some religious persons find the place
fertile in terms of making the best use of religion, there are
majority of the villages in the remote areas at least in the
northern part of India which are, for some unknown reasons,
remain untouched.
Of course, deficiency of Vitamin A has been the major

cause of visual impairment which starts in the villages with
night blindness and, apart from the programmes of
government, lot of projects have been taken by various
voluntary organisations with a view to distribute Vitamin A
tablets or syrup. Commenting upon the deficiency of the
Vitamin A and the relevant programmes, it is stated that
"Vitamin A deficiency, coupled with protein energy
malnutrition, is a major cause of childhood blindness. A
Prophylaxis Programme Against Blindness Due to Vitamin A
Deficiency was started by the Government in 1970 under
which children in 1-5 age-group are given an oral dose of 0.2
million IN of vitamin A in oil every six months. The
programmes covers 30 million out of 80 million children in
target group. Significant reduction in childhood blindness has
been noticed over the years."415
Apart from this, cataract has been treated as one of the

major causes of the visual impairment and it has become a
major share of expenditure in the prevention measures. There
is an opposite relationship between the mortality rates and
the occurrence of the visual impairment. That is why, it is
being said that "Ironically, there exists an inverse relationship
between mortality and disability."416 As cataract has some re'ationship with the age,
decrease in the mortality rate
âvoidably increased the chances of cataract. Instead of going
tftto the details of the programmes taken for this purpose by
"e Lions Clubs and the government hospitals, it will be
sufficed to state that" It is apparent that cataract has the lion's
share among the causes of visual disability and its share has
increased from 55 per cent in early 70s to 81 per cent in early
80s. In the wake of the results of the Indian Council of Medical
Research (ICMR) study, a National Programme for Control
of Blindness was launched in 1975-76 as a 100 per cent
Centrally Sponsored Programme. The programme consists
of intensification of educational efforts on eye health care
through the mass media and extension education methods-extension
of eye-care services through mobile units and eye-camps
to restore sight; establishment of permanent facilities
for ophthalmic care as an integral part of general health
services at peripheral, intermediate and central levels. Since
its launch, considerable progress has been made in building
up of infrastructure at Primary Health Centres (PHCs), district
hospitals and medical colleges and setting up of central and
district mobile units for preventive and curative aspects of
visual challenge. The major work under the programme has
been extraction of cataract through large-scale involvement
of voluntary organisations and private sector. During 199192
and 1992-93, there have been 1.19 million and 1.46 million
cataract operations respectively."417
The present level of efforts has to be at least doubled. In

order to speed up the efforts, the Government of India has
asked the states to form District Blindness Control Societies
to be registered under the Societies Registration Act of 1860.
These Societies will function under the chairmanship of the.
District Collector with the District Ophthalmic Surgeon asl
the member-secretary and other concerned departmental
representatives and representatives of voluntary organisations
as members. So far about 200 societies have been registered.
Of course, a lot of interest has been taken in this field by the
Rotary Clubs and sometimes some voluntary organisations
make it a part of occasional awakening which can be seen m
the form of eye camps --an effort at a wholesale level to
operate the cataract and after the valediction of such
ceremonial functions, nobody even dare ask how those
patients are.
But if these operations are correlated with the follow up iox this purpose, one has to cut a
sorry figure as even at that acre, majority of the people are associated with one or the
other type of laborious work which cannot permit them to take desirable rest because of
which there are all probabilities of such operations yielding lesser positive results. There
is a
dire need to make such a study because there is no planning
which is not result oriented. But in the case of such so-called
social works, nobody is particular about the results as it
becomes a ritual which one has to perform after certain period
of time. Moreover, despite this say that there is about 80%
preventable visual impairment, nobody, at any point of time
feel the need of telling up to what extent we are able to
prevent this disease. Hence, sometimes these statements look
like an eye wash. It may be a surprising fact for anybody that
the cataract is fully curable and one can retain full functional
vision if an availability of intraocular lenses can be made.
This section will remain incomplete if due attention is

not paid to a common question which has been asked to any
person with visual impairment. It says: Why do you not get
an eye in donation? In fact, there is no provision in the medical
sciences like eye donation. Strictly speaking, it is the cornea418 which is transplanted
and that transplantation is only possible
if one can get similar cornea for the deceased eye. For this,
any country has to set up eye bank and it is this name which
develops confusion and anybody may think that it is the eye
which has been donated. Despite the fact that in our country,
we have more than 100 eye banks, we have to depend upon
the import of cornea from the countries like Sri Lanka, which is a small country in
comparison to India. Though this is nqt
fte subject of research yet it is needed to state that it is the ntuals of the religion excluding
Buddhism that stops people 0 donate corneas after death. A so-called highly spiritualised
°untry like India where the importance of spirit is
flighted and where body reduces to fugitive, the rahminical ceremonies and related myths
stop people to Oriate their corneas because of a fear that in the next life
they may get birth with no eye. It is because of this that country
having more than billion souls is dependent upon a country
like Sri Lanka for this which does not have even more than i% numerical strength of the
population of India.
The abovementioned description reveals that lot of steps

have been taken in India to prevent the visual impairment
but still there is a scope to do lot more. However, an attempt
should be made not to delay the prevention. What kind of
effect such delay makes can be accepted even today in this
statement that "As a large majority of our population is
illiterate and lives in villages, a child having eye disease is
unable to get medical care and attention at the proper time
when the expert medical advice is sought, in majority of the
cases it is too late. Delayed diagnosis is intimately related to
delay in treatment. With ophthalmic disorders particularly
severe vision impairment may be direct result of delayed
treatment."419
Over the aspect of preventive programmes for the visual

impairment, the questionnaire deals with the fundamental
question of the definition of visual impairment and the low
vision. This question was not addressed to the consumers as
majority of the consumers fall under non-medical student
category as not only medical science even any branch of science
is not being taught to the visually impaired at the college
level. Hence, the question was confined to the government
officials and the NGOs. There were 35 respondents and out
of them 24 persons confirmed that there is a definition of the
visual impairment as well as the low vision. This amounts to
69% approximately confirming the definition. But only 21 respondents (60%) could tell
the definition. This is true that
there is a definition of both the visually impaired and low
vision. This'has already been referred that the definition of
the visual impairment has been dealt with in the last chapter
and the definition of the low vision is being referred u1 footnote 2 of this chapter. Hence,
it is not suggested here to make its repetition. As these definitions are globally
accepted, there is no difference between both the countries
gut so far as the comparison in terms of sensitisation is

concerned, respondents of South Africa are better in this
respect.
Over the issue of regular check up which is supposed to

be a conspicuous part of the life of any visually challenged, 66% stated in affirmation and
majority of others said that the
appearance of the doctor is a casual phenomenon. This reveals
the fact that comparatively, the eye check up is not that much
routine event in India as is the case with South Africa. It is
because of the fact that despite all big claims in India, there
are rarer people who wish to link themselves with the modern
innovations.
Over the issue of the availability of the services, about

70% consumers accepted that these services are available. But
80% fell amongst those who were not satisfied with these
services. But in the case of the government officials 90%
accepted about its availability and rest of them were of the
view that this availability is dismal amounting to negligible.
So far as its performance is concerned, 80% agreed that it is
up to the mark. Over the issue of the performance of these
facilities, the NGOs were asked the question. Out of ten
representatives 4 were of the view that it is satisfactory but
rest of the representatives called it unsatisfactory.
If a comparative analysis of both the countries is made

over the issue of the availability of the medical services and
its performance, the NGOs of both the countries were mainly
dissatisfied with these facilities. Of course, the government
officials were optimistic and the reasons of their optimism
are quite evident.
When the NGOs were asked to explain the causes of m visual impairment, 70%
respondents were of the view that
™ the cases of accident were rare but 30% opined that even
accidents were also the cause of visual impairment.
When the NGOs were asked to assess the role of the

government, 60% agreed that, to some extent, government
'played some role but when these NGOs were asked about
their own role, 80% accepted that they could manage to

awaken the urban people and only 20% have some influence
over the rural segment of the society wherefrom the visual
impairment emerged. If a comparative analysis is made, the
situation is more or less similar in both the countries. Despite
the fact that urbanisation is taking place at a better pace in
South Africa -- may be in the want of jobs -- rural areas are
overlooked by both the countries. ,
Over the issue of the accidental visual impairment, the J NGOs were asked about their
role in terms of running the
crisis course or helping them in one way or the other. Only 2
representatives told about the provision of such crisis course
whereas over the issue of helping these accidental cases of
visual impairment, 20% were falling in the category of helping
more than ten persons in a year and similar percentage was
of less than ten. 60% denied the knowledge of some such
cases. Undoubtedly, the NGOs in South Africa are better over
this issue.
Asking about the national policy of prevention of the

visual impairment, 80% expressed that they were aware of
these policies which is aiming at preventing the preventable ,,
diseases. So far as the reference of the special cases to the ?
qualified doctors is concerned, 40% respondents were of the
view that the cases are referred to the qualified doctors. Even
over this matter, South Africa is far ahead and it may be due
to the awakening which has something to do with literacy V
and modernity.
The NGOs were asked about the cataract and how far
this problem is dealt with. All the NGOs cut the sorry figure
and told that even today, there are insufficient arrangements
over this issue.
If a comparison is made of both the countries, cataract

operations are still restricted to the urban areas. Casually/
some rural areas are visited once in a certain period of time
otherwise, no one wishes to leave the easiness of the urban
comforts.
Over the issue of the role of the health workers in the

âl areas of India, the 40% NGOs confirmed about the role of health workers in the
villages. This again shows a negative
trend in the country despite its claim to be the better economy,
pjow far an economy be better if it fails to bridge the gap
between rural and urban and rich and poor. Rising new
middle class may be a step forward but this widening gap
puts a question mark over its progress.
Over the issue of Vitamin A deficiency, similar opinion

was expressed by the NGOs.
The government officials were asked about the clinics

for the proper evaluation of the low vision, 50% were of the
view that there are sufficient clinics and proper assessment
facilities. When the voluntary organisations and the
government officials were asked about the availability of th° lenses, 80% were of the
view that there is a provision in the
government hospitals to provide these lenses generally free
of cost or sometimes at the concessional rates. This is true
that the level of awareness of the consumers over this issue is
low that is why they cannot avail this facility and sometimes
depend upon the private doctors. Lenses from such doctors
are always costly. Over the issue of whether these lenses are
available in this country, all the respondents respond in
affirmation that they are available indigenously.
if a comparative analysis over the issue mentioned above

is made, one will find that India has made it possible to
provide these lenses either free of cost or at a nominal rate
whereas, for this purpose, South Africa has to depend upon
the sponsorers.
In fine, so far as the matter relating to the implementation

°f the prevention policy is concerned, in many ways, South
Africa is better than India. But over the issues of providing
lenses to its citizens suffering from low vision is concerned,
India plays more positive role than that of South Africa as it
^°es not wait for the sponsorers to come forward to share
ê burden of the cost of lenses.
4.2 Special Schools for the Visually Impaired Persons
A brief historical sketch of the special schools for the

visually impaired will be made in this section and an attempt
will be made to analyse why even in the age of inclusive
education, why there is a need of such special schools. An
endeavour will also be made to trace why despite all big
claims, the necessity of special schools is unavoidable in the
developing countries. An analysis will also be made why there
is a trend of decreasing standard in such schools which can
be seen from the vantage of missionary vs. professional spirit.
Before reaching at any generalistic conclusion, it is pertinent
to have a look at the scenario of both the countries. In fact,
this analysis is in the way of analysing how the policies relating
to the education are being implemented.
4.2.1 Special Schools for the Visually Impaired Persons in

South Africa
As has already been stated that while suggesting for the

inclusive education for physically challenged in general and
the visually impaired in particular, a suggestion has been made
to maintain the special schools considering the fact that there
are some such severely challenged students who still need
the special schools. The argument made in this regard in 2001
is still true that"... special schools will be strengthened rather
than abolished. ... We will develop investment plans to
improve the quality of education across all of them. Learners
with severe disability will be accommodated in these vastly
improved special schools, as part of an inclusive system. In
this regard, the process of identifying, assessing and enrolling
learners in special schools will be overhauled and replaced
by structures that acknowledged the central role played by
teachers, lecturers and parents. Given the considerable
expertise and resources that are invested in special schools/
we must also make these available to neighbourhood schools/
especially full-service schools and colleges."420
Before going in to the historical aspect, it is pertinent to

comment here that despite the fact that there was a seminar on the issues of partially
sighted in the seventh decade of the
20th century and despite the fact that even at that time, sUaaestions were made in favour
of inclusive education,
special schools are still existing and, in whatever status they
are, playing a conspicuous role in educating the visually impaired.
So far as the chronology of the schools for the visually

challenged in South Africa is concerned, the first school was ¦ developed with the name
of Pioneer school which was opened
in 1881, the year when Transvaal regained its independence.421 This school was opened
in the Province of Western Cape by
some Christian missionary. At present, it is accommodating
different categories of visual impairment. It is providing both
education and vocational training.
The Second school for the blind came into existence some
forty odd years in 1927 with the name of Athlone School for
the blind which was the only school used to entertain Indian
blind students. This school was opened in the Western Cape.
Fortunately, both the schools came into existence before the
period of apartheid. But both the schools fail to meet the
needs of the diverse sections of the society. That is why, at
least during the racialist regime, a school was opened by the
rising class of Indians in 1954 with the name of New Horizon
School for the Blind which was renamed against the name of
Arthur Blaxall. Initially, it was opened in Durban but later on
shifted to St. Peitermaritzberg. It has been treated as one of
the best school of the South Africa. On the similar racial lines,
a school was opened in KwaZulu-Natal for the Blacks with
the name of Ethembeni School for the Physically Handicapped
and Visually Impaired in 1984. Nowadays, this school has
been fully supported by the Government. However, if a
comparative analysis of both the schools is made, it can be
stated that a lot is needed to be done in Ethembeni School.
Of course, it raises the question over the commitment of the
government for the diverse section of the society.
However, majority of the schools for the visually

challenged and some schools for both the visually challenged
^d the hearing challenged were opened in the fourth quarter
of the 20th century. But so far as the period of post-apartheid

period is concerned, it can contribute couple of schools which
in all probabilities, showing the changing trends in terms of
strengthening the schools and in terms of laying stress on inclusive education. But the
numerical strength of the schools
poses a question on the seriousness of the Government over
the question of the literacy rate of the visually impaired in
South Africa. The data shows that the number of visually
impaired who has not gone to any school is 156,439 which
constitutes 0.35% of the South African population and if this
number is compared with the number of the official population
of the visually challenged, it will constitute 27.11 %.422 This is
a very bright picture of the literacy rate of the visually
impaired.
If this picture is compared with the available facilities in

terms of special schools for the visually challenged which are
not more than 35 in total and the strength of which is in the
range of 15 to 300 students approximately and if an average
is believed to be in the vicinity of 150 students per school, at
a given time, these schools cannot accommodate more than
5,250 students and if it is believed that there will be an
addition of an average of 15-20 students in each school, there
will be an approximate addition of 500-700 students per
annum. This educational scenario poses the question over the
data presented by Stats SA particularly when this fact is
accepted that inclusive education is not in full swing and the
majority of visually impaired students come from the poorj
and rural background.
Before reaching at any conclusion about the educational

status of the visually impaired in South Africa, here are some
of the queries over the educational status which was made
from the consumers.
Over the question relating to the number of schools and

the average numerical strength of each school, 40/° respondents showed their
unawareness whereas 20% tola the name of 4-5 special schools and remaining 40% could
only
enumerate them up to 15. Nobody was aware of the averag
strength of the students in each school. This reveals the fact

that the level of awareness of the consumers is very low.
piowever, 35 special schools could be found in South Africa
and their average strength may not exceed 150 visually
challenged students.
Over the question of free education to the visually

impaired in the special schools, about 33% were not sure but
40% refused to have any provision of paying the fee but the
remaining respondents revealed the fact that the payment of
fee depends upon the financial status of the parents. Of course,
the provision of paying the fee rests upon the income level of
the parents of the students. However, in most of the cases,
they need not have to pay the fee as it is stated that no student
will be stopped from getting education if he is not able to pay
the fee. So far as the equipments are concerned, they are asked
to pay no amount whatsoever for the use of the special
equipments meant for the visually challenged. But when this
question was asked, 30 respondents showed their
unawareness and rest of the respondents revealed the
aforesaid remarks.
Despite all developments in the field of science and

mathematics, the visually challenged use to face problem in
learning these subjects after certain standard. So was true in
the special schools of South Africa. When a question was asked
about these subjects being essential, 70 respondents told that
it was not compulsory but five respondents kept silent over
this issue. When inquiry was made about the special provision
for those who were interested to take these subjects, 60%
told that they were not sure whereas 40% told about the special
provisions in terms of equipments and laboratories with some
assistance. Over the question of how a visually challenged
could manage while making experiments in which vision is
Squired, 80% respondents were unaware about such concepts
^d only 20% talked about the assistance of others.
Geometry is the branch of mathematics and when it was asked about any special
equipment and its name, 65 respondents were unaware of the geometry and the question
of knowing any equipment especially being used by the visually challenged persons was
beyond their reach. Ten
respondents talked about some equipment for geometry but
hardly one respondent was aware of its name. In fact, for a
visually challenged student, an instrument known as Bonham
Device is used for geometry through which one can draw
line or any shape which can be recognised with touch.
Geography is a part of the academics from the primary

level. An obvious question was asked about the tactile maps.
About 66% were unaware of the maps and remaining have
some shade of remembrance. In fact, to teach a visually
challenged student a subject like geography, one needs three
dimensional maps which can be recognised by touch. Apart
from its length and breadth, these maps are embossed and a
visually impaired can use his fingers to recognise mountains,
rivers and even railway tracks.
Library plays a vital role in any educational institute. It

is a source through which one can get variety of books on
different subjects and issues. In the case of the special schools
for the visually impaired, there uses to be two types of
libraries -- Braille library and audio library. Of course, e-text
library is a newly developed trend in the developing
countries. Hence, the respondents are asked only the questions
relating to the Braille library and audio library. These
questions were like, whether there is a library in your school.
If yes, are you satisfied with its arrangements and if no, what
are your suggestions. 80% respondents were of the view that I
there is an existence of the library but rest of them were not
clear with what library is. Those who were aware of the library
in their respective schools, are dissatisfied with the
arrangements and suggested that there is a need of the
increase the number of books and their variety. Even over
the issue of audio or talking library, 60% respondents were
affirming about the existence of audio library423 but they were
dissatisfied from its arrangements and expressed the need of
its up-dating in terms of its variety and quantity. The
sensitisation of the Government of South Africa can be
êrstood by the fact that there is an Act known as Blind

Library Act424 which was in existence since 1969 and was even
accepted in the same form and spirit even after the post-apartheid
period.
Ordinarily, the term education connotes the development of the mental skill but there is a
Spartan view of education
which lays stress on the physical development. Keeping this
in view, the queries are made about the arrangements of
physical education in terms of the provision of physical
instructor, play-ground and in-door games. Out of 75
respondents, 40 persons told that there are physical instructors
in their school and they use to give due attention on physical
fitness by making use of the play-ground and by organising
competitions in both out-door and in-door sports. But others
told about the provision of in-door games only like chess,
playing cards etc.
This is true that despite all modernity, still there is a

lopsided view about the education for the visually challenged.
Leave aside couple of exceptions here and there, majority of
the schools fail to have proper play-ground for them and even
there is a tendency of paying less attention for their physical
growth.
Low vision and even the partially sighted are the

categories which are generally being overlooked by the special
educational system. In most of the cases, these students are
reduced to the status of the assistant of the visually challenged
students, teachers and even the management. Over this issue,
't was asked whether there was any special provision for the
students with low vision. If yes, whether they were being
provided magnifying glasses or other facilities by which their
fading capacity be enhanced. 52 respondents told that there Was no such special
provision but the remaining respondents
°'d about the arrangements of magnifying glasses and short

j;lrcuit monitors. Of course, there is an acceptance of these
acuities but even till date, such facility is not very common
Majority of the special schools. However, it is important to
see here that despite the international directions and despite

270 Policy Perspectives for the Visually Impaired ™
the willingness of the Government, during the course of survey, very few students came
into contact that were th
product of inclusive education. What is known that even m
the name of inclusion, teachers of some schools are using blac^
board under the guise of the guidance of teachers trainino
and that could help in some way the students falling in the
category of low vision. The reason is quite obvious that in
the absence of no special training for teaching the visually
challenged, the teachers coming from the general teachers
training, fail to adapt themselves with the needs of these
students.
4.2.2 Special Schools for the Visually Impaired Persons in

India
Before making a chronological description of the special

schools in India, it is pertinent to state that the educational
data relating to the visually impaired presented by the Census
of India are debatable as there is a debate even on the
numerical strength of the visually challenged. Census 2001
gave the figure of the visually impaired literates as 49.85%
which is against the national literacy rate of 57.8 % .42S It raises
the same question as was raised about the literacy figures of
South Africa. Even if it is believed that there are about 250
schools and majority of them are in existence for more than
three decades and even if their average strength is treated
around 100, their output cannot be more than 1 million and it
is unbelievable from any stretch of imagination that newly
introduced educational system could have accommodated
remaining for million educated people. Hence, it is desired
to make sincere and serious endeavour to make somewhat
near about assessment of the educational status of the
visually impaired. If an analysis of these schools is made,
the picture looks gloomier as the desired sensitisation seem5 to be missing somewhere.
How far these generalise
statements are true can be known by the historical analysis o.
the special schools and the related queries made during the field trip.
Before going into the details of the history of the spec
ial
schools, one cannot avoid reproducing a picturesque

description of the initiatives taken in this direction:
The first School for the blind in India Was started in

Airtritsar in 1887 by two English women. Two years later,
another school was established in Palaykottai in South India.
During this period (1888-92) an Englishman named Mr.
Garthet Wet came in contact With Rev. Lalbehari Shah and
Sri Ramananda Chatterjee, the Editor of Modern Review.
Whether the establishment of two schools in different corners
of India, or the contact with Garthet Wet had any influence
on Lalbehari Shah in starting a school in Bengal in 1894, we
do not know for certain. We know so far that both Lalbehari
and Ramananda learnt braille from Garthet Wet-- Ramananda
out of intellectual curiosity and Lalbehari out of necessity to
teach his first students.426
This story talks about the role of a Britisher with the

name of Mr. Garthet Wet who taught English Braille to two
Indians --rev. Lai Bihari Shah and Ramananda Chatterji who
opened a school in Calcutta. Prior to this, two years after
opening the first school, a blind school was opened in
Palaykottai in South India.427 Before the independence, India
had about 22 special schools but till date, there was not even
a single school in Delhi but within the period of two decades,
about half a dozen schools were opened in Delhi.
India was no exception if it is compared with South Africa

as by the beginning of twentieth century, a competition started
between different religious groups to establish special
schools. But the post-independence era witnessed the
endeavours of different state governments to establish state
sponsored schools as well as to provide 95% grant to the
schools which fulfil minimum requirements laid down initially
by the Department of Education and later on by the Social
Welfare Department. That is why, in the span of six decades,
there are no less than 250 special schools which are either being run by the state or being
aided by the state or central
government. Not only this, during this period, the Union
Government opened a school in Dehradun which was known
to be the best school of its time in Asia. At one point of time

this school used to be an attraction for the parents of the
visually impaired and one finds students from the length and
breadth of the country. Despite the changes in the social
structure of the special schools in South Africa, the emergence
of such a multi-cultural, multi-racial and multi-religious school
is yet to emerge.
If one tries to understand whether the schools for the

visually challenged were opened under any special educational
policy for the physically challenged persons in general and
visually impaired in particular, one has to cut a sorry figure
as there was no clear cut exclusive educational policy for this
segment of the society. However, what was existed in this
regard was nothing but a casual mention in the Directive
Principles for the State Policy about the education for the
physically challenged and, perhaps, drawing inspiration from
that provision, some of the states opened residential schools
for the visually impaired. But it took almost 12 years to start
a centrally-sponsored school in Dehradun despite the fact that |
the Britishers gave them in legacy an institute in Dehradun,
may be out of the compulsion of the Second World War.
Sometimes, it looks as if such development was only possible
due to the personal interest of the persons like Abul Kalam
Azad who found the best possible venue for the opening of
the Model School for the Blind Children.
Under this background, the questions were asked to a^_

group of 75 visually challenged persons from different partsHj
of India. I
The consumers were asked a question relating to the

number of schools in India and relating to the average
numerical strength, 20 respondents showed their unawareness
whereas 37 told the name of 10-12 special schools and
remaining 18 could only enumerate them up to 38. 25
respondents have some idea about the average strength of
the students in each school. This reveals the fact that the level
vôf awareness of the consumers is not up to the mark-However,
there are about 250 special schools in India and
êir average strength may not exceed 100 students with visual
impairment.
Over the question of free education to the visually

impaired in the special schools, about 20% were not sure, but
60% refused to have any provision of paying the fee but the
remaining respondents revealed the fact that the payment of
fee depends upon the financial status of the parents. Of course,
the provision of paying the fee rests upon the income level of
the parents of the students. However, in most of the cases,
they need not have to pay the fee as it is stated that as these
schools are running on the grant-in-aid which amounts to
95% of the salary of the staff and almost the similar share is
borne by the government over the expenses of the board and
lodging, and the rest of the expenses are met with the support
of the benevolent people of the society, the provision is not
to charge even a single penny from the students. However,
very recently, in some of the schools, students are asked to
pay some amount and the rationale is given that there should
be a sense of responsibility in the minds of the parents of the
visually impaired students.
When the question was asked about the use of the special
equipments and whether the students are supposed to bear
its cost, 68 respondents gave the response in negative but
rest of the respondents failed to respond either way. However,
the reality lies in the fact that the students are not asked to
pay for the use of special equipments. This trend even
continues in those schools which are being run privately.
Like South Africa, the scope of mathematics and science

is limited for the visually challenged. That is why, majority
°f the students under this category do not opt for it due to
the involvement of visual based experiments. When a question was asked about these
subjects being essential, 71 respondents
told that it is not compulsory but remaining respondents kept Sllent over this issue. When
a question was asked about the sPecial provision for those who are willing to take these
subjects, about 65% told that they are not sure whereas 35% old about the special
provisions in terms of equipments and
laboratories with some assistance. Over the question of how

a visually challenged can manage while making experiments
in which vision is required, 60% respondents did not know
anything about it and only 40% told that such experiments
are made with the assistance of the sighted persons.
Geometry is the branch of mathematics and when it was

asked about any special equipment and its name, 65
respondents were unaware of the geometry and the question
of knowing any equipment especially being used by the
visually challenged. Ten respondents talked about some
equipment for geometry but hardly one respondent was aware
of its name.
Over the question of the tactile geographical maps, about

80% were unaware of the maps and remaining respondents
talked about variety of tactile maps. A lot of work has been
done by the National Institute for the Visually Handicapped
over this issue.
Over the question of the provision of Braille library in

the school and whether its arrangements are satisfactory, 80%
respondents were of the view that there is an existence of the
library but rest of them were not clear with what library is.
Those who were aware of the library in their respective
schools, were dissatisfied with the arrangements and
suggested that there was a need of the enhancement of the
number of books and its variety. The responses reveal similar
condition in both the countries. Even over the issue of audio
or talking library, 40% respondents were affirming about the
existence of audio library but they were dissatisfied from its
arrangements and expressed the need of its up-dating in terms
of its variety and quantity. This is true that there is a trend in
the higher education of using cassettes for their studying and
similar is being adopted by some schools but if the whole
country is taken into account, still there is ample dependence
on the Braille. Of course, in the metropolitan schools, there
are some cases of over-reliance on computer for the stud)
but it has not become a regular phenomenon.
Over the issue of the provision of a physical instructor

play-ground and in-door games, Out of 75 respondents, 37

told that there were physical instructors in their school and
they use to give proper attention on physical fitness by making use of the play-ground
and by organising competitions. But
others told about the provision of in-door games only like
chess, lions and goats, playing cards etc. Whatever little
attention is given for the out-door games, the participators
are generally amongst the partially blind.
In fact, there are two types of special schools. The schools

which are in the metropolitan cities and could manage to get
ample area, there are possibilities of arranging grounds.
Otherwise, in majority of the schools, there is a prevalent
feeling of charity and charity cannot understand the basic
need except eating and clothing. In most of the cases, even
today, the education of the visually impaired is a welfare
subject.
The status of low vision students is more or less the

same in both the countries. Over this issue, it was asked
whether there is any special provision for the students with
low vision. If yes, whether they are being provided
magnifying glasses or other facilities by which their reading
capacity be enhanced. 58 respondents told that there was no
such special provision but the remaining respondents told
about the arrangements of magnifying glasses.
The discussion over the issue of the school can be

summed up by saying that "With the kind of education and
orientation disabled children get at special schools their mtegration in society remains a
dream at best. Apart from a
few educational institutions being run by selected NGOs or
Private individuals, the facilities, such as accommodation or e9uipment or quality of
teaching or mode of transport, at such schools remain poor or inadequate and frequently
°utside the reach of not-so-well-to-do families."428 However, an analysis of the affluent
group in the visually impaired is
âde, one has to say that almost all the persons are
Orning from the background of special schools in both the
Entries.
4.3 Integrated and Inclusive Schools for the VisuajK

Impaired
Social model which paved the way of inclusive approach

wherein it is desired that the society has to make certain ;J
changes as per the need of the physically challenged so that
the potentials of this segments may best be used in the interest
of the society. The root of realising such concept is to be found
in the educational system. Of course, so far as the idea of
social model is concerned, nobody has any debate on it. But
when such ideas are realised or attempts are made for its
realisations, problem starts not because there is just something
wrong in the idea but because of the fact that there is a need
of certain status of the society which may prepare a ground
for realising such an idea. In fact, one can bring many new
ideas and may keep on justifying them but without taking
into account the stark realities of the society, such ideas reduce
to just a norm. In the following paras, an analysis will be
made of the concept of integrated or inclusive education and
then, it will be seen that how far this concept is useful in both
the countries and up to what extent it is being realised.
Moreover, it will also be found what kind of difficulties is
being faced during this process.
As has already been mentioned that the inclusive

education is a process in which education to all the sections
(whether they are physically challenged or otherwise) is
provided in one set up with the necessary adaptation as per
the need of different segments of the society. This idea is a
reaction over the specialised schools which try to put a certain
segment of the society in the four walls of an institution and
provide them education which can cater the need of the
specific segment. It is a strong feeling that this type of
education cut adrift that segment and they find difficulties
when they have to live in the society after the completion O1 their education. Of course,
this new concept is a reaction over
the then existing educational policies. So is true in the field of
the education for the visually impaired.
Without going into the details of this new approach/ an

attempt will be made here to see how this concept is realised jxi terms of various steps. In
an outset, it can be said that it is an arrangement in which all types of physical challenges
are sUpposed to be taught with other students by making
necessary adaptation as per certain requirements of the
segment concerned. So far as the visually impaired are
concerned, they do not need any specific arrangement save
the teachers are advised to tell the visually impaired students
whatever he is writing on the black board. In case of hearing
challenged persons, in the absence of knowledge of sign
language, it is advised to make use of a facilitator as each and
everything cannot be written on the black board. In the case
of the orthopedically challenged, there is a need of some
arrangements in terms of making some adjustments of keeping
wheel chair, developing ramps for easy access and if the
challenge is even at the level of one's mental capacity, there
is not only the need of a facilitator, there is a need of adjusting
the pace and standard of teaching. In any case, the inclusion
means nothing but an adaptation in the education as per
varying needs. This adaptation is made with a view to make
these segments of the society part and partial of the whole.
Keeping this in view, it is said that "It is therefore not
surprising that the restructuring and redesigning of education,
including the movement away from segregated settings for
learners with special needs, to the provision of education for
all learners in an inclusive and supportive learning
environment, have been received with misgiving by some
people. An understanding of the context in which the
movement towards inclusive education has developed,
provides an important opportunity to reframe people's
perceptions of these changes."429
¦ Commenting upon the arrangements and the objectives

'of the inclusive education, it is stated, "The fundamental
Principle of the inclusive school is that all children should
ârn together, wherever possible, regardless of any
difficulties or differences they may have. Inclusive schools
must recognize and respond to the diverse needs of their students, accommodating both
different styles and rates of
278 Policy Perspectives for the. Visually Impaired
learning and ensuring quality education to all through

appropriate curricula, organizational arrangements, teaching
strategies, resource use and partnerships with their
communities. There should be a continuum or a wide ran°-e
of support and services to match the wide variety of special
needs encountered in every school,"430
In the period of the support of the inclusive educations,

questions were raised and concerns were shown on the issues
of equity and social justice. It was argued that exclusion of
some children from any form of education based on an
identifiable physical condition and the segregation of others
in separate schools and classrooms violated their fundamental
human rights. The idea of inclusive education was
propounded by Wolfensberger during early eighties and he
held the same opinion during the last decade of 20th century.431 Jt was further argued
that these practices were stigmatizing
and deleterious to students, and given the demonstrable lack
of efficacy of segregated setting, indefensible in terms of
serving students' interests. Due to these criticisms, there took
"widespread reforms implemented during the 1970s and 80s.
These reforms were international in scope, occurring in the
US, Britain, Europe and Australia. Most significant of these
reforms has been the trend towards mainstreaming or
placement in 'less restrictive' environments. Unfortunately reports suggest that after
approximately two decades of
turmoil not only have the reforms failed to achieve their stated
objectives but in some cases they have exacerbated the
situation they were intended to remedy."432 However, without
any prejudice, it is pertinent here to describe about five
stages433 to reach at the aim of inclusion. These are reproduced
as under:
Stage 1: class or subject teacher identify or register a

child's special educational needs and take action in
consultation with the SENCO;434
Stage 2: the SENCO takes the lead in gathering

information and coordinating the child's special educational
provision;
Stage 3: the SENCO and teachers are supported by
specialists from outside the school-Stage

4: the local education authority considers the need
for statutory assessment and a multidisciplinary assessment;
Stage 5: the local education authority considers the need

for a statement of special educational needs and, if appropriate, makes a statement.
Before making any comment over the implementation

of the inclusive education in South Africa and India, it will be
proper to see what kind of steps are being taken by both the
countries for its realisation and up to what extent they can
achieve their target. One can also have a look at the hurdles
in this process.
4.3.1 Inclusive Education in South Africa
While discussing over the policies of education in South

Africa in Chapter 3, it was stated that, under the given
environment and the circumstances, despite the fact that the
state is aiming at inclusive education, there is no provision of
eliminating the special education. However, the attempts will
be made to introduce inclusive education phasewise. Initially,
it was thought to use the special schools as resource rooms.
At the same time, it was proposed that these special schools
should also be used for those students who are severely
challenged. The concept of inclusion was dear to this country
because of the fact that it has seen lot of segregation and
division during the apartheid era and it became comparatively
easy for them to accept this idea and, thereby, accept the
idea of including all the physically challenged persons in the
fold of this theory which was aiming at adopting a non-racialist
policy by opening such schools where there is no
facial discrimination. Despite this fact, this is a very short
Period to draw any conclusion over this effort, we can have a
'°ok at some of the steps and also make a use of questionnaire
^hich can reveal those facts which are not being discussed in
Majority of the writings.
The idea of inclusive education has been followed by I

adopting right discourse. Initially, it was started in the

developed countries. This was made acceptable through the Salamanca Statement on
Principles, Policy and Practice in
Special need education description of which is given in
Chapter III.
This idea became more important to the countries Like South Africa which has seen
drastic impact of segregation
commonly in the name of apartheid. It envisages for the
development of a single inclusive education system against
the separate educational system on the basis of culture or
race.
Mere definition of inclusive education is insufficient and,

hence, there is a need of an operational clarification of this
concept. In this regard, sufficient clarity is provided as "The
separate systems of education which presently exist (special
and ordinary) need to be integrated to provide one system
which is able to recognise and respond to the diverse needs
of the learner population. Within this integrated system, a
range of options for education provision and support services
should be provided. Learners should have the ability to move
from one learning context to another, e.g. from early
childhood education (ECD) to general education and training
(GET), from a specialised centre of learning to an ordinary
centre of learning, or from a formal to a non-formal
programme. The system of education should be structured in
such a way that, irrespective of the learning context,
opportunities for facilitating integration and inclusion of the
learner in all aspects of life should be provided.435
It speaks of a single education system and closure of the

dual special ordinary education system. Further, it articulates
the need for support services which ensure a range of options
for the provision of education. The support services will
include educators with specialised competencies, parents,
community homes, community-based transportation, NGOs,
lay community resources, and dedicated posts of personnel
in all sections of the education departments. It is suggested
that as part of a strategic implementation plan of the
[sjCSNET/NCESS, human resource development should take

nlace to ensure that all personnel are retrained over a ten-year
period.
South Africa has 9 provinces which are having complex

and diverse conditions. Basically, this difference is in terms
of fiscal allocation. In some provinces, initial support systems
will have to be built in prior to inclusive education. On the
other hand, large numbers of children are being mainstreamed
by default, mainly in sites of learning of the former
Department of Education and previous Bantustans. These sites
of learning fell under the African education system which
was provided with the least fiscal resources during the
apartheid era. Innovative and imaginative steps will have to
be taken to ensure that an inclusive system may materialise
the sense of oneness and may pave the uniformed way for
the development of the society.
To facilitate the inclusive system, Outcome-Based

Education (OBE) system436 has been established. It is aiming
at establishing the conditions and opportunities within the
system that enable and encourage all students to achieve those
essential outcomes. There are three basic premises on which
this system works. These are:
a. All learners perform successfully, but not at the

same pace.
b. Each successful learning experience is a stepping

stone to more success.
c Schools are pivotal in creating the conditions for

success at schools.
How far this inclusive education can be successful is

known by the fact that "inclusive education in South Africa's a constitutional imperative.
While the policy developed reflects
the views of the majority of South Africans, the actual lmplementation of inclusive
education will not be easy since education is generally a conservative enterprise. It must
be
viewed as something to be fought for, instead of assuming
that it Will become a reality without hard work, the rationale
for such a position is associated with the difficulty related to

reversing established notions of teaching and learning tha^
have been inherited from a very conservative system of
education. It is the responsibility of all South Africans not
only to take seriously the rights discourse, but also to create
¦437
the necessary conditions for education for all."
To build in environment of inclusive education in schools

there are two exclusive frameworks developed in South Africa
These frameworks are known as the development of a learning
school through an organisation development approach and
the building of a health-promoting school. It is against the
concept of diversification which was existing during the
apartheid period.
Respecting the diversity in the learner population (and

other role-players in the learning community) means:
a. developing a genuine respect for all people,
b. combating prejudice and discriminatory practices

(anti-bias strategies), particularly, against groups
which have been most discriminated in South
Africa,
c. drawing on the different strengths of the human

resources available in the teaching and learning
context to the mutual benefit of all,
d. acknowledging and supporting the rights of all

learners and others to full participation in the
learning and teaching process and
e. Developing a flexible curriculum that meets the
diverse needs of the learner population.
Access is a pivotal concept in the process of inclusive

education. The term access involve 3 aspects, namely, (1) lt: refers to all aspects of the
curriculum that facilitate successful
learning, including the learning programmes, the medium or
teaching and learning, classroom management and teaching
practices, materials and equipment, assessment procedures,
quality assurance and curriculum development approaches/
1
(2) it refers to the ability of the psychosocial environment

which includes the culture and ethos of the school, attitudes,
human relations, and the way in which the school and the
classroom are managed to facilitate positive learning and
development for all learners and (3) it refers to the physical
environment of the school which can either make it possible
for entry and engagement in the education process, or act as
a barrier in both cases.
In the context of South Africa, inclusion not only refer

to the inclusion of the physically challenged. It is an inclusion
which permits all segments of society to learn in the same
environment. In this context, it is also referring to the
segregation on the basis of culture, race etc. Hence, it can be
defined thus: "An inclusive learning environment is defined
as one that fosters the personal, academic and professional
development of all students. It is one that is free of harassment
and discrimination. An inclusive learning environment can
be created in any course regardless of discipline because it is
about respecting students and valuing them as partners in
teaching and learning."438
This is an all-embracing concept but for the purpose of

the research, the idea of inclusion is confined to the inclusive
education for the physically challenged in general and the
visually impaired in particular. Hence, without going into the
detail of this concept, it is proposed to confine it to this diverse
but scattered minority of the society which is known as
physically challenged. In the absence of minimum critical
literature, the evaluation of the implementation of this policy
is made through a questionnaire.
In terms of policy implementation, it is immaterial to
i
, £ J x
I
debate whether a policy is right or wrong or acceptable or
unacceptable, its Tightness and wrongness is purely dependent on the how far it is being
implemented and how far it is
' beneficial for its users. Hence, obviously, the questions were
targeted only to the consumers or the beneficiaries.
Over the question of how far education is the part of the national plan and what kind of
system in terms of special
¦7
education, inclusive education or mixed education is

prevailing, 80% respondents told about the mixed educational
system while 8 % were aware of the fact that special education
was the only source of education and rest of the respondents
were talking about inclusive education. This fractured
response reveals the fact that there is a mixed educational
system for the visually impaired but the reality lies in the fact
that the onus of this mixed system goes with the special
educational system for the visually challenged despite the
fact that it is desired that, with the passage of the time, only
inclusive educational system should prevail and special schools
should work as resource rooms. When such target can be
achieved and how far will it be beneficial for the consumers
are the questions which time will answer.
Over the question whether the inclusive education has

been introduced, 68 persons denied this but the remaining
persons responded in affirmation. However, the fact remains
that principally, such experiments have been made and some
well off families are in a position to avail this facility. But, in
majority of the cases, it is yet to be implemented.
Over the issue of the fixed percentage of the physically

challenged in general and the visually challenged in particular,
only 3 respondents informed that there is some provision of
that sort but they are unaware of the whole provision. Rest
of the respondents denied the knowledge of any such
preference. However, there are talks about the provisions of
accessible school environment in terms of disability friendly
atmosphere but if this is analysed in terms of the ratio of the
newly admitted students, one will cut a sorry figure at least
about the mainstreaming of the visually challenged in the field
of the education at least at the school level. Undeniably, at
the college or university level, the visually impaired is
accommodated like anything to the extent of developing
disability cell or providing computers with voice facility and
the arrangements of scanners and the relevant speaking
softwares.
Over the question of the percentage of the visually

challenged at primary, high and tertiary level, 12%

.cpondents showed their unawareness but the remainders
Id that higher one goes one finds a considerable increase in
,e percentage of the visually challenged. Tine response of
e latter respondents is the replica of the reality because as ie aoes higher, one will find a
considerable increase in the
>rcentage of the visually challenged students. This is possible ¦cause of the fact that the
communicational channel in the
aher education is nothing but verbatim and, with the advent
various softwares, the dependence over the readers has

so been considerably decreased, particularly, for the printed
aterial. One has to depend upon the reader only in the case
reading some manuscripts.
Over the issue whether the inclusive education has been

cepted as a matter of policy, 50 respondents affirmed and
i respondents gave response in negative. But in the present
tuation, despite the acceptance of the inclusive education as
matter of policy, it is recommended that the special
lucational system should be retained as there is scarcity of
sources to implement inclusive education as only source
r the education of the visually impaired. Hence, in the larger
iteiest, both the systems were recommended to be
aintained.
So far as the question to what extent the inclusive
iucation has become the part of the general education
rstem, 96% respondents maintained the view that such system
not applicable for all subjects and the visually challenged
Jve to depend on specially trained teachers for certain
Ejects. But 5 respondents were of the view that there is no
-ed of the special teacher as ordinary school teacher is
ipable enough to tackle or deal with the situations of the
dually challenged. It is a matter of training and adaptation.

such training can be easy to say but hard to implement.
ê case of the visually challenged, there is a need of man

fftan contact. How far an ordinary teacher will do it and
t' ê will take all such pains are the issues which can be
ed either side because there are only visually challenged

and hearing challenged who need special attention of n,

teacher during the course of their education. This specie
attention is a painstaking affair.
Over the query about how a visually impaired student

can be taught reading, writing and Rhetorics, three opti0ns were given: a. by a specially
trained teacher, b. by a genera1 resource teacher or C. by a general class teacher. 80%
emphasised on the need of a special teacher whereas 20?0 favoured the arrangement of
the resource room. Nobody
could imagine the use of a general teacher. To avoid the normal
routine of the class, it is better if such students are trained by
a resource teacher. There are some recommendations in terms
of using the special schools as resource centres but the practice
of such use is yet to be seen in general.
Through this description, one should not presume that

no efforts have been made for the mainstreaming of the
physically challenged in the sphere of education but, so far as
the visually challenged are concerned, the pace is low as they
need more attention than any other category of the physical
challenged.
4.3.2 Inclusive Education in India
Like many other countries, India is also convinced with

the idea of the policy for the inclusive education as it is
inhuman to send the physically challenged ward to the special
school because he is cut adrift from his family atmosphere. It
is also convincing that inclusive educational system is less
expensive. The talks about this policy were started in the 60s
under the name of integrated education and the experiments
were made in the metropolitan cities in some selective schools
with the provision of setting up of a resource room and a
resource teacher to teach the basics to the physically challenge for which he needs special
attention. But such provision â-permissible only for those physically challenged pers°r'i
whose impairment is less than 80%. Though there is no spec'a'
mention in any document, the visually impaired was -
exception to it as his responses are not restrained even

is having cent percent impairment because of the fact
the oiven atmosphere of the schools, seeing black board is

the basic problem from the very moment of the reduction in
the normal vision. Of course, spectacles may help to some
extent but the moment correcting lenses fail to correct the
vision, whether one is partially sighted or totally blind
becomes immaterial. That is why, cent percent visual
impairment does not make much difference in the integrated
or inclusive education.
Despite the fact that the scheme of integrated education

started in 1974,439 it was suggested way back in the sixties of
the last century that there is need to establish an extensive
network of educational and training institutions since the
existing institutions have limited capacity. The Education
Commission (1964-66) had recommended that "Educational
facilities for about ten per cent of the total number of
handicapped children should be provided."440
Before dealing with the implementation of the integrated

policy of the education, it is pertinent to have a look at its
initial attempts in terms of finding how this concept was put
into practice even during fifties. Commenting upon this, it is
stated, "To Bombay goes the credit for pioneering the first
experiment in the whole country in integrated education of
the blind as early as in June 1958, when two 11 year old blind
boys were enrolled in the New Activity School, a public school
in the city, after they had been privately tutored for several
months in English Braille."441
During this period, the National Association for the Blind

was active there and as it was being run by some of the sighted
well wishers, their hopes were high to show that the visually
challenged could even study in the normal schools. The choice
°f the public school also reveals this fact that such students
ought not be from the major chunk of the visually impaired.
Similar experiments were made during the end of sixties
10 tile metropolitan cities like Delhi in which the then President
estate School was chosen for this experiment with a provision

°f having a resource room and perhaps it was made possible
because of the fact that this school was running in the premises
of the President House and, with all governmental support
it could become a model for the forthcoming schools. Therg

was another school which was also entertaining the visually
impaired students without providing any special facility in it
It was known as the Government School in Jhansi Road, Delhi i
Incidentally, both the schools were running in Delhi but
adopting entirely exclusive style. One is providing a resource
room and making endeavour to provide education from the
elementary stage whereas the other school was only
entertaining those students who had passed at least eighth
standard.
In its formal form, the integrated education started

through a declaration made in the last month of 1974.442 Commenting upon this
programme, it is stated, "Special
coaching classes are conducted for each type of handicapped
child. Assessment at the time of admission and later at regular
intervals is a major feature of this programme. Selection of
students is made by an expert body taking into consideration
the extent of disability and also the willingness of the parents
to admit the child in an integrated programme."443 For this
purpose, it was proposed to hold training programmes for
especially teaching to the hearing challenged and the visually
impaired. Initially, four metropolitan cities were chosen for
these purposes especially in the case of training the teachers
to teach the visually challenged. It is necessary to point here
that from the very beginning the specia | need of the hearing
and visually challenged was identified and efforts were made
to integrate them in the mainstream schools. It is also to be
pointed here that even after more than three decades, one
fails to witness proper arrangements under this scheme
despite the fact that it speaks about the provision for children
which include:
1. Children with locomotors handicaps (O.H.).

2. Mildly and moderately hearing impaired.
3. Partially sighted children.
4. Mentally handicapped educable group (IQ 50-70).
5 Children with multiple handicaps (blind and

orthopaedic, hearing impaired and orthopaedic, educable
mentally retarded and orthopaedic, visual impaired and
mild hearing handicap),444
Since 1982, this scheme had been transferred to the

Education Department. For this purpose, cent percent grant
is oiven to the states and the Union Territories. For this, there
is tine provision of providing specially trained teachers. Very
recently, in the name of the inclusive teacher, provisions are
made to train the ordinary school teacher so that he may be
able to teach in the normal atmosphere. To stimulate the
specially challenged students, there are some provisions as
to financially assist them or provide some facilities.445
This process was geared up with the announcement of

the International Year for the Disabled Persons, a resolution
which was supported by India in 1979 in the General Assembly
of die United Nations and it was promised that it would be
observed in the most fitted way. Hence, in the name of
equalisation of participation, attention was paid for the
mainstreaming of the physically challenged in general and
the visually impaired in particular.
In this direction, a programme was adopted with the

name of the Programme for the Integrated Education for the
Disabled. It was launched in 1988. It was started with the aim
of "providing equal education opportunity to children with
physical and intellectual impairments and to realise the goal
of 'education for all' in different contexts."446 The project was
initially started in eight states -Tamil
Nadu, Haryana,
Mizoram, Nagaland, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Orissa,
Maharashtra and in the cities of Delhi and Baroda. It is SuPported by UNICEF, Ministry
of Human Resources Development and the State Governments.
During its first five years, it could make the following

chievements:
Modalities for meeting special needs in ten different

contexts.
Identification, assessment and enrolment of thirteen

thousand children.
Infusion of special needs in teacher educator curriculum

for primary and secondary teachers.
Preparation of District Institutes of Education and|

Training to implement special needs programme in that
areas.
Production of print and non print material.

Project Management Information System.447
It is also noteworthy to mention that under Sarva Siksha

Abiyan, the education policy of 1986, the emphasis was laid
down on providing education to the physically challenged in
the mainstream schools. With the aim of providing education
to each and everyone, may it be due to satiate the World
Bank or International Monetary Fund, it is targeted that by
2000 25 % physically challenged be educated, by 2005, the target
will be 50% and by 2010, it is proposed to provide cent percent
education. Though it is a high target yet the way it is being
implemented, one doubts about its achievement in reai sense.
On paper, as has been shown in the census 2001, one may
satisfy oneself by saying that we have achieved the target of
more than 50%. But still, there are physically challenged
residing in the rural areas who are unaware of the literacy
what to talk of the education. Remarking over this situation, it was stated, "Education of
disabled children is a component
in the training of educational planners, administrators, and
pre-service and in-service teachers. Efforts aimed at the
universalisation of elementary education, however, are
concentrated only in selected areas and reach only a fraction
of disabled children."448
Similarly, it was expressed, "Have we made an earnest

and sincere attempt to implement all such declarations, have these declarations been even
discussed in our Parliament and
in our Legislative Assemblies and have we earnestly
endeavoured to evolve national policies, plans an
programmes of rehabilitation of the disabled based on the5
declarations? Have we ever reviewed in Parliament and in

ur Legislative Assemblies --the progress made in the
fliplementation of these declarations in the adoption of which vVe had ourselves a major
share? The disabled rightly feel t[iat-unfortunately for them --they remain mere pious
rgsolutions on paper. Even now, if we sincerely work for the
implementation of these declarations and resolutions, a
tremendous lot of progress could be made in a short time. It
is never too late to make a beginning. But deep involvement
at the level of our parliamentarians, legislators and
administrators is a must."449
As the ideas are borrowed from abroad, the success is

measured on the basis of some metropolitan dwellers and
nobody is thinking in terms of how the integration be achieved
at the village level which does not have the minimum facility
in the school even for the general student. Under such
condition, how can they meet the requirement of the physically
challenged. If problem is not solved at that level, such schemes
may just remain a dream.
In the form of questions, an attempt is made to

understand how far such scheme has reached and how many
people are its beneficiaries. Over the question of how far
education is the part of the national plan and what kind of
system in terms of special education, inclusive education or
mixed education is prevailing, 60% respondents told about
the mixed educational system while 8% were aware of the
fact that special education is the only source of education and
rest of the respondents were talking about inclusive education.
This was a divided view which reveal the fact that there is a
mixed educational system for the visually impaired but the
reality lies in the fact that the stress of this mixed system is
favouring the special educational system for the visually
challenged despite the fact that it is desired that, with the
Passage of time, only inclusive educational system should
P^vail and special schools should work as resource rooms.
Over the question whether the inclusive education has een introduced, 60% denied this
but the remaining
HP"
11;
respondents replied in affirmation. However, the fact rema,n as it is that principally, such
experiments have been mac]
and some rich families are in a position to avail this facilih.
But, in majority of the cases, it is yet to be implemented.
Over the issue of the fixed percentage of the physically I

challenged in general and the visually challenged in particular
only 5 respondents informed that there is some provision of
that sort. Rest of the respondents denied the knowledge of
any such preference. In this context, it should be borne in
mind that even after three decades, the government is not in
a position to make some such provision of specifying some
seats. However, there are some of the universities where there
is a provision of the 1% reservation for each category of
physically challenged in each course.
Over the question of the percentage of the visually

challenged at primary, high and tertiary level, 15%
respondents showed their unawareness but the remainders
told that higher we go we find a considerable increase in the
percentage of the visually challenged. In the absence of any
special provision and due to the change in the pattern of the
learning, it is found that the number of students increase at
that level.
Over the question whether the inclusive education has1 been accepted as a matter of
policy, 45 respondents said yes
and 30 respondents gave response in negative. The truth lies
in the fact that the government has accepted it as a matter of
policy. The government is totally disinterested in opening
special schools just to avoid unnecessary expenditure on the
infrastructure. However, it is maintained that both types of j
education should be continued.
Over the question about how far the inclusive education
system has become the part of the general education, 87%
were of the view that it has not yet become part of the system
but the remaining were of the view that some efforts h0"e been made in this direction.
The reality lies in the fact tha
thee is a long way to go to achieve this target.
Over the issue of how a blind be taught triple Rs, there

was a unanimous opinion that only a special teacher can teach
reading, writing and arithmetics. This can be true to a greater
extent as it is not supposed from a sighted person to
understand the value of touch. But such endeavours have
been made to provide general teachers the special training to teach variety of physically
challenged.
In fine, it can be stated that despite the weaknesses of

the integrated or inclusive system of the education, there is
no way to escape from it but it would be better if such schools
be either supported by the special schools or the provisions
be made to make best use of the visually challenged person
to work as a teacher in such schools. Moreover, it is desirable
to provide barrier free atmosphere in the school so that it
may be accessible to all types of physically challenged students.
Though it is impracticable yet some such mechanism is
supposed to be developed to meet the varying needs of the
physically impaired students. In a way, the aim of the
integrated or inclusive education should not be to have man}'
classes in one but it should be to develop interdependence
within the students and to develop a sense in the ordinary
students to treat physically challenged as their part and parcel
failing which this step will further enhance the gaps between
the ordinary students and differently able bodied. Of course,
in principle, it looks very easy but in the real sense, it is a
tough process and needs patience amongst various groups.
4.4 Services for the Reading Material for the Visually

Impaired Persons
4.4.1 Services for the Reading Material for the Visually

It is a common practice nowadays with most of the

institutions/organisations relating to the visually impaired
to have a Braille printer to get a copy of any literature in
°raille as and when it is required. But this isolated effort
may be useful for some individuals to a limited extent and cannot be termed as option to
the Braille books for which Ifiere is a need of printing press. South Africa has one major
Braille printing service in Mayfair and Crown Mines which

circulates books in the length and breadth of the country. fn this regard, the role of the
South African Blind Workers
Organisation is praiseworthy. The production and the
demand of the Braille books reveal the fact that despite
the rising demands of the recorded material and the use of
the computer, the demand of the Brail1 e books has not
decreased.
So far as the libraries for the Braille books are concerned,

South Africa has got National Library which is known as "The
S.A. Library for the Blind in Grahamstown (which) supplies
books and magazines countrywide and beyond our borders
in Braille and in moon type, with catalogues available in Braille
and in ink print."450 The uniqueness of the Republic of South Africa lies in the fact that
it has got a special provision of
circulating Braille music books by S.A. Braille Music Library
run by the Pioneer School, Worcester.451 Such arrangements
are generally not being made in most of the Afro-Asian
countries. This is perhaps possible because of the fact that
South Africa has got a chance of exposure to the Western
world. If this situation is compared with India, India got
independence from England way back in 1947 and the outlook
of the ruling country was also not positive. Generally, their
worries started when the heaven fell on their military
personnel during the Second World War. As they had to leave
India just after the Second World War, India could not be
benefited in a real sense with their plans as, in case of India,
such plans were at the infant stage.
In response to the question about the existence of

any national Braille Library, 80% respondents answered
in affirmation but rest of the respondents were unaware
of any such provision. When asked about its performance,
hardly 15% termed it remarkable but 65% scaled it as
satisfactory.
But, the performance of the Braille libraries is remarkable

and liberal to the extent that the readers are not compelled to
return books in a limited span of time. "This makes readers
more responsible as there is no restraint from the library and

they are supposed to understand the value of the books.
4.4.2 Services for the Reading Material for the Visually

Impaired Persons in India
j( The reading material for the visually impaired was not an easy task in India as it had
variety of Braille during the
pre-independence era. At that time, there were 8 Braille
codes452 in practice amongst the blind of different regions.
The common code in the Braille v/as developed in 1951,453 This was the beginning of
the implementation of the policy of
providing reading material in Braille in India. The task does
not finish with this. Within the passage of time, provisions
were made to develop regional Braille presses in Calcutta
(Kolkata), Bombay (Mumbai) and Madras (Chennai). By 1980,
the demand of provincial Braille press was made by the
National Blind Youth Association454 and some steps were taken
in this direction halfheartedly.
Around the same period, a trend of developing Braille

presses as the project by the voluntary organisations started
and, within the span of two decades, it became a common
phenomenon. At present, there are no less than 50 Braille
presses of different capacities throughout the country.
So far as the status of the Braille libraries is concerned,

initially there was one national library in Dehradun and it
was circulating books in various languages in the country.
But, with the passage of time, libraries were developed at
the local level. In this field, Delhi took a lead by developing a
branch for the visually challenged in Delhi Public Library.
Not only this, some of the organisations also started to
circulate books through its library. In this direction, initiatives were taken by the National
Association for the Blind though
it was confined to the western region of India. However, at
the national level, such steps were taken by the National
federation of the Blind during the eighth decade of the last
century.
In this context, people were asked about the existence

2% Policy Perspectives for the Visually Impaired
1 of the libraries in India and its performance. About 87°/
respondents were aware about the existence of the libraries

at the national or local level but rest of the respondents were
aware about the local Braille libraries. So far as the
performance is concerned, 55 respondents scaled it
satisfactory, 13 were of the view that it is remarkable and
rest of the people were silent over this issue. d
The present standard of the library is, in one way or the

other, lagging behind the time and that has developed a
disinterestedness in the readers and it is a need of the hour
that in lieu of blaming the readers, concerted efforts be made
to keep the pace with the time so that its existence can be
justified.
4.5 Services for the Recorded Material for the Visually

Impaired Persons
So far as providing the reading material in the Braille is

concerned, it is justified if its need is in bulk. But if the reading
material is supposed to be provided for a couple of students
or to an individual, it is necessary to find other means as it is
not advisable to get fewer number of copies due to its cost
effectiveness. Moreover, higher one goes in academics, one
need to go through the bulky literature which becomes bulkier
if it is transcribed into Braille. Moreover, higher studies are
meant for specialisation and you can find hardly one or two
students of the similar interest at this level. It forces the need
of recording the books or the relevant portion of the book.
aBefore the emergence of the speaking software for the blind,
this was the only source in terms of getting reading material
at the higher level. Usefulness of the recording cannot be
denied if one has to read manuscripts which become a
necessity while doing research as manuscripts cannot be read
even with the help of scanning software meant for the visually
challenged person.
Almost after the eighth standard, lot of material has been

recorded as per the individual need. For those, who cannot
read Braille, general reading material is also being prepared
at the global level for the visually challenged.
4 5_1 Services for the Recorded Material for the Visually

The moment discussion is made about the reading

material on tapes, one will not fail to utter the name of Tape
Aids in the city of Durban in South Africa. It is one of the
famous libraries which is circulating books, journals and
magazines on tape in the remotest corners of South Africa
and is proved to be a boon for them who are totally unaware
of the Braille or who are later aged blind and cannot cope
with the Braille due to their over-dependence on sight. The
S.A. Library also circulates recorded books and provides the
equipments to the readers.455
Undoubtedly, reading material on tapes is developed

as per the need of the individual in these libraries but
the reader has to inform at the beginning of the semesters
so that the work could be completed in due course of
time and the efforts may not go astray. So far as the
recorded material at the college level is concerned, in most of
the cases, no sincere attempt is made to preserve it for the
future and, hence, the attempts made for this purpose are
confined to the specific needs. In fact, there is a need of making
a concerted effort to keep these recordings preserved as it
may become a good and useful library for the students to
come.
Over this issue, the beneficiaries were asked abo\*t the

existence of such libraries and how do they look at such
facilities. About 93% people were aware of these facilities
and 80% were satisfied with its performance. About 13% scale
it at the best in terms of their performance.
No doubt, these libraries have got good collection and

they try their best to meet the demand of the students within
the time frame. Of course, it seems that there is too much
dependence on these libraries because of which generally they
are overburdened with the work as the readers are, in most
°f the cases, provided voluntary services. It is, therefore,
advisable to think in terms of developing a regular job for
''Ms purpose which will open a new vista for the unemployed
youth and will be helpful to get regular readers despite the

fact that it involves funds.
4,5.2 Services for the Recorded Material for the Visually

Impaired Persons in India 1
There is no routine national library exclusively for the

recorded books run by the government. However, some of
the voluntary organisations are running some such libraries.
So far as the isolated recording for the specific purpose is
concerned, a bulk of work is being done but no sincere attempt
is made to preserve such recording to avoid unnecessary
repetitiveness.
Over this issue, people were asked about the existence

of such library run by the government and the unanimous
response was negative and, hence, question of its performance
does not arise. So far as the reading material on tape in India
is concerned, some efforts are made by the National Institute
for the Visually Handicapped. In this directions, some
organisations like National Association for the Blind and All-India
Confederation of the Blind are making endeavours in
terms of providing recorded material by copying it on the
personal cassettes of the reader. No doubt, the talking book
played a pivotal role in developing habit of listening books
for the adult persons who cannot cope with the Braille but as
this is a one-sided way of learning, it raises the question of
the extent of benefit. Despite this limitation, there is a need
of developing a national library so that it may prove to be
useful for those who neither can read Braille nor can afford
computers. Moreover, as computer cannot read Indian
languages till date and it is not successful in reading
manuscripts, the dependence on recorded material is
unavoidable. ;J
4.6 Identification for the Jobs for the Visually Impaired Persons and their Status of
Employment
The purpose of any national policy for the diverse section

of the society is to make them a useful member of the society
through their contribution in the process of the developmerit
of the nation. So is true with the visually impaired. The policies

relating to the education and the fund involves in it can only
be justified if the capabilities of this section be enhanced and
be used for the nation-building process. This is also true that
this cannot be done through verbatim. As society has a lot of
preconceived notions about this segment of the society
description of which is made in chapter 2, it becomes
unavoidable to develop some laws or guidelines which are
made to be followed by the employer. To facilitate the
employer, it is also necessary to identify some posts for each
physically challenged and the employer be convinced that in
this way the potence of the physically challenged can be used
and they may prove an asset to the employer.
For this, it is necessary to analyse the employment

condition of the Afro-Asian countries. In most of the cases,
there is a band of unemployed persons which pave the way
of bargaining and availability of the workers at the low cost.
Under this situation, without the compulsion of the law, no
private enterprise is going to entertain physically challenged.
Hence, it is the need of the hour to develop some rules which
may compel the employer to absorb physically challenged
persons and so is true with the visually impaired.
4.6.1 Identification of the Jobs for the Visually Impaired

Persons and their Status of Employment in South Africa
Despite the fact that there is a special provision in the

constitution of the Republic of South Africa to make no
discrimination on the basis of physical challenge and despitej
the fact that derived from that clause, Employment Equity
Act was formulated with a view to provide equitable treatment
to the physically challenged in general and the visually
impaired in particular, no attempt was made to identify the
post for this section of the society to make it quite open for
variety of jobs. But the experiences of ten years reveal this
fact that in majority of the cases, the visually challenged has
been confined to the job of switch board operator. There is negligible scope for the highly
educated visually challenged.
This does not mean that people are not engaged in other jobs
I!
but their number is very dismal and they seem like dotted
here and there.
Before dealing with the status of the employment of the

visually impaired, it is necessary to devote some space to the
document known as Code of Good Practice on the
Employment of People with Disabilities which was developed
for the better implementation of the Employment Equity Act.
In support of the Employment Equity Act, the National

Government of the Republic of South Africa brought an ethical
document with the name of 'Employment Equity Act No, 55
of 1998 Code of Good Practice on the Employment of People
with Disabilities. On 19 April, 2001, the Commission of
Employment Equity developed a draft Code of Good Practice
on key aspects of disabilities. It was released to the public for
their comments. It was aimed at to guide employers in their
implementation plan in order to gear up the process of its
realization.
It is a document comprised of 17 sections and the

uniqueness of this document lies that it has exclusively been
developed to give due attention to the employment problems
of the physically challenged which, in the absence of such a
document, looked neglected in a multi-faceted Employment
Equity Act of 1998. Of course, it is a supporting document in
favour of the physically challenged which is one of the
segments which has been kept by the constitution-makers
under the non-discriminatory clause while discussing the
provision of equal treatment to all the citizens.
Its first section is devoted to the 'foreword' which is
nothing but the background of this document. Talking about
the purpose of the constitution, it says, the purpose of the
constitution is "to give effect to the provisions relating to
removal of policies which result in inequalities in the country-Specific
emphasis is placed to ensure equity, the right to equal
protection and benefit of the law, inter alia, by people with
disabilities."456
Keeping in mind how this unfair discrimination Is
li
1I
erpetuated, provisions are made to do away with such ractice. On this basis, it is
remarked:
" -- Unfounded assumptions about the abilities and

,erformance of job applicants and employees with disabilities;
-- Advertising and interviewing arrangements which

either excludes people with disabilities or limit their
opportunities to prove themselves;
-- Using selection tests which discriminate unfairly;
-- Inaccessible workplaces; and
--Inappropriate training for people with disabilities."457
While developing this document, it was felt that it is

going to cover a section of the society which has got the variety
of problems which can be shown by way of high level of
unemployment and consequent under nourishment. It also
speaks that when opportunities are provided with the proper
accommodation, their right to contribute the market never
withers away. Keeping the gravity of the problem, this
document becomes vital and it is said that if under certain
cases, the court feels favourable, it can use it as a guideline
despite the fact that it is not a legal document.
Speaking about the aims of the Code, it is said that its

purpose is to protect the disability from the discrimination
and gives directions to the employers to take affirmative
action for the speedy implementation of the Employment
Equity Act. It also helps the employers and employees to
understand the obligations and rights respectively. It is
brought forth with the intention of awakening the people
about the use of physically challenged as a source so as to
âke best use of their capabilities for the nation.
Apart from making the formal description about the
status of the code and definition of the physically challenged,
has a special provision about which it is desirable to pay

°n\e heed. This section is related to the 'Reasonable
aCcommodation for the People with Disabilities'.
Under this section, from subsection 1 to 3 is devoted to F

the meaning and purpose of the reasonable accommodate

Subsection 4 is devoted to why such reasonabl
accommodation is obligatory for an employer. Unde
subsection 5, emphasis of such requirement is made even f
the work or work environment is changed. Under subsection
6, the employee is given importance in terms of asking the
employer to consult employee in terms of asking whether he is needed some mechanical
and technical support for fulfilling
his/her responsibilities while performing the job. Similarly'
under subsection 7, it is emphasized that this accommodation
will be provided as per the requirement under the need of
the disability and requirement of the work. Under subsection
8, two types of reasonable accommodation are described:
temporary and permanent and these should be depended upon
the nature of the problem. The subsection 9 is devoted to
what will be included in the reasonable accommodation and
there it is found that a clause is devoted to the arrangement
of the computer and the software which seems to be
mentioned in terms of supporting the visually impaired.
Subsection 10 is devoted to the evaluation of the performance
of the employee and it is suggested that certain adaptations
can be made as per the requirements of the special challenges.
Subsection 11 leaves an ample scope of finding excuse by the
employer in terms of imposing unjustifiable hardship which
is an immeasurable term and can be used in the favour of the
employer. Consequently, due to this provision, the chances
of accommodating the physically challenged may reduce
considerably. Though under subsections 12 and 13, attempts
are made to explain the unjustifiable hardship and it is tried
to justify such provision, but it seems that this explanation is
insufficient as in the absence of any quantitative directions,
such excuses will have a negative effect on the employ11611 of the physically
challenged. 3
One of the important sections of this Code of G°0^ Practice is section 7 which is related
to the provisions at>° ^
recruitment and the selection of the physically cnaêni'rSt
employees. This section is divided into two parts. Its '
part is devoted to recruitment in which certain considera
suggested while making recruitment of a physically

liallenged employee.458 Under these provisions, an emphasis ¦ laid on the 'inherent
requirements of the job'459 which
pcome the bases of its advertisement. Some provisions under
,is section are also made about how the jobs should be
jvertised. These provisions include the description of the
iherent requirements of the job and it is suggested that such
jvertisements should be easily accessible to the physically
lallenged. It is also advised that, for this purpose, concerned
raanizations should also be approached as they have the
laximum accessibility in terms of contacting the physically
lallenged.460 The employer is prohibited to "include criteria
iat are not necessary to perform the essential functions of
ie job because selection based on non-essential functions may
nfairly exclude people with disabilities."461
Under Subsection 1, Part 7, a reference is made of

roviding advertisement in Braille, large print or audio tape.462 at such provision is made
in such an undertoned manner
hich, despite the fact that the country is always positive to
"ovide informations in Braille, does not show the desirable
jsitivity on the ground of visual impairment in particular as
ie provision is directly related to the visually challenged
jplicants. The implication of such undertone is quite evident
i such provisions are supposed to be applied in case of the
quest being made of this effect and it implies that such
'0vision is not at all compulsory.
Second part of the Section 7 is devoted to the selection,

w the purpose of selection, it is suggested that there should I same criteria for test for the
purpose of selection but that
'ould be subject to the reasonable accommodation which
*plies that one should bear in mind the limitations of the
'ecially challenge and should make changes as per the
quirements.463 For this purpose, in case of the selection of
* Physical impairment, two stages of the process of the ection are suggested: (I) his
suitability in terms of his aa|ification and (II) need of any accommodation for
"r Oroung the job in case of such a suitable candidate.464 It is
1
II-
suggested
that in case of selection, employer must mortit
this process and ascertain that no unfair discrimination h,
to the physical challenge he made.465 This provision rrtak
employer all-in-all and do not make any provision throuai
which his intention and subjectivity can be checked. One°of
the processes of testing the applicant is known as interview
for which under the same section some space is given. It
includes the ideas like "the interview should be objective and
unbiased"466 and, considering the suitable job for such
applicant, employer should ask him what kind of job he can
perform and interview him without making any assumption
about his physical challenge. The Code of Good Practice was
framed in such a way that it suggests making reasonable
accommodation during the time of interview.467 Even after
interview, the provision is made of the medical test to
ascertain whether the physically impaired can perform this
job. At the first instance, there is no specification of the group
who will make this medical test and no certainty whether
such person or persons are capable enough to assess the
potence of physically impaired in terms of performing the
job. All these provisions seem to be attractive but the
objectivity of the implementation of such provisions fall under
doubt when the monitoring rests in the hands of the employer.
The provisions relating to the withdrawal of the offer

of a job468 are more threatening because the reference of an
ethical term like 'reasonable accommodation' is made in terms
of requiring unjustifiable hardship to the employer. All these
terms are subjective and immeasurable and can be used either
way.
Anotl16
Under the same section, a subsection is devoted to the

terms and conditions of employment.469 Under the Clause
of the Subsection 5 of the Section 7, the provision is made not
to "retain employees who become disabled, on less favour" j
terms and conditions than employees doing the same wo ¦
for reasons connected with the disability." This Provisions due seems to be showing due
respect to the disability-Clause just after this is devoted to prohibit harassment
m the disability.470 The harassment will include teasing

ridicule and offensive remarks. This provision can be analysed
jj, two ways. It is stated that such harassment will be treated t par with a 'sexual
harassment'.471 This is a kind of serious
note included by the policy-makers. But if it is understood in
terms of confining the verbal harassment, it implies that there
is no provision of punishment if a physically challenged is
harassed in terms of remaining unemployed.
Another section is devoted to the medical and

psychological testing of the employees with physical challenge.
These tests should be performed as per the provisions laid
down in the Employment Equity Act. It is stated that the
Medical Testing should be made after the confirmation of the
offer of the job and after the determination of the competence
of the physically challenged. Cost of these tests should be
borne by the employer.472
Under the same section, provisions are also made of the

medical testing in case of injury during the tenure of job. The
purpose of such testing will be to determine whether an
employee can perform the job safely or what kind or reasonable
accommodation is required.473 A favourable provision to the
employer is made under the Subsection 3 by saying that "An
employer should not employ a person if the employer can
demonstrate that a person with a disability would represent
an actual risk to him or her or other people, which could not
be eliminated or reduced by applicable reasonable accommodation." This leaves ample
scope for the employer to disfavour the physically challenged. The provisions
Mentioned in 8.3.3 makes the condition worse which opens
ê scope for an employer in terms of withdrawing the job.
'hough the logic of doing so is given that such step should be aken if it is ascertained that
his disability may expose to the H'Ork and may worsen his physical condition. In a
society
here even the most literate and medically qualified people 4ve their typical attitude about
the physically challenged in
I nefal and the visually impaired in particular, such provisions aVe ample scope for all
negative steps.
~n
A Section is devoted to the placement in which there ar

provisions for orientation training. It is stated that such
orientations not only should be accessible to the persons with
physical impairments but also should include the issues of
sensitization about them.474
A Section is incorporated in the Code of Good Practice

for education and developing sense of awareness not only jr,
the employees but also in the colleagues by including this
information about this Code in their orientation programmes.
If implemented, such practices may develop a healthy
atmosphere which may favour the disability in a larger sense.
It is an admitted fact that the problems become graver in the
absence of proper information.
In fine, it can be stated that it is a Code which L

generalistic in nature-embracing total disability in its fold.1
By doing this, it could make general provisions about this
section of the society. There are some casual references about
the visual impairment but those references fail to specify their
problems. It speaks about the reasonable accommodation but
put a restraint over it in terms of its cost-effectiveness. It is
this restraint which leaves ample scope of shirking from the
responsibility of providing chances to the physically
challenged.
ed.
For the implementation of these policies, a document is

developed which is known as 'Technical Assistance'. This
document is aiming at proving a complement the Code
published in August 2002 to assist with the practical
implementation of aspects of the Act relating to the
employment of people with disabilities in the workplace. It is
built on the basis of the Code to set out practical guidelines and examples for employers,
employees and trade unions on
how to promote equality, diversity and fair treatment l*1 employment through the
elimination of unfair discrimination'
However, it is stated that as both the abovementionec
documents are generalistic in nature, they fail to give requisrt
emphasis to the specific problems of the specific section &1
so is true in the case of the due space to the visually impair'

Moreover, as there is no job identification for the

jjflplementation of these policies, its general nature becomes
the reason of showing more concerns for its judicious
implementation. However, as the government is concerned
and committed for the welfare of the diverse section, its
commitment is revealed at least at the policy level. That is
why, if a comparative analysis is made within the physical
impairments, despite the fact that there is no exclusive
provision for the visually impaired, the employment status
of the visually challenged is better even if it is compared with
the other physically challenged. In the following Para, a
comparative analysis is given to explain it in detail.
f.: As the analysis is restricted to the national level, the

population of the physically challenged of South Africa is
2,255,982475 which constitute approximately 5% of the total
population. So far as the population of the visually impaired
is concerned, it is enumerated as 577,096476 which constitute
1% of the total population and 25.5% approximately of the
total population of the specially challenged. So far as these
figures are concerned, the voluntary organisations relating
to the visual impairment have expressed their doubt and the
opposition of this effect has been expressed by them. However,
as census is supposed to be the genuine source, for all practical
purposes, the analysis will depend on these figures. Hence,
for the convenience of the understanding it can be said that
every 20th person of the South Africa is physically challenged
and every 100th person of this country is visually challenged.477
To understand the employment status of the 5 % segment

of the society, one has to see the numerical strength of the
employed physically challenged segment which is 286,548478 which constitute about
13% within the physically impaired
whereas the numerical strength of the employed visually
impaired is 103,341479 which constitute about 18% of the total
Population of the visually impaired. From this angle, the
Position of the visually challenged is better than the physically
challenged. However, to have a clearer vision, one has to ar>alyse it from another angle.
If the number of other physically
challenged employed persons is compared with the number

of the employed visually impaired, one will find that, in that
case, the percentage of the employed other physically
challenged reduces percentagewise even if this percentage js taken out of the number of
the other specially challenged. In
this case, other physically challenged persons who are
employed constitute about 11 %m within themselves. Hence,
as per the records of he Stats SA 2001, the visually challenged
have the better position in terms of the employment.
However, these figures can be questioned from the fact that
if one compares in terms of the attitudes towards the visually
challenged, it is the visually impaired whose integrity is
doubted much and whose potentials are also doubted. If this
is the case, what is the reason of this better condition for
which one has to make a separate research. If this is compared I
with the statement of the voluntary organisations in the field
of the visually challenged, one cannot find any justification
of this depiction.
As this is one of the major issues which is not only

related with the future of the visually impaired but also
related with the use of this human resource in favour of the
nation, variety of questions were asked not only from the
consumers but also from the government officials and nongovernment
organisations which are supposed to be vigilant
not only over the implementation of the policies but also play
a conspicuous role during the process of policy formulation, i
For this, no less than 30 questions were asked which were
broadly divided in the following aspects:
(1) unemployment allowance which is commonly known as unemployment grant in

South Africa,
(2) reservation vs. affirmative action and its implications for government and private
sectors,
(3) identification of jobs and

(4) Involvement of the visually impaired in self-employment and the supportive role
of government and non government funding agencies.
During the course of discussion with the help of a

structured questionnaire, it was found that about 73% reSpondents were getting the
unemployment grant which was
amounting 720 Rands per month. Rest of the persons were
engaged in one or the other job. So far as the provisions of
the government of the Republic of South Africa are concerned,
it is providing 720 rands to the physically challenged
unemployed per month. It has twofold effects. This provision
proves to be a helping hand to those who have no job and,
thereby, these persons are not being treated as curse.
Secondly, for some, it becomes a point of satisfaction and
they do not run for petty jobs here and there as in a private
sector, an unskilled worker, in practice, may not get more
than one thousand Rands and if the expenditures of his
travelling are involved, the unemployment grant will be more
than the amount he gets.481 Such grant has one negative effect
that there is no concerted effort from the visually impaired
and their organisations to persuade the government to take 1 up any special drive for
them in terms of involving them in
any meaningful job. This attitude further reduces them to a
useless human resource.
Asking about the reservation of jobs, a unanimous

response was that there is no reservation policy in South
Africa. Hence, the questions relating reservation provisions
in various categories of posts become meaningless. When
asked about some alternative arrangements in terms of
absorbing the visually challenged in various jobs, it was
informed that under the Employment Equity Act there is a
provision of affirmative action for the physically challenged
in general. However, ten respondents were unaware of such
Provision.
Over the question whether such provisions are applicable Or>ly in the government sector
or it is applied in both
government and private sector, 80% told that this provision is applied in both the sectors
but rest of the persons were not Sute about it. When asked how far it is practical in
nongovernment
sector, 66% expressed about the unwillingness
of the private sector to absorb the visually impaired

irrespective of the fact that there are some provisions of the penalty if these sectors fail to
absorb certain amount of the persons from this segment of the society. Moreover, durino
the discussion, attention was drawn to the fact that priorities
are supposed to be given to physically challenged, womer,
and Blacks and, if, by dint of chance, someone is a physically
challenged, woman and Black, he will be preferred. Hence
willingness was expressed by most of the respondents for a
need of separate provision for each section.
Over the issue of the identification of the jobs, there

was a unanimous answer that there is no need of such
identification is felt so far. Perhaps, this need was not felt to
open all possible venues for the visually impaired. For them,
identification of the jobs means the confinement of the job
venues and, thereby, it means a restraint on innovation. But
the negative impact of this is that the employer gets sufficient
ground to find the excuse that he does not have suitable job
for them. One cannot doubt the integrity in the absence of
any identification whatsoever.
In response to the question regarding the self-employment

and the role of the government in terms of
providing loans, 60% respondents told that a handful visually
impaired take big businesses and, in majority of the cases,
they are confined to the small business for which they have
to approach person to person for their smaller businesses. Of
course, there are some private enterprises and the
government which provide some loans. Some such provision
is there with one of the units of the South
African National Council for the Blind. Remaining 40%

were unaware of any such provision but they came across
some such persons who are engaged in petty work in rural
areas. In reality, there are some private entrepreneurs which
are providing loans to facilitate the visually challenged
persons. Even a unit of SANCB dealing with their development and advocacy is also
providing assistance for the raw material
for their busineês?82
There will be no better way to conclude this section by a

comment made by Vaugham about an endeavour to find the
probable jobs where the visually impaired is working. It says:
"However, for our Diamond Jubilee year, we made a point i of counting how many jobs
are now performed by blind or
partially sighted people in South Africa and we found that
we know of over 80 such jobs e.g. Sound controller, Archivist,
Word processor, Machinist, Weaver, Candle maker,
Glasscutter, Accountant, Teacher, Nursery school assistant
etc."483 If it is compared with the statements of the respondents,
one finds a big gap which needs to be bridged by obtaining
practical experience of the country concerned which is not
the scope of the study. However, it is worth while to state
that there may be some such examples of people engaged in
variety of works but their numerical strength is doubtful and
it can be stated on the basis of the responses which are
received during the course of study.
4.6.2 Identification of the Jobs for the Visually Impaired persons and their Status of
Employment in India
As has already been stated that in contrast to the

provisions relating to the employment in South Africa, India
had a provision of 3% reservation in all the categories of jobs
as per the PWD Act, 1995. Initially, some such talk was started
after the Bangladesh War as some of the military personnel
H got one or the other special challenge during the course of
war and as an honour and to express the gratitude for the
sacrifice they had made, the then Prime Minister, Mrs. Indira
Gandhi, made an announcement of reserving some posts for
them, in the Parliament in the year 1973. Nobody can imagine
that some such gratitude will open a new vista for the
physically challenged including the visually impaired. Just
after four years, this provision was made for all the physically
challenged in 'C and 'D' category of posts details of which
have already been given in the last chapter. In 1996, through a People With Disability
Act, this reservation was extended to all the identified posts for the persons with physical
challenge. To understand the gravity of the problem, it is
necessary to have a look at the figures of the employed

visually challenged and make an analysis on the basis of the
employment status of the physically challenged in terms of a comparison of the status of
both the groups.
While making an analysis of the policies for the

employment of the visually challenged in India, it has already
been stated that there are 10,634,881 persons falling under
this category as per the census of 2001. It is more tha n hundred
times of the total population of the visually challenged in South
Africa as per the Stats SA. It has already been pointed out
that the voluntary organisations are not convinced with the
data given by stats SA of 2001, same is the case with India by
stating that if the old age blindness is included, it should, at
least, more than triple and if low visions are also included, it
should be quadruple. As the detailed analysis of the population
break-up is dealt with in Chapter I, it is proper to deal with
only the aspect of employment. If the employment status of
the visually impaired is seen from the viewpoint of its total
population, there are 39.9%484 employed visually impaired
persons ¦who are enumerated as 4,247,162.485 If this number is
seen from the number of the physcally challenged employed,
it will constitute 49.4%486 of its strength. Though there is a
marginal difference between the rate of employment of the
visually impaired with other impairments but, it should be
kept in mind that this difference is there when two categories
are joined together and if their status is further bifurcated,
the condition of the visually impaired seems better. But if
this fact is taken into consideration that the definition of the
employment for the purpose of this is quite open to the extent
of the fact that if somebody is looking after his family, he is
treated as employed487 and, in the case of visually impaired,
possibilities of such involvement is undeniable irrespective
of the fact that there are lot of preconceived notions.
Practically speaking, "The cases of the employment of the
visually impaired come lesser than the cases of orthopaedically
challenged and their can b two reasons: either their parents
are positive about them or there is a comparatively less access
of the visually challenged to the urban areas where the
Vocational Rehabilitation Centres or Employment Exchanges are located."488
There were two effects of the People With Disability

Act. On the one hand, it has opened vistas for the physically
challenged in all categories of posts but these posts were
shrunk due to the provisions of reservation only in the
identified posts in lieu of the previous provision of reservation
in all the posts, Secondly, by making a law, a new discourse
was opened. It was the discourse of approaching the judiciary
if the government fails to implement the provisions of the
PWD Act analysis of which was already made in Chapter 3.
The question of stress on the reservation only in the

identified posts has been analysed by some of the activists
that it opens a chance for periodical identification and as
science and technology are changing, one cannot deny the
need of such periodical revisions of the identifications of the
jobs for physically challenged and the visually impaired cannot
be excluded from it.489
Over opening vista to approach judiciary and getting

justice, it is stated that "In 1995, some of our seniors had filed
a case against Delhi University and some of its colleges to
secure the three percent reservation in the university teaching
faculty. After a long period of six years, on Jan 30, 2001, a
very strong judgment was delivered whereby all the pending
posts were to be filled immediately. ... Despite the judgement
no action has been taken by the vice chancellor of the Delhi
University to effectuate the same till date. Consequently, on
May 31, last year, some of us, including myself had to file a
fresh case in order to effectuate the same. Now, what exactly
I mean to say is that only judicial actions are not enough, we
also have to look into some other means, such as,
^| campaigning, meeting with relevant authorities, talking to
| ministries and so on."490
In support of the reservation policy, the Department of

| personnel and training issued some orders for its¦ 1Iriplementation which were
consolidated in the DOPT Order
°t 2004 which aims at "consolidating the existing instructions,
II
bringing them in line with the Persons with Disabilities (Equaj

Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation)
Act, 1995 and clarifying certain issues including procedural
matters,... with regard to reservation for persons with
disabilities ..."m It includes the following main aspects
relating to the implementation of the reservation policy for
employment of the physically challenged:
A. Quantum of reservation, B. exemption from

reservation, C. identification of jobs/posts, D. reservation in
posts identified for 'A' or 'B' categories, E. Appointment
against unreserved vacancies, F. adjustment of candidates
selected in their own merits, G. definition of special challenge,
H. Degree of special impairment for reservation, I. competent
authority to issue certificate to this effect, J. computation of
reservation, K. effecting reservation maintenance of roster,
L. inter se exchange and carry forward of reservation in case
of direct recruitment, M. consideration zone, interest exchange
and carry forward of reservation in case of promotion, N.
horizontality of reservation for persons with special
challenges, O. relaxation in age limit, P. relaxation of standard
of suitability, Q. medical examination, R. exemption from
payment of examination fee and application fee.492
When a question relating to the unemployment allowance

to the visually challenged was asked, 80% respondent were
of the view that they had listened of some such provision but
remainders were sure about this with a comment that it is so
meagre that it cannot even be called an unemployment
allowance. The reality lies with the fact that as the pension to
the old age and some such issues are used to be clubbed
together and as it is a state subject in the Indian federal system,
every state has its own procedures depending upon their
financial resources and also depending how seriously these
issues have been taken by the concerned state government.
There are some states which are providing unemployment
allowance to the visually challenged in the vicinity of 200
rupees or so. But there is a state like Haryana which is giving
this allowance in accordance to the qualification of the person
¦oncerned and it ranges from 500 to 2000 rupees per month.493 -{ow far the provision of
unemployment allowance and its
ink with the qualification of a person is justified is a debatable
ssue because the needs of an unemployed person will be more
jr less the same. Considering the economic condition of both
he countries and treating one rupee equal to a rand, the
provision of unemployment allowance in Haryana is better
han the provision in South Africa at least for them who are
;ither under-graduate. Of course, even from this yardstick,
n most of the Indian states, this provision stands far below
han the provision in South Africa. If it is measured in terms of the value of the currency
which is almost seven times higher
o the Indian currency, the provisions of unemployment
lllowances even if one takes the case of Haryana, are meagre
n comparison with South Africa.
Asking about the reservation of jobs, a unanimous

esponse was that there is a 3% reservation policy in India.
/Vhen it was asked whether it is available in all categories of
ôsts, 45 persons were aware only about the reservation in
C and 'D' categories but rest of the respondents were aware of the People With Disability
Act and its provisions for the
"eservation of 3% posts in all the categories of jobs for all the
:ategories of physically challenged. However, the present
position is that there is a reservation in all categories of posts out its implementation is
very poor so far as the visually
:hallenged are concerned. But if the employment condition
3f both the countries is compared at least in the government
sector, one will find that, despite the poor implementation in
India, the condition of India is far better because one finds
rarest cases of employment in the Government sectors of
South Africa. Whatever employment is found, majority of the
People are engaged in the job of switch board operators. There a*e couple of lecturers or
clerks but their numbers can be
-ounted on fingers. There are two reasons for this situation.
First, due to the exposure of the West and due to the early acceptance of the policy of
open market, the government Sector is more or less shrinking and their provision of no
disparity are actually involve all the diverse sections for the
preferential treatment or affirmative action. Hence, they fajj

to pay required attention to the visually challenged. Secondly
there is no pressure from the organised group of the visually
impaired because of which the South African government fails
to take up any such drive as was done in India during the
period of eighties and nineties of the last century.
In response to the question whether there are some

provisions of reservation for the visually challenged in the
private sector, there was a unanimous response that there is
no such provision. However, though it is true that there is no
such provision of reservation in the private sector in India
yet efforts were made in this direction by facilitating such
employers in terms of income tax rebate detail of which is
made in Chapter III. Some such provision was made in the
state of Gujarat for 2% reservation for the physically
challenged, but in practice, it did not yield any result
whatsoever. In this regard, it is conspicuous to mention that
there was a period when no less than 200 visually challenged
persons were working in the private industries of Faridabad.
Not only this, if one goes by the history of the employment
of visually impaired, one will find that initially it was the
private sector which used to absorb the visually challenged,
may it be out of pure mercy. The moment it was supposed to
do through law, the private sector became disinterested. In
the present scenario when the jobs are shrinking due to the
acceptance of the open market system in India, its relevance
became self-evident.
Over the issue of identification of the posts for the

visually challenged, 70 respondents were of the opinion that
there is a provision of identification of the posts. Rest of them
were unaware of it. So far as the real situation is concerned,
the exercise of the identification of the jobs started almost
after four years of the declaration of the reservation.
Regarding the behaviour of the employer to the visually

challenged employees, 80% were of the view that they still
do not feel to take any work from them, may be out of mercy
or sheer ignorance or due to their preconceived notion that
what a poor blind person can do. Rest of them were of the vjew that their behaviour is em
pathetic and they feel to give
them the challenging work. The reality lies in the fact that
there are miles to go and perhaps it is injustice to expect too
much from the employers as they are also the part and parcel
of the society which is overridden by the wrong notions about
the potentials of the visually challenged detailed discussion
about which has already been made in Chapter II.
Commenting upon the situation of the identification of

the jobs for the blind, it is stated that "The identification is
based largely on the national classification of occupations
produced by the Occupational Information Unit of Directorate
General of Employment & Training (DGE&T). Jobs in
secretariat and many other working situations have not been
studied. For example, the post of stenographer has not been
identified for the blind whereas nearly 100 blind persons are
working successfully as stenographers in banks and other
organisations through a system of Braille shorthand. On the
other hand, the post of Lower Division Clerk (LDC) has been
identified for the blind which is unsatisfactory. A blind typist
will not be able to type out conjoint handwriting, although
they can type out from typed or printed text with the help of
electronic reading machine. Feedback about the typists
already employed under reservation orders is not very
encouraging from the employers or from the employed blind
typists who complain of the environment not being congenial.
The post of Masseur which is traditionally considered suitable
for the blind has not been identified for the blind. Now, the
Wind can work even as physiotherapists with modern equipments. The post of computer
programmer has not been
'dentified for the blind. Today, with the speech output device,
the blind can do this job very well. Although the post of
knguage teacher has been identified for the blind, the post
°f interpreter has not been so. It is a fact that many blind
Pe°ple have been found successfully working as interpreters nternationally. Many blind
people have become good
ûlptors because much of the work involves possession of e"cate touch. The post of
sculptor, however, has not been
k
identified for them. As the job identification was done nearlv

seven years ago, quite a few more jobs have been found to be
suitable for various categories of the handicapped by reputed
organisations such as the National Institutes for the
Handicapped and leading voluntary organisations. These jobs
have not been incorporated in the list for providing
reservations."494
Over the issue of self-employment for the visually

impaired, the questions like loan facilities, loan providino
agencies and relevant provisions were asked. 60% informed
that they are aware of some loan facilities for self-employment
but they are unaware of any detail about it. Rest of the
respodents were totally unaware about any such facility for
the physically challenged in general and visually impaired in
particular. So far as the real scenario of the self-employment
is concerned, there uses to be a scheme with the name of
Differential Rate Interest Scheme to provide soft loan at a
lesser rate of interest, to be specified, at 4% per annum.
Initially, its amount was just Rs.4000 but it was proposed to
raise it by ten times.
Taking in view the current scenario and the shrinking of

job venues, a couple of years ago, the Ministry of Social Justice
and Empowerment developed a corporation with the name
of National Handicapped Finance Development Corporation
(NHFDC) and various agencies were allowed to provide loan
in different states on its behalf. This multi-million scheme
seems to be very charming but if an analysis of the procedure
of providing loan and its pre-conditions is made, one has to
cut a sorry figure as, under any circumstance, one can only
avail loan up to Rs.50000 without any formality but if it
involves more than this amount, the provisions are such as
one cannot avail this facility if he comes from a po°r background. It is needless to state
that this Cooperation is
also serving the interest of the better off people.
If a comparative analysis of both the states is made, it >found

that there is one or the other provision of loan for seu'
employment but there is no such concept of NHDFC in South
Africa which speaks of some national loan provisions --may mot be easy to avail.
Considering the employment conditions of the visually challenged in view, such
provisions are more uSeful for South Africa. Moreover, there is a need of making
these provisions useful and more supportive to the common
mass as majority of the visual challenge occur in the financially
backward class the reasons for which has already been
discussed in Chapter II.
4,7 Other Rehabilitational Facilities for the Visually

Impaired Persons
As has already been mentioned that the education and

employment plays a vital role in the life of any person and so
is the case of the visually challenged. But education and
employment are not everything and cannot be a solution to
all the problems. Hence, there is a need of providing some
other facilities like proper living space, accommodable
structure which is called as disability friendly atmosphere,
recreational facilities, income tax rebate, travelling
concessions, so on and so forth. Obviously, these are some of
the welfare steps which are supposed to be taken by any
government if it wishes to make the unequal as an equal and
its relevance in the present changing context.
As rehabilitation is a very wide subject, for the

convenience of the discussion, it will be divided into following
headings:
(1) Constitutional and other provisions,

(2) Financial benefits,
(3) Training,
(4) Sports and entertainment and
(5) Miscellaneous.
*^1 Other Rehabilitational Facilities for the Visually In*paired Persons in South Africa
As has already been stated that South Africa has better exPosure to the West because of
which its policies are found 0 °e taking into its consideration all the modern aspects from
the time these things were in the air in the West. That is why when the Constitution of
south Africa was written, one find the similar spirit in it in the form of including physical
challenge
in its 'no discrimination' clause. As a period of ten years is a very short span and as one
may not find ample proof in terms
of records of the achievements accept some sighs here and
there in the statements of the government officials, that is
too, the casual statement which becomes the last part of their
speeches that a lot is supposed to be done for the physically
challenged.495 This is a proof that what status has been given
to this segment of the society within the orbit of the diverse
section. However, before jumping into any conclusion, it is
pertinent here to see up to what extent the issues relating to
the rehabilitation are put into practice.
Under the heading of the constitutional and other

provisions, variety of questions was asked. A question about
the equality provision in the constitution of South Africa was
asked to the consumers, about 87% respondents showed their
awareness about some such provisions but rest of them were
totally unaware of it. When asked whether the physically
challenged persons are also included in it, only 66% were
aware about the inclusion of disability in this clause. As
majority of the consumers were belonging to the urban areas,
their level of understanding is quite up to the mark. But when
they were asked about how far this is put into practice, 80%
expressed their dissatisfaction but the remainders were of
the view that at least they are lucky that they are having such
a constitution which shows some concern to this section of
the society. It reveals tine fact that there is a group in South
Africa which is of the view that something has been done for
the physically challenged in general and the visually impaired
in particular. But if critically analysed, it is found that majority
of the people are dissatisfied with the progress in this context-Over
die issue of the provision for the senior citizens
falling in the category of the visually challenged, there was a
unanimous answer of the provision of the unemployrnef
allowance. Of course, as the provision of the unemployrnen
ajjovvance also applied for the physically challenged senior

citizens, so is the case with the visually challenged persons in
this category if they have nobody to support.
A question was asked to the voluntary organisations to

know up to what extent the government is implementing the
programmes and policies which is shown on the paper, 60%
were of the view that nothing is happening in practice as they
are made a part of the general diverse section, rest of them
were of the view that something has been done though it is
not satisfactory. In reality, this is true mat there is no exclusive
provision for physically challenge in general and the visually
impaired in particular except couple of documents, desired
attention is not being paid to this segment because of which
the speed of their progress is not up to the mark.496 When
asked the reasons, 20% organisations were of the view that
as there is no exclusive provision for the physically challenged
and as they are made part of the general diverse section which
includes Blacks, women and disability, a section is taken care
of at the last.
Under the heading of financial benefits, a question is

asked about any special provision of reservation in the
government allotment of accommodation, a unanimous answer
from the voluntary organisation was no. But 20% consumers
told that they are totally unaware of any such provisions but
rest of the consumers stated emphatically no. But when it is
asked whether the bank is providing any financial assistance
in terms of loans, there was a unanimous answer from the
voluntary organisations in affirmation but when the same
question is asked from the consumers, the real beneficiaries,
^consumers shown their unawareness about such provisions
but 19 consumers have some knowledge about some such
Provision.
Keeping in view that the visually challenged has to spend

°re money than an unchallenged person while moving from
^ e place to another, a question was asked to the consumers,
^ Vernment agencies and voluntary organisations about any Ov'sion of conveyance
allowance for the employed visually
challenged which constitute the part of their salary, there w

a unanimous answer in negation as there is no such provis S in South Africa.
Health is wealth --it is a say in the common parlance a

question relating to this in terms of having any provision of
free health care to the visually challenged was asked to all
categories of respondents, a unanimous answer from the
voluntary sector was that they have to pay some nominal
amount in the government hospitals as is supposed from
others, same was the answer of the government officials but
66% consumers were of the view that there is no concession
whatsoever and rest showed their unawareness over this issue
as they did not have to pay anything. It was their parents
who were dealing these things. Practically speaking, there is
no special provision for the visually challenged for their health
care. Hence, it is needless to say that the government, by
providing unemployment grant, thought that its duty in the
area of financial benefits is over because the facilities of loans
by the banks are given to those who have the returning
capacity and by making such provisions, no special favour
has been done to the persons with visual impairment.
Some solution of these financial problems is found in

the provision of the income tax. When it is asked about any
relaxation in income tax, 40% respondents told that some
rebate is given if the receipts of special expenditures in terms
of buying some disability friendly equipments or the receipts
of petrol, one gets total rebate on such expenditures. Of
course, this is a consolation in the age of price rise. But
unfortunately, majority of the people are unaware of such
provision and it is the duty of the state to make them aware
about it
While discussing the implementational aspects of ê policies, no discussion was made on

the aspect of training
Some of the questions were asked over this aspect desp)st the fact that there are no
exclusive training provisions excep
a couple of training courses in Optima College run by t|1 South African National Council
for the Blind. These questio'15
,ere relating to the teachers training at different levels,

technical training for the semi-skilled labourers etc.
As entertainment is the part and parcel of the life of the

human beings, the visually challenged are no exception to it.
Keeping this in view, a set of questions were prepared over
sports and entertainment and an attempt is made to find how
far the government is conscious over this issue. Hence, a
aeneral question was asked to the voluntary organisations to
Icnow what the leisure time activities of the visually impaired
are. A list of such activities was provided by them which
included listening of radio, in-door games, discussion and
musical activities, picnics, sports etc. Over the question
whether there is a license fee on radio or television, the
voluntary organisations informed that there is a fee on the
use of television and visually challenged does not get any
concession whatsoever.
The voluntary organisations were asked whether there

is any cricket team for the visually challenged in South Africa
and if so, whether it is the member of an international body.
A unanimous answer was in affirmation in both the cases.
For couple of years, the cricket team of the South African
visually challenged has been playing in the international arena.
The voluntary organisations were asked a question

relating to a special council to look the sports for the visually
challenged, 60% told that this is under consideration whereas
rest of them were unaware of it. In reality, it is still at the
ideational level and one is not sure when such ideas are put
into practice.
Some general questions were asked under the heading

of miscellaneous. Over the question of any arrangement of
old age homes for the visually impaired, the unanimous
answer from the voluntary organisation was that there is no
provision so far as the government is concerned but there are
few examples set up by the voluntary organisations in terms
°f providing such facilities. Over the question of any day care
centre for the aged persons, all the voluntary organisations cut a sorry figure.
.1 Some questions were addressed to the attitude of the
society and family and these were specially asked to the

voluntary organisations. 80% respondents were of the view
that the society does not have positive opinions about the
visually impaired whereas rest of the respondents were of
the opinion that there is a mixed social attitude towards the
visually impaired. So far as the family attitude is concerned
there was a unanimous opinion in favour of a mixed response.
So far as the reality is concerned, undoubtedly, a lot is needed
to be done in terms of changing the attitude of the society
and the family and such things cannot be achieved in a day or
two. It is a long process and it takes its own course and time.
Over the question of how far the atmosphere of South

Africa, a visually impaired friendly, 18 representatives of
various voluntary organisations were of the view that it is
not at all visually impaired friendly and they added that it is
the visually impaired who is adapting himself as per the need.
So far as the government is concerned, it is doing nothing.
But rest of the respondents have a different opinion. They
are of the view that some steps have been taken by the
government in this direction in terms of voice input in the
lifts. So far as the reality is concerned, over the issue of easy
access for the physically challenged in general and the visually
impaired in particular, lot of steps have been taken for the
orthopedically challenged in terms of developing ramps or
making toilets friendly for them, much is needed to be done
for the visually impaired. |
There cannot be any comment better than the self-admittance

that "People with disabilities in South Africa
continue to face barriers that prevent them from enjoying
their full civil, political, economic, social, and cultural and
development rights. This is largely due to widespread
ignorance and prejudice in our society. It is also because some
legislation fails to protect the rights of people with disabilities/
and to meet the standards and principles of international
human rights instruments.... An anti-discrimination clause if1 the Constitution
specifically mentions disability, but we have
I
yet to make the letter and spirit of our Constitution concrete

realities for our citizens with disabilities. Legislation alone
cannot improve our society or guarantee human rights in
practice, but it does provide a vital framework and structure
to set us in the right direction."497
4.7.2 Other Rehabilitational Facilities for the Visually

joipaired Persons in India
Despite the fact that India could not have a better

exposure to the West in comparison to the South Africa, the
long tenure of independent India, rising needs of the visually
impaired, Bangladesh War and consequent declaration by Mrs.
Indira Gandhi to reserve some posts for the war-disabled,
reservation of 1977 and, last but not the least, the enactment
of the People With Disability Act for which a long struggle
had been made by the visually challenged, particularly, by
the organisations like National Federation of the Blind and
the National Blind Youth Association, paved a way to do
something in practice for the physically challenged in general
and the visually impaired in particular. Such development
took place irrespective of the fact that the reference of the
physically challenged (disabled) is made twice in the
constitution and that is as a part of the Directive Principles of
the State Policies under Article 41 and 46.
Over the issue of having some equality provision, there

was a unanimous agreement that the Indian Constitution has
included some equality provisions under the Fundamental
Rights. But over the question of the inclusion of disability in
it, 80% responded in negation but rest of the respondents
were unaware of some such thing. This is true that there is no
direct mention under the equality provision about the disabled,
but when it is said that all are treated, it is viewed that it
should also be applied to the physically challenged. But the
things become worse when a reference of special provision
'Or certain segments of the society is made and the physically challenged are
overlooked,498 it makes anyone feel to doubt
ê integrity of the constitution-makers as one cannot shirk
from the fact that during the course of freedom struggle, there
were ample cases of occurrence of the physical challen&e during its course. In the
absence of any such provision, the question of its implementation does not arise and,
hence, no
question of this effect was asked. 1
Over the issue of some provisions for the senior citizens

the question was asked to the voluntary organisations, there
was a unanimous answer that though there is a dismal I
arrangement of some financial assistance, its procedure is so
cumbersome that majority of the people fail to avail it despite
their poverty stricken position.
A question was asked to the voluntary organisations to

know up to what extent the government is implementing the
programmes and policies which is shown on the paper, 16
respondents were of the view that nothing is happening in
practice as they are made a part of the general section of the
physically challenged, rest of them were of the view that
something has been done though it is not satisfactory. In
reality, this is true that there is no exclusive provision for
visually impaired except some references here and there in
the PWD Act, desired attention is not being paid to this
segment because of which the speed of their progress is not
up to the desire. While asking the reasons, 80% organisations
were of the view that as there is no special provision for
visually challenged and as they are made part of the policies
for the physically challenged, no heed is being paid to this
section. This does not mean that nothing has been done som far. It is a different question
whether it is sufficient or not.
A question is asked undei the heading of financial

benefits, to the voluntary organisations about the provision
of reservation in accommodation, 60% were of the view that
there is a some such provision but rest of them were unaware
of it. When it is asked whether the banks are providing any
financial assistance for the same, 40% answered in affirmation
and rest of them showed their ignorance. The reality lies in
the fact that as provisions for accommodation fall under the
jurisdiction of the states, some of them made reservation
provision for the visually impaired and, accordingly, very
recently, the banks are also offering loans. But over the issue
of loans, the position was very critical so far as the visually
challenged are concerned. There was a time when the banks
used to shirk to provide loans to the visually impaired under
the guise that they have not been issued chequebooks. Very
recently, on the directions of the judiciary, the Reserved Bank
of India issued some directions through which the banks are
asked not to refuse the visually challenged persons from
providing loans.
As the physically challenged has to incur more money

than the unchallenged persons, there is a need to make some
such provisions through which this burden is shared by the
government. Keeping this in view, a question is asked to the
consumers, government agencies and the voluntary
organisations, is there any provision of conveyance allowance
as the part of salary of the visually challenged in the jobs in
government sectors, there was a unanimous reply in
affirmation. It is worth mentioning here that apart from this
provision, there is a practice to review it periodically.
Over the issue of free health care, a question is asked to

the consumers, 60% respondents told that the government
hospitals are almost free for everybody save the payment of
the card, so is the case with the visually challenged. In practice,
the above statement is true. But astonishingly, 40%
respondents showed their ignorance. This shows that there
is a lot of need of developing the consciousness.
In response to the question regarding the relaxation in

the income tax, 80% responded in affirmation and rest of the
respondents showed their ignorance. The reality lies in the
fact that there is an income tax rebate unlike South Africa
where one gets some rebate after producing the receipt of
the expenditures of certain items. Its limits changes on the
wishes of the government whenever the declarations are made
during the budget session of the Central Government.
As no mention was made of training of the visually

impaired while discussing about the employment, some
questions were asked to the voluntary organisations about
the provision for the special teachers training on different

levels to teach the visually challenged, i.e., primary level and
secondary level, a unanimous answer was in affirmation. This
is true that there are some regional centres and even the
National Institute for the Visually Handicapped is running
some special courses for providing special teacher training to
the sighted and visually challenged persons to teach the
visually impaired, but in the changing scenario, its prospect
is diminishing as the stress is changing from special education
to the integrated education and that is too, without incurring
any extra expenditure on the special teachers.
A set of questions were asked to the voluntary

organisations in terms of how the visually challenged make
use of leisure time or in other words, what is the source of
entertainment for the visually challenged. The voluntary
organisations, as was the case of South Africa, gave a list of
variety of sources of entertainment like listening radio,
enjoying indoor games like chess, cards, centre peg etc.,
outdoor games like cricket, foot ball, athletes etc. Over the
concession on fee on license for radio or television, a
unanimous answer was that there is no some charge any more
on all such things. Hence, the question of concession does not
arise.
Over the question of the existence of a cricket team for

the visually challenged in India, a unanimous answer was in
affirmation and it was also told that this team is playing at
the international level.
The voluntary organisations were asked about the

presence of a national sports council for the visually challenged
in India, 60% respondents gave an answer in negation and
rest of the persons showed their ignorance over this question.
In reality, such council is at the conceptual level and will take
its own time to be realised.
Some general questions were asked which ranges from

tine problems of the aged to the attitude of the family and
society. Over the question of the arrangement of the old age
homes for the visually challenged run by the government,
there was a unanimous negative answer from the voluntary

organisations but they informed that some such steps have
been taken by some of the organisations or federations
involved in the visual impairment section. Over the provision
of day care centres for the aged persons, 40% voluntary
organisations gave a negative answer and rest of the
organisations showed their unawareness.
Over the questions relating to the attitude of the society

and families, 60% of the voluntary organisations were of the
opinion that there is a mixed attitude of the society and family
towards the visually challenged whereas remaining
respondents have a divided opinion. 10% viewed that there
is a negative opinion of the society and because of which family
attitude is also affected and that is why the visually challenged
persons are either over protected or under protected. 30%
were of the view that there is a mixed attitude. It depends
what kind of family atmosphere one is having and what type
of society one is moving in.
In response to the question how far the atmosphere of

India visually impaired friendly, 20 respondents call it totally
unfriendly and rest of the persons pointed out some of the
provisions and steps taken by the government to make this
atmosphere friendly for the visually challenged persons. But
the reality lies in this fact that in the name of making
atmosphere friendly to the physically challenged, majority of
the work is done for the orthopedically handicapped and
nothing substantial has been done for the visually impaired.
This can be understood from the fact that nobody is taking
seriously the right of access to information for the visually
impaired which could be done without involving much
financial resource. This includes putting number in Braille on
the rooms, informing about the institute, having audible
signals on the crossing, audible signals for using the lift etc.
In the case of both the countries, it is needless to say

that mere copy of the West will not help and one has to make
Necessary adaptations as per the special need of the country
concerned. Whether it is liked or not, one cannot do away
with the rural areas of both the countries and one cannot
deny the fact that the majority of the visual impairment takes
place in the rurally dominant poor section of the society as
there is a link between poverty and visual impairment.
4.8 Role of the Voluntary Organizations in Influencing the

Policies for the Visually Impaired Persons
Pressure groups working in the form of organisations,

societies, federations or unions are known to be the 'invisible
empire' as, through the persuasion and pressure tactics, they
may be able to shape and share the policies of the government.
So, is desired from the organisations of and for the visually
challenged. Under this section, with the help of the responses
to the queries and with the help of the analysis, an attempt
will be made here to find how far these organisations which
are also known as voluntary organisations have shaped and
shared the policies for the visually challenged. Before making
such an attempt, it is pertinent to make a brief discussion of
some of the representative organisations of both the countries.
4.8.1 Organisations of and for the Visually Impaired Persons in South Africa
One of the important organisations in the field of the

visually challenge in South Africa is the South African National
Council for the Blind. It is an umbrella organisation which
has, in its fold, majority of the organisations and it has
branches in all provinces. "The establishment of the South
African National Council for the Blind (SANCB) came about
as a result of a conference which was attended by various
interested parties in Bloemfontein in July 1928. The concept
of a co-ordinating body of existing organizations for the blind
originated with Miss Josie Wood, then head of the Library
for the Blind in Grahamstown. This idea gained impetus
during discussions between Miss Wood and Rev Arthur
Blaxall, an Anglican Minister in Cape Town, and the latter
undertook to convene a conference. This entailed making
contact with various persons and organizations
countrywide."499 However, in real sense, this organisation
alTle in to existence in 1929. it is a project based organisation.

Apart from publishing a couple of thought-provoking and
^formative journals, it is running projects on prevention of tlie visual impairment under
the Bureau of the Prevention of
the blindness, variety of the training through Optima College,
call centre, placement scheme etc. It is an organisation which
is working as a channel of providing grant-in-aid to the
organisations and other institutions of and for the visually
challenged. It is needless to say that perhaps there is no area
relating to the visually impaired in which this organisation is
not taken into confidence.500
Coming into existence on October, 26,1946, South African

Blind Workers' Organisation, commonly known as SABWO
generally drawing its membership from the blacks of the
country. It is one of the organisations which have been
providing bursaries to the college-going students with visual
impairment since 1960. This is also a service-based
organisation and is mainly known for its Braille services since
1953, almost the time by which the first Braille Press in India
was established in Dehradun. It is also running the placement
scheme and has the honour of providing the training to the
first blind and settled him in the job of telephone operator in
1947. Not only this, it also pleaded for the secret ballot for
the visually challenged in the elections and could be realised
in 1993. It has changed its name to Blind SA in 2004. Hence, it
is an organisation which is serving multifarious interests of
the visually challenged.501
|j The South African Blind Youth Organisation (SABYO)
aims to mobilise persons with visual impairment and partial

vision in the 14-35 year age and to make them capable of
taking responsibility for their lives and future course of action.
It is aiming at promoting access to all levels of education,
promoting social integration, access to employment, HIV/
AIDS awareness, fostering personal development and
leadership and facilitating participation in sport and
recreational activities. The organisation also serves as a
consultative body on issues that concern visually challenged
III
and partially sighted youth. It is operating in the provinces

and at the regional level. SABYO is involved in develop^
and implementing training and action programmes. It serves
as an advocacy and lobbying forum of the visually challenged
and is retaining its head office in the campus of the South
African National Council for the Blind.
Mostly a Cape Town-based organisation which is known

as League of Friends of the Blind (LOFOB) which came into
existence in 1933 with a prime motto of supporting the visually
challenged in various ways. Its branches are situated in the
Cape Peninsula, Doornfontein, Johannesburg, Kimberley,
Uitenhage, Korsten and Port Elizabeth.
A unique organisation which was initially confined to

the KwaZulu-Natal and was developed by some South African
Indians is known as Natal Blind and Deaf Society. It came
into existence in 1936. It is one of the organisations which is
promoting the interest of both the visually and the hearing
challenged. It is a project-based organisation and is running
the projects on education, rural development, rehabilitation
workshops, child development, food gardens, chicken farming
etc. Very recently, some attempts were made to unite both
the Natal Blind and Deaf Society and the Natal Society for
the Blind, but such endeavours could not be materialised.
The Natal Blind and Deaf Society has enhanced its scope and
taken in its fold the members of other provinces.
4.8.2 Organisations of and for the Visually Impaired Persons

in India
If a chronological analysis of the organisations of and

for the blind in India is made, particularly, in the period of
the post-independent India, one has to start with the National
Association for the Blind (NAB), an agency organisation
comprised mainly of the sighted persons who wished to take
up the cause of the visually impaired out of a sympathetic
and benevolent attitude. NAB came into being in 1951. At
the same time, this is a project-based organisation and believes
in paper work so far as the persuasion is concerned for
convincing the government to take up one or the other policy
I
cox tJiis section. No doubt, at its initial stage, this benevolent

ojoup took some initiatives by way of engaging some of the
visually challenged in private sector and by running a
workshop for them. As they were nothing but a benevolent
croup, they were more interested in yesmanship proof of
which can be seen that when an agitation took place in the
early seventies of the last century in the workshop, it was
crushed badly and it is also learnt that when these persons
Hwere approached to support the pressure tactics, the answer
was that they hated to come on the road for jobs.502
Having its office in Mumbai (Maharashtra), at present,

it is having its branches no less than in 10 states in India. So
far as its projects are concerned, it is running Braille Press,
recording books library,, computer training programme and
school for the visually challenged. After the formation of the
World Blind Union (WBU), it is one of the representatives
from India. Prior to this, it was the member of the World
Council for the Welfare of the blind (WCWB), the then council
represented by the majority of the agency oriented
organisations of various countries.
Reacting over this approach, a new wave started in India

with the name of self-help or 'of the blind' organisations and
this wave were initiated by the Kerala Federation of the Blind.
Just after three years of its inception, this wave got a national
character by evolving a federation with the name of the
National Federation of the Blind (NFB). Historically speaking,
this federation was initially developed for the graduates with
the name of the National Federation of the Blind Graduates
(NFBG) but, seeing its impact, it was opened even for the
non-graduates as well and this experience made a topsy turvy
ft the history of the visually challenged within the span of a
decade.
Though, initially, the NFB was a project-based
Organisation, but the young leadership changed into a pressure
§ioup even at the cost of the opposition of the government
and predecessors. But after a decade, the same fervour could

of be maintained because of which it has to lay emphasis on
projects and casual pressure tactics. This change took place!

particularly, after 1995 because of the passing of an enactment
popularly known as PWD Act. Perhaps, the leaders felt that
the goal was achieved. But the picture of ten years reveals
this fact that this Act is also meant for haves who can approach
judiciary and spent money from their pockets.
At present, the NFB is having its head office in Delhi

and is running the projects like Braille Library, Braille press,
Placement scheme, couple of schools for the visually
challenged, soft loan scheme for self-employment etc. It is
also one of the representatives of the WBU from India though
before the existence of the WBU, it was the member of the
International Federation of the Blind (IFB), an international
organisation which was championing the cause of self-help.
One of the early organizations which existed in Delhi

and which worked quite a bit to press for the fulfillment of
the rights of the blind in the area of education and employment
is the National Blind Youth Association (NBYA). The NBYA
was set up in the year 1974 to work initially in the area of
launching a struggle for grater accommodations in the area
of higher education for the blind in the University of Delhi.
It initially focused on struggling for the rights of the blind in
the University like the demand for admissions to some
professional courses like Bachelor's of Education and ensuring
better opportunities at the higher education level which
included demanding for required equipments like tape
recorders, tapes for taping books and provision for readers
to read out books, transcribing of books in Braille, students
to write their exams in print etc. "I proposed National Blind
Youth Association as the name of the new association to the
members. I proposed this name due to certain reasons. Firstly,
there was no other federation or association by this name in
India. Secondly, I had discussed with the members of the
congress and I myself was the member of the congress; there
was another idea that we will get affiliated to Youth Congress
later on. Unfortunately, Sanjay Gandhi could not live longed
and you can say that my planning failed."503
So far as its membership is concerned, the membership this organisation was given to the
youth in the age group
f 18 to 40 with a view that even if a leader determines to
stay for a l°n§' ê âs to leave the Association at the time of
attaining this age. The emphasis on the youth was given with
Lthe aim of making the best use of the active and fertile age
for the service of the children, youth and old visually
challenged persons.
This Association had taken several issues ranging from
relaxation in hostel fee, opening of a Braille and Recorded
Books Library in Delhi University, fighting for the admission
in B.Ed., exhibiting the need of sports by organising sport
week for the visually challenged, so on and so forth, it tried
to touch upon almost all the issues in its own way.
Unfortunately, in the absence of proper institutionalisation,
this Association remained, during that period, as an 'anomic
group'. However, it was the first organisation which could
organise a rally of the students based in Delhi in the month
of August, 1978 in front of the Parliament with a big demand
charter which carried the demands relating to the education,
proper hostel facilities in schools and colleges, proper job
opportunities to the educated visually impaired etc. It had
also organised an agitation during the year 1984 which
continued for 158 days. However, it would be sufficient to
remark that the NBYA is still a pressure group despite the
fact that it has got an established office along with a hostel
for the blind in Delhi.
Prior to this, Jayathere were two main organisations which

were in existence and the base of both the organisations was
he college-going students. One was known as Akhil Bhartiya
Netraheen Vidyarthi Parishad (ABNVP) which could not be registered but came into
existence in the month of December, l972 under the leadership of Dr. Baldev Krishna,
Dr. R.M. Vyas, Shiv Mangal Singh Tripathi, and Dr. B.P. Yadav etc. As 1 s name
suggests, it seems to be on the tune of Akhil Bhartiya V'tyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the
wing of the then Bhartiya
nsangha. At least in Delhi, it was the period when opposition
to the Congress was equated with Bhartiya Jansangha, one

can find possibilities of having some such lineage. In fact, this
was not the case. It was an organisation which came into beino-to
fight the cause of the newly emerged college-going blind
students and it was perhaps the compulsion of the time and
situation that they were pleased with such a name.
The steps like taking up movements for the demands

for the admission in the college used to be taken in a secret
manner as it was treated as an indisciplinary step and the
then leadership did not use to support to those youngsters
who are under-graduates. Not only this, the then leadership
of the NFB which claimed to be the champion of the blind
used to oppose it. "On 21st May in 1972, Mr. Joginder Singh
Gosain, Baldev Krishna Sharma and Giridhari Lai went on
Hunger strike before Indira Gandhi. They, basically, did so
because they desired that they should get admission in
colleges. Mr. J.L Kaul spoke to Mr. Advani that few students
of Punchakuiyan road (Delhi) are doing strike. Mr. Advani
called Mr. Purushottam Das and he announced that whoever
would participate in the strike would be sent out of the school.
I had promised my friends that if they would participate in
the strike then I would too join them. Next morning I went to
Indira Gandhi's resident. At school, Mr. Purushottam Class
enquired about me and Mr. Mangal said that he has gone to
drop someone to the railway station. Masterji sent few people
to find out those who were participating in the strike. Mr.
Vyas suggested me that someone would surely come over
here, and if you can climb on Tamarind tree then take this
course. I did the same. Mr. Yashpal and other came and went
back. They reported the principal that Mr. Bharat was not
there. Mrs. Gandhi came and met us and she too said that 40
rupees was so less. Tell me how much do you want? Should
we fix it 150. We thought that at least that would be fine. VrShanti
Narayan was the dean of the colleges. She called hie1 at her resident. VC had also come
and she told them that it is very regrettable that blind people want to study and y°u don't
give them admission in colleges. If you will not give them admission then UGC grant
shall be cancelled. On hef
recommendation we got admission. We got hostel

accommodation as well. Thereafter we faced the problem of
paying two hundred rupees for hostel. Mr. JL Kaul was then secretary of NFB. He
opposed our facilities. We had told Mr.
Kaul that why do you want to stop our fund which is being
paid by government. They wanted that everybody should
aet the same amount."504 The inclusion of this episode in the
thesis is made with a purpose to show how the organisations
were developed and how seemingly petty issues used to be
important for these developing organisations.
This organisation could not stand for a long despite the

fact that it fought against the preconceived notions of the
blind like opposing the myth like blind couple will get blind
children to the extent that the publisher of the book in which
this statement was made was forced to delete it. Undoubtedly,
the attempts of this organisation wras almost at the infant level
and whatever basic work it was doing, it was, in the fittest of
the hour, supposed to be kept on record.
In opposition to ABNVP, there emerged an organisation
with the name of the National Students Organisation for the
Blind (NSOB). "Its constitution was developed in Delhi College
(now known as Zakir Hussain College). We were all students
and it was the wisdom of the students which gave birth to an
organisation which could fill the vacuum of ABNVP."505 Unlike
NBYA, this organisation did not have any political support
directly or indirectly. It took the same issues relating to the
problems of the college-going students who, incidentally,
happened to be the blind. It also took the issues relating to
the future of the educated blind and tried to find some scope
or the blind as a lecturer in the colleges. Of course, it was
the period when there was no reservation. Whosoever gets
the job as a lecturer happens to claim that due to his
extraordinary merit, he got the job. This was an illogical and

Casual remark. In most of the cases, it was per chance and
Perhaps due to fewer applicants, such casual happenings took
place-Unfortunately,
so far as the policy over this issue is
flcerned, no organisation could manage to get any success
until a promise is made in the People With Disability /\a With the passage of time, the
importance of such organisation
has withered away and that is why, for all practical purposes this organisation has been
shrunk.
There is another organisation which is active in India

and which, despite the fact that was a breakaway group of
the NFB due to the defeat in the elections of 1978 and
consequent developments, known as All-India Confederation
of the Blind (AICB). It is almost the same group which initiated
NFB in 1970, hence, it is an organisation with the new name
but old style. It is a project-based organisation which has
established its uniqueness by way of taking some projects for
the visually challenged women. But, unfortunately, the fervour
with which such projects were started, it is vanishing by and
by the reasons of which should best be known to the
organisation concerned and there is no need to make further
comments over it. The uniqueness of this organisation lies in
the fact that it does not have individual membership but the
membership is given to the organisations. AICB, though
registered at Hyderabad, is having its head office in Delhi.
Currently, it is running projects like Braille Press, school for
the visually impaired, placement scheme, training of computer
and stenography etc. Very recently, both NFB and AICB are
coming closer to take up some of the commonly accepted issues
together and the}' are seen on one forum during some of the
movements launched by the NFB.
civil
If a comparative analysis of the working of the

organisations of and for the visually challenged is made, itlS found that the organisations
of and for the visually impaired
in South Africa are more of the nature of pressurising through
suggestions and other paper work whereas such organisations
in India, in most of the cases, believe in adopting pressur m tactics by way of organising
movements which include strike idharnas,
rallies, gheraos etc. It is also found that such pressur
tactics, whether it is approved or disapproved by the
society, yielded positive result for them in terms of more ]

opportunities and better educational facilities.
4.9 The Impact of Globalisation on the Policy Perspectives

for the Visually Impaired Persons
This section will cover the meaning of the globalisation and the relevant aspects and its
influence on the policy
implementation in South Africa and India. However, in a
common parlance, this term is understood as a shrinking of
the world through the development of new information and
communicational technology and opening of the global market
by removing extraordinary barriers. Hence, it should also be
understood in terms of removing barriers for the physically
challenged in general and visually challenged in particular.
How far such understanding is true can only be seen by finding
the meaning of the globalisation and its implication on the
policy implementation on both the countries as per the
requirement of the research.
The term globalisation is described as "a state of the

world involving networks of interdependence at multi-continental
distances. These networks can be linked through
flows and influences of capital and goods, information and
ideas, people and force, as well as environmentally and
biologically relevant substances (such as acid rain or
pathogens)."506 This definition speaks of interdependence of
distant continents by various means. The terms globalisation
and deglobalisation refer to the decline or increase of the
globalism. It can also be contrasted with localism.
Globalisation can be of various kinds ranging from

economic to military. Economic globalism involves longdistance
flows of goods, services, and capital, and the
information and perceptions that accompany market
exchange. It also involves the organization of the
processes that are linked to these flows: for example, the
organization of low-wage production in Asia for the U.S. and
European markets. Indeed, some economists define
globalization in mere economic terms as "the transfer of
technology and capital from high-wage to low-wage
countries, and the resulting growth of labour-intensive Third
World exports."507
'340 Policy Perspectives for the Visually Impaired
Military globalism is known as long-distance networks

of interdependence in which force and the threat or promiSe of force, are employed. It
can be exemplified by the balance
of terror between the United States and the Soviet Union during the cold war. "Their
strategic interdependence was
acute and well recognized. Not only did it produce world-straddling
alliances, but either side could have used
intercontinental missiles to destroy the other within thirty
minutes. It was distinctive not because it was totally new,
but because the scale and speed of the potential conflict arising
from interdependence were so enormous."508
Environmental globalism amounts to the long distance

transport of materials in the atmosphere or oceans or of
biological substances such as pathogens or genetic materials
that affect human health. It includes the examples of the
depletion of the stratospheric ozone layer because of
ozone-depleting chemicals and human-induced global
warming.
Social and cultural globalism involves movements of

ideas, information, and images and of people who, of course,
carry ideas and information with them. Its examples can be
found in the movement of religions or the diffusion of
scientific knowledge. An important facet of social globalism
involves imitation of one society's practices and institutions
by others which are referred by some of the sociologists as
isomorphism.509 There can be some more examples of the form
of globalisation like political globalisation which can be a subgroup
of social globalisation. It refers to ideas and information
about power and governance. "It could be measured by
imitation effect (for example, in constitutional arrangements
or the number of democratic states) or by the diffusion of
government policies, or of international regimes."51 Generally, these types are
interwoven and may interact with
different types.
In contradiction to this, it is felt that "today's

globalisation is a neo-liberal offence which has appeared as the reality-a reality by
imposition from above not by
acceptance from below. This neo-liberalism projected

oiobalisation to secure the economic dominance has been
attempting for reduction of the role of state, fixing the
responsibility of government promotion of liberalization
through privatisation defining privatization and democracy
in unison, pressurizing for opening up of economy for free
trade and market activities. Hence, globalisation is an attempt
to integrate the local economy with global economy. Global
forces have mood fora 'global governance' by projecting world
as 'global village' through which entire world could be
converted into a global market. Emphasis is laid on the 'Good
Governance' rather than good government, which own the
developmental responsibility and social obligation inherent in
the mandate given by the people's participation in tine political
process."511
From this understanding, it follows that the pioneers of

globalization are aiming at removing all the hurdles "in the
way of free movement of capital. Therefore, the concept of
good governance by virtue of projects the content of
authoritarian and dictatorship in the functioning of states.
Thus, the emergence of non-democratic process on the part of
government is bound to occur. Globalisation has
multi-dimensional impact of negative nature, it is a factory of
fragmentation of social fabrics and goes beyond the economic
motives, which threatens the natural identity and sovereignty
of state."512
Globalisation is also equated with Americanisation as it

is, in most of the cases, America centric. But contemporary
globalization goes "faster, cheaper and deeper."513 Majority
of the policies relating to the globalisation are based on the
liberal attitude of America and on its direction. Main policies
relating to the globalisation like structural adjustment
Programme and dominance of the World Bank and
International Monetary Fund work on the direction of the
sole power after the end of the era of cold war. Exclusive
directions in the name of globalisation for structural adjustment are one of the factors
which need some elaboration
It!
particularly if it is desirable to see the impact of h

globalisation over the policies relating to the diverse sectin
This is a direction proposed for the developing countrie
under the guise of solving the economic problem. It is [U suggestion under this scheme to
cut the expenditures by
reducing the infrastructure of the government. It implies that
such means be adopted so that the cost of infrastructure can
be reduced.
The dictum of curtailment, being an economic dictum

will think in terms of profit and loss. Obviously, in all
probabilities, there are chances of this cut on all welfare
activities. Hence, the most affected activity will be the
programmes relating to the welfare, may it be the welfare of
the workers, diverse section, children etc. This will also
enhance the gap between saying and doing as no theory at its
verbatim can deny the welfare programmes but, in the name
of the economic loss, steps will be taken not to spend extra
money for such programmes. As a first step, there will be a
trend of shrinking in the jobs and, while taking this step, the
most affected segment used to be the diverse segment as it is
felt that the jobs are provided to them under the welfare
instinct despite the fact that they are performing the same
amount of work as others. For such preference, there will be
no reasoning but the preconceived notions of the society as
the major chunk of policy-makers and policy-implementers
belong to the non-diverse section.
On the basis of this analysis, it is felt that the onus of the

programme of both the states has changed. Whether it is
affirmative steps in case of South Africa or it is reservation in
case of India, in the event of shrinking of jobs in the
government sector, there is a necessary shrink in the chances
of the absorption of the visually impaired in it.
So far as the programmes relating to the education and

training are concerned, there are very few programmes being
run by the government of South Africa but in case of India/
there is a considerable decrease in the interest of the central
government because of which it tends to shirk from its
responsibility and delegates it to the voluntary organisations

fry way of giving some grant»in-aid social audit of which is
not the practice of the day.
Medical facilities are no exception to this because of which

the policies related to the prevention of the visual impairment
are affected in both the countries as it is virtually impossible
for a poverty-ridden visually impaired person to spend the
desirable amount in the private hospitals for their treatment.
Over this matter, both the countries are facing similar
problems. Hence, it can be said that globalisation has, so far
as the visually impaired persons and their problems are
concerned, a negative impact on them.
Alternative Policy Perspective for
the Visually Impaired Persons
If!
5.0 Introduction
As has already been mentioned in the earlier Chapters

that there is no exclusive policy for the all round development
of the visually challenged persons because of which some of
the persons went to the extent of saying that there is no policy
for them. It is clear that the policy for this segment of the
society is a part of major policy for the physically challenged
persons in India and diverse sections in South Africa. It is
also been mentioned that while in the former case, initially,
the source of such policy remained the directive principles of
the state policies because of which, at least, for two decades,
whatever was done was sheer ethical steps whereas in the
latter, the source of these policies became the 'no
discrimination' clause under the Constitution. It has also been
mentioned that the development of the policies for the visually
challenged persons in India took place in 1977 whereas some
such development started taking shape in South Africa after
the formal acceptance of its constitution. However, in both
the cases, the policy for the visually challenged persons
remained the part of major policy of either the physically
challenged persons or the diverse group. Due to this special
position, policies of the visually challenged persons of both
the countries have some shortcomings because of which the
desirable result in terms of all round development cannot be
achieved. Keeping this in view, this chapter will deal the
I
Policy Perspective for the Visually Impaired Persons 345
alternative policy perspectives for the visually challenged

persons and some related problems. The process of policy-making
involves various sections of the people like
bureaucrats, i.e., policy-makers and its implementers;
voluntary organisations to express the standpoint of the
consumers or beneficiaries; impact of the international
agencies and, last but not the least, the views of the experts
in the field.
Before dealing with various actors of the policies, it is

pertinent here to mention that the discussion about policy for
the visually challenged is concerned with theoretical problems
relating to reaching to the unreachable, the concept of Daridranarnynn (the poor is the
God) or antyodaya (development of
the persons belonging to the last ladder) popularised by some of the Socialists of India
base of which can be traced to the concept
of general will propounded by Rousseau where it was
suggested that the real will of each and everyone should be
taken into consideration while developing any policy. Though
in the modern age such things are possible to a greater extend
and if not, similar role can be played by the voluntary
organisations of a given segment of the society. As has already
been stated that the provision of the policies pave way to the
rising expectations as there uses to be gap between policy-formulation
and policy implementation due to so many
reasons ranging from ignorance to vested interests in terms
of how far one has a role in electoral politics as both the
systems under study are democratic so far as the form of
government is concerned. If the pressure groups of the
concerned segment are active, there are all chances of push and pulls between the
government and the voluntary
organisations which are nothing but the pressure groups. The
role of such pushes and pulls play a conspicuous part in the
development of the policy.
Such policies are also to be understood in terms of the

realisation of the dream of the constitution-makers as the
Policies, even if formulated to reveal the welfare character of
the state, find its source in the Constitution. If the constitution
IS
ir
of both the states under study are critically analysed, both of

them are touching upon the principle of equality and justice
The moment it speaks about the 'equality for all', whether it
is exclusively mentioned or not, it is bound to cover the
persons with physical challenge in general and the visually
challenged persons in particular. The difference lies in the
fact that the Constitution of South Africa makes an exclusive
reference of physically challenged (disabilities) in its no
discrimination clause. Such exclusive reference adds the
special consideration of a state but does not justify that another
state has not included this segment in its orbit. Of course,
this does not compel that state to necessarily include those
segments of society in its policy-making about which no
description is made in the Constitution. It also tells about the
priority of the Constitution-makers. From that viewpoint, the
priority of India was not the physically challenged persons.
If this is accepted, it is a viable question how then the
bureaucrats of India could take up the problems of the
physically challenged persons including the visually impaired
persons during the initial two decades. Its reason can be traced
from the preamble of the Indian Constitution and some of
the provisions for this segment made in the Directive Principles
of the State Policies description of which was made in the
previous chapters. However, it is worth mentioning that when
the preamble of the Indian Constitution says: "We, the people
of India" it denotes all the people of the country whether
they are physically challenged or with no challenge
whatsoever.
As has already been stated that it touches the question

of equality and justice, despite the fact that the days have
gone when equality used to be understood in the absolute sense and the maxim of
'equality amongst the equals' has
been theoretically accepted irrespective of the impact of
globalisation. This is a different question that due to impact
of the globalisation, social issues are being side tracked in
the name of its being non-profitable or extra burden on the economy description of which
has been made in the previous
chapter. In the light of the description made in the previous
Policy Perspectives for the Visually Impaired Persons 347
paragraphs, it is pertinent to know the viewpoint of various

-tors to find some alternative perspective not just for the
,elfare of the visually challenged persons but for the purpose
f making them a useful segment of the society.
For this purpose, semi-structured interviews are made

;>r which five bureaucrats of each state and 25 representatives ¦om five organisations of
and for the visually challenged
ersons from each state are being taken. For the convenience
f research, the respondents of South Africa will be termed s 1 and the respondents of
India will be treated as 2. As
lere are two types of respondents, namely, the bureaucrats
nd the representatives of the organisations of and for the
isually challenged, these will be termed as 'a' and 'b'
espectively.
.1 Outlook of the Bureaucrats
Governments are changed as it is a part of democracy

ut bureaucracy remains the same. It is this bureaucracy which
/orks as a chain for the development of any system
respective of any democratic change. It is a mechanism which
lot only works as policy-maker but also constitutes a main
nechanism of its implementer. Despite this fact that the
iffspring of any policy uses to be the legislative assembly of
ny nation, but how a policy is supposed to be introduced
nd what kind of language is given to the policy is the
>rerogative of the bureaucracy. It is the bureaucracy which
)oints out the government what is within the law and what
ire its limitations. Hence, while discussing about any policy,
ts formulation and implementation, one has to analyse the
'pinion of the bureaucracy. As the subject matter of this
hapter is the alternative policy for the visually challenged
'ersons, it is pertinent to understand how this issue is being
°oked at by the bureaucracy of both the countries. Moreover, is the problem of the
visually challenged persons is almost
he same in both the countries, this matter will be discussed ft a general way so that it may
suit the need of both South
Africa and India.
Whenever there is a discussion over the problems of the

ûuvumûuuuiiuu ikiii
persons with physical challenge in general and the visuan ,"

impaired persons in particular, first and foremost concern j"
shown about how this could he cured. For the practical
purposes, this problem is divided into two parts: the curable or preventable challenge and
incurable or non-preventable
challenge. There is no one who can deny this fact that the^l
preventable challenges should be prevented and so is the case^l
with the visual challenge. That is why a need was felt to
develop a policy for the prevention of the preventable visual
impairment description of which has been made in Chapter
III. It is also witnessed that the money spent on the prevention
is not yielding the desirable result in both the countries because of which it is felt to
rethink over this issue and find
whether there is a need to substantiate this policy with new
ideas or it is necessary to be changed in totality.
It is felt that "as majority of the bureaucrats are born

and brought up in the urban environment, there is a need of
involving some representatives from the rural areas so that
their problems can be understood and a realistic policy can
be developed. Similar representation is supposed to be given
to the rurally-based people while implementing it."514
This view advocates the philosophy of the involvement

of the sufferer and even the last man of the society may it be
through their representation. It becomes necessary because
without knowing the real picture of the problem, the policy
will remain an ivory towered discussion. In any democratic
set up, there is a chain of administration from top to bottom |
and village heads can be used to represent the village folks.
This will have twofold effects: first, it will develop a sense of
participation even at the level of villages and secondly, it will
help in removing the superstition as the message will go that
there are some other remedies to prevent the visual
impairment. This will also reduce the unnecessary dependence
on Sangomas and priests.
There are many diseases relating to the visual impairment
which are time consuming and involving a lot of finance-Hence,
"there is a need of developing such a policy which
Policy Perspective for the Visually Impaired 349
facilitates these patients free of cost."515 This can be a boon at

least to those who cannot approach hospital due to the scarcity of fund. But this will be a
burden on the finance of the state.
u iS a question of choice between the financial loss and the
increase of the visual impairment. It is proposed that "the
state may find other ways to recover this loss. There is no
rationale of increasing the number of the preventable visual
impairment in the want of funds."516
There is a need of educating the people at large about

the visual impairment and "it is strongly felt that the onus of
the policy for the prevention of the visual impairment is more
on treatment than on educating the mass at large about its
causes and effects. Hence, there is a need of developing such
a policy which involves the educational aspect of this problem
and make use of the voluntary organisations for this
purpose."517 Hence, these problems can be made part of the
syllabus at different levels with a provision that a question
will be asked from this section so that the teacher is also bound
to teach it. It is generally witnessed that despite the
involvement of such issues in the syllabus, these are
sidetracked in the name of unimportant chapters.
™Over the operation of the cataract, it is proposed that

"There should be the provisions of follow-up and monetary
support in case of cataract operation so that the patient need
not have to go to the work just after the operation as in such
cases, there are all chances of the failure of the operation in
want of proper rest."518It is generally found that the cataract
operations are either done in bulk or by a team moving for
this purpose. In such cases, in the absence of no followup work or in the absence of no
monetary support, these patients c°uld not be cured because they have to go for their
work as
êir families are dependent upon their daily earning. Under

|"e given circumstances, there is no remedy or solution but
provide a support base which can either be given by the
Timunity or by some such provision cited above.
Over the policy on the education for the visually impaired s°ns, it is proposed to devote
separate section for the
visually and hearing impaired persons as these are only tw sections which need special
care. "Casual references as mac)
in People With Disability Act or in the White Paper 6, cannot
be taken seriously."510 So far as the visually challenged persons
are concerned, there is a need of detailed description of Braille ¦
and the way of teaching to them while laying down policies
for their education. There is an exclusive need of monetary
arrangements along with fee concessions at all levels and
subsidised equipments for the education of the visually
challenged persons as their education is costlier than the
ordinary students.
"In case of India, there is a need of the inclusion of the

problems of the low vision students while formulating the
educational policies for the visually challenged persons as they
can neither be adjusted with the visually impaired people nor
with the sighted."520 This is a unique problem of the persons
with low vision which is generally not being given due care.
If they join normal school, they are forced to adapt themselves
with the black board because cf which they could not cope
with them and loose their rank. If they join the special school,
they are forced to learn Braille despite of their ample vision
to read magnified alphabets. Even in the absence of proper
technique, they use to lag behind. Of course, such cases are
not the regular practice for which one may think in terms of
developing infrastructure in each and every school but "a
couple of schools in each district can be earmarked for such
students to pay the desired attention."521
The concept of integrated education, despite its

humanitarian rationale and despite its economic viability/lS a fake concept if the policy
about it fails to speak anything abou
the provision of solving the problem of the visually impair
persons. There is a need of developing the standard of f1 school in such a way as they
may be made capable oi
understanding the problems faced by them. For all practic purposes, as it is an
impracticable proposition for all sch°0 ¦
there is a need of delegating this responsibility to a couple schools in one district so that
the impediments in the educa
for the visually challenged persons can be removed. So far as

teaching Braille or learning arithmetics is concerned "which
cannot be taught in the ordinary environment of the class, needs a special teacher for this
purpose."522
When there is a policy of retaining both the systems

simultaneously, there are negligible chances that the special
schools may provide their services as a resource person to
the inclusive schools. "It would be better to make use of the
services of the visually challenged persons for this purpose."523
Basic purpose behind any policy for the diverse section
is to bring it in the mainstream, not as a charity but with a
view to use its strength in the nation-building process. This
needs a positive attitude to realise the latent potentials of a
particular group. It should not be a window dressing only
but it should be a positive support. Keeping this in view, both
the countries adopted different patterns but could not succeed
in providing ample jobs even in the government sector. Is it
due to die fact that there is something wrong with the policy?
Or, is it due to the fact that there are some problems with its
implementation? If yes, does it mean that the wrong policies
are yielding wrong results? In fact, both the countries have
different types of experiences on which the policy relating to
the employment for the visually challenged persons is

formulated. This is true that in case of India, it was the strong
feeling of the policy-makers that there had been a legacy of
unequal treatment with some castes in the society but they
did not presume any disparity on the basis of physically
challenged. Perhaps, such presumption was beyond their
thought as such discussions were not in the air or perhaps,
*is was a scattered minority and could not play any role in
foe democratic politics. As majority of the constitution-makers
Were representing the elite class, it would be wrong to call
"ern innocent and ignorant about the use of the physically
nallenged persons in general and persons with visual
^pairment m particular. Whatever the case may be, this is
le fact that this segment of society was sidetracked from the
Rework of reservation. Some historical events, detail of

which is given in Chapter III, led to the declaration of 30,

reservation in 'C and 'D' categories of posts and later on >
was accepted in all posts with the appendage of a word
'identified'.
On the other hand, South African policy-makers

preferred another discourse. They made it clear in their
Constitution that no discrimination will be made on the basis
of physically challenged but while talking about the
preferential treatment, all the diverse sections were clubbed
together. Had there been no provision of unemployment
allowance, the situation must be critical in South Africa so far
as the visually challenged persons are concerned. It is felt
that "some remedy should be given to the persons with visual
challenge by which they can be assured of some space in the
employment. This is true that some of the visually impaired
persons are engaged in the private sector but, in majority of
the cases, they have been included out of the wilful attitude
of the concern. No law forces them and in the absence of any
law or compulsion, such wilfulrtess cannot work everywhere.
Hence, there is a need of the inclusion of some such clauses
by which the government agencies be forced to leave some
space for their absorption in the jobs as majority of them come
from the poor section and it is virtually impossible for them
to stand in the competitive market."524
This is true that this preferential treatment is given in all

jobs excluding defence, medical field and so on to the
physically challenged persons which include the visually
challenged persons in its fold, "but it would be better if some
efforts, at least at the initial stages, be made to enlist some of
the probable jobs for them which could have facilitated the
government to think in terms of their absorption at least in
some such jobs. Undeniably, the identification closes other
venues if the list is not positively updated, but this earmarks
may also yield some positive results."525
In Indian context, the clubbing of all physically challeng

persons poses problems despite the fact that there is a r°s system. The non-availability
clause and consequent nlU
change paves the way to do whatever the head of the

department deems fit irrespective of the fact that he is upposed to seek permission from
the personnel department. to find the reality, one is supposed to approach the court
vvliich is beyond the reach of the ordinary visually challenged
person. Hence, "There is a need to include such clauses
through which the administrator is forced to retain a specific
job for the specific category for a longer period as is happening
in case of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. At the
same time, some clause is supposed to be included by which
the administrators be forced to update the identified posts
after three years failing which they should be penalised. In
the absence of any penalty, there are doubts of such rules
being followed seriously and sincerely as the scattered
minority has no say in the democratic set up."526
There is a difference of opinion over these two issues,

i.e., merit and identification. The merit is understood in
contrast with reservation. The supporters of the merit are of
the view that the reservation is a hindrance over the open
competition and, thereby, is anti-merit whereas the supporters
of the reservation are of the view that the persons who are
involved generally in the implementation of such policy are,
in majority of the cases, ridden by preconceived notions,
prejudices and ignorance about the potentials of the
segment under question. This necessitates the provision of
reservation in the absence of which such people are
overlooked and fail to contribute their worth in the nation-building
process.
Over the issue of identification, it is strongly felt that it restraints the potentials of the
people for whom such
'êntification is made. But such identification becomes necessary at least for those who
are totally unaware of the
' s which can easily be performed by visually challenged
P^sons. This ignorance leads to overlooking and reduces the
¦ ar)ce of getting jobs. Until and unless the bureaucrats are

¦ y socialised about the capabilities of the visually challenged s°ns, there is a need
of such identification and, at the same
I
time, there is a need of its being regularly updated keeping

in view the development of new skills and techniques. ft
Over the issue of rehabilitation, it is felt that "in the

given circumstances, as rehabilitation involves a lot of issues
it is necessary to correlate it with the economic conditions of
a state. However, there is a need of special provisions on
some issues like barrier-free environment, access to
information etc. as it means differently to the differently
challenge."527 However, the economic limitation should not
be an excuse in this regard. Keeping this in view, "there is a
need of two types of planning: first, there should be a planning
for the present and second, there should be a future planning
and such provisions are supposed to be made by which the
state may be compelled to take steps for the materialisation
of the present planning."528
In sum, it can be stated that the present policy of both

the states needs to be altered in terms of adding some
provisions. It is also emphasised that there is a need of
exclusive provision for the visually challenged persons as
within the physically challenged groups, it is the most
vulnerable in terms of the attitude about their potential and
this follows a chain of practices which make this segment more
excluded. It is this concern which should be a guiding force
for any policy-maker.
5.2 Outlook of the Voluntary Organisations
the
the
policies, common views will not be discussed to avoid
iI
As had already been stated in Chapter IV that the

voluntary organisations of any country work as a channel
between the consumers and the government. So is the case
with the voluntary organisations of and for the visually
challenged of both the countries. It is also mentioned in the introductory section of this
chapter, for this purpose 5
representatives from each organisation is taken and on the whole, five organisations from
each country have bee selected. Hence, it is a selected group of 25 respondents fr°^
each country. It is also worth mentioning that due to
similarity of the viewpoint over the issues relating to
repetitiveness. The idea of giving their views on the policies

for the visually challenged persons is to highlight the issues
involved in it and give some representative views over the
alternative policy.
Over the issue of the policy relating to the prevention, it

is expressed that "If the government needs the partnership
of the voluntary organisations over this matter, considering
the fact that it is bound to reframe its infrastructure by sharing
such responsibilities with other section of the people in this
field, there is a need of giving a financial support base to the
voluntary organisations so that such responsibility can be
shared."529 Of course, this is a positive attitude of the
voluntary organisations under the changing circumstances.
This is a debatable question how far these issues will be taken
seriously.
The issue touched upon in the previous paragraph is a

participatory issue and needs a further clarification. The issue
like prevention is supposed to be taken seriously and, without
the involvement of the qualified persons with the voluntary
organisations, cannot be given easily to them even in the name
of sharing the responsibility. Hence, there is a need of
qualitative assessment of the organisation or a set of
organisations. So far as the inclusion of some such provision
is concerned, there is nothing wrong but such step needs a
careful examination. By saying this, the idea is not to doubt
the integrity of the voluntary organisation, but over such issue,
there is a need of the inclusion of provisions which are
carefully examined as this is not an ethical work.
Over the issue of integrated education, it is viewed that

"without providing sufficient infrastructure for the visually
challenged persons, it is useless to implement this policy. As
Majority of the stake holders are from the poor section of
society, it is not possible for each and everyone to adjust in
the mainstream schools."530 This is an issue because of which
Majority of the visually challenged students are still depending uPon the special schools
as such schools are bound to give
Minimum infrastructure in favour of these students in the
absence of which they find themselves to be segregated and

overlooked.
Over the issue of unemployment allowance, the

representatives of both the countries supported it because of
the fact that there uses to be a gap between the completion of
education and training and the absorption in a job. In the
absence of no sheltered workshop and due to the negative
attitude of the parents, the lives of the visually impaired
persons become helpless and, at this juncture, "there is no
better help than unemployment allowance which should be a
support base rather than a charity."531 As has already been
mentioned in Chapter IV that so far as the provisions of the
unemployment allowance in South Africa is concerned, it is
given equally to all the unemployed visually challenged
persons but in India, this varies from state to state. As it is a
problem of survival and this is an issue which does not
have anything to do with the citizenship of this or that state,
there is a need of developing a uniformed policy over this
issue.
It also touches upon the issue of disinterest of the

recipient of such support. Undoubtedly, there may be some
cases of this type but in the majority of the cases, any well-educated
and duly trained person will wish to use his
potentials if chances are awarded. As policies are formulated
in the larger interest, there is a need that some such provision
should be included in the policy for the visually challenged
persons.
It is also felt that "there is a need of separate policy for

the visually challenged persons so far as their employment
problem is concerned in the absence of which there is no chance
of justice as the society does not have positive attitude
towards them and there are all fears that they will be side
tracked due to these notions."532 In an age of the cut throat
competition, there is a need of exclusive provision for the
visually challenged persons so far as their employment is
concerned.
As rehabilitation is a wider issue, variety of views was

eXpressed. For the convenience of the research, their gUcrgestions are given hereunder:
n\ As all visually impaired persons cannot join either the

official work or as a school teacher, there is a need of
making provision of training as a skilled or semiskilled
worker. This training may be imparted either within the
mainstream training centres by providing necessary infrastructure or arrangements be
made to give training
in the special training centres for which the use of
voluntary organisations can also be made by providing
ample financial support base.
(ii) The provisions should be made to fix a quota in the

allotment of the accommodation and for this purpose a
direction be given to the banks to be liberal about
providing financial support for this purpose.
(iii) Special provisions should be made for a barrier free

atmosphere for the visually challenged persons bearing
their special impediments in mind.
(iv) The policy should* include the issue of access to the

information in all matters so that not only the lives of
the visually challenged persons are made smoother, they
can also be given chance to play their interactional role.
"The cost in this regard is very meagre and there is no
point for an administrator to make excuse under this
guise."533
If the government finds it difficult to run old age homes

for the visually challenged persons, proper support base
should be provided by the government to the voluntary
organisations so that such care can be taken of.
Such provisions should be incorporated so that the aids

and appliances for the visually challenged persons,
persons with low vision and later aged visually impaired
persons can be purchased at the subsidised rates.
(vii) There is a need of including a provision of exemption in
the license fee, if any, for television, radio and other
means of entertainment.
Ill
I!
(viii) If full concession cannot be provided in bus, train and

air travel, there is a need of making such provisions of
some concession as the lives of the visually challenged is costlier than others.
In sum, the suggestions given by the voluntary I

organisations are generally admitting the limitations of the
government and these organisations wish to play a participatory role if proper financial
support is provided by
the government to develop necessary support base to provide
various facilities. This is, of course, a constructive attitude of
the voluntary organisations of and for the visually challenged
persons of both the countries. However, there is a need of
the provision of social audit while facilitating these
organisations in the absence of which such schemes may not
give the desirable results to its consumers.
5.3 Outlook of the Experts in the Field of Visual Impairment
Though there is no exclusive expert opinion over the

problems of the visually challenged, whatever attempt is made
by some of the experts in the field is nothing but taking the
physically challenged persons altogether despite the feeling
that "Each child's unique needs would be met through a tailor-made
programme."534 As this is not practicable under the given
circumstances and there is a need to group these problems.
Hence, it can be said that one has to derive from the opinion
of the experts regarding the physically challenged persons.
Generally, there is a tendency of borrowing the ideas
from abroad and including them in the policy of a country.
There is a group which is of the view of indigenisation of the
policy. Every country has its uniqueness and it is necessary
for the policy-makers to take this uniqueness in consideration
while developing a policy. That is why, it is said that "One
cannot hope to solve the problem of rehabilitation of disabled
by 'Xerox-copying' technologies developed in the West. They
are inappropriate and too expensive, Most of the aids and
appliances used to rehabilitate our disabled are not accessiWe to our people and also not
affordable by them. Experience
I
has taught us that blind uncritical importation of designs

developed in Western countries into the Eastern countryside
may prove to be totally inappropriate. Our life styles, our
functional needs, our climatic conditions, our barefoot
walking, our squatting on the ground, all these require an
innovative approach to the design of aids for the disabled in
our country."535
This indigenisation can be equated with the traditionalism

and may be treated as anti-modern. In fact, there is a
difference between indigenisation and traditionalism.
Indigenisation demands for adaptation as per the need of the
nation concerned. It can be exemplified by a developmental
process in which initially a machine is imported but, keeping
in view the economic constraints of the consumers, attempts
are made to make it duty free. With the passage of time,
efforts are made to ifnport the parts of the machine and
assemble it in the country to reduce the cost further more.
With the passage of time, the same or similar machine is being
manufactured indigenously. It is this process which has
something to do with indigenisation. This is true that while
laying down any policy, one has to consider the limitations
and specific need of the nation concerned.
Another concerned issue of the policies for the physically

challenged persons in general and visually challenged persons
in particular is the attitude of the bureaucrats while
formulating a policy. The moment one starts thinking about
the physically challenged, particularly, about the visually
impaired persons, it is treated as a liability to take care of
and, while doing so, the policy-makers reduce them to a
'handicapped',536 a receiving entity or a non-contributory poor
guy. This is a wrong and gone by attitude and needs to be
changed. This attitude is the part of the medical model
description of which is made in Chapter III. However, it is
pertinent to mention that this attitude includes the issues like
how far one can walk, how he can eat despite his visual
impairment, how far he can perceive the object, so on and so
f°rth. In contrast with it, there is a view of having 'no pity'.
537
It is not only a message for the beneficiaries to express their

rightful views but a message for the policy-makers to develop
a policy without showing any unnecessary compassion to the
physically challenged persons in general and visually
challenged persons in particular. This is a call for developing
a policy through which the segment can be integrated in the
society. This integration is not just inclusion, but inclusion
with the dignity of the segment, acceptance of their virtue
and contribution. It means "not just a goal for a few with the
mildest disabilities but a feasible and common good and a
right for all."538 This interactional and participatory approach
of policy-making and implementing calls for a movement of
self-advocacy which is only possible if the representation is
given to the aggrieved group. This can develop the sense of
involvement which can be seen in various committees of both
the governments where the representation is used to be given
to the organisations of and for the visually challenged persons
and other categories of the physically challenged.
The acceptance of the participatory role of the physically

challenged in general and the visually challenged persons in
particular opens a vista for playing a role by the protagonists of self-advocacy. Its height
can be seen in the ideas like
'nothing about us without us' and that becomes the title of
two famous writers: one from the United States and other
from South Africa. These books emphasise the necessity of
the role of the physically challenged persons in general and
visually challenged persons in particular while formulating
policies for them.
In sum, it can be stated that the experts in the field of

the policies relating to the visually challenged persons in
particular and the physically challenged persons in general
are of the view that there is a need of indigenisation of the
policies which can not only think about the specific need as
per the atmosphere of the country but also take into
consideration its cost effectiveness. There is a need of
democratisation of the policy-making process. This will pave
the way for the involvement of the affected segment of the
society. This process will make integration a realistic and

practical. Hence, the experts in this field wish to direct how
such policies should be formed and what should be the aim
of such policies. These are some of the basic questions about
which the experts gave their opinion. It is this fundamental
question upon which the whole policy is rested.
5.4 Expectations of the Concerned International Agencies
As has already been discussed in Chapter III that the

policies for the persons with physical challenge in general
and the visually challenged persons in particular are influenced
by the directions of the international agencies and in this
direction, vital role is played by the United Nations. As the
emergence of this agency revolves around the issue of human
rights and as the problems of the diverse sections are covered
under this fold, its impact is self-evident. Irrespective of the
fact that both the countries are having their educational
programmes in the field of the visual impairment in existence
from 19th century, the dependence over UNICEF and other
agencies of the UN is witnessed just after a couple of years of
its existence.
As the United Nations make several declarations time

to time, its members are supposed to be active to show their
allegiance, these two countries under research also remained
no exception to it except over the declaration of the
International Year for the Disabled Persons. Due to some
internal problems, South Africa could not observe this year
in 1981 and the same was observed by it in 1986. So was the
case with the declaration of the International Decade for the
Disabled Persons. However, both the countries followed the
slogan of the equal participation, details of which can be found
in Chapter III. In this regard, most important role was played
by Economic and Social Commission for Asia Pacific in its
meeting which took place at Beijing on 1st to 5th December
1992 with a view to launch the Asian and Pacific Decade of
disabled Persons from 1993 to 2002. A resolution was adopted
^ this meeting for full participation and equality of people
îth disabilities and it is this resolution and the subsequent
developments in India which paved the way for the enactment

of The Persons With Disabilities (Equal Opportunities
Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act which is
known, in common parlance, as PWD Act. Undoubtedly
similar declaration was made in 1981 but, due to the stron»
feeling that a lot is needed to be done in Asia, such resolution
was adopted at the regional level.
Furthermore, this concern became more exhibits when a

space is given to the physically challenged persons in nondiscriminatory
clause of the Constitution of the Republic of
South Africa. This is a question which is purely related with
the concept of equality and the commitment to this concept is
seen even in the Indian Constitution in its article 14-18 but
while making specific reference to various segments of the
society, it fails to refer physically impaired persons
irrespective of the fact that India is known for its commitment,
may be at the verbal expression, through the dictum of Vasudhaivhitiinibakam (the world
is a family). How far the
world is a family is a debatable question when one finds that
there is an inhuman behaviour for certain castes. It seems
that this dictum would have been an ideal -- an ideal which is
not supposed to be achieved but supposed to be work as a
guiding star.
It is the same tenth decade in which the idea of

globalisation started taking its shape which has been talking
only in terms of profit and loss and reducing the state from
welfare to almost a police state of 19th century with all ideal
jargons. It is this contradictory position in which one has to
see the expectations of the global agencies and its
implementation.
The international agencies are expecting to make the

physically challenged people which include persons with visual
challenge as well an equal member in the society so that it can
participate in the developmental process of the nation. How
the visually challenged segment can gets equal treatment until
and unless the state is prepared to equip it with proper
education and employment. This cannot be done without the
use of economic sources, and the international dictum

1 propagates about the structural adjustment programme which
directs to adjust one's economy by way of curtailing one's

1 expenditures. In a common practice, in the name of curtailment,
Iit is the welfare programme expenditure of which is used to

be curtailed as welfare is never considered a necessity.
¦ If something has to be followed in any case, the other
J strategy in the name of Structural Adjustment Programme is

^ to give such programmes on contract and in case of welfare
I programme, give it to the voluntary organisations. Over such
issues, even the international agencies also come forward to
assist such programmes financially. So far as the superficial
analysis is concerned, it seems a justified step as it enhances
the involvement -- even the involvement of the international
agencies. But, leave aside the casual studies, no social auditing
whatsoever uses to be made of such programmes and in the
absence of a critical study from the viewpoint of the
consumers or the beneficiaries, the story on the receiving end
remains untold and unfolded. If nothing is known about the
group for which these programmes are being taken, what
kind of equality has been tried to achieve at is self-explanatory.
In the absence of implementation of the programmes

relating to the education and employment, there are lesser
chances of bringing this segment of the society at equal footing
and in the absence of equality, how the ideal of full
participation is achieved is a point to ponder.
This is not only true for the visually impaired persons

but is true for all diverse sections concern about which is
shown in the Constitution of South Africa and India. In fact,
. this is a vicious circle. One needs finance to implement the
I programmes relating to education and training so that they
can be equipped with playing their participatory role and the
Structural Adjustment Programme which is a tool of M globalisation directs to check
one's finances. To solve this,
provisions are made of the financial support by Internationa]
Monetary Fund or by the World Bank. Generally, this is used
to be a conditional support which involves the way of usino

and repayment in which no direction uses to be given in favour
of the welfare programmes as it is not possible to get benefit
from them. Under such conditions, the concepts like integrated
education, unemployment allowance or special benefit to the
private sector if they absorb a particular number of the
diverse sections are floated. In the real sense, all these
concepts are temporary solutions and there is a need to make
its further explanation.
In the name of reducing the cost of infrastructure, the

concept of integrated or inclusive education was floated by
giving a human touch that the visually challenged persons in
particular and physically challenged persons in general may
get education in the homely atmosphere. There is no difference
of opinion on it. But, without proper environment and
facilities, such suggestion is nothing but imagination. It will
be a burden for a teacher as he is supposed to cope with the
physical or mental challenge and it will affect the atmosphere
of the class as they have to adapt and adjust themselves with
a couple of physically challenged persons. Mere training and
adjustment is insufficient in their case. Some of them need
special training to learn reading, writing and rhetorics and,
more so, they need special aids and appliances. This is true
that a village level school cannot understand these needs and
even their finances are not sufficient enough to fulfil such
requirement.
A solution of the employment of the physically

challenged persons in general and visually challenged persons
in particular is found in two ways. First of all, the policy is
laid down to provide them an unemployment allowance which
is nothing but supposes to be the solution of the crisis period
when they finish their studies or training and wait for their absorption in the mainstream
as a contributor in the form of
a worker. So far as a temporary solution, there is nothing
wrong with it but if this is treated as a permanent solution, it
is against the dictum of making them the participatory member
and will be nothing but a kind of window dressing. This wiU
iake them 'handicap' in real sense. It is even against the

i^ciple of mainstreaming the diverse sections and makes
j,js marginalised section more marginalised.
Other solution of this problem is approaching the private

sector for their absorption by giving them some incentives.
Such provisions were thought about by both the countries.
But, in practice, there are couple of private concerns which are coming forward
irrespective of the fact that they had been
threatened for the penalty. No government can compel the
private entrepreneurs and it is found that in most of the cases,
they are reluctant to absorb the physically challenged persons
so easily. In case of the visually impaired person, the situation
is worse as due to the attitudinal barriers and under the
pretext of the financial constraints to provide conducive
atmosphere, they shirk to absorb him. Hence, in case of the
visually impaired persons, the position is very critical as due
to the shrinking of the jobs in the name of the Structural
Adjustment Programme, there are lesser chances for them
and private sector is reluctant in this case, what can be the
solution. Hence, it is a vicious circle which finds no solution
but beating about the bush by providing unemployment
allowance or by harping about the self-employment for which
there is no liberal financial support in real sense.
In the name of sharing the responsibility and in the name

of reducing the cost of structure, a trend is develop to give
the task on contract and so is done in case of the physically
challenged persons by giving a grant-in-aid for the service
oriented or employment generating projects. Generally, there
s nothing wrong in decentralising the funds but so far as the
role of the voluntary organisation is concerned, in the absence
of expertise and in the absence of social auditing, such sharing raises lot of questions.
Moreover, the parameters of salary ar>d other service conditions are generally below the
average ecause of which it becomes difficult to find qualified persons H'hich, in turn,
affect the quality of the project.
In sum, it can be stated that there is a contradiction

etween what 1S expected by the international agencies in
terms of the programmes for the physically challenged person

in general and the visually challenged persons in particu]a and the dictum of
globalisation. This widens the gap between
the elite section and the ordinary members of this segment as
the affluent group due to their own support base may take
up some self-employment or may become one of the member
of an}' private sector and paves the way for the policy-makers
to cash his or her name but, in real sense, it makes the situation
more despicable and the reason for no substantial progress
in this field is nothing but this vicious circle. It becomes the
duty of the policy-makers and experts to find a way to come
out of it.
In fine, this chapter covers the viewpoints of various

contributors in the policy formulation. These include the
bureaucrats, the voluntary organisations and the experts in
the field. Majority of the contributors were of the view of a
separate policy for the visually challenged persons. If this
could not be done, the emphasis was laid down on the
inclusion of separate exclusive provisions for them in different
facets of the policy. This is needed because of the fact that
the clubbing of all the physically challenged persons or
clubbing of all the diverse groups make this segment more
marginalised as within the physically challenged segment or
even the diverse group, it is the visually impaired persons
about which there are lot of pre-conceived notions, prejudices
and unawareness about their probable role in the
developmental process of any nation. No policy is made for
window dressing. So, the same should be applied for the
visually challenged persons. In fact, this is a big human
resource, comprising more than 1 % of the total population,
and, if this is overlooked, no justification can be given by any
policy-maker for the overlooking. Even in the present scenario
of the technological development, since the audible softwares
are developed, no excuse can be given by the policy-makers
in the name of some such development. In fact, these
developments have empowered the visually challenge"
persons in such a way that it can read and write any docufflen with the help of these
softwares and the same can be used by
>s sighted counterpart. Under these circumstances, there is
I no logic whatsoever to refuse the visually challenged person

for any j°b which needs the reading and writing of the
¦ ordinary text.
I So far as the experts in this field are concerned, they
stressed on the indigenisation of the policy and make some

such provisions as to make it more democratic. This
detnocratisation may pave the way in removing the
I misconception from the minds of the policy-makers through

the process of interaction.
I The section of the expectations of the international
agencies and the changing scenario exhibits the contradiction

between the expectation and globalisation. It went to the
extent of calling it a vicious circle where there is no escape
and where one can doubt the intention of the international
agencies. The example of the dictums of Structural Adjustment
Programme is self-explanatory. It is strongly felt that this is a
revival of the old philosophy of police state and under such
conditions where everything is measured in terms of profit
and loss, welfare of the diverse sections is impossible as the
policy for the visually challenged persons may not provide
immediate profit. How far a government may go to support
this section and how far their steps are justified in the eyes of
the IMF and the World Bank is a debatable question. Perhaps,
the possible remedy is to develop the indigenous sources to
make best use of this human resource by spending indigenous
funds for their education and training so that they may become
a contributory segment for the development of the nation.
Dependence on the foreign funds for this purpose may not
yield desirable results as it is difficult for any nation to fulfil
their preconditions.
The concept of developing indigenous resources can only

be practicable if the fact of treating visually impaired segment a useful human resource
may be realised. Unfortunately,
Respite all lip sympathies, both the countries are not serious a"out treating this segment
even at least a human resource.
Under this condition, the idea of indigenisation of the sources
becomes farce.
Conclusion: Summary, Findings
and Recommendations
This is a research work on a comparative analysis of the

changing perspectives of the policies for the visually impaired
persons in India and post-apartheid South Africa. The
justification of this comparison has already been discussed
earlier.
Visually impaired persons are diverse sections and the

most vulnerable parts of the society. Thus, it becomes
necessary to find how far both the political systems are
conscious to develop policies for them for their all round
development so that they may be made a useful resource which
is not less than almost 1 % in both the countries. In this regard,
this study becomes unique as conventionally, while talking
about the diverse sections of the society, nobody pays heed
to the physically challenged persons in general and persons
with visual challenge in particular. Whatever little attention
is paid, in most of the cases, it is being paid under the
compulsions of the directions of the international agencies.
Moreover, if such endeavour is made, it is preferred to club
all the physically challenged persons together. But in this
study, a special attention has been paid on the visually
impaired persons because within the section of the disabled
persons, it is this section which has not only been looked
down upon but also has been doubted in terms of their
potentials and contributions due to the attitudinal barriers
like over-emphasis of sight and ignorance. It is happening
Conclusion: Summary, Findings and Recommendations 369
II I
despite the fact that the beginning of the knowledge starts

by hearing even today, if we have a critical look upon rearing
of the child.
Findings of the Research
On the basis of the analysis made in preceding chapters,

following are the findings, of this study:
1. Data relating to visually impaired persons of both the

countries is based on the census of the respective
countries compiled for the year 2001. However, the civil
societies in both the countries do not find it conclusive.
Whatever the limitations, this leads us to the finding
that the literacy rate of visually impaired persons in South
Africa is about 73% whereas in case of India, it is around
50%. Hence, South Africa is better than India in this
regard. But, surprisingly, the employment status of this
segment in South Africa is far less than those in India.
To be accurate, in the former case, it is 17% but in the
latter case, it is 39%. If this data of the employment is
. further divided in terms of government and private
sector, it is found that, in case of South Africa, majority
of the jobs have been provided in the private sector but
in case of India, the condition is vice versa because,
whatever gear is changed in the employment in India, it
was basically after the declaration of the Executive Order
of reservation in the 'C and 'D' categories of posts.
2= Religious organisation in both the countries have played

a vital role in developing educational institutions for
visually impaired persons despite the fact that religions
have played negative role so far as the attitudinal
development regarding them are concerned. In case of
India, it has been the understanding that the cause of
physical challenge is one's Karma of the previous life. If
it is accepted, there is no point to poke nose in the affairs
of god and, hence, there is no need to take up the
progressive steps. In case of South Africa, it is due to
the bad deeds of the forefathers. However, notably, the
Christian missionaries in both the countries were the
first to develop educational institutions for visually

impaired persons opening the way for further
philanthropic work by the civil society organisations u
is also found that in both the countries, first school was
initiated during the dying years of 19th century.
3. Policies for the visually challenged persons in South Africa have originated from
its Constitution under its
clause on non-discrimination whereas in India, the source
of these policies is the Directive Principles of the State
Policy of the Constitution. These principles are nothing
but normative statements.
4. Due to their different origin, different steps were taken for the policy formulation.
In South Africa, steps were
taken to develop White Papers and various policies on
education and employment, but in case of India, no
substantial steps were taken for more than two decades
(1947-73). Whatever little steps had been taken, these
were in the sphere of education, particularly, in terms
of opening schools and, regional and national Braille
Presses, developing scholarship programmes, last but
not the least, initiating programmes for integrated
education etc. In the eighth decade of 20th century, due
to Bangladesh war, a declaration was made in the
Parliament by Mrs. Indira Gandhi, the then Prime
Minister of India, for reserving the posts for the war-disabled.
The same reservation was opened for all the
physically challenged persons within four years by the
Executive Orders for the reservation for them in 'C and
'D' categories of posts. Due to the nationwide pressures
from the voluntary organisations of varying challenges
and due to the pressure of the international agencies,
PWD Act, 1995 was brought in the dying hours of the
winter session of the Parliament and was passed/
surprisingly, without debate!
5. Experiences show that there is no exclusive policy r°r the visually impaired
persons in both the countries. This
has denied them the maximum benefit they could have
enjoyed from reservation that was set apart for them

under the policy. Within physical challenges, visually
impaired persons are not given due weightage which is
evident from the data of the census of both the countries.
This segregated view is due to the fact that there are lot
of preconceived notions, disbeliefs and ignorance about
the visually challenged persons because of the
overdependence on the vision by the major chunk of the
world. In this regard, both the countries under research
are no exception.
The policy documents of both the countries discuss about

barrier-free environment in a generalistic manner about
physically impaired people but in this process, little
efforts have been made in both the countries to provide
such friendly environment to the physically challenged
persons and more so, to the visually challenged people.
This is due to the similar trends visible in policy-making
which ignores them as a separate entity within the
physically challenged chunk of society.
As policies are formulated under the guidelines of

international agencies, indigenisation of policy
implementation in both the countries is overlooked.
Hence, despite all claims by the government to make all
round development of the physically challenged persons
in general and the visually impaired persons in particular,
the onus of the policy is favouring the city dwellers.
This can be judged from the fact that in both the
countries, the concept like integrated education are
practised in the urban areas despite the fact that majority
of them come from the poor rural background. If this
fact is accepted, the rationale of providing homely
atmosphere provided to the physically challenged
persons in general and the visually challenged persons
in particular under the integrated education remain an
imagination. Moreover, no concerted efforts have been
made to provide employment in the rural area.
According to the survey of WHO, the physically

se
challenged persons constitute 10% of any society. [n Ca,

of both the countries, this is 2 to 6 percent. In case of th
visually challenged persons, in both the countries, it ¦
around 1 %. Applying this formula to Indian situation
is found that 10 million people which is a huge human
resource and, in case of South Africa, it is about 0 4
millions. But no substantial policy for its maximum use
has been made so far by both the countries. This shows
an indifference of the bureaucrats and the leaders of
both the countries which have shown no concern to make
use of this human resource reducing it to a burden on
the respective nations.
9. Due to the economic sanctions posed by the international

agencies under the impact of globalisation and resultant
liberalisation, a downward trend is visible in welfare
work and, under the guise of so-called trend of inclusion,
the targeted group is being ignored.
In sum, it can be stated that the perspectives of the policymakers

have been changing with the change in the society
which ranges from the elimination to inclusion; from a medical
entity to social entity and so on and so forth. But, in majority
of the cases, as the policy for the visually challenged
persons has remained the inseparable part of the broader
policy for the physically challenged persons, desirable
attention cannot be paid for the visually challenged persons
and that is why, this bigger human resource has remained
unutilised.
RECOMMENDATIONS
On the basis of the above mentioned findings of the

research, following recommendations are made which will
be, for the convenience of the understanding, divided under
five heads:
(1) Removing attitudinal barriers,

(2) Prevention of the visual impairment,
(3) Education for the visually challenged persons,
(4) Training and Employment for the visually challenged persons,
(5) Issues relating to the rehabilitation of the visually challenged people.
It is to be noted that these recommendations will be

general in nature and may be applicable for both India and
South Africa as, despite some differences, the problems of
the visually impaired persons of both the countries are more
or less similar and it is hoped that these recommendations
may help the policy-makers to develop or reformulate
their policies. It is also to be understood that these
recommendations are developed on the views of the various
contributors of policy formulation and on the basis of the
shortcomings which have been pointed out during the course
of policy analysis. Of course, the recommendations mentioned
below are not the ultimate recommendations as there is no
research which can be termed as last research because there
is a dialectical relationship between the development and its
critical analysis and this dialectics continues ceaselessly.
0) REMOVING ATTnUDINAL BARRIERS
1. There is a need to develop a white paper on the attitudinal barriers relating to the
visually impaired persons. This
should be brought out in all recognised languages and
dialects of the concerned nations.
2. It should not only describe the attitudes of the society at large but it should also
describe scientific logic for the
removal of these baseless attitudes.
3. Religion has also played a role in creating misconceptions but, while referring
these misconceptions for the purpose
of removing, there is t need of careful dealing and
i ,: endeavours should be made to discuss over this matter

carefully without hurting the religious sentiments.
4. As everybody is not literate, there is a need of using

other media like radio and television to spread the
message to the far flung areas by organising talks,
discussions, features and plays.
5. Public meetings, streets shows, stage plays etc. should be organised to remove
these attitudinal barriers in the
public places and such activities should also be organised
in the schools, colleges and universities.
6. There is a need of including some topics relating to the attitudinal barriers in the
syllabus and such lessons
should be presented in such an interactional manner so
that such things could be taught in a practical way.
7. The issues relating to the attitudinal barriers should be included not only in the
higher education but should
also be made part of the training of the highest rank and
file so that these officers could be socialised in this matter
and be mentally prepared while formulating policies for
them.
(2) PREVENTION OF THE VISUAL IMPAIRMENT
8. People at different levels should be sensitised about the prevention of the

preventable visual impairment.
9. Programmes should be taken through all media to highlight the importance of the
cause and effect
relationship and it should be highlighted that the same
is true for the visual impairment.
10. Involvement of the visually challenged is essential for interacting with the society
at large for making people
aware of the fact that visual impairment occurs due to
some diseases and there are some such diseases which
can be preventable. 1
11. The policies relating to the prevention should be rural oriented as the majority of
the visual impairment occurs
in villages.
12. There is a need of financial support base for the cataract patients when they are
being operated so that the chances
of cent percent positive result can be achieved.
13. There should be free of cost treatment of all diseases relating to the visual
impairment so that no prevention
can be avoided in want of financial support.
14. Encouragement should be given to the ophthalmologists who express their

wilfulness to work in the rural areas.
15. Arrangements should be made to give some incentives to those for this purpose.
16. If the provision of the incentive fail to work, it should be made compulsory for the
doctors to work in the rural
areas for a certain period of time.
17. People should be educated about the importance of the Vitamin A deficiency of
which is one of the causes of the
visual impairment.
18. Some funds should be allocated for the research in the field of the treatment of the
visual impairment so that
some innovative work can be taken up for its prevention.
19. Some awards should be created for those who make some innovation in this field
or who show their
commitment by way of highest number of treating the
patients.
20. This is true that in the country like India and South Africa, there is a need of the
operation of cataract in
v. bulk and one is forced to take the help of Lions, Rotary

or Rotaract Clubs, but some provisions should be made
to follow up in the absence of which the whole exercise
may go astray.
(3) EDUCATION FOR THE VISUALLY CHALLENGED

PERSONS
«. Special Education
21. There should be a provision which may force the school

to appoint teachers having special training in teaching
'' the visually challenged persons.
22. For this purpose, there is a need to open special teachers training centres to teach
the visually challenged.
23. There should be proper arrangements of all teaching equipments for the students
and the teachers should
p make the students aware of these equipments in practice.

24. Preference in the teaching staff should be given to the visually challenged
persons. This will not only help them
to get the jobs but can handle the students properly as it
is a visually challenged person who knows their problem I
in reality.
25. The visually challenged persons should be made aware of different branches of
mathematics and the aids like
algebra pegs, Bonham device etc.
26. Despite the limitation of the visual impairment, they should be made aware of
various equipments of science
even if he cannot make experiments. To develop proper
concepts, they should be taught with the help of tactile
models.
27. As there are two concepts of education, namely, Athenian and Spartan, there
should be a balance between
the both. For this purpose, there is a need of playground
for the visually impaired and they should be compelled
to remain in playground for a certain period of time as a
part of the educational curriculum. This makes them
confident to stand in the competitive market. Visual
impairment in this matter should not be used as an
excuse.
28. There is a need of proper eye check up to determine the level of visual
impairment.
29. In case of low vision or sufficient vision to read ink print, the student should not
be compelled to read Braille.
30. In such cases, proper atmosphere should be provided so that they may learn
through magnifying glass or may
make use of close circuit.
31. In case of multiple disabilities, proper arrangements be provided to meet their

special need and they should not
be refused on the ground of their multiple injuries.
32. There is a need of opening new special schools without tine gender bias.
33. As majority of the special schools are residential, there
I
is a need of the maintenance of proper standard in terms

of living space, proper uniform and proper arrangement
of food. It is observed that in the name of opening the
school, compromise is made with the quality and that
have negative impact on the behaviour of the visually
impaired which affects their physical and mental health.
34. Provisions should be made to have a uniformed syllabus at the school level even
in the country like India where
the education falls in the state list. This will help in
developing a wider perspective through the education.
35. Provisions should be made of ample grant-in-aid to the special schools so that
they may not have to depend upon
the donations as this will help in proper personality
development and will also help in changing the outlook
of the society.
B. INTEGRATED OR INCLUSIVE EDUCATION
36. There should be a blind friendly atmosphere for the movement of the visually
challenged persons in the
integrated schools.
37. There should be at least one visually challenged person or such ordinary teacher
who is trained in teaching the
visually impaired students as per their specific need.
38. There should be the allocation of ample funds to meet the cost of the special aids
and appliances meant for the
visually challenged students.
39. Use of the black board is a normal practice in the mainstream schools but if a
class is having a visually
challenged student, the teacher should be directed to
adjust his teaching method as per his specific need.
40. Generally, the use of computer is not common at all levels of education, special
attention in terms of providing the
scribe should be made for the visually challenged
students to write his tests while making an internal
assessment.
41. If there is a provision of computer at a certain level of

^1
Ill
¦I
¦i
teaching, the visually challenged student should also be

introduced with computer along with the speech
software. This will help in performing at par with the
sighted counterpart.
42. The visually challenged student should be relaxed while appearing in the
examinations or internal tests from the
graphic based questions or from the questions which
are totally vision based. He should be asked some
alternative questions in such cases. This will help him to
be treated at par.
43. If no arrangement of special teacher can be made, the school should have a
resource room.
44. As all the above mentioned arrangements are cost effective, the policy should be
laid down to open one or
two integrated or inclusive schools at least in a district.
45. If such schools are far away, the arrangement of the conveyance should be made
without asking the parents
to bear its cost as it will become an excuse for not to
bring their visually challenged ward to the school.
46. Necessary arrangements should be made to give him a maximum feeling of
inclusion by stimulating him to
participate at least in those extra curricular activities
where vision has no role to play. This is true that fake
inclusion should be avoided.
C. TERTIARY EDUCATION
47. It should be mandatory for all the institutes not to refuse any student because of
the visual impairment.
48. If necessary, some percentage of the seats should be reserved for this segment of
the society exclusively.
49. Special aids and appliances should preferably be provided free of cost. If it is not
possible, efforts should
be made to provide it at the maximum possible
subsidised rates. This provision should not be made on
any charity but it should be treated as bare need.
50. Separate computer with the necessary reading a11^
I
scanning software should be provided to all the visually

challenged students as it provides a chance of performing
at par with the sighted counterparts.
1. Despite all the technological developments and despite the provision of free or
subsidised rate of
aid and appliances for the visually challenged users,
there is a need of making some provisions of the
scholarships/bursaries by the government or any
funding agencies so that they may be able to meet the
cost of studies.
2. The provisions should be made to develop a separate reading room in each

college as for the purpose of higher
studies, either they have to depend upon the computer
with speaking software or on the readers to read the
manuscripts.
3. The colleges/universities should be directed to provide blind friendly environment

in terms of developing such
texture of the floor to point out the turnings, staircases
and other hurdles.
1. Provisions should be made to easy access of all types of

information like name of the building, room numbers,
identification of the floor while using lift, accessible lift
operating buttons etc. For this purpose, information
should be provided verbally and in Braille.
5. Arrangements should be made to provide all the

information both in Braille and e-text as it is not
necessary for every visually challenged person to be
computer friendly.
) TRAINING AND EMPLOYMENT FOR THE VISUALLY

CHALLENGED PERSONS
TRAINING
Irrespective of all claims of inclusion, it is recommended
that such provisions be laid down to establish special
training centres to provide training in skilled, semiskilled
and unskilled jobs so that those visually impaired
persons who cannot pursue their higher studies can be

imparted such training.
57. Provisions should be made for scholarship during the training period.
58. As these centres will be residential, all norms mentioned above for the residential
schools should be followed.
59. While providing training, provisions should be made to impart training in all
possible up-dated skills
without any prejudice, so that the visually challenged
person may be competent enough to compete in the open
market.
60. If such training is imparted in the mainstream training

centre, provisions be made to have a blind friendly
atmosphere and to arrange necessary aids and appliances
to make them self-dependent.
JB. EMPLOYMENT
61. Without falling into the controversy of reservation vs.

affirmative action, special drives should be made to
absorb the trained and qualified visually challenged persons so mat they may contribute
their worth in the
developmental process of the nation.
62. Provisions should be made to direct the employers to make all arrangements as
per the need to make selt-sufficient
the visually challenged employees. If needed,
the arrangements should be made to change all visible
signals in to audio or tactile signals as to make the
employee self-dependent and easy accessible.
63. Provisions should be made to absorb certain number of visually challenged

employees to ascertain the
constructive role in the nation-building environment an
provide them to make the best use of the skills obtain
during the training period.
64. Provisions should be made to absorb the vi^J

challenged persons in the administrative posts as i\}o one goes in the hierarchy of jobs,
there is
involvement of sight. More so, in the age of the

technological development, such techniques are
developed to change the vision into audio. Hence, in
almost all kinds of official work, visual impairment is no
excuse.
65. Such provisions are needed to be made through which those administrators, who
fail to employ certain
amount of visually challenged people, should be
penalised.
66. Irrespective of the fact that there are chances of limiting the job venues, the
provisions should be made to identify
some posts as to give an idea what kind of jobs can be
performed by the visually challenged person.
67. While earmarking the jobs for the visually challenged persons, the provisions
should be made not to
interchange with the other categories of the physically
challenge until and unless it is ascertained that there is
no qualified and duly trained person with visual
impairment available. Such identification should be
up-dated keeping in view the technological develop ment.
68. If there is a real intention to make best use of the human resource with visual
challenge, there is a need to create
a register at the centre and state/provincial level from
the day a person with visual impairment comes into being
and this data based register should be up-dated, and
the moment a visually challenged finishes his education/
training, the attempt should be made to provide him job
as per his qualification and capability.
69. Those persons with visual challenge who are interested

in self-employment, the state should provide a support
base in terms of soft loan to run the business.
0- If
there is any provision of quota, a special provision
f should be made to make necessary reservation in the
' distribution of raw material so that their business may
not suffer due to its non-availability.
(5) ISSUES RELATING TO THE REHABILITATION Of THE VISUALLY

CHALLENGED PERSONS
71. Provisions should be made for all round rehabilitation I of the visually impaired
persons. I
72. There is a need to make a fixed quota for the allotment of the out of turn
accommodation.
73. For this purpose, some provision should be made for soft loan and the visual
impairment should not be a
hindrance in it.
74. Provisions should be made to exempt the visually challenged persons from the
license fee, if any, on radio,
television or other media of entertainment.
75. Provisions should be made of free travel in bus, railways and aeroplanes. If not
possible, provisions should be
made to use these means on the concessional rates as in
general case, the life of the visually impaired persons is
costlier in comparison with their sighted counterpart.
76. Provisions should be made for free postage at national and international level by
air or otherwise.
77. It should be made compulsory to provide audible signals on the crossings.
78. Where there is a multi storey building and one has to use lift, provisions should be
made to provide audible
signals to tell where one has reached.
79. It should be the duty of the government to provide old age homes with the
minimum facility of board and
lodging. It would be better if such homes may provide
source of entertainment and some programmes relating
to the social issues so that the residents may feel at home.
80. The sports played by the visually challenged should be given due recognition as
in the case of the sports playe"
by the sighted. The visually challenged person should
get the same facilities as are provided to their sigMe counterpart.
In sum, it needs to be stated here that the aim of such

recommendations is to suggest such provisions to the policymakers
through which the visually impaired person becomes a contributory segment of the
society by using his worth and
play a constructive role in the development of the nation. It
is strongly felt that in the absence of such positive attitude,
this group of human resource will become a burden on the
society and for this, all blame goes to the policy-makers, not
to the persons with visual impairment who are one of the
capable human resources but need a support base to get a
direction so that their latent potentials may be used for the
nation-building. It is also strongly felt that in the absence of
any constructive policy, there are all chances for this segment
to get neglected as it is a scattered minority and in a
democratic system, only the voice of vote bank is heard.
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2 Hutcheson, A. Macgregor, "South Africa Ph ysical and Social

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Earth , (New Delhi: Kalyani publications, 1992) PP .41-44.
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13 For
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(Allahabad: Prayog p ustak Bhawan, 1999), PP-454' g
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?0
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
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31
32
33
34
35
36
37
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39
40
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46
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This growth of the population is shown on the basis of the

ill
comparison of the figures of the population of the Census of 199,

and 1996,
47
This growth of the population is on the basis of the comparativ
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48
These figures are calculated from the numerical strength given in
the Stats SA, 2001.
49
IBID.
50
ibid.
51
ibid.
52
ibid.
53
ibid.
54
ibid.
55
ibid.
56
Md.
57
ibid.
58
Md.
59
ibid.
60
ibid.
61
Stats SA , 2001
62
ibid.
63
ibid.
64
ibid.
65
Buren, Linda Van, "South Africa Economy" Africa South of tlie
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66
This calculation is made on the basis of the figures given in the
Census of India, 2001 .
67
ibid.
68
Census of India, 2001
69
Calculated from the Census of India, 2001
70
Census of India, 2001
71
ibid.
72
ibid.
73
ibid.
74
Md.
75
ibid.
76
ibid.
77
ibid.
78
The figures enlisted in the table relating to the rate of literacy [
rural-urban and male-female groups are based on the tota }
opulation of the state concern.
79
Calculated from the Census of India, 2001
80
ibid.
81
ibid. j
82
Nadel, S.F., The Theory of Social Structure , (London: Cohen a
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g6 Dube, S.C., Indian Society , (New Delhi: National Book Trust,
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87 Quoted in Dube, S.C., op. cit .
88 ibid .
89 For details, see, Dube, S.C., op. cit .
90 The figures mentioned in this Para are based on various reports

of the Census of India.
91 Davenport, T.R.H., South Africa A Modern History, OP. CIT., p345.
92 Mandela, Nelson, The Struggle Is My Life , (Bombay: Popular

Prakashan, 1990), p.2.
93 Mandela, Nelson, op, cit., p.192.
94 Coetzee, Diana, op. cit., p5.
95 IBID., p9.
96 Section 6(1), Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996.
97 Calculated on the basis of the data shown in Stats SA, 2001 .
98 Ibid.
99 ibid .
100 ibid.
101 ibid.
102 ibid.
103 ibid.
104 ibid.
105 Editorial, Infama , (Pretoria: SANCB Publication, August 2003),

p.l.
106 Statement of the then Home Minister published in The Times of

India, March 17,1980.
W Census of India, 2001.
108 ibid.
109 Md. HO ibid. Hi ibid. H2 ibid. H3 ibid. H4 ibid. J15 ibid. ]l6 ibid.
m*«-
iUiunUiiuuuui,
¦III
117 Advani, Lai and Chaddha, Anupriya, You and Your Special Child (New Delhi:
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118 Jain, M.P., Political Theory , (Delhi: Authors Guild Publications

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119 Aristotle, Chapter VI, POLITICS , (Translated by B. Jowett)

(England: Oxford University Press, 1905).
120 A funeral speech by Periclese, cited in Thucydides, Chapter Vi The History

ofPelopo nnesian war .
121 Jain, M.P., op. cit.
122 Advani, Lai and Chadda, Anupriya, op. cit., p.3.
123 For details, see, Jernigan, Kenneth, Is Religion Against Us ? (New

York: NFB Publications, 1976), p.2.
124 ibid ., p.9.
125 Statement of Lieutenant Colonel Kiwaan cited in Report on the

Blindness in India (Delhi: Government of India Publications, 1945),
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126 ibid.
127 The Old Testament ,29:15.
128 The Old Testament, 146:8-9.
129 The New Testament, 8:23-25.
130 The Old Testament, 19:14.
131 17-18, Baqara, The Holy Quran (translated in English by Abdullah

Yusuf AH, (Lebanon: Dar Al Arabia, 1968), p. 2.
132 Matson, Floyd, Walking Alone and Marching Together, (Baltimore,

Maryland: NFB Publications, 1990), p.317. ,
133 Report On the Blindness in India , op. cit. , p.6.
134 Cited in Report on The Blindness in India , op. cit., p.6.
135 Wilson, James, Biography of the Blind, (Fourth Edition), (England:

J.W. Showell, 1838), p.110.
136 Artman, Wilham, Beauties and Achievements of the Blind, (Auburn:

Published for the Author, 1890), P.267.
137 Wilson, James, op. cit., p.115.
138 Mani, Rama D., The Physically Handicapped in India , (New Delhi:
Ashish Publishing House, 1988), p.3.
139 Chowdhary, D. Paul, Introduction to Social Work, (Delhi: Atma

Ram & Sons, 1976), p.l
140 Cited from Mani, Rama D., OP. CIT ., P.4
141 Hortwitz, H., " The Cripples' Place in Society Throughout the Ages",
Tlie Nations Health, August, 1923, p.512
142 Mani, Rama D., op. cit., p.4
143 Mahabharata, II, 5 p.125
144 Cited in Mani, Rama D., op. cit .
145 ibid.
146 For details, see, Mahamandleshwar Shri Swami Gangeshwar

Nandji, Vedopdesha Chandrika , pp.58-84
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|47 Advani, Lai, "Freedom Movements and the Policies for the
visually impaired" , The Braille Monitor , August, 1998, p.31.
148 ibid., p.8.
149 Ritchie, J.M., Concerning the Blind p38 .
150 Report On Blindness In In dia, op. at., p.8.
151 Cited from Advani, Lai and Chaddha, Anupriya, op, cit., pp.4-5.
152 Charlton, James I., Nothing About Us Without Us: Disability,

Oppression and Empowerment, (Berkeley: University of California
Press, 1998), p.65.
153 McCrocklin, James, Building Citizenship, (Boston: Allyn and Bacon

Inc., 1961), p'.244.
154 Hughes, R.O., Good Citizenship , (Boston: Allyn and Bacon Inc.,
1949), p. 55.
155 Volosinov, V.N., Marxism and The Philosophy of Language, (New

York: Seminar Press, 1973), p.85.
156 Nicholson, Linda }., " Etlmocentrism in Grand Theory", Roger S.

Gottlieb, (Ed.), Radical Philosophy: Tradition, Counter-Tradition Politics, (Philadelphia:
Temple University Press, 1993), p.55.
157 Schmidt, James, Between Phenomenology and structuralism , (New

York: St. Martin 's Press, 1985), p.53.
158 Cited from Charlton, James I., op. cit,, p.66.
159 Listen to the People: A Guide For Planner Of Disability Programmes , (Geneva:
United Nations International Labour Office, 1993).
160 Cited from Jernigan, Kenneth, "Blindness-Concepts and

Misconceptions" in Floyd Matson, op. cit., 1990), p.205.
161 ibid.
162 Hall, Stuart, "Ethnicity, Identity and Difference", Radical America, 23, No. 4,
(October-December, 1991), p.10.
163 For details, see, Charlton, James I., op. cit., pp.67-68.
164 Charlton, lames I., op. cit., p.67.
165 ibid., p.68^
166 Thomson, Rosemarie Garland, "Integrating Disability Studies

into Existing Curricula: The Example of 'Women and Li terature'
at Howard University", Lennard J. Davis and Simi Linton, (Eds.), Radical Teacher,
(1995), p.16.
167 Cited in Charlton, James I., op. cit., p.58.
168 ibid.
169 ibid.
170 ibid.
171 ibid., pp.59-60.
172 Rousso, Harilyn, "Daughter with Disabilities: Defe ctive Women

or Minority Women?", Michelle Find and Adrienne Asch, (Eds.), Women and Disability:
Essays in Psychology, Culture and Politics, (Philadelphia: Temple University Press,
1988), p.140.
?! I
173 ibid, p-152-53.
174 Longnore, Paul K., "Screening Stereotypes: Images of Disable^

People in Television and Motion Pictures", A. Gardener and T
Joe, (Eds.), Images of the Disabled, Disabling Images , (New York-Praeger,
1987), p.70.
175
176
177
Charlton, James I., op. cit., pp.61-62,
ibid.
Mallory, Bruce L., "Changing Beliefs about Disability in Developing
Countries: Historical Factors and Socio-cultural

Variables", Traditional
and Changing Views o f Disabil i ty i n Dev e loping Societ i es ,
(Monograph 53), (Durban: University of New Hampshire,
International Exchange of Experts and Information in Rehabilitation,
1992) , p.14.
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
Charlton, James I., op. cit., p.65.

Jernigan, Kenneth, "Three Rights and Three Hundred Thousand
Wrongs", Floyd Matson , op. cit., p.79.
Marx, Karl, WAGE, Lnbowr and Capital, (New York-. International
Publishers, 1961), p.28.
Jernigan, Kenneth, "Blindne ss --Handicap or Characteristics",
Floyd Matson, op. cit., p.l 77.
Driedger, Diane, The Last Civil Rights Movement: Disabled Peoples
International, (New York: St. Martin 's Press, 1989), p.28.
Bartky, Sandra Lee, Femininity and Domination: Study in the
Phenomenology of Oppression , (New York: Routledge, 1990), p.27.
A statement of Judy Panko Reis, administrative director, Chicago,
Health Clinic for Women with Disabilities, cited in Bartky, Sandra
Lee, op. cit., p.28.
185
A statement of Danilo Delfin, regional development officer,
Disabled Peoples ' International, cited in Bartky, Sandra Lee, op.
cit.
186
Wade, Cheryl Marie, "Disability Culture Rap", Barrett Shaw (Ed.)
The Ragged. Edge: The Disability Experience from the Pages of First
Fifteen Years of the Disability Rag, (Louisville: Avacado Press, 1994)
187
188
189
190
191
P.15.
Thompson, E.P., The Making of the English Working Class , (New
York: Vintage Books, 1963), p.712.
Gill, Carol, "Questioning Continuum" in Barrett Shaw, OP. CIT.,
pp.44-45.
Charlton, James I., op. cit., p.l24.
For Details, see Charlton, James I., op. cit ., pp.125-126.
Brown, Steven E., Investment Disability Culture: Final Report ,
(Washington: (Washington D.C.: National Institute on Disability
Research and Rehabilitation, 1995) , p.150.
192
Young, Iris Marion, Justice and the Politics of Difference , (Princeton:
Princeton University Press, 1990), p.157.

References 391
193 Charlton, James I., op. cit ., p.128.
194 Cited in Charlton, James I., op. cit., p.131.
195 ibid.
196 ibid. p.132.
197 ibid.
198 ibid, p.133.
199 ibid.
200 ibid., p.133-34.
201 ibid., pp.136-49.
202 Charlton, James I., op. at., p.149.
203 ibid., pp.156-57.
204 Constitution of the Republic of South Africa , Act 108 of 1996, Chapter
2, 9 (3).
205 Cited from Charlton, James I., op. cit . p.15.
206 The term 'so-called alien group ' is used to express the emotions
of the Black South Africans as practically they were fighting against
a racialist tendency which was borrowed from abroad but
institutionalised in South Africa.
207 Charlton, James I, op. cit., pp.139-40.
208 Coleridge, Peter, Disability, Liberation and Development, (Oxfam,

1993), p.156.
209 Kama, G. M., United Nations an d Rights of Disabled Persons: A Study

in Indian Perspective , (New Delhi: A.P.H. Publishing Corporation,
1999), p.145.
210 For details, see, ibid ., p.146.
211 Kama, G.M., op. cit., p.147.
212 Matson, Floyd, op .cit ., p.2.
213 For details on the blind guilds in the medieval age of Europe,
See, Matson, Floyd, op. cit., pp.1-3.
214 Cited from Matson, Floyd, op. cit ., p.10.
215 ibid., ppl3-14.
216 ibid ., p.14.
217 ibid., p.20.
218 Longnore, Paul K. and Umansky, Lauri, (Eds.), The New Disability
History: American Perspectives, (New York and London: New York
University Press, 2001), p.321.
219 ibid. p.324.
220 For details, see, Longnore, Paul K. and Umansky, Lauri, op. cit ., pp. 324-27.
221 Culshaw, Murray, It Will Soon Be Dark ..., (Delhi: Lite House
Publications, 1983), p.76.
222 For details, see, Culshaw, Murray, op. cit., pp.137-138.
223 Cited in White Papa' on Integrated National Disability Strategy , (Western Cape:
Rustica Press Pvt. Ltd., 1997), p.14.
lili
224 Louise Arbour, UN Press Release, cited in 'Record Number of

Countries Sign UN Treaty on Disabilities on Opening Day \ Imfama, Winter, Vol. 47,
No. 2, (South African National Council
for the Blind,Crown Mines, 2007), p.69.
225 Wliite Paper on Integrated National Disabilities Strategy , OP. CIT

p.9.
226 Ghai, Anita, (Dis)Embodied Form: Issues of Disabled Women , (New

Delhi: Shakti Books, 2003), p.36.
227 For details, see, Ghai, Anita, op. tit, pp.36-37.
228 ibid., p.37.
229 Wliite Paper on Integrated National Disabilities Strategy , op. tit.
230 ibid.
231 ibid
232 For details, see, Priestley, Mark, Disability: A Life Course Approach, (England:
Polity Press in Association with Blackwell Publishing
Ltd., 2003), pp.14-15.
233 Priestley, Mark, op. tit, p.3.
234 Md.
235 Wliite Paper on Integrated National Disabilities Strategy , OP. CIT.,

p.ll.
236 Md.
237 ibid.
238 ibid.
239 Priestley, Mark, op. at, p.12.
240 Oliver, M., Understanding Disability: From Theory to Practice , (Basingstoke:

McMillan, 1996), p.33.
241 Rowland, William, Nothing About Us Without Us , (Cape Town:
UN ISA Press of South Africa, 2002), p.X.
242 ibid., P.4.
243 Md ., p. 5.
244 Report of the Expert Committee of W odd Health Organisation on

Disability Prevention and Rehabilitation , Technical Report Series No.
668, (Geneva: World Health Organisation, 1981), p.38.
245 For Details, see, Mani, Rama D., The Physically Handicapped in India
Policy and Programme , (Delhi: Ashish Publications, 1988), pp.11-12.
246 Ibid., p.12.
247 2 (B), The Pa-sons With Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of

Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995 , (New Delhi: Ministry of
Law, Justice and Company Affairs, 1995).
248 Bulletin of the World Health Organisation, 1001 , 79 (3), p.259.
249 ibid.
250 For details, see, Epstein, David and Febiger, Leas, ( Eds.), Chandler
and Grant 's Glaucoma , (USA: Philadelphia, P.3.
251 National Guidelines of the Prevention of the Blindness in South Africa,

393 References
(Pretoria: Department of Health, 2002), p.3.
252 This data has been taken from Bulletin of the World Health
Organisation 2002, 80 (5), P.419.
253 Bulletin of the World Health Organisation 2002, 80 (5), op. cit.
254 Bulletin of the World Health Organisation 2002, op. cit., p.469.
255 For details, see, ibid .
256 For details, see, http://unmv.blind.ness.org./saq.ast?type=3 , visited

on June 15, 2005.
257 Pandey, R.S. and Advani, Lai, Perspectives in Disability and

Rehabilitation, (New Delhi: Vikas Publishing House Pvt. Ltd., 1997),
P.53.
258 National Guidelines Prevention of Blindness in South Africa , op. cit., p.4.
259 Wliite Paper on Integrated National Disability Strategy, OP. CIT., pp.6375.
260 ibid., p.6.
261 Section 25 (A), Chapter Iv, The Persons With Disabilities (Equal
Opportunities, protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, op. cit.
262 M' Bow, A. M., Speech to the World Conference on Actions and Strategies
for Education, Prevention and Integration , (Malaga, Spain: 1981.
263 M 'Bow, A.M., Speech to the International Year for the Disabled Persons
Conference at Malaga, op. cit.
264 Villeneuve, Paquerette, Education for Handicapped Children ? (Paris:

UNESCO, 1970), p.3.
265 For details, see, Pandey, R.S. and Advani, Lai, op. cit., p.69.
266 ibid., p.8.
267 Pandexj, R.S. and Advani, Lai, op. cit, p.36.
268 Engelbrecht, p., Green, L., Naicker, S. and Engelbrecht, L. (Eds.), Inclusive
Education in Action in South Africa , (Pretoria: Van Schaik
269 Void., P.10.
270 Salamanca Declaration on Principles, policy and Practice in Special
Needs Education (UNESCO, 1994).
271 Education of the Visually Handicapped , Conference Proceedings,

(Durban: Division for Coloured and Indian Blind, SANCB, 1975),
p.74.
272 Braille slate is traditionally understood as a rectangular wooden

piece of different sizes, having holes on both sides for the
adjustment of a metal frame also of a different size having cell
type rectangular holes on one of its part and having embossed
dots on the other part. There is a clamp attached to the board to fix
the paper which is inserted between two parts of the frame.
273 As its name suggests, it is a frame which can be kept in the pocket.
This is a frame made of two metal pieces. The top is havi ng wholes
and the bottom is having embossed dots at its back.
274 It is a kind of type machine having eight or nine keys-six keys are
for six dots and remaining keys are for spacing, back spacing and
line changing. As the Braille is nothing but the combination and
permutation oi six dots, one can press those dots at a time and it
makes easier to type by using lesser time.
275 It is made of a wooden piece or plastic piece in which a needle is

inserted. As Braille is not the whole but embossing, the needle
used for this purpose is thicker and the wooden or plastic piece
used for this stylus is just to hold it and press it conveniently as it
is impracticable to press a needle.
276 It is a rectangular frame made of metal having holes in it to put

the pegs which are normally being used by the traditional printer.
It had two sides-one is having a straight touchable line and another
is having two dots. This can create eight shapes from both sides
and thereby, one can find 16 symbols including 10 symbols for
number and remaining for the arithmetical signs. Even for Algebra,
different types of pegs are used.
277 For details, see, Peach, P.P., "The Education of the Partially Sighted
Criteria and Evaluation' in Education of the Visually Handicapped ",
op, cit., pp.18-19.
278 Cited in Peach, P.P., op. cit., pp.26-27.
279 For details, see, Mason, Heather, "Visual Impairment", Gulliford,

Ronald and Upton, Graham, (Eds.), Special Educational Needs , (London: Routledge and
Kegan Paul, 1992), p.2.
280 ibid ., p.113.
281 Pandey, R.S. and Advani, Lai, op. cit., p.34.
282 The Education for All Handicapped Children Act, 1975, cited in
Pandey, R.S. and Advani, Lai, op. cit., ipS6.
283 For details, see, Fulcher, G., Disabling Policies: A Comparative

Approach to Education Policy and Disability, (London: Palmer, 1989).
284 Cited from UN Resolution , adopted by the General Assembly on

March 4, 1994 with regard to Standard Rules on the Equalisation
of Opportunities for Persons With Disabilities.
285 Pandey, R.S. and Advani, Lai, op. cit.

286 ibid ., p.58.
287 Engelbrecht, p., Green, L., Naicker, S. and Engelbrecht, L. (Eds.), op. cit., p.10.
288 Statement of South African Federal Council of Disability, P.I.
289 Article 16, The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa , (Pretoria:
1996).
290 Government Notice No. 16874, (DNE, 1995: 3).
291 Government Notice No. 16874, (DNE, 1995: 2). 292 DNE, 1997: 4.
293 The NCSNET/NCESS Report, DNE, 1997, p.55.
294 Education Wliite Paper 6, (Pretoria: Department of Education, 2001),

p.17.
References 395
5 ibid.
For details, see, Education Whitepapa-6,

op. tit ., pp. 18-19.
Education Wliitepnper 6 , op. cit, p.19.
ibid., p.20.
ibid.
For details see, Education Wliitepaper 6 , op. cit, pp.20-23.
Education Wliitepnper 6 , op. cit., p.31.
Article 41, Part IV, The Constitution of India , (New Delhi:
Government of India Publications, 2000).
Article 45, Part IV, op. cit.
For details, see, Sengupta, S.C., "Education of the Physically
Handicapped and their Rehabilitation in India with Particular
Reference to the Deaf", Vocational Rehabilitation of the Handicapped:
A Report on the Seminar , (Bombay: April, 1956), p.36.
305
Education and National Development , A Report of the Education
Commission, Government of India, Ministry of Education, 1964

66,
Part I, (New Delhi: GOI Press, 1966), p.124.
306
307
308
309
310
311
312
313
ibid.
Education of the Handicapped , The National Policy on Education

1986,
cited in Pandey, R.S. and Advani, Lai, op. cit ., p.59.
Cited in Pandey, R.S. and Advani, Lai, op. cit., pp.59-60.
Pandey, R.S. and Advani, Lai, op. cit., p.62.
ibid.
A Report of the US Department of Education, cited in Pandey, R.S.
and Advani, Lai, op. cit ., p.63.
Social Welfare Report 1980-81, Ministry of Social Welfare,
Government of India, (New Delhi: GOI Press, 1981), p.44.
For details, see, Radhakrishnan, E.P., "Good Foundation for
Meaningful Rehabilitation", Yojana , Vol. xxv, No. 14-15, 16-31
August, 1981, p.26.
314
Social Welfare Report, 1973-74 , Ministry of Social Welfare,
Government of India, (New Delhi: Government of India Press,
1974), p.39.
315
The Central Social Welfare Board-A Study of the Programmes, (1953

1969),
Research Evaluation and Statistics Division, The Central
Social Welfare Board, (New Delhi: Government of India Press,
1969), p.46.
316
Section 26 (A), Chapter V, The Persons With Disabilities (Equal
Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995 ,
op. cit.
317
318
319
320
Section 26 ©, Chapter V, op. cit.
Section 27, Chapter V, op. cit.
Section 30, Chapter V, op. cit.
Pandey, R.S. and Advani, Lai, op. cit, p.30.

321 Sanyal, S.C., Giri, p.k. et al, Education and Employment of the BUn,]
(Narendrapur: South Asian Publishers/UNESCO, 1984), p.?. ' '
322 Prasad, Lakshman, Rehabilitation of the Physically Handicapped, (Delhi-Konark

Publishers Pvt. Ltd. 1994), p.l.
323 Pandey, R.S. and Advani, Lai, op. cit., p.13.
324 Dlamini, G.L., The Implementation of the Employment Equity Act No 55 of 1998
in Respect of People with Disabilities in the Department of
Health of KwaZulu-Natal: Perception and Experience of Key Personnel
and People with Disabilities , (Unpublished dissertation), Submitted
in Partial fulfilment of the Degree of Master of Social Work,
(Welfare Policy), Faculty of Community Development Disciplines
University of Natal, Durban, 2002, P.I.
325 Cited in Dlamini, G.L., op. cit.
326 The Wliite Paper on Integrated National Disability Strategy , op. cit p.41.
327 Section 2, Chapter I, Employment Equity Act, No. 55 of 1998, (South

Africa: Government Publications, 1998).
328 Convention No. Ill of International Labour Organisation.

329 Dlamini, G.L., op. cit., p.10.
330 Cited from the Preamble of the Employment Equity Act, OP. CIT.
331 Section 1, Chapter I, Employment Equity Act, op. cit. j
332 5.1.2, Employment Equity Act No. 55 of 1998, Code of Good Practice on
the Employment of People With Disabilities, (South Africa: Government
Publications, 2001).
333 ibid.
334 5.1.1, Employment Equity Act No. 55 of 1998, Code of Good Practice on
the Employment of People W ith Disabilities , op. cit.
335 Section 1, Chapter 1, Employment Equity Act, op. cit.
336 ibid.
337 ibid.
338 ibid. i
339 ibid.
340 ibid.
341 Section 5, Chapter ii, Employment Equity Act, op. cit. ;
342 Section 6, Chapter ii, Employment equity Act, op. cit.
343 Section 7, Chapter II, Employment Equity Act, op. cit. |
344 Section 10, Chapter II, Employment Equity Act, op. cit.
345 Section 15, Chapter III, Employment Equity Act, op. cit. i
346 Section 16, Chapter III, Employment equity Act, op. cit. ;|
347 Section 18, Chapter III, Employment Equity Act, op. cit. J
348 Section 28, Chapter IV, Employment Equity Act, op . cit.
349 For details, see Section 29, Chapter IV, Employment Equity Act, op cit.
350 Subsection (3), Set tion 29, Employment equity Act, op. cit.
References 397
agl Subsection (4), op. cit.
nzp For details, see, Subsection (7) and (9), op. cit.
153 Section 30, Employment Equity Act, op, cit.
354 For details, see, Part A, Chapter V, Employment Equity Act, op. cit.
355 Section 46, Employment Equity Act, op. cit.
356 Section 45, EMPLOYMENT Equity Act, op. cit.
357 Section 43, Employment Equity Act, op. cit.
358 Section 54, Chapter VI, Employment Equity Act, op. cit.
359 For details, see, Section 55, op. cit. 3gO Section 60, op. cit.
361 Statement of Tinrelli cited in Dlamini, G.L., op. cit., p.33.
362 ibid.
363 Dlamini, G.L., op. cit., p.34.
364 Tinarelli, S., Employer 's Guide to the Employment Equity Act, (Pretoria: Scliaik
365 Dlamini, G.L., op. cit, p.46.
366 For details, Prasad, Lakshman, op. cit., p.32.
367 O .M. No. 39016/6/77, dated November, 4,19 77, Government of

India , Ministry of Home Affairs, Department of P ersonnel & A
dministrative R eforms , through the Department of Social
Welfare.
368 Prasad, Lakshman, op. cit., p.32.
369 O .M. No. 39016 , op. cit.
370 O.M. No. 4/3/68-ESTT (D), dated April 15, 1969, Government of
India, Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms,
Ministry of Home Affairs and O.M. No. 15012/6/77-ESTT (D)
dated January 28, 1978 by the same ministry and its department.
371 ibid.
372 O.M. No. 14/21 [71-ESTT (D), dated December 25, 1971,
Government of India, Department of Personnel and
Administrative Reforms, Ministry of Home Affairs.
373 Prasad, Lakshaman, op. cit, p.34.
374 ibid.
375 For details, see, O.M. No. 50(1)/ IC/97 dated 30-9-1997.
376 O.M. No. 39016/27/80-ESTT(C)-I, dated January 9, 1981,

Government of India, Department of Personnel and
Administrative Reforms, Ministry of Home Affairs.
377 For details, see, Report on the Blindness in India , (Delhi:

Government of India Publications, 1945), p.82.
378 Iyer, (Justice) V.R. Krishna, "Legislation for Comprehensive

Rehabilitation of the Handicapped", paper presented in the All-India
Conference on work for the Handicapped , (Bombay: 1978).
379 Gupta, S. C, "Persuasion vs. Legislation for the Employment of

the Blind", Annual Report, Rashtriya Drishtiheen Snatak Sangh,
(1971)pp.7-9.
398
380
381
382
383
384
385
386
387
388
389
390
391
392
393
394
395
396
397
398
399
400
401
402
403
404
405
406
Policy Perspectives for the Visually Impaired 399
Mani, D. Rama, op. cit, p .60.
For details, see, Prasad, Lakshman, op. cit., pp.31-32.
Section 2 A, The Persons With Disabilities Act, Op. Cit.
Section 32, The Persons With Disabilities Act, op. cit.
Section 32 (B), Persons With Disabilities Act, op. cit.
Section 33, Persons With Disabilities Act, op. cit.
For details, see, Section 38, Persons With Disabilities Act, op. cit
White Paper on An Integrated National Disability Strategy , op. cjt
p.50.
ibid ., p.45. ibid ., p.52.
ibid.
For details, see, White Paper on An Integrated National Disability
Strategy, op-cit.,
pp.52-53.
Wliite Paper on An Integrated National Disability Strategy , op. cit.,
p.53. ibid.
ibid ., p.55. ibid.
ibid.
For details, see, White Paper on An Integrated national Disability
Strategy, op-cit.,
pp.57-58.
Wliite Paper on An Integrated National Disability Strategy , op. cit.,

p.56.
Clause 43, Chapter VII, The Persons With Disabilities Act, op. cit.,
1995.
clause 44, Chapter VIII, Persons With Disabilities Act, op. cit .,1995.
For details see, Clause 45, Persons With Disabilities Act, op. cit ¦ For details, see, Clause
46, Persons With Disabilities Act, op. cit. Clause 47(1), op. cit.
For this purpose, selection of the word 'consumer ' is made

intentionally as the period in which this research is made is
predominantly a period of market-oriented economy in which,
irrespective of all charming jargons, even the funds allocated for
the diverse section are made from the consumeristic outlook to
the extent that no one raises the question with Human Rights
Commission if there is a considerable decrease in the funds tor
the education for the visually impaired in the name of integrate
or exclusive education or these institutions are privatised
remove the burden of the nation in terms of the expenditure-relating
to the infrastructure for this purpose. .
407 Pandey, R-S. and Advani, Lai, Perspectives in Disabilities ""
1
References 399
rehabilitation, (New Delhi: Vikas Publishing House Pvt. Ltd., 1997),
p.35.
Pandey, R.S. and Advani, Lai, op. cit.
As per the definition of the World Health Organisation (1997):
Low vision corresponds to visual acuity of less than 6/18 (0.3) but
equal to or better than 3/60 (0.05) in the better eye with the best
possible correction .
National Guidelines for the Prevention of the blindness in South Africa,
(Pretoria: Department of Health, Chronic Diseases and Geriatrics,
2002), p. 6.
ibid ., p. 5.
ibid., p. 9.
ibid., p.16.
For details, see, Bhatt, Usha, The Physically Handicapped in India ,
(Bombay: Popular Book Depot, 1963), pp.56-57.
ibid., p.47.
ibid., pp.44-45.
Cornea is the thin transparent film in front of the eye which lets
the light in. Injuries, nutritional deficiencies and some other causes
may ulcerate the cornea and make it opaque. Corneal opacity can
also be corrected through surgery by corneal grafting which may
restore vision in some cases, ibid ., p.59.

419 Bakre, h.y., "Prevention of Blindness in Rural Areas", BlindWelfare, Vol. 5,
December, 1953, pp.3-4.
420 Education White Papa' 6 Special Needs Education Building an v inclusive

education and training system , (Pretoria; govern merit ;*¦ Publications, 2001), p.3.
421 Davenport, T.R.H., South Africa A modern History, Fourth Edition,

(London: MacMillan Press Ltd., 1991), P.92.
422 Calculated on the basis of the figures given in Stats SA, 2001 .
423 An audio library is a place where books are kept in the audio
format. These books were primarily on the talking books but with the passage of time and
the development of technology,
f-these
books are recorded on Composite Discs. These libraries are
f the examples of how knowledge is transferred from the visual
basis to tactile and audio basis and how by change of means, I- things become
communicable and graspable. These libraries are
the example of how the acceptance of the reliance over touch and t hearing can make a
topsy turvy in the field of education for the
I visually challenged.
424 For details, see, Government Notice No. R. 283 of 1 March, 1968
and has been declared under Section 3 of the Cultural Institution
Act, 1969 (Act No. 29 of 1969).
P^f
sus
425 Figures of literacy mentioned in this Para are taken from Cen of India, 2001.
426 Sanyal, Bikas C, Giri, P.K., Roychowdhury, M. et al, Education nnd

Employment of the blind, (New Delhi: South Asian Publishers Pvt
Ltd., 1985), p.22.
427 For Details, see, ibid .
428 Baquer, Ali and Sharma, Anjali, Disability: Challenges vs Responses (Delhi:
Concerned Action Network, 1997), p.143.
429 Engelbrecht, Peter, Inclusive Education in Action in South Africa (Pretoria: Van
Schaik Publishers, 1999), p.l.
430 Advani, Lai and Chaddha, Anupriya, op. cit., p.22.
431 For details, see, Christensen, Carol and Rizvi, Fazal, Disability and
Dilemmas of Education and Justice, (Philadelphia: Open University
Press, 1996), pp.85-93.
432 Ibid., p.86.
433 Adapted from DFE1994B: 3, cited in Christensen, Carol and Rizvi,

Fazal, op. cit, ppl84-5.
434 This is an abbreviated form of Special Educational Need

Coordinator.
435 DNE, 1997: 55.
436 For details, see, Spady, W.G., Outcome Based Education, (Virginia:
American Association of School Administrators, 1994).
437 Engelbrecht, Peter, Inclusive education in action in South Africa,

op. cit., p.36.
438 Saloojee, Benick, G. and Saloojee, A., Creating Inclusive Post-secondary

Learning Environment, (Ontario: The Post-Secondary
Anti-Harassment and Discrimination Project coordination
Committee under the auspices of Ontario Council of Regents and
the Ontario Council on University Affairs, Council of Regents,
1996), p.2.
439 Prasad, Lakshman, Rehabilitation of the Physically Handicapped, (Delhi: Konark
440 Report of the Education Commission 1964-66, Part 1, Education and

National Development, Ministry of Education, Government of
India, (New Delhi: GOI press, 1966), p.124.
441 Mani, Rama D., The physically Handicapped in India, (Delhi: Ashish
Publishing House, 1988), p.169.
442 Programme for the Physically Handicapped , Department of Social

Welfare, Government of India, Mimeograph Pamphlet, undated.
443 [bid.
444 Prasad, Lakshman, op. cit, p.97.
445 ibid.,-pp97-98.
446 Baquer, Ali and Sharma, Anjali, op. cit, p.126.
447 For details, Baquer, Ali and Sharma, Anjali, op. cit.
457
458
459
460
461
462
463
464
465
466
467
468
469
470
471
472
473
474
475
476
477
478
479
480
481
482
483
I
ibid.
Mani, Rama D., op. cit, pp.181-182.
Smith, H., Information A Key to Independent Living, (Pretoria: South
African National Council for the Blind, 1988), p.28.
Ibid., p.29.
For details, see, Pandey, R.S. and Advani, Lai, op. cit., pp.70-71.
For details, see, 50-point Demand Charter released by the National
blind youth Association on August 15, 1978.
For details, see, Smith, H., op. cit., pp.28-29.
Section 1, EMPLOYMENT EQUITY ACT NO. 55 OF 1998 CODE OF
GOOD PRACTICE ON THE EMPLOYMENT OF PEOPLE WITH
DISABILITIES, OP. CIT.
IBID.
For details, see, Appendix IV .
ibid.
ibid.
7.1.6, Employment Equity Act No. 55 of 1998 Code of Good Practice on the
Employment of People With Disabilities, op. cit.
7.1.7, OP. CIT.

7.2.1, op. cit .
7.2.2, op. cit. 7.2.4, op. cit. 7.3.1, op. cit.,
7.3.4, op. cit .

7.4.5, op. cit. 7.5, op. cit.
For details, see, Appendix IV .

For details, see, 7.5.2, op. cit.
Section 8, op. cit .
ibid.
Section 9, op. cit .
Stats SA , 2001.
Ibid.
Calculated from Stats SA , 2001.
Stats SA , 2001.
Ibid.
Calculated from the Stats SA , 2001.
This statement is based on the interviews of the consumers.
Facts mentioned in this para are based on the interviews with the
officials of the South African National Council for the Blind.
Vaughan, V.H., The Diamond Years The Story of the South African
National Council for the Blind During the Decade 1979-1989, of SANCB,
(Pretoria: SANCB Publications, 1990), p.258.

°f
484 Calculated on the basis of the data presented by the Caisti:

India , 2001.
485 Census of India, 2001.
486 Calculated from the figures given in Census of India , 2001.
487 For details, see, Census of India , 2001,
488 Rastogi, M.K., Addressing a Seminar organised by the Progressive

Society for the Sightless Persons and held in Delhi on Census of
India and the Sightless, December 24, 2003.
489 For details, see, http://accessindia visited on August 3, 2005. '<J
490 ibid.
491 DOPT Order No. 36035 '3 '2004-Estt (Res), Department of Personnel
and Training, Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and
Pensions, Government of India, p.l.
492 For details, see, ibid.
493 The information regarding the unemployment allowance is based

on various interviews.
494 Pandey, R.S. and Advani, Lai, op. tit., p.119.
495 For details, see, Programme for New Millennium , (Pretoria:

Government Publications, 2001).
496 For details, see, Integrated National Disability Strategy , (Pretoria:

Government Publications, 2001). .*
497 Tmvards a Barrier-Free Society , SAHRC Report, 2002, p.5.
498 For details, see Article 14-19, Part iii, Constitution of India , (New
Delhi: Department of Legislation and Company Affairs, 2001).
499 Vaughan, V.H., op. tit ., p.5.
500 For details, see, www.sancb.org.za

501 For details, see, www.sabwo.org.za
502 Statement of Khemkaran, a trainee of the Workshop in Mumbai

on March 3, 2005.
503 Yadav, B.P., Inaugural Speech in a seminar on the Sightless and the
Manifestoes of the Political Parties of India , December 24, 2000.
504 ibid.
505 Jain, M.K., Speaking in the annual function of the NSOB, October
5,1975.
506 Nye (jr.), Joseph, Zelikow, Philip and King, David (Ed.), Governance
in a Globalising world , (Washington D.C.: Brooking Institution
Press, 2000), p.2.
507 Krugman, Paul, The Return of Depression Economics, (Norton, 1999),

p.l 6.
508 Nye (Jr.), Joseph, Zelikow, Philip and King, David (Ed.), op. cit., p.3.
509 Meyer, John et al, "World Society and the Nation-State", American
journal of Sociology , V ol. 103, July 1997 , pp.144-81.
510 Nye (Jr.), Joseph, Zelikow, Philip and King, David, (Ed.), op. clt'
p.3.
References 403
Malakar, S.N., "Globalisation and Emerging Trends in Sub-

Saharan
Africa: A Critical Observation", Indian Journal of African
Studies , Vol XIV, Nos. I and II, April-October, 2003, (Delhi:
Department of African Studies, University of Delhi, 2003), p.65.
ibid.
Friedman, Thomas, The Lexus and the Olive Tree: Understanding
Globalisation , (Farrar Straus Giroux, 1999), pp. 7-8.
Statement of Ia3 during the field trip dated May 3, 2005.
Statement of 2a5 interviewed on March 7, 2005.
Statement of Ia4 during the field trip dated May 5, 2006.
Ibid.
Statement of 2a4 during the interview on March 10, 2005.
Statement of Ia4 during the field trip on May 7, 2005.
Statement of 2al in the interview on March 3, 2005.
Ibid
Statement of 2a5 during the interview on March 3, 2005.
Statement of Ia3, op. cit.
Statement of Ia2 during the field trip on April 30, 2005.
Ibid.
Statement of 2a5 on May 5, 2005.
ibid.
Statement of 2a4 during interview on May 7, 2005.
Statement of Ibl4 during the field trip on May 4, 2005.

Ibid.
The statement of 2bll on February 17, 2005.
The statement of Ib21 during the field trip on February 23, 2005.
Statement of 2B16 on February 20, 2005.
Advani, Lai and Chaddha, Anupriya, You and Your Special Child,
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Mani, Rama Dv The Physically Handicapped in India, (Delhi: Ashis
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The term 'handicapped ' literally means 'a cap in the hand '.
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APPENDICES
APPENDIX A
Questionnaires
I. Questionnaire for Consumers

?
Appendices 427
Sympathetic/ Apathetic/ Ernpathetic/ Mixed
16. What do you wish to be for the society? Part of the society/ Unconcerned
17. As a visually impaired, do you find any problem with the society? Yes/No
18. If no, do you think that you may achieve the achievable?
Yes/No
19. If yes, what kind of problems do you have?
Social/Economic/Psychological/all
20. Do you accept those problems as the inseparable part of the

life? Yes/No
AWARENESS
1. Do you know that in the post-apartheid South Africa/India certain policies and
programmes are being taken up by the
government for the visually challenged persons? Yes/No
2. Is there any equality provision in the constitution of the Republic of South

Africa/India? Yes/No
3. If yes, do you know that the disabilities have also been included in the non-
discrimination provision? Yes/No
4. Do you know that present government has made some provisions for the
education for all? Yes/No
5. If yes, do you know that it implies that the same should be applicable for the
education for the visually impaired?
Yes/No
6. Do you know that there is something known as affirmative

action and for this the Government of the Republic of South
Africa/India has brought forth some acts? Yes/No
EDUCATION
1. How many schools for the visually impaired are there in the Republic of South
Africa/India?
2. What is the average strength of those schools?
3. Do special schools provide free education and boarding and lodging facilities?
Yes/No
4. Are you supposed to pay for the special equipments for your studies during your
stay in the school? Yes/No
5. Is mathematics and science compulsory till the end of the schooling?

Yes/No
6. If yes, is there any special provision for the special equipments for you? Yes
/No
7. How do you manage for the experiments relating to the science,

particularly, experiments in which vision is required?

Doing it yourself /Seeking help of others
8. Is there any special equipment for geometry? Yes/M0

9. If yes, what is its name?
10. Do you get the tactile geography maps? Yes/No
11. Is there an)? Braille library iii your school? Yes/t\T0

12. Are you satisfied with its arrangements? Yes/No
13. If no, what are your suggestions for its improvement? Increasing the number of
the books/Increasing the variety of
the books/Both
14. Is there audio library in your school? Yes/No

15. If yes, are you satisfied with its performance? Yes/No
16. If no, what are your suggestions for its improvement? Increasing the number of
the audio books/Increasing the
variety of the audio books/Both
17. Is there any provision for physical fitness in your school in terms of regular
physical exercises? Yes/No
18. Is there any provision for the in-door games in your school? Yes/No
19. Is there any physical instructor in your school? Yes/No
20. Is there a playground in your school? Yes/No
21. Is there any special provision for the low vision students? Yes/No
22. If yes, are they being provided large print books? Yes/No
23. Are there arrangements of magnifying glass or other lenses for them?
Yes/No
24. Are there any regular eye checkups for the preventable visual impairment?
Yes/No
25. If yes, is there any provision for free treatment for them? Yes/No
26. If yes, what is your opinion for this provision? Excellent/ Satisfactory/ Non-
satisfactory
27. Is there provision for vocational training along with the education? Yes/No
28. Is there any provision for the inclusive/integrated education? Yes/No

29. If yes, is there any special facility for the persons with physical challenge in
general and visually challenged persons in
particular? Yes/No
30. Is education free in the mainstream schools? Yes/No
Appendices 429
31. How are they being taught there? Same class/By special provision
32. Is there any special provision in terms of resource room, learning Braille etc.?
Yes/No
33. If yes, what type of arrangement is there?

34. Do they take part in extra-curricular activities? Yes/No
35. If yes, specify some of the events.

36. Do they take part in sports? Yes/no
37. If yes, specify some of the sp orts.
38. How do they appear in the class tests/examinations? With the help of writer/ on
computer/through Braille
39. Is there any special facility for the visually impaired in the tertiary education?
Yes / No
40. If yes, are these facilities sufficient? Sufficient/Needed to be updated
41. Is there any provision of the scholarship/bursary at the tertiary level?

Yes/No
42. Is there any provision of the reader allowance for the visually impaired persons as
the part of the bursary or separately at
the tertiary level? Yes /No
43. Are these provisions sufficient to meet the cost of the studies?
Yes/No
44. Is there any national Braille library to cater the need at the national level? Yes /
No
45. Is there any national audio library to cater the need at the national level?
Yes/No
46. Is there an)' subsidy on the purchase of the equipments for the visually unpaired
persons? Yes/No
47. If no, is there any voluntary organization which is looking after this problem?
Yes/No
48. Is there any provision of interest free loan for the computer for tertiary
education/better employment? Yes/No
EMPLOYMENT, TRAINING AND REHABILITATION

1. Is there any special teacher's training centre for the training of elementary school
teachers for the visually impaired
children? Yes/No
2. By whom is it being run? Government/ Private/Voluntary organization
i- Is
possession of recognized degree/certificate mandatory for
teaching the visually impaired
4.
5.
6.
7.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
children? Yes/No
Are there special teacher's training programmes for teaching

the visually impaired persons at the secondary level?
Yes/No
Who regulates the training of the teachers? Government/
Private/Voluntary organization
Are there special programmes for training vocational

instructors for the visually impaired persons? Yes/No
Are there special aptitude tests to determine what vocational

training is given to the visually impaired persons? Yes/
No
Is there any national body to regulate and standardize the

training of the teachers for the visually impaired persons at
all levels? Yes/No
Is there reservation of jobs for the visually impaired persons?

Yes/No
If yes, what is the percentage of reservation?

If no, what are die protective measures to protect their economic
interest?
Have special posts been identified for the visually impaired

persons? Yes /No
Are these protective measures available in all jobs? Yes/No

Are these measures available even in the private
sectors? Yes/No
Are they able to obtain employment as lecturers, professors or

other white collared jobs? Yes/No
Do people take up self-employment? Yes/No
Does government provide any financial assistance for die self-employment?

Yes/No Do other financial institutions come forward to assist the
visually impaired persons? Yes/No
Is there any allocation of fund to assist the self-employment
for the visually impaired persons? Yes/No
Is diere any reservation in die allotment of the accommodation
to the visually impaired persons? Yes/No
Is there any financial support from the banks/ government for
this purpose? Yes/No
Do you think that the private business entertains sufficiently
die persons with visual impairment for die employment? Yes/
To some extent/To a greater extent/Not at all
Appendices 431
23. Is there any special provision of conveyance allowance for the visually impaired
persons whichbecomes the part of their
salary? Yes/No
24. Are health cares services available to the visually impaired persons free of cost?
Yes/No
25. Is there any provision for the visually impaired senior citizen? Yes/No
26. Are there homes for the aged? Yes/NO

27. What financial assistance is provided by the state to the visually impaired senior
citizens?
II. Questionnaire for Different Government Departments CONSTITUTIONAL PRO

VISIONS
1. Is there any constitutional provision for the persons with disability/physically

handicapped persons in general and
the visually impaired/visually challenged persons in
particular? If yes, please enclose a brief resumae in the given
space or on a separate sheet.
2. If yes, have the constitutional provisions actually been implemented?
Fully implemented/partially implemented/not at all

implemented
3. Are the constitutional provisions beneficial to the visually

impaired people at all ages andeven living in the remote rural
areas?
Yes/No/To some extent/To a greater extent
4. Is elementary/primary education guaranteed to the visually impaired children by

the constitution? Yes/No
5. Is the social security guaranteed to the visually challenged persons by the

constitution? Yes/No
6. Are the constitutional provisions regarding disabilities/ physically challenged

persons arbitrary or constitute a
guiding principles of the state policies?
ROLE OF THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT
1- Does national government confine itself to policy formulation?

Yes/No
2- Does it undertake programme implementation? If so, what kind of programmes is

implemented by the National
Government? (Please give a brief resumae of the programmes).
3- Are the education and rehabilitation of the visually impaired persons part of the
national planningprocess? If so, what has
been the allocation in the last five years and how tar has thj
allocation been utilized? (Please give examples of new piai,
programmes being implemented or proposed to be
implemented in the coming years).
4. Is education a significant part of the national plans? If So what kind of education

is being encouraged for the visually
impaired persons?
Special education/Inclusive education/Mixed education.
5. Has inclusive education been introduced? Yes/No

6. Is there any fixed percentage or preferential treatment in providing admission for
the physically challenged persons
in general and the visually impaired persons in particular?
(Give the detail).
7. What is the percentage of visually impaired children in the primary education/in

the high school level/in the tertiary/
higher education?
8. Has inclusive education been accepted as a matter of policy?

Yes/No
9. How far has education of the visually impaired children

become a part of the general education system?
For all subjects/Confined to some subjects
10. How do the visually unpaired persons learn reading, writing

and rhetorics in a general school?
By a specially trained teacher for this purpose/With the

provision of a resource room having a specially trained
teacher/By an ordinary routine teacher
11. How the vocational training is imparted to the visually

impaired persons?
Through Special Centres/General Centres
12. What is the percentage of the trained visually impaired persons in the employment
even if there is aproviso of the preferential
treatment? --
13. What do they get? M

Open employment/sheltered employment/rural
employment/community-based.rehabilitation/self
employment
14. What assistance is provided by the state to the self-employe"
visually impaired entrepreneurs?
Cent percent/ Above 75 % /Above 50% /Above 25 % /None
15. Has the national government appointed an advisory
III
Appendices 433
committee or committees for the education or rehabilitation

for people with specially challenged in general and the
visually impaired persons in particular? Yes/No
16. Has the national government adopted special legislation for

the education and rehabilitation of the visually impaired
persons? If so, pleasestate the names of major laws along with
their brief provisions.
17. Is education compulsory for the visually impaired children? f. Yes/No
18. If so, up to what standard it is compulsory?
19. Is special equipment needed for the visually impaired persons manufactured with
in the country or imported from abroad?
(Please specify what equipment is indigenously made and
who pays if the child cannot afford).
20. Does the national government provide educational scholarship/bursary to the

visuallyimpaired students? If so,
at what stages and for what types of courses?
21. Is secondary education usually given in regular schools? If so, are the visually
impaired students exempted from
appearing in science and mathematics at the secondary level?
Yes/No
22. What relaxations are given to the visually impaired persons for appearing in the
examination at the secondary and
university levels?
23. How many Braille presses are there in the country?

24. By whom these presses are being run?
25. Are they able to cater the needs of the all visually challenged children?
Yes/No
26. Does every visually challenged child have his own Braille textbook?
Some of them/Most of them/None of them
27. Are Braille books heavily subsidised? Yes/No
28. Who bears the subsidy? Government/sponsorers

29. Is there any service available for low vision students? Yes/No
30. Who is running these services? Government/Voluntary organizations/Privately
"I- Does
the country have an adequate number of assessment
clinics for low vision people? If so, what assessment procedures
I, are employed?
32. Is visual efficiency adequately emphasized? Yes/N0

33. Does the country makes its own aspheric lenses or are imported from abroad? If
they are imported, where are they
imported from?
34. What is the ratio of low vision students to severely visually impaired students?
35. Is the number of low vision children increasing? Yes/No

36. What is the total number of visually impaired people in this country and what
percentage of the population do they
constitute?
37. What is the number of visually impaired children in the country and in what
percentage of the child population do
they constitute?
38. Is there any legal definition of the visual impairment and low vision? If so, please
specify.
39. What percentage of visually impaired students got the university and in what
subjects do they usually take up?
40. What assistance does the government provide to the university going visually
impaired students?
41. Do they set up special Braille or large print library or recording studios?
Yes/No
42. Is there any relaxation in the percentage of marks given to the visually impaired
students at the time of admission? If so,
please mention the percentage.
43. Are there any other concessions given to the students with visual impairment by
the universities? Yes/No
44. What are the attitudes of peers in the colleges to the visually impaired students?
Sympathetic/Ernpathetic/Indifferent/
Rejecting/ Mixed
45. Is there special teacher's training centre for the training of elementary school
teachers for visually impaired
children? Yes/No
46. By whom it is/are being run? Government/Private/ Voluntary organization

47. Is possession of recognized degree or certificate mandatory for teaching the
visually challenged children? Yes/N°
48. Are there special teacher's training programmes for teachi^p the visually impaired
children at the secondary level?
Yes/N°
49. Who regulates training of teachers? Government/Priva

Appendices 435
Voluntary organization
50. Are there special programmes for training vocational instructors for the visually
impaired persons? If so, please
specify.
51. Are there special aptitude tests to determine what vocational training is given to
the visually unpaired persons? Yes/No
52. Is there any national body to regulate and standardize the training of the teachers
for the persons with visual impairment
at all levels? If so, please specify the precise functions of this
body.
53. Is there any reservation of jobs for the visually impaired persons? Yes/No
54. If yes, what is the percentage of reservation?

55. If no, what is the procedure of protecting/ascertaining the economic needs of the
visually impaired persons?
56. Have special posts been identified for them? Yes/No

57. Is preferential treatment available in all categories of jobs? Yes/No
58. Is there any special provision for job availability for the visually impaired persons
in the private sector? Yes/No
59. If yes, what is its percentage?

60. What are the categories/classes in which this preferential treatment is given?
61. Are they able to obtain employment as lecturers, professors or other white
collared jobs? Yes/No
62. If yes, what is their percentage in the total employment in this category?
63. Are health cares services available to the visually impaired persons free of cost?
Yes/No/At the concessional rate
64. Is there any provision for the visually impaired senior citizens?
Yes/No
65. If yes, please give the details.

66. Are there homes for the aged? Yes/No
67. What financial assistance is provided by the state to the visually impaired senior
citizens?
Iii. Questionnaire for Non-Governmental Organisations INFORMATIONS
REGARDING THE ORGANISATION
1. Name of the organisation

2. Address of the Organisation
3. Network of the organisation local/provincial/national
4. Focal point of the organisation Literacy/Employment/ Recreation/All of

them/None
5. Numerical strength of the organisation

Below 100/Below 1000/Above 1000
6. Ideology of the organisation-self-help/agency oriented

7. Does the national government treat NGOs as partners in development? If so, in
what way?
8. Do NGOs function as trusted agents of the national government in implementing

programmes of the rehabilitation
of the visually impaired persons? Yes/No
9. Are they funded by the national government?

No/Partly/Fully
10. What regulatory control does the national government exercise on NGOs?
11. Is work for the visually impaired persons in this country largely in the hands of
NGOs?Yes/No
GENERAL
1. What is the numerical strength of the visually impaired persons and how much
percentage does it constitute of the total
population?
2. What is the percentage of the visually impaired children in the total population of
the children?
3. WTiat is your assessment of the medical facilities in terms of prevention of the

visual impairment?
Best/Satisfactory/Dissatisfactory
4. What are the main causes of the visual impairment in this country?
Hereditary/Ignorance/ Accidental/ All
5. Are these causes preventable? Some/All/None

6. Do the government agencies provide necessary service for the prevention of the
visual impairment?
7. Has the organisation been playing any role to find the

solutions of these causes?
8. What is the outcome of the endeavours of the organisation over this issue?
Awakening/ No effect
9. What role does the organisation play in the case of the visual impairment because
of the accident?
Arranging medical facility/Arranging crisis courses/
Both/None
I
Appendices 437
10. How many persons of this nature are being helped? Below 10 per annum/ Above
10 per annum/None
11. Is there an)' constitutional provision for the persons with disabilities in general
and the persons with visual impairment
in particular? Yes/No
12. Have the constitutional provisions actually been implemented?
Fully implemented/Partially implemented/

Not at all implemented
13. Are the constitutional provisions beneficial to the visually impaired people at all
ages andeven living in the remote rural
areas? Yes/No/To some extent/To a greater extent
14. Is the social security guaranteed to the visually impaired people by the
constitution? Yes/No
15. What is the status of these constitutional provisions?

Arbitrary/Part of the Directive
Principles of the State Policies
16. How do you assess the role of the government in policy formulation?
Affirmative/Negative
17. Does the government take interest in implementing the programmes which is
generally shown on the paper?
Yes/No/To a greater extent/To some extent
18. What are the social attitudes towards visually impaired

people? Negative/Positive
19. What are family attitudes towards visually impaired children and others?
Accepting/Denial/Disguised
rejection/Outright rejection/Over protection
20. What is the state of public awareness of the potentials of visually impaired people
for education and economic
rehabilitation? Fairly good/satisfactory/no
21. Is begging common among the visually impaired persons?

22. Are health cares services available to the visually impaired

persons free of cost?
Yes/No/On concessional rates
23. Is there any service available for low vision students?
Yes/No
24. Who is running these services?
Government/Voluntary organisations/Privately
25- Does
the country have an adequate number of assessment
clinics for low vision people? If so, what assessment procedures

are employed?
26. Is visual efficiency adequately emphasized? Yes/n0

27. Does the country make its own aspheric lenses or they imported from abroad? If
they are imported, where they
imported from?
28. What is the ratio of low vision students to severely visually impaired students?
29. Is the number of low vision children increasing? Yes/No

30. Is there legal definition of visual impairment and low vision? If so, please specify.
31. Does the country have a national programme for the prevention of the visual
impairment? If so, please describe its
objectives and functions briefly.
32. Is it operative by government or NGOs?

33. Are eyes of school children checked during school health inspection?
Yes/No
34. Are glasses distributed free of charge to poor children with Myopia or hyperopia?
Yes/No
35. Are special cases referred to qualified doctors? Yes/No

36. What arrangement does the country have for later aged eye care?
37. Are there adequate arrangements for cataract operations of the elderly people with
visual impairment? Yes/No
38. Are there health workers in the country to advice rural population on primary eye
care? Yes/No
39. How common is visual impairment caused by vitamin a deficiency

(xerophthalmia)?
To a greater extent/To some extent/Uncommon
40. Is there any reservation in the government made

accommodation for the persons with visual impairment?
Yes/No
41. If yes, what is its percentage? 1/2/3/None

42. Is there any soft loan facility for the visually impaired persons? Yes/No
43. Is there any soft loan scheme for the visually impaired persons for purchasing aids
and appliances meant for them? Yes/
No
LITERACY AND EDUCATION
1. Do you have any literacy programme? Yes/No

Appendices 439
2. What is your field for this programme?
Rural/Urban/both
3. What is the average output in the numerical strength of this

endeavour?
Below 100/Above 100
4. What are the other steps which the organisation is taking for
the literacy?
Use of mass media/Guide counsellors
5. Is elementary/primary education guaranteed to the visually impaired children by

the constitution? Yes/No
6. Is the education for the visually impaired persons part of the national planning
process? Yes/No
¦ 7. Is there any allocation of the funds for the education of the

8. Are these funds sufficient? Yes/No

9. What type of education for the visually impaired persons is in practice?
Special schools/Integrated/Inclusive/ All of them
10. Is there any fixed percentage in providing admission to the

physically challenged persons for the general and the visually
impaired persons in particular?
According to the ratio of the population/Above

the ratio of the population/Below the ratio of the population/
No fixed percentage
11. What is the percentage of the visually impaired children in

the primary education/in the highschool level/in the tertiary
education?
According to the ratio of the population/Above the ratio of

the population/Below the ratio of the population/no fixed
percentage
12. Has inclusive education been accepted as a matter of policy? Yes/No

13. How far has education of the visually impaired persons become a part of the
general education system?
For all subjects/Confined to some subjects
14. How do the visually impaired children/youngsters learn

reading, writing and rhetorics in a general school?
By a specially trained teacher for this purpose With the

provision of a resource room/By an ordinary routine teacher
trained for this purpose
15.
16.
17.
1
18.
1 120.
21.
22.
23.
24.
1 25.
¦!; ¦
26.
.I
iS ¦ 27.
>l.: 28.
29.
30.
1L
31.
32.
33.
r
34.
35
Has die national government appointed advisory committee/
committees for the education of the persons with disabilities
in general and the visually impaired persons in particular?
Yes/No
Has the national government adopted special legislation for

the education of the visually impaired persons? Yes/No
Is education compulsory for the visually impaired children?
Yes/No
Up to what standard is this education compulsory?
Primary/High school/Tertiary
Are the special educational devices for the visually impaired

persons indigenously manufactured or imported?
Is there any subsidy on it? Yes/No
Is there any relaxation on the educational devices if imported?

Yes/No if yes, specify the percentage.
Is there any scholarship for the study of the visually impaired
students? Yes/No
What is the amount of the scholarship at different levels?

Is it centralised or decentralised?
Up to what age or educational stage this scholarship is

provided?
Is secondary education usually given in the regular schools?
Yes/No
Are visually impaired students exempted from appearing in

science and mathematics? Yes/No
What relaxation is given to the visually impaired for appearing

in the examination at the secondary and university level?
Are there Braille presses in the country? Yes/No
By whom these presses are run?
Govemment/Non-Government
organisations/Privately/Mixed
How many Braille presses are there in the country?
Are these Braille presses able to cater the needs of all the
visually impaired students/youngsters?
Yes/No/To some extent/ to a greater extent

Does every visually impaired child have his Braille
textbook?
All of them/Most of them/Some of them/None of them

Are the Braille books heavily subsidised? Yes/No
Who bears the subsidy? Government/Sponsorers

36.
37
38
¦I 39
40
Appendices 441
Is there an)' special educational facility for the low vision?
Yes/No
Who is providing these facilities?
Government/ Voluntary organisations/Privately

What is the percentage of the reservation for the visually
impaired students in the university and in what subjects they
generally take up?
What is the special infrastructure provided by the university?

Do they set up special Braille or large print library or recording
studio for them? Yes/No
41. Is there any relaxation in the percentage of marks given to the visually impaired
students at the time of admission? If so,
please mention the percentage.
42. Is there any other concession given to the visually impaired students?
Yes/No
43. If yes, please give the details.

44. What are the attitudes of the students and lecturers in college to the visually
impaired students?
Sympathetic/Empathetic/Indifferent/Rejecting TRAINING AND EMPLOYMENT
1. Is there any special teacher's training centre to train the persons for teaching the
visually impaired persons at the school
level? Yes/No
2. By whom is it being run?

Government/ Private /Voluntary organisation
3. Is possession of recognised degree/certificate mandatory for teaching the visually

impaired children? Yes/No
4. Are there special programmes for training vocational instructors for the visually
impaired persons? Yes/No
5. Are there special training centres to impart vocational training to the visually
impaired persons? Yes/No
6. Are there special aptitude tests to determine what vocational training is given to
the visually impaired persons? Yes/No
7. Is there any national body to regulate and standardise the vocational and teacher's
training for the visually impaired
persons? Yes/No
8. Is there any reservation of the jobs for the visually impaired persons?
Yes/No
9. If yes, what is the percentage? 1/2/3/None

10. If no, how the placement of the visually impaired is made?
I
11. Have special posts been identified for the visually impaired persons?
Yes/No
12. Does the provision for the employment available in all jobs?
Yes/No
13. Is there any job quota in the private sector for the visually impaired persons?
Yes/No
14. If yes, what is its percentage? 1/2/3/None
15. If no, how the placement of the visually impaired persons is made possible in the
private sector?
16. Are they able to obtain employment as lecturers or professors?

Yes/No
17. If yes, how many visually impaired persons are working on the post of
lecturer/professor in the ordinary colleges/
universities?
18. Are there special employment exchanges for the visually impaired persons in
country? Yes/No
19. If yes, how many and what exactly do they do?

20. What is the attitude of the employers to the visually impaired employee?
accepting/rejecting
21. Do they take up self-employment? Yes/No

22. Does government provide any financial assistance for the self employment?
Yes /No
23. Do other financial institutions come forward to assist them?

Yes/No
24. Is there any allocation of funds to assist the visually impaired persons for their
self-employment? Yes/No
25. Are there any sheltered workshops for the visually impaired persons?
Yes/No
26. If yes, on what criteria of visually impaired people place in sheltered employment
and do sheltered workshops give the
minimum prescribed wage?
27. Who subsidises the sheltered workshops? Government/ Sponsorers/None
28. Are visually impaired people working in the agro-based occupations?

Yes/No
29. If yes, what kind of occupations they are able to undertake and what help from the
family do they need?
30. Is community-based rehabilitation propagated by the WHO popular in South

Africa?Yes/No
31. If yes, how many such programmes are operating in the

443 Appendices
country?
32. Are visually impaired people in this country satisfied with
the employment situation? If not, what are their main
grievances? RECREATION
1. What are the m am leisure time activities of the visually impaired persons?
2. Are there day care centres or clubs for the elderly visually impaired people?
Yes/No
3. If yes, who supervises and funds these centres?

Government/Voluntary organisations
4. Is there a national cricket team for the visually impaired persons in South Africa?
Yes/No
5. If yes, is it the member of the international blind Sport Association?

Yes/No
6. Is there any fee charge for possessing a radio or TV set? Yes/ No
7. Do visually impaired people play indoor games? Yes/No

8. Is there a special council to encourage development of sports skills among the
I.
APPENDIX B
THE PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES
(Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and
Full Participation) Act, 1995
CHAPTER I
PRELIMINARY
Short Title, Extent and Commencement
1. (1) This Act may b6 called The Persons With Disabilities (Equal
Opportunities, Protection of rights and Full Participation) Act,
1995.
(2) It extends to the whole of India except the State of Jammu and
Kashmir.
(3) It shall come into force on such date as the Central Government
may, by notification, appoint Definition 2-. In this Act, unless the context otherwise
requires, --
(a) "appropriate Government" means, --
(i) in relation to the Central Government or any establishment

wholly or substantially financed by that Government, or a
cantonment Board constituted under the Cantonment Act, 1924,
the Central Government (2 of 1924.)
(ii) In relation to a State Government or any establishment

wholly or substantially financed by that Government, or any local
authority, other than a Cantonment Board, the State Government;
(iii)in respect of the Central Coordination Committee and the

Central Executive Committee, the Central Government;
(iv) in respect of the Stale Coordination Committee and the

State Executive Committee, the State Government;
(b) "blindness" refers to a condition where a person suffers

from any of the following conditions namely: --
(i) total absence of sight; or
(ii)visual acuity not exceeding 6/60 or 20/200 (snellen) in the

better eye with correcting lenses; or
\
Appendices 445
(iii) limitation of the field of vision subtending an angle of 20

degree or worse;
(c ) "Central Coordination Committee" means the Central

Coordination Committee constituted under sub-section (1) of section
3;
(d) "Central Executive Committee" means the Central Executive Committee

constituted under sub-section (1) of section 9;
(e) "cerebral palsy" means a group of non-progressive conditions of a person

characterised by abnormal motor control
posture resulting from brain insult or injuries occurring in the pre natal, peri-natal or
infant period of development;
(f) "Chief Commissioner" means the Chief Commissioner

appointed under sub-section (l)of section 57;
(g)"Commissioner" means the Commissioner appointed under

sub-section (1) of section 60;
(h) "competent authority" means the authority appointed

under section 50;
(i) "disability" means, --
(j) blindness;
(ii) low vision;
(iii) leprosy-cured;
(iv) hearing impairment;
(v) locomotor disability;
(vi) mental retardation;
(vii) mental illness
(j) "employer" means, --
(/) in relation to a Government, the authority notified by the

Head of the Department in this behalf or where no such authority is
notified, the Head of the Department; and
(ii) in relation to an establishment, the chief executive officer
of that establishment;
(k) "establishment" means a corporation established by or

under a Central, Provincial or State Act, or an authority or a body
owned or controlled or aided by the Government or a local authority
or a Government Company as defined in Section 617 of the
companies Act, 1956 and includes Department of a Government; (1
of 1956.)
(/) "hearing impairment" means loss of sixty decibels or more ^ the better ear in the
conversational range of frequencies;
(m) "institutions for persons with disabilities" means an

446 Policy Perspectives for the Visually Impaired I
institution for the reception, care, protection, education, training

rehabilitation or any other service of persons with disabilities;
(n) "leprosy-cured person" means any person who has been

cured of leprosy but is suffering from --
(0 loss of sensation in hands or feet as well as loss of sensation

and paresis in the eye and eye-lid but with no manifests deformity;
(it) manifest deformity and paresis but having sufficient

mobility in their hands and feet to enable them to engage in normal
economic activity;
(Hi) extreme physical deformity as well as advanced age which

prevents him from undertaking any gainful occupation, and the
expression "leprosy-cured" shall be construed accordingly;
(o) "locomotor disability" means disability of the bones, joints

or muscles leading to substantial restriction of the movement of the
limbs or any form of cerebral palsy;
(p) "medical authority" means any hospital or institutions

specified for the purposes of this Act by notification by the
appropriate Government;
(q) "mental illness" means any mental disorder other than

mental retardation;
(R) "mental retardation" means a condition of arrested or

incomplete development of mind of a person Which is specially
characterised by sub-normality of intelligence;
(s) "notification" means a notification published in the Official

Gazette;
315
(t) "person with disability" means a person suffering from

not less than forty per cent of any disability as certified by a medical
authority;
(u) "person with low vision" means a person with impainnent

of visual functioning even after treatment or standard refractive
correction but who uses or is potentially capable of using vision for
the planning or execution of a task with appropriate assistive device;
(v) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this
Act;
(w) "rehabilitation" refers to a process aimed at enabling

persons with disabilities to reach and maintain their opting
physical, sensory, intellectual, psychiatric or social functional levels;
(x) "Special Employment Exchange" means any office or place established and
maintained by the Government for the collection
Appendices 447
and furnishing of information, either by keeping of registers or

otherwise, respecting--
(i) persons who seek to engage employees from amongst the

persons suffering from disabilities;
(n) persons with disability who seek employment; (Hi) vacancies to which person with
disability seeking
employment may be appointed;
|H (y) "State Coordination Committee" means the State
^M Coordination Committee constituted under sub-section (T) of section :'m 13;
(z) "State Executive Committee" means the State Executive

Committee constituted under sub-section (1) of section 19.
ICHAPTER II
THE CENTRAL COORDINATION COMMITTEE A Central Coordination
Committee
3. (1) The Central Government shall by notification constitute

a body to be known as the Central Coordination Committee to
exercise the powers conferred on, and to perform the functions % assigned to it, under
this Act.
j (2) The Central Coordination Committee shall consist of--
(a) the Minister in-charge of the Department of Welfare in the

Central Government, Chairperson, ex officio;
^_ (b) The Minister of State in-charge of the Department of Welfare
ML in the Central Government, Vice-chairperson, ex officio; &K (c) Secretaries to the

Government of India in-charge of the
Departments of Welfare, Education, Women and Child

Development, Expenditure, Personnel, Training and Public
Grievances, Health, Rural Development, Industrial Development,
Urban Affairs and Employment, Science and Technology, Legal
Affairs, Public Enterprises, Members, ex officio;
(d) Chief Commissioner, member, ex officio;

(e) Chairman Railway Board, Member, ex officio;
(f) Director-General of Labour, Employment and Training, Member, ex officio;
and
(g) Director, national Council for Educational, Research
Training, Member, ex officio;
(h) three Members of Parliament, of whom two shall be elected

by the House of the People and one by the Council of the States,
Members;
(0 three persons to be nominated by the Central Government

to represent the interests, which in the opinion of that Government

ought to be represented, Members;
(/') Directors of the --
(z) National Institute for the Visually Handicapped, Dehraduiv
(if) National Institute for the Mentally Handicapped,

Secundrabad;
(Hi) National Institute for the Orthopaedically handicapped,

Calcutta;
(iv) Ali Yavar Jung National Institute for the Hearing

Handicapped, Bombay, Members, ex officio;
(k) four members to be nominated by the Central Government

by rotation to represent the States and the Union Territories in such
maraier as may be prescribed by the Central Government: Provided
that no appointment under this clause shall be made except on the
recommendation of the State Government or, as the case may be, the
Union Territory;
(/) five persons as far as practicable, being persons with

disabilities, to represent non-governmental
organisations or
associations which are concerned with disabilities, to be nominated
by the Central Government, one from each area of disability,
Members: Provided that while nominating persons under this
clause, the Central Government shall nominate at least one woman
and one person belonging to Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes;
(m) Joint Secretary to the Government of India in the Ministry

of Welfare dealing with the welfare of the handicapped, Member-Secretary,
ex officio.
(3) The office of the Member .of the Central Coordination

Committee shall not disqualify its holder for being chosen as or for
being a Member of either House of Parliament.
TERM OF OFFICE OF MEMBERS
4. (1) Save as otherwise provided by or under this Act a Member

of Central Coordination Committee nominated under clause (i) or
clause (/) of sub-section (2) of section 3 shall hold office for a term of
three years from the date of his nomination: Provided that such a
Member shall, notwithstanding the expiration of his term, continue
to hold office until his successor enters upon his office.
(2) The term of office of an ex officio Member shall come to an end as soon as he
ceases to hold office by virtue of which he was so
nominated.
(3) The Central Government may if it thinks fit remove any
4
1
Appendices 449
Member nominated under clause (i) or clause (/) of sub-section (2) of

section 3, before the expiry of his term of office after giving him a
reasonable opportunity of showing cause against the same.
(4) A Member nominated under clause (i) or clause (/) of subsection

(2) of section 3 may at any time resign his office by writing
under his hand addressed to the Central Government and the seat
of the said Member shall thereupon become vacant.
(5) A casual vacancy in the Central Coordination Committee shall be filled by a fresh
nomination and the person nominated to
fill the vacancy shall hold office only for the remainder of the term
for which the Member in whose place he was so nominated.

(2) of section 3 shall be eligible for re-nomination.
(7) Members nominated under clause (z) and clause (/) of subsection
(2) of section 3 shall receive such allowances as may be
prescribed by the Central Government. DISQUALIFICATIONS
5. (2) No person shall be a Member of the Central Coordination

Committee who --
(a) is, or at any time has been, adjudged insolvent or has suspended payment of his
debts or has compounded with his
creditors, or
(b) is of unsound mind and stands so declared by a competent court, or
(c) is or has been convicted of an offence which, in the opinion of the Central
Government, involves moral turpitude, or
(d) Is or at any time has been convicted of an offence under this Act, or
(e) has so abused in the opinion of the Central Government his position as a Member
a to render his continuance in the Central
Coordination Committee detrimental to the interests of the general
public.
(2) No order of removal shall be made by the Central Government under this section
unless the Member concerned has
been given a reasonable opportunity of showing cause against the
same.
(3) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1) or sub-section (6) of
section 4, a Member who has been
removed under this section shall not be eligible for re-nomination as a Member.
VACATION OF SEATS BY MEMBERS
6. If a Member of the Central Coordination Committee becomes

subject to any of the disqualifications specified in section 5, his seat
shall become vacant.
MEETINGS OF THE CENTRAL COORDINATION

COMMITTEE
7. The Central Coordination Committee shall meet at least

once in every six months and shall observe such rules of procedure
in regard to the transaction of business at its meetings as may be
prescribed by the Central Government.
FUNCTIONS OF THE CENTRAL COORDINATION COMMITTEE
8. (1) Subject to the provisions of this Act, the function of the

Central Coordination Committee shall be to serve as the national
focal point on disability matters and facilitate the continuous
evolution of a comprehensive policy towards solving the problems
faced by persons with disabilities.
(2) In particular and without prejudice to the generality of the

foregoing, the Central Coordination Committee may perform all or
any of the following functions, namely: --
(a) Review and coordinate the activities of all the Departments

of Government and other Governmental and non-governmental
Organisations which are dealing with matters relating to persons
with disabilities;
(b) Develop a national policy to address issues faced by persons with disabilities;
(c) Advice the Central Government on the formulation of policies, programmes,

legislation and projects with respect to
disability;
(d) take up the cause of persons with disabilities with the concerned authorities and
the international organisations with a
view to provide for schemes and projects for the disabled in the
national plans and other programmes and policies evolved by the
international agencies;
(e) Review in consultation with the donor agencies their funding policies from the
perspective of their impact on persons
with disabilities;
if) take such other steps to ensure barrier free environment in
public places, work places, public utilities, schools and other
institutions;
(g) monitor and evaluate the impact of policies and

Appendices 451
programmes designed for achieving equality and full participation

of persons with disabilities;
(i) to perform such other functions as may be prescribed by
ftlie Central Government. CENTRAL EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

9. (1) The Central Government shall constitute a Committee to
be-known as the Central Executive Committee to perform the
functions assigned to it under this Act.
¦ (2) The Central Executive Committee shall consist of--
(a) the Secretary to the Government of India in the Ministry of Welfare, Chairperson,
ex officio;
(b) the Chief Commissioner, member, ex officio;

(c) the Director-General for Health Services, Member, ex officio; I (d) the Director-
General, Employment and Training, Member
¦ ex officio;
(e) six persons not below the rank of a Joint Secretary to the government of India, to
represent the Ministries or Departments of
rural Development, Education, Welfare, Personnel and Public
Grievances and Pension and Urban Affairs and employment,
Science and Technology, Members, ex officio;
(f) the Financial Advisor, Ministry of Welfare in the Central Government, Member,
ex officio;
1
(3) Members nominated under clause (i) and clause (/) of subsection
(2) shall receive such allowances as may be prescribed by
the Central Government.

(2) may at any time resign his office by writing under his
hand addressed to the Central Government and the seat of the said
Member shall thereupon become vacant.
FUNCTIONS OF THE CENTRAL EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
10. (2) The Central Executive Committee shall be the executive

body of the Central Coordination Committee and shall be responsible
for carrying out the decisions of the Central Coordination Committee.
(2) Without prejudice to the provisions of sub-section (2), the

Central Executive Committee shall also perform such other functions
as may be delegated to it by the Central Coordination Committee. MEETIGS OF THE
CENTRAL EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
11. The Central Executive Committee shall meet at least once

in three months and shall observe such rules of procedure in regard
to the transaction of business at its meeting as may be prescribed by
the Central Government.
TEMPORARY ASSOCIATION OF PERSONS WITH CENTRAL

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE FOR PARTICULAR PURPOSES.
12. (2) The Central Executive Committee may associate with

itself in such manner and for such purposes as may be prescribed
by the Central Government any person whose assistance or advice
it may desire to obtain in performing any of its functions under this
Act
(2) A person associated with the Central Executive Committee under sub-section (2)
for any purpose shall have the right to take
part iii the discussions of the Central Executive Committee relevant
to that purpose, but shall not have a right to vote at a meeting of the
said Committee, and shall not be a member for any other purpose.
(3) A person associated with the said Committee under subsection

(2) for any purpose shall be paid such fees and allowances,
for attending its meetings and for attending to any other work of the
said Committee, as may be prescribed by the Central Government.
CHAPTER I'll
THE STATE COORDINATION COMMITTEE STATE COORDINATION

COMMITTEE
13. (2) Every State Government Shall, by notification, constitute

a body to be known as the State Coordination Committee to exercise
Appendices 453
the powers conferred on, and to perform the function assigned to it,
under this Act.
0) the State Coordination Committee shall consist of--
(a) The Minister in-charge of the Department of Social Welfare in the State
Government, Chairperson, ex officio;
(b) the Minister of State in-charge of the Department of Social Welfare, if any, Vice-
Chairperson, ex officio;
(c) Secretaries to the State Government in-charge of the Departments of Welfare,

Education, Woman and Child
Development, Expenditure, Personnel Training and Public
Grievances, Health, Rural Development, Industrial Development,
Urban Affairs and Employment, Science and Technology, Public
Enterprises, by whatever name called, members, ex ojficio;
(d) Secretary of any other Department which the State government considers
necessary, Member, ex officio;
(e) Chairman Bureau of Public Enterprises (by whatever name called) member, ex
officio;
(f) five persons, as far as practicable being persons with disabilities, to represent non-
governmental organisations or
associations which are concerned with disabilities, to be nominated
by the State Government, one from each area of disability, Members.
Provided that while nominating persons under this clause, the State
Government shall nominate at least one woman and one person
belonging to Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes;
(g) three Members of State Legislature, of whom two shall be elected by the
Legislative Assembly and one by the Legislative
Council, if any;
(h) three persons to be nominated by that State Government to

represent agriculture, industry or trade or any other interest, which
in the opinion of State Government ought to be represented,
Members, ex officio;
(z) the Commissioner, Member, ex officio;
(/) Secretary to the State Government dealing with the welfare

of the handicapped, Member-Secretary, ex officio.
(3) Notwithstanding anything contained in this section, no

State Coordination Committee shall be constituted for a Union
Territory and in relation to a Union Territory, the Central
Coordination Committee shall exercise the functions and perform
the functions of a State Coordination Committee for the Union
Territory: Provided that in relation to a Union Territory, the Central
Coordination Committee may delegate all or any of its powers and

functions under this sub-section to such person or body of persons
as the Central Government may specify. TERMS AND CONDITIONS OFSERVTCE OF
MEMBERS
14. (1) Save as otherwise provided by or under this Act, a

Member of a State Coordination Committee nominated under
clause (/) or clause (h) of sub-section (2) of section 13 shall hold
office for a term of three years from the date of his nomination:
Provided that such a Member shall, notwithstanding the expiration
of Ms term, continue to hold office until his successor enters upon his office.
(2) The term of office of an ex officio member shall come to an end as soon as he
ceases to hold the office by virtue of which he was
so nominated.
(3) The State Government may, if it thinks fit, remove any Member nominated under
clause
(/) or clause (h) of sub-section (2) of section 13, before the expiry
of his term of office after giving him a reasonable opportunity of
showing cause against the same.
(4) A Member nominated under clause (/) or clause (h) of subsection

(2) of section 13 may, at any time, resign his office by writing
under his hand addressed to the State Government and seat of the
said Member shall thereupon become vacant.
(5) A casual vacancy in the State Coordination Committee shall be filled by a fresh
nomination and the person nominated to
fill the vacancy shall hold office only for the remainder of the term
for which the Member in whose place who was so nominated.
(6) A Member nominated under clause (/) and clause (h) of sub-section (2) of section
13 shall be eligible for re-nomination.
(7) Members nominated under clause (/) and clause Qi) of subsection
(2) of section 13 shall receive such allowances as may be
prescribed by the State Government. DISQUALIFICATIONS
15.(1) No person shall be a Member of the State Coordination

Committee, who--
(a) is, or at any time, has been adjudged insolvent or has suspended payment of his
debts or has compounded with his
creditors, or
(b) is of unsound mind and stands so declared by a competent court, or
Appendices 455
(c) is or has been convicted of an offence which in the opinion of State Government
involves moral turpitude, or
(d) is or at any time has been convicted of an offence under this Act, or
(e) has so abused, in the opinion of the State Government, his position as a Member
as to render his continuance in the State
Coordination Committee detrimental to the interests of the general
public.
(2) No order of removal shall be made by the State Government

under this section unless the Member concerned has been given a
reasonable opportunity of showing cause against the same.
(3) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (2) or

sub-section (6) of section 14, a Member who has been removed under
this section shall not be eligible for re-nomination as a Member. VACANCY OF SEATS
16. If a Member of the State Coordination Committee becomes

subject to any of the disqualifications specified in section 15, his
seat shall become vacant.
MEETINGS OF THE STATE COORDINATION COMMITTEE
17. The State Coordination Committee shall meet at least once

in every six months and shall observe such rules of procedure in
regard to the transaction of business at its meetings as may be
prescribed.
FUNCTIONS OF THE STATE COORDINATION COMMITTEE
18. (2) Subject to the provisions of this Act, the functions of the
State Coordination Committee shall be to serve as the state focal
point on disability matters and facilitate the continuous evolution
of a comprehensive policy towards solving the problems faced by
persons with disabilities.
(2) In particular and without prejudice to the generality of the

foregoing function the State Coordination Committee may, within
the State perform all or any of the following functions, namely: --
(a) review and coordinate the activities of all the Departments of Government and
other Governmental and non-Governmental
Organisations which are dealing with matters relating to persons
with disabilities;
(b) develop a State policy to address issues faced by persons with disabilities;
(c) advise the State Government on the formulation of policies, programmes,

legislation and projects with respect to disability;
(d) review, in consultation with the donor agencies, their funding policies from the
perspective of their impact on persons
with disabilities;
(e) take such other steps to ensure barrier free environment in public places, work
places, public utilities, schools and other
institutions;
(/) monitor and evaluate the impact of policies and

programmes designed for achieving equality and full participation
of persons with disabilities;
(g) to perform such other functions as may be prescribed by

the State Government.
STATE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
19. (1) The State Government shall constitute a committee to

be known as the State Executive Committee to perform the
functions assigned to it under this Act.
(2) The State Executive Committee shall consist of--
(a) the Secretary, Department of Social Welfare, Chairperson, ex officio;
(b) the Commissioner, Member, ex officio;

(c) nine persons not below the rank of a Joint Secretary to the State Government, to
represent the Departments of Health, Finance,
Rural Development, Education, Welfare, Personnel Public
Grievances, Urban Affairs, Labour and Employment, Science and
Technology, Members, ex officio;
(d) one person to be nominated by the State Government to represent the interest,
which in the opinion of the State Government
ought to be represented, Member;
(e) five persons, as far as practicable being persons with disabilities, to represent non-
governmental
organisations or
associations which are concerned with disabilities, to be
nominated by the State Government, one from each area of
disability, Members: Provided that while nominating persons under
this clause, the State Government shall nominate at least one woman
and one person belonging to Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes;
(/) Joint Secretary dealing with the disability division in the

Department of Welfare, Member-Secretary, ex officio.
(3) Members nominated under clause (d) or clause (e) of subsection
(2) shall receive such allowances as may be prescribed by
(4) A Member nominated under clause (d) or clause (e) may at

Appendices 457
any time resign his office by writing under his hand addressed
to the State Government and the seat of the said Member shall
thereupon become vacant. FUNCTIONS OF THE STATE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
20. (1) The State Executive Committee shallbe the executive

body of the State Coordination Committee and shallbe responsible
for carrying out the decisions of the State Coordination
Committee.
(2) Without prejudice to the provisions of sub-section (1),

the State Executive Committee shall also perform such other
functions as may be delegated to it by the State Coordination
Committee. MEETINGS OF THE STATE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
21. The State Executive Committee shall meet at least once in

three months and shall observe such rules of procedure in regard to
die transaction of business at its meetings as may be prescribed by
TEMPORARY ASSOCIATION OF PERSONS WITH

STATE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE FOR PARTICULAR
PURPOSES.
22. (2) The State Executive Committee may associate with itself
in such manner and for such purposes as may be prescribed by the
State Government any person whose assistance or advice it
may desire to obtain in performing any of its functions under this
Act.
(2) A person associated with the State Executive Committee under sub-section (1) for
any purpose shall have the right to take
part in the discussion of the State Executive Committee relevant to
that purpose, but shall not have a right to vote at a meeting of the
said Committee, and shall not be a member for any other
purpose.
(3) A person associated with the said Committee under subsection (1) for any purpose
shallbe paid such fees and allowances,
for attending its meetings and for attending to any other work of the
said Committee, as maybe prescribed by the State Government. POWER TO GIVE
DIRECTIONS
23. hi the performance of its functions under this Act: --
(a) the Central Coordination Committee shall be bound by

such directions in writing, as the Central Government may give to
it; and
(b) the State Coordination Committee shall be bound by such

directions in writing, as the Central Coordination Committee or the
State Government may give to it:
Provided that where a direction given by the State Government

is inconsistent with any direction given by the Central Coordination
Committee, the matter shall be referred to the Central Government
for its decision. VACANCIES NOTINVALIDATEPROCEEDINGS
24. No act or proceeding of the Central Coordination

Committee, the Central Executive Committee, a State Coordination
Committee or a State Executive Committee shall be called in question
on the ground merely on the existence of any vacancy in or any
defect in the constitution of such Committees.
CHAPTER IV
PREVENTION AND EARLY DETECTION OF DISABILITIES
APPROPRIATE GOVERNMENTS AND LOCAL AUTHORITIES
TO TAKE CERTAIN STEPS FOR THE PREVENTION OF
OCCURRENCE OF DISABILITIES
25. Within the limits of their economic capacity and

development, the appropriate Governments and the local
authorities, with a view to preventing the occurrence of disabilities,
shall-
(a) undertake
or cause to be undertaken surveys, investigations and research concerning the cause of
occurrence of disabilities;
(b) promote various methods of preventing disabilities;

(c) screen all the children at least once in a year for the purpose of identifying "at
risk" cases;
(d) provide facilities for training to the staff at the primary health centres;
(e) sponsor or cause to be sponsored awareness campaigns and disseminate or cause

to be disseminated information for
general hygiene, health and sanitation;
(/) take measures for pre-natal, perinatal and post-natal care

of mother and child;
(g) educate the public through the pre-schools, schools,
primary health centres, village level workers and anganwadi
workers;
(h) create awareness amongst the masses through television/

radio and other mass media on the causes of disabilities and the
preventive measures to be adopted.
Appendices 459
CHAPTER V
EDUCATION
APPROPRIATE GOVERNMENTS AND LOCAL AUTHORITIES
TO PROVIDE CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES TREE
EDUCATION, ETC.
26. The Appropriate governments and the local authorities

shall-
(a) ensure
that every child with a disability has access to free education in an appropriate
environment till he attains the age of
eighteen years;
(b) endeavour to promote the integration of students with disabilities in the normal
schools;
(c) promote setting up of special schools in Government and private sector for those
in need of special education, in such a manner
that children with disabilities living in any part of the country have
access to such schools;
(d) endeavour to equip the special schools for children with disabilities with
vocational training facilities. APPROPRIATE GOVERNMENTS AND LOCAL
AUTHORITIES
TO MAKE SCHEMES AND PROGRAMMES FOR NON-FORMAL
EDUCATION, ETC.
27. The appropriate Governments and the local authorities

shall by notification make schemes for--
(a) conducting part-time classes in respect of children with disabilities who having
completed education up to class fifth and
could not continue their studies on a whole-time basis;
(b) conducting special part-time classes for providing functional literacy for children
in the age group of sixteen and above;
(c) imparting non-formal education by utilizing the available manpower in rural areas
after giving them appropriate orientation;
(d) imparting education through open schools or open universities;

(e) conducting class and discussions through interactive electronic or other media;
if) providing every child with disability free of cost special

books and equipments needed for his education.
RESEARCH FOR DESIGNING AND DEVELOPING NEW

ASSISTIVE DEVICES, TEACHING AIDS, ETC.
45. The appropriate Governments shall initiate or cause to be

initiated research by official and non-governmental agencies for
the purpose of designing and developing new assistive devices

teaching aids, special teaching materials or such other items as are
necessary to give a child with disability equal opportunities in
education.
APPROPRIATE GOVERNMENTS TO SET UP TEACHERS'

TRAINING INSTITUTIONS TO DEVELOP TRAINED
MANPOWER FOR SCHOOLS FOR CHILDREN WITH
DISABILITIES
29. The appropriate Governments shall set up adequate

number of teachers' training institutions and assist the national
institutes and other voluntary organizations to develop teachers
training programmes specializing in disabilities so that requisite
trained man-power is available for special schools and integrated
schools for children with disabilities.
APPROPRIATE GOVERNMENTS TO PREPARE A

COMPREHENSIVE EDUCATION SCHEME PROVIDING FOR
TRANSPORT FACILITIES, SUPPLY OF BOOKS, ETC.
30. Without prejudice to the foregoing provisions, the

appropriate Governments shall by notification prepare a
comprehensive education scheme which shall make provision
for-
(a) transport
facilities to the children with disabilities or in the alternative financial incentives to
parents or guardians to enable
their children with disabilities to attend schools;
(b) the removal of architectural barriers from schools, colleges or other institutions
imparting vocational and professional training;
(c) the supply of books, uniforms and other materials to children with disabilities
attending schools;
(d) the grant of scholarship to students with disabilities;

(e) setting up of appropriate for a for the redressal of grievances of parents regarding
the placement of their children with
disabilities;
(/) suitable modification in the examination system to eliminate

purely mathematical questions for the benefit of blind students and
students with low vision;
(g) restructuring of curriculum for the benefit of children with
disabilities;
(h) restructuring of curriculum for benefit of students with

hearing impairment to facilitate them to take only one language as
part of their curriculum.
Appendices 461
EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS TO PROVIDE AMANUENSIS TO

STUDENTS WITH VISUAL HANDICAP
31. All educational institutions shall provide or cause to be

provided amanuensis to blind students and students with low
vision.
CHAPTER VI
EMPLOYMENT
IDENTIFICATION OF POSTS WHICH CAN BE RESERVED

FOR PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES
32. Appropriate Governments shall--
(a) identify posts, in the establishments, which can be reserved for the persons with
disability;
(b) at periodical intervals not exceeding three years, review the list of posts identified
and up-date the list taking into
consideration the developments in technology. RESERVATION OF POSTS
33. Every appropriate Government shall appoint in every

establishment such percentage of vacancies not less than three
per cent. For persons or class of persons with disability of which
one per cent. Each shall be reserved for persons suffering from--
(1) blindness or low vision; (ii) hearing impairment;
(in) locomotor disability or cerebral palsy, in the posts

identified for each disability: Provided that the appropriate
Government may, having regard to the type of work carried on in
any department or establishment, by notification subject to such
conditions, if any, a may be specified in such notification, exempt
any establishment from the provision of this section.
SPECIAL EMPLOYMENT EXCHANGE
34. (1) The appropriate Government may, by notification,

required that from such date as may be specified, by notification,
the employer in every establishment shall furnish such information
or return as may be prescribed in relation to vacancies appointed
for persons with disability that have occurred or are about to occur
in that establishment to such Special Employment Exchange as
Way be prescribed and the establishment shall thereupon comply with such requisition.
(2) The form in which and the intervals of time for which
information or returns shall be furnished and the particulars, they
shall contain shall be such as may be prescribed.
POWER TO INSPECT RECORD OR DOCUMENT j]y POSSESSION OF ANY

ESTABLISHMENT
35. any person authorized by the Special Employment Exchange in writing, shall
have access to any relevant record or
document in the possession of any establishment and may enter at
any reasonable time and premises where he believes such record or
document to be, and inspect or take copies of relevant records or
documents or ask any question necessary for obtaining any
information.
VACANCIES NOT FILLED UP TO BE CARRIED FORWARD
36. Where in any recruitment year any vacancy under section 33, cannot be filled up
due to non- availability
of a suitable person
with disability or, for any other sufficient reason, such vacancy
shall be carried forward in the succeeding recruitment year and if
in the succeeding recruitment year also suitable person with
disability is not available, it may first be filled by interchange among
the three categories and only when there is no person with disability
available for the post in that year, the employer shall fill up the
vacancy by appointment of a person, other than a person with
disability: Provided that if the nature of vacancies in an
establishment is such that a given category of person cannot be
employed, the vacancies may be interchanged among the three
categories with the prior approval of the appropriate Government. EMPLOYERS TO
MAINTAIN RECORDS
37. (1) Every employer shall maintain such record in relation to the person with
disability employed in his establishment in
such form and in such manner as may be prescribed by the
appropriate Government.
(2) The records maintained under sub-section (2) shall be

opened to inspection at all reasonable hours by such person as may
be authorized in this behalf by general or special order by the
appropriate Government.
SCHEMES FOR ENSURING EMPLOYMENT OF PERSONS WITH

DISABILITIES
38. (1) The appropriate Governments and local authorities

shall by notification formulate schemes for ensuring employment
of persons with disabilities, and such schemes may provide for--
(a) the training and welfare of persons with disabilities;
(b) the relaxation of upper age limit;
(c) regulating the employment;
Appendices 463
(d) health and safety measures and creation of a non-handicapping

environment in places where persons with
disabilities are employed;
T(e) the manner in which and the persons by whom the cost of
operating the schemes is to be defrayed; and
(f) constituting the authority responsible for the administration
of the scheme.
ALL EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS TO RESERVE SEATS FOR

PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES.
39. All Government educational institutions and other

educational institutions receiving aid from the Government, shall
reserve not less than three per cent. Seats for persons with
disabilities.
VACANCIES TO BE RESERVED IN POVERTY ALLEVIATION - SCHEMES

¦ 40. The appropriate Governments and local authorities shall
reserve not less than three per cent. In all poverty alleviation schemes
for the benefit of persons with disabilities.
I INCENTIVES TO EMPLOYERS TO ENSURE FIVE PER CENT. OF f THE WORK

FORCE IS COMPOSED OF PERSONS WITH 1 , DISABILITIES.
41. the appropriate Governments and the local authorities

shall, with in the limits of their economic capacity and development,
^ provide incentives to employers both in public and private sectors

to ensure that at least five per cent. Of their work force is composed
of persons with disabilities.
t CHAPTER VII
f AEFIRMATIVE ACTION
AIDS AND APPLIANCES TO PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES
42. the appropriate Government shall by notification make

I schemes to provide aids and appliances to persons with disabilities.
SCHEMES FOR PREFERENTIAL ALLOTMENT OF LAND FOR
CERTAIN PURPOSES
,. 43. the appropriate Governments and local authorities shall
[-¦¦. by notification frame schemes in favour of persons with disabilities,
for the preferential allotment of land at concessional rates for--
(a) house;
(b) setting up business;
(c) setting up of special recreation centres;
(d) establishment of special schools;
(e) establishment of research centres;
(/) establishment of factories by entrepreneurs with disabilities
CHAPTER VIII
NONDISCRIMINATION
NON-DISCRIMINATION IN TRANSPORT
44. Establishment in the transport sector shall, within the limits

of their economic capacity and development for the benefit of
persons with disabilities, take special measures to --
(a) adapt rail compartments, buses, vessels and aircrafts in such a way as to permit
easy access to such persons;
(b) adapt toilets in rail compartments, vessels, aircrafts and waiting rooms in such a
way as to permit the wheel chair users to
use them conveniently.
NON-DISCRIMINATION ON THE ROAD

shall, within the limits of their economic capacity and development,
provide for--
(a) installation of auditory signals at red lights in the public roads for the benefit of
persons with visually handicap;
(b) causing curb cuts and slopes to be made in pavements for the easy access of
wheel chair users;
(c) engraving on the surface of the zebra crossing for the blind or for persons with
low vision;
(d) engraving on the edges of railway platforms for the blind or for persons with low
vision;
(e) devising appropriate symbols of disability;

(/) warning signals at appropriate places.
NON-DISCRIMINATION IN THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT

shall, within the limits of their economic capacity and development,
provide for--
326
(a) ramps in public buildings;

(b) adaptation of toilets for wheel chair users;
(c) Braille symbols and auditory signals in elevators or lifts; (rf) ramps in hospitals,
primary health centres and other
medical care and rehabilitation institutions. NON-DISCRIMINATION IN

GOVERNMENT EMPLOYMENT
47. (2) No establishment shall dispense with, or reduce in

rank, an employee who acquires a disability during his service:
Appendices 465
Provided that, if an employee, after acquiring disability is not
suitable for the post he was holding, could be shifted to some other
post with the same pay scale and service benefits: Provided further
B that if it is not possible to adjust the employee against any post, he
¦ may be kept on a supernumerary post until a suitable post is
81 available or he attains the age of superannuation, whichever is
I earlier.
(2) No promotion shall be denied to a person merely on the

I ground of his disability: Provided that the appropriate Government
may, having regarded to the type of work carried on in any
establishment by notification and subject to such conditions, if any,
as may be specified in such notification, exempt any establishment
from the provisions of this section.
CHAPTER IX
RESEARCH AND MANPOWER DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH
»48. the appropriate Governments and local authorities shall

promote and sponsor research inter alia, in the following areas: --
(a) prevention of disability;

^g (b) rehabilitation including community-based rehabilitation;
(c) development of assistive devices including their psycho-social

aspects;
(d) job identification;

(e) on site modifications in offices and factories. FINANCIAL INCENTIVES TO
UNIVERSITIES TO ENABLE THEM
TO UNDERTAKE RESEARCH.
49. The appropriate Governments shall provide financial

| assistance to universities, other institutions of higher learning,
' professional bodies and non-governmental research-units or
institutions, for undertaking research for special education,

¦ rehabilitation and manpower development.
CHAPTER X
RECOGNITION OF INSTITUTIONS FOR PERSONS WITH

DISABILITIES COMPETENT AUTHORITY
50. The State Government shall appoint any authority as it

deems fit to be a competent authority for the purposes of this Act. NO PERSON TO
ESTABLISH OR MAINTAIN AN INSTITUTION
FOR PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES EXCEPT IN ACCORDANCE
establish or maintain an}' institution for person with disabilities

except under and in accordance with a certificate or registration
issued in this behalf by the competent authority: Provided that a
person maintaining an institution for persons with disabilities
immediately before die commencement of this Act may continue to
maintain such institution for a period of six months from such
commencement and if he has made an application for such certificate
under this section within the said period of six months, till the
disposal of such application. CERTIFICATE OF REGISTRATION
52. (1) Every application for a certificate of registration shall

be made to the competent authority in such form and in such manner
ass may be prescribed by the State Government.
(2) On receipt of an application under sub-section (2), the

competent authority shall make such inquiries as it may deem fit
and where it is satisfied that the applicant has complied with the
requirements of this Act and the rules made thereunder it shall
grant a certificate of registration to the applicant and where
it is not so satisfied the competent authority shall, by order, refuse
to grant the certificate applied for:
Provided that before making any order refusing to grant a

certificate the competent authority shall give to the applicant a
reasonable opportunity of being heard and every order of refusal to
grant a certificate shall be communicated to the applicant in such
manner as may be prescribed by the State Government.
(3) No certificate of registration shall be granted under sub section (2) unless the
institution with respect to which an
application has been made is in a position to provide such faculties
and maintain such standards as may be prescribed by the State
Government.
(4) A certificate for registration granted under this section: --

(a) shall, unless revoked under section 53, remain in force for
such period as may be prescribed by the State Go vernment.(b) may

be renewed from time to time for a period; and
(c) shall be in such form and shall be subject to such conditions

as may be prescribed by the State Government.
(5) An application for renewal of a certificate of registration shall be made not less
than sixty days before the period of validity.
(6) The certificate of registration shall be displayed by the institution in a
conspicuous place.
Appendices 467
REVOCATION OF CERTIFICATE
53. (2) The competent authority may, if it has reasonable cause

to believe that the holder of the certificate of registration granted
under sub-section (2) of 52 has --
(a) made a statement in relation to any application for the issue on renewal of the
certificate which is incorrect or false in
material particulars; or
(b) committed or has caused to be committed any breach of rules or any conditions
subject to which the certificate was granted,
it may, after making such inquiry, as it deems fit, by order, revoke
the certificate: Provided that no such order shall be made until an
opportunity is given to the holder of the certificate to show cause as
to why the certificate should not be revoked.
(2) Where a certificate in respect of an institution has been

revoked under sub-section (1) such institution shall cease to function
from the date of such revocation: Provided where an appeal lies
under section 54 against the order of revocation, such institution
shall cease to function--
(a) where no appeal has been preferred immediately on the expiry of the period
prescribed for the filing of such appeal, or
(b) where such appeal has been preferred, but the order of revocation has been
upheld, from the date of the order of
appeal.
(3) On die revocation of a certificate in respect of an institution,

the competent authority may direct that any person with disability
who is an inmate of such institution on the date of such revocation,
shall be --
(a) restored to the custody of her or his parent, spouse or lawful

guardian, as the case may be, or
(b) transferred to any other institution specified by the

competent authority.
(4) Every institution which holds a certificate of registration

which is revoked under this section shall, immediately after such
revocation, surrender such certificate to the competent authority. APPEAL
54. (2) Any person aggrieved by the order of the competent
authority refusing to grant a certificate or revoking a certificate may,
within such period as may be prescribed by the State Government,
prefer an appeal to that Government against such refusal or
revocation.
(2) The order of the State Government on such appeal shall be filial.
ACT NOT TO APPLY TO INSTITUTIONS ESTABLISHED OR

MAINTAINED BY THE CENTRAL OR STATE GOVERNMENT
55. Nothing contained in this Chapter shall apply to an

institution for persons with disabilities established or maintained
by the Central Government or a State Government.
CHAPTER XI
INSTITUTIONS FOR PERSONS WITH SEVERE
DISABILITIES INSTITUTIONS TOR PERSONS WITH
SEVERE DISABILITIES
56. (1) The appropriate Government may establish and

maintain institutions for persons with severe disabilities at such
places as it thinks fit.
(2) Where, the appropriate Government is of opinion that any Institution other than
an institution, established under subsection
(2), is fit for the rehabilitation of the persons with severe disabilities,
the Government may recognize such institution as an institution for persons with severe
disabilities for the purposes of this Act:
Provided that no institution shall be recognized under this section
unless such institution has complied with the requirements of this
Act and the rules made thereunder.
(3) Every institution established under sub-section (3) shall be maintained in such
manner and satisfy such conditions as may
be prescribed by the appropriate Government.
(4) For the purposes of this section "person with severe

disability" means a person with eighty per cent. Or more of one or
more disabilities.
CHAPTER XII
THE CHIEF COMMISSIONER AND COMMISSIONERS FOR
PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES APPOINTMENT OF CHIET
COMMISSIONER TOR PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES

57. (1) The Central Government may, by notification, appoint
a Chief Commissioner for persons with disabilities for the purposes
of this Act.
(2) A person shall not be qualified for appointment as the Chief Commissioner unless
he has special knowledge or practical
experience in respect of matters relating to rehabilitation.
(3) The salary and allowances payable to and other terms and conditions of service
(including pension, gratuity and other
Appendices 469
retirement benefits) of the Chief Commissioner shall be such as may

be prescribed by the Central Government.
(4) The Central Government shall determine the nature and

i, categories of officers and other employees required to assist the
i ¦ Chief Commissioner in the discharge of his functions and provide I the Chief
Commissioner with such officers and other employees as
it thinks fit.
(5) The officers and employees provided to the Chief

I Commissioner shall discharge their functions under the general
superintendence of the Chief Commissioner.
(6) The salaries and allowances and other conditions of service

of officers and employees provided to the Chief Commissioner shall
I be such as may be prescribed by the Central Government.
FUNCTIONS OF THE CHIEF COMMISSIONER ¦ I 58. The Chief Commissioner

shall--
(a) coordinate the work of the commissioners;
I(b) monitor the utilization of funds disbursed by the Central

Government;
1 (c) take steps to safeguard the rights and facilities made
¦¦m available to persons with disabilities;
(d) submit reports to the Central Government on the

implementation of the Act at such intervals as that Government
(2) A person shall not be qualified for appointment as a

Commissioner unless he has special knowledge or practical
experience in respect of matters relating to rehabilitation.
(3) The salary and allowances payable to and other terms and conditions of service
(including pension, gratuity and other
retirement benefits) of the Commissioner shall be such as may be
prescribed by the State Government.
(4) The State Government shall determine the nature and categories of officers and
other employees required to assist the
Commissioner in the discharge of his functions and provide the
Commissioner with such officers and other employees as it thinks
fit.
(5) The officers and employees provided to the Commissioner shall discharge their
functions under the general superintendence
of the Commissioner.
(6) The salaries and allowances and other conditions of service of officers and
employees provided to the Commissioner shall be
such as may be prescribed by the State Government.
POWERS OF THE COMMISSIONER
61. The Commissioner within the State shall--
(a) coordinate with the departments of the State Government for the programmes and
schemes for the benefit of persons with
disabilities;
(b) monitor the utilization of funds disbursed by the State Government;
(c) take steps to safeguard the rights and facilities made available to persons with
disabilities;
(d) submit reports to the State Government on the

implementation of the Act at such intervals as that Government
may prescribe and forward a copy thereof to the Chief
Commissioner.
COMMISSIONER TO LOOK INTO COMPLAINTS WITH

RESPECT TO MATTERS RELATING TO DEPRIVATION OF
RIGHTS OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES
62. Without prejudice to the provisions of section 61 the
Commissioner m ay of his own motion or on the application of any
aggrieved person or otherwise look into complaints with respect to
matters relating to--
(a) deprivation of rights of persons with disabilities;

(b) non -implementation of laws, rules, bye-laws, regulations,
Appendices 471
executive orders, guidelines or instructions made or issued by the

appropriate Governments and the local authorities for the welfare
and protection of rights of persons with disabilities; and take up
IB- the
matter with the appropriate authorities.
I ¦ AUTHORITIES AND OTHCERS TO HAVE CERTAIN POWERS
I OF CIVIL COURT
63. (1) The Chief Commissioner and the Commissioners shall,

| for the purpose of discharging their functions under this Act, have
the same powers as are vested in a court under the Code of Civil
Procedure, 1908 while trying a suit, in respect of the following
Imatters, (5 of 1908.) namely: --

(a) summoning and enforcing the attendance of witnesses; (b) requiring the discovery and
production of any document;
I (c) requisitioning any public record or copy thereof from any
court or office;
ANNUAL REPORTS TO BE PREPARED BY THE

COMMISSIONERS
65. (1) The Commissioner shall prepare in such form and at

such time for each financial year as may be prescribed by the
State Government an annual report giving a full account of his
activities during the previous financial year and forward a copy
thereof to the State Government.
(2) The State Government shall cause the annual report to be

laid before each State Legislature along with the recommendations
explaining the action taken or proposed to be taken on the
recommendation made therein in so far as they relate to the State
Government and the reasons for non-acceptance, if any, of any such
recommendation or part.
CHAPTER XHI
SOCIAL SECURITY APPROPRIATE GOVERNMENTS AND

LOCAL AUTHORITIES TO UNDERTAKE REHABILITATION
66. (1) The appropriate Governments and the local authorities

shall within the Wits of their economic capacity and development
undertake or cause to be undertaken reLabilitation of all persons
with disabilities.
(2) For purposes of sub-section (2), the appropriate

Governments and local authorities shall grant financial assistance
to non-governmental organisations.
(3) The appropriate Governments and local authorities while

formulating rehabilitation policies shall consult the non governmental organisations
working for the cause of persons with
disabilities.
INSURANCE SCHEME TOR EMPLOYEES WITH DISABILITIES
67. (2) The appropriate Government shall by notification

frame an insurance scheme for the benefit of its employees with
disabilities.
(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in this section, the

appropriate Government may instead of framing in insurance
scheme frame an alternative security scheme for its employees with
disabilities. UNEMPLOYMENT ALLOWANCE
68. The appropriate Governments shall within the limits of
their economic capacity and development shall by notification
frame a scheme for payment of an unemployment allowance to
persons with disabilities registered with the Special Employment
Appendices 473
Exchange for more than two years and who could not be placed in
any gainful occupation.
CHAPTER XIV
MISCELLANEOUS
PUNISHMENT FOR FRAUDULENTLY AVAILING ANY

BENEFIT MEANT FOR PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES
69. Whoever, fraudulently avails or attempts to avail, any
» benefit meant for persons with disabilities, shall be punishable with

imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years or with
fine which may extend to twenty thousand rupees or with both.
[ CHIEF COMMISSIONER, COMMISSIONERS, OFFICERS AND
OTHER STAFF TO BE PUBLIC SERVANTS
70. The Chief Commissioner, the Commissioners and other

officers and staff provided to them shall be deemed to be public
. servants within the meaning of section 21 of the Indian Penal Code.
I (45 of 1860.)
PROTECTION OF ACTION TAKEN IN GOOD FAITH
71. No suit, prosecution or other legal proceeding shall lie

(c) rules of procedure which the Central Coordination Committee shall observe in
regard to the transaction of business in
its meetings under section 7;
(d) such other functions which the Central Coordination Committee may perform
under clause (h) of sub-section (2) of section
8;
(e) The manner in which a State Government or a Union Territory shall be chosen
under clause (ti) of sub-section (2) of section
9;
(f) The allowances which the Members shall receive under sub-section (3) of section
9;
(g) rules of procedure which the Central Executive Committee shall observe in regard
to ransaction of business at its meetings
under section 11;
(h) the manner and purposes for which a person may be

associated under sub-section (1) of section 12;
(i) fees and allowances which a person associated with the

Central Executive Committee shall receive under sub-section (3) of
section 12;
(j) allowances which members shall receive under subsection (7) of section 14;
(k) rules of procedure which a State Coordination Committee

shall observe in regard to transaction of business in its meetings
under section 17;
(/) such other functions which a State Coordination Committee

may perform under clause (g) of sub-section (2) of section 18;
(m) the allowances which Members shall receive under subsection

(3) of section 19;
(h) rules of procedure which a State Executive Committee shall

observe in regard to transaction of business at its meetings under
section 21;
(o) the manner and purposes for which a person may be

associated under sub-section (2) of section 22;
(p) fees and allowances which a person associated with the

State Executive Committee may receive under sub-section (3) of
section 22;
(q) information or return which the employer in every

establishment should furnish and the Special Employment
Exchange to which such information or return shall be furnished
under sub-section (2) of section 34;
Appendices 475
(r) the form and the manner in which the record shall be
maintained by an employer under sub-section (1) of section 37;
(s) the form and manner in which an application shall be

made under sub-section (1) of section 52;
(t) the manner in which an order of refusal shall be

communicated under sub-section (2) of section 52;
(u) facilities or standards required to be provided or

maintained under sub-section (3) of section 52;
(v) the period for which a certificate of registration shall be

valid under clause (a) of sub-section (4) of section 52;
(w) the form in which and conditions subject to which a

certificate of registration shall be granted under clause © of subsection
(4) of section 52;
(x) period within which an appeal shall lie under subsection (1) of section 54;
(t/) the manner in which an institution for persons with severe

disabilities shall be maintained and conditions which have to be
satisfied under sub-section (3) of section 56;
(z) the salary, allowances and other terms and conditions of

service of the Chief Commissioner under sub-section (3) of section
57;
(za) the salary, allowances and other conditions of service of

officers and employees under sub-section (6) of section 57;
(zb) intervals at which the Chief Commissioner shall report to

the Central Government under clause (d) of section 58;
(zc) the salary, allowances and other terms and conditions of

service of the Commissioner under sub-section (3) of section 60;
(zd) the salary, allowances and other conditions of service of

officers and employees under sub-section (6) of section 60;
(ze) intervals within which the Commissioner shall report to

the State Government under clause (d) of section 61;
(zf) the form and time in which annual report shall be prepared
(zg) the form and time in which annual report shall be prepared
(zh) any other matter which is required to be or may be

prescribed.
(3) Every notification made by the Central Government under

the proviso to section 33, proviso to sub-section (2) of section 47,
every scheme framed by it under section 27,section 30, subsection
(1) of section 38, section 42, section 43, section 67, section 68 and
every rule made by it under sub-section (I), shall be laid, as soon as
may be after it is made, before each House of Parliament, while it is
in session for a total period of 30 days which may be comprised in
one session or two or more successive sessions, and if before the
expiry of the session immediately following the session or the
successive sessions aforesaid, both Houses agree in making any
modification in the rule, notification or scheme, both Houses agree
that die rule, notification or scheme should not be made, the rule,
notification of scheme shall thereafter have effect only in such
modified form or be of no effect, as the case may be; so, however,
that any such modification or annulment shall be without prejudice
to the validity of anything previously done under that rule,
notification or scheme, as the case may be.
(4) Every notification made by the State Government under

the proviso to section 33, proviso to sub-section (2) of section 47,
every scheme made by it under section 27, section 30, sub section (1) of section 38,
section 42, section 43, section 67, section 68 and
every rule made by it under sub-section (1), shall be laid, as soon as
may be after it is made, before each House of State Legislature, where
it consists of two Houses or where such legislature consists of one
House before that House. AMENDMENT OF ACT 39 OF 1987
74. In section 12 of the Legal Service Authorities Act, 1987, for

clause (d), the following clause shall be substituted, namely: --
"(d) a person with disability as defined in clause (/) of section

2 of the Persons With Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection
of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995."
APPENDIX C
CODE OF GOOD PRACTICE ON KEY ASPECTS OF
DISABIEITYINTHE WORKPLACE
l.AIMS
1.1 The Employment Equity Act, No. 55 of 1998 protects people with unfair
discrimination and entitles them to affirmative action
measures.
1.2 The Code is a guide for employers and employees on key aspects of promoting
equal opportunities and fair treatment for
people with disabilities as required by the Employment Equity Act
(the Act).
1.3 The Code is intended to help employers and employees understand their rights
and obligations, promote certainty and
reduce disputes to ensure that people with disabilities can enjoy
and exercise their rights at work.
2. STRUCTURE
The Code covers the following aspects:

i
The definition of disability;
ii Reasonable accommodation for people with disabilities;

iii Avoiding unfair discrimination and achieving employment
equity during the employment cycle (from recruitment to
termination);
iv Confidentiality and disclosure;

v Employment benefits; and
vi Employment equity planning.
3. APPLICATION
3.1 The Code is not an authoritative summary of the law, nor does it create additional
rights and obligations. Failure to observe
the Code does not, by itself, render a person liable in any
proceedings. Nevertheless when the courts and tribunals interpret
and apply the Employment Equity Act, they must consider it.
3.2 The Code should be read in conjunction with other Codes of Good Practice that
may be issued by the Minister of Labour.
3.3 The Code is intentionally general because every person and situation is unique
and departures from the standards in this
code maj' be justified in appropriate circumstances.
3.4 Employers, employees and their organisations should use the Code to develop,
implement and refine disability equity policies
and programmes to suit the needs of their own workplaces.
4. LEGAL FRAMEWORK
The Code is issued in terms of Section 54(1) (a) of the

Employment Equity Act, No. 55 of 1998 and is based on the
Constitutional principle that no one may unfairly discriminate
against a person on the grounds of disability.
5. DEFLNITION OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES
5.1 Defining persons with disabilities under the Act
The scope of protection for people with disabilities in

employment focuses on the effect of a disability on the person in
relation to the working environment, and not on the diagnosis of
the impairment.
Only people who satisfy all the criteria in the definition:
(i) long-term or recurring;
(ii) having a physical or mental impairment;
(iii) which substantially Limits, are considered as persons

with disabilities.
5.1.1 Long-term or recurring
(i) Long-term means the impairment have lasted or is likely to

persist for at least twelve months. A short-term or temporary illness
or injury is not an impairment which gives rise to a disability.
(ii) A recurring impairment is one that is likely to happen

again and to be substantially limiting
(see below). It includes a constant underlying condition, even

if its effects on a person fluctuate.
(iii) Progressive conditions are those that are likely to develop

or change or recur. People living with progressive conditions or
illnesses are considered as people with disabilities once the
impairment starts to be substantially limiting. Progressive or
recurring conditions which have no overt symptoms or which do
not substantially limit a person are not disabilities.
5.1.2 Impairment
(i) An impairment maybe physical or mental,

(ii) 'Physical' impairment means a partial or total loss of a
bodily function or part of the body. It includes sensory impairments
Appendices 479
such as being deaf, hearing impaired, or visually impaired and any

combination of physical or mental impairments.
(iii) 'Mental' impairment means a clinically recognised

condition or illness that affects a person's thought processes,
judgment or emotions. 5.1.3 Substantially limiting
(i) An impairment is substantially limiting if, in the absence of

reasonable accommodation by the employer, a person would be
either totally unable to do a job or would be significantly limited in
doing the job.
(ii) Some impairment are so easily controlled, corrected or

lessened, that they have no limiting effects. For example, a person
who wears spectacles or contact lenses does not have a disability
unless even with spectacles or contact lenses the person's vision is
substantially impaired.
(iii) An assessment whether the effects of impairment are substantially limiting must
consider if medical treatment or other
devices would control or correct the impairment so that its adverse
effects are prevented or removed.
(iv) For reasons of public policy certain conditions or

impairments may not be considered disabilities. These include but
are not limited to:
sexual behaviour disorders that are against public policy;

self-imposed body adornments such as tattoos and body piercing;
compulsive gambling, tendency to steal or light fires;
disorders that affect a person's mental or physical state if they are caused
by current use of illegal drugs or alcohol,
unless the affected person is participating in a recognised programme

of treatment;
normal deviations in height, weight and strength; and

conventional physical and mental characteristics and common
personality traits.
6. REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION FOR PEOPLE WITH

DISABILITIES
6.1 Employers should reasonably accommodate the needs of people with disabilities.
The aim of the accommodation is to reduce
the impact of the impairment of the person's capacity to fulfil the
essential functions of a job.
6.2 Employers may adopt the most cost-effective means that are consistent with
effectively removing the barrier to a person being
able to perform the job, and to enjoy equal access to the benefits and
opportunities of employment.
6.3 Reasonable accommodation applies to applicants and

employees with disabilities and may be required:
(i) during the recruitment and selection processes;

(ii) in the working environment;
(iii) in the way work is usually done and evaluated and

rewarded; and
(iv) in the benefits and privileges of employment.
6.4 The obligation to make reasonable accommodation may arise when an applicant
or employee voluntarily discloses a
disability related accommodation need or when such a need is
reasonably self-evident to the employer.
6.5 Employers must also accommodate employees when work or the work
environment changes or impairment varies which affects
the employee's ability to perform the essential functions of the job.
6.6 The employer should consult the employee and, where practicable, technical
experts to establish appropriate mechanisms
to accommodate the employee.
6.7 The particular accommodation will depend on the

individual, the impairment and its effect on the person, as well as
on the job and the working environment.
6.8 Reasonable accommodation may be temporary or

permanent, depending on the nature and extent of the disability.
6.9 Examples of reasonable accommodation include:

(i) adapting existing facilities To make them accessible;
(ii) adapting existing equipment or acquiring new equipment

including computer hardware and software;
(iii) re-organising work station;
(iv) changing training and assessment materials and systems;
(v) restricting jobs so that non-essential functions are reassigned;
(vi) adjusting working time and leave;

(vii) providing readers, sign language interpreters and
(viii) providing specialised supervision, training and support.
6.10 An employer may evaluate work performance against

the same standards as other employees but the nature of the
disability may require an employer to adapt the way performance
is measured.
6.11 The employer need not accommodate a qualified applicant

or an employee with a disability if this would impose an
Appendices 481
unjustifiable hardship on the business of the employer.
6.12 Unjustifiable hardship is action that requires significant

or considerable difficulty or expense and that would substantially
harm the viability of the enterprise. This involves considering the
effectiveness of the accommodation and the extent to which it would
seriously disrupt the operation of the business.
6.13 An accommodation that imposes an unjustifiable

hardship for one employer at a specific time may not be so for another
or for the same employer at a different time.
7. RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION

- 7.1
Recruitment I 7.1.1 when employers recruit they should:
(i) identify the inherent requirements and essential functions

of the vacant position;
(ii) describe clearly the necessary skills and capabilities for

I the job; i (iii) set reasonable criteria for selection, preferably in writing,
for job applicants for vacant positions.
I 7.1.2 The inherent requirements of the job are the purposes for
which the job exists. The essential functions and duties of the job
are what are necessary to get the job done.
7.1.3 Application forms should focus on identifying an

_ applicant's ability to perform the essential functions of the job.
I 7.1.4 Advertisements should be accessible to persons with
disabilities and, where practicable, circulated to organisations that

represent the interests of people with disabilities.
7.1.5 Advertisements or notices should include sufficient detail

about the essential functions and duties of the job so that potential
applicants with disabilities can make an informed decision if they
meet the inherent requirements of the job.
7.1.6 Employers should not include functions that are not

essential to performing the inherent requirements of the job because
selection based on non-essential functions may exclude people with
disabilities unfairly. z7.1.7 On request, and if reasonably practicable,
notices and advertisements should be provided in a format
appropriate to persons with disabilities, such as large print, Braille,
or audiotape.
7.2 Selection
7.2.1 Employers should apply the same criteria to test the

ability of people with disabilities as are applied to other applicants,
.1
although it may be necessary to accommodate applicants who have

disabilities.
7.2.2 The purpose of the selection process is to assess whether

or not an applicant is suitably qualified. This may require a two-stage
process if an applicant has a disability:
(i) Determining whether an applicant is suitably qualified;
(ii) Determining whether a 'suitably qualified applicant' needs

any accommodation to be able to perform the inherent requirements
or essential functions of the job.
7.2.3 When assessing if an applicant is suitably qualified an employer may not request
information about actual or perceived
disability from a previous employer or third party.
7.2.4 Employers should monitor their criteria for selection. If they tend to exclude
people with disabilities, they should be
reviewed to ensure that inappropriate barriers to persons with
disabilities are removed.
7.3 Interviews
7.3.1 Selection interviews should be sensitive, objective and unbiased. Interviewers

should avoid assumptions about people
with disabilities.
7.3.2 If an applicant has disclosed a disability or has a self-evident

disability, the employer must focus on the applicant's
qualifications for the work rather than any actual or presumed
disability but may enquire and assess if the applicant would, but
for the disability, be suitably qualified.
7.3.3 Interviewers should ask all applicants to indicate how they would accomplish the
inherent requirements of the job and
perform its essential functions and if accommodation is required.
7.3.4 If the employer knows in advance that an applicant has a disability the employer
should be prepared to make reasonable
accommodation during the interview.
7.4 Conditional job offers
7.4.1 If an applicant with a disability is suitably qualified, an employer may make a job
offer conditional on medical or functional
testing to determine an applicant's actual or potential ability to
perform the essential functions of a specific job.
7.4.2 The testing must comply with the statutory requirements and be consistent with
measuring if the applicant is able to perform
the essential functions of the job, with or without reasonable
accommodation.
Appendices 483
7.4.3 An employer may test applicants with disabilities for a specific job and not
require all other applicants to undergo testing.
7.4.4 If the testing shows that accommodation requirements would create unjustifiable
hardship, or that there is an objective
justification that relates to the inherent requirements of the job or to
health and safety, the employer may withdraw the job offer.
7.5 Terms and conditions of employment
7.5.1 An employer may not employ people with disabilities

on less favourable terms and conditions for reasons connected with
the disability.
8. MEDICAL AND PSYCHOMETRIC TESTING
8.1 Medical testing
8.1.1 Tests must be relevant and appropriate to the kind of work and the necessary
fitness criteria for the job, the workplace
and its hazards, and necessary to the employer's business.
8.1.2 Employers should establish that tests do not unfairly exclude and are not biased in
how or when they are applied,
assessed or interpreted.
8.1.3 Tests to establish the health of an applicant or employee should be distinguished

from tests that assess the ability to perform
essential job functions or duties.
8.1.4 Health testing should therefore only be carried out after an employer has
established that the person is in fact competent to
perform the essential job functions or duties and after a job offer has
been made. The same applies to medical testing for admission to
membership of an employee benefit scheme.
8.1.5 An employer who requires a person to undergo any

medical, health screening or safety test must bear the costs of the
test.
8.2 Testing after illness or injury
8.2.1 If an employee has been ill or injured and it appears that the employee is not able
to perform the job, the employer may require
the employee to agree to a functional determination of disability.
8.2.2 Such medical or other appropriate tests shall be to assess if the employee can
safely perform the job or to identify reasonable
accommodation for the employee.
8.3 Health screening and safety

8.3.1 Employers are obliged to provide and maintain a working environment that is safe
and without risk to the health of employees.
8.3.2 An employer should not employ a person if the employer

can demonstrate that a person with a disability would represent an

actual direct risk of substantial harm to his or her own or other
people's safety, which could not be eliminated or reduced by
applicable reasonable accommodation.
8.3.3 An employer may or need not retain an employee with a

withdraw a conditional job offer disability if objective assessment
shows that even with reasonable accommodation, the work would
expose the employee would expose others to substantial health risk
and that there is no reasonable accommodation to mitigate that
risk. 8.4 Pre-benef it medical examinations
8.4.1 Employees may be required to submit to medical

examination or tests before becoming members of employee benefit
schemes that are offered within the employment relationship.
8.4.2 The purpose of these examinations is to assess a person's suitability for

membership of a benefit scheme and is not relevant to
a person's capability to perform the inherent requirements of the
job.
8.4.3 Therefore an employer may not refuse to recruit, train, promote or otherwise
prejudice any person only because that person
has been refused membership of a benefit scheme.
9. PLACEMENT
9.1 Placement involves the orientation and initial training a new employee.
9.2 New employees with disabilities must be treated equally, subject to reasonable
accommodation, to employees who do not
have disabilities.
9.3 Orientation and initial training should be accessible,

responsive to and able to accommodate the needs of employees
who have disabilities.
10. TRAININGAND CAREER ADVANCEMENT
10.1 Employees with disabilities should be consulted so as to develop specific career

advancement programmes responsive to
their needs and circumstances.
10.2 Training, work organisation and recreational benefits should be accessible to

employees with disabilities. Examples are
training tools, materials, venues and processes, as well as canteen
facilities, parking, creche and social and sporting activities.
10.3 Systems and practices to evaluate work performance should clearly identify and
fairly measure and reward performance
Appendices 485
of the inherent requirements or essential functions of the job. Work

that falls outside the inherent requirements or essential functions
of the job should not be evaluated. 11. RETAINING PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES
11.1 Employees who become disabled during employment should, where practicable,
be re-integrated into work.
11.2 If an employee is, or becomes a person with a disability, the employer should
keep in touch with the employee and where
practicable, encourage early return-to-work. This may be require
vocational rehabilitation, transitional work programmes and where
appropriate, temporary or permanent flexible working time.
11.3 If an employee is frequently absent from work for reasons of illness or injury, the
employer may consult the employee to assess
if the cause of the illness or injury is a disability that requires
accommodation.
I 11.4 If practicable, employers should offer alternative work,
* reduced work or flexible work placement, so that employees are

not compelled or encouraged to apply for benefits if they couU,
with reasonable accommodation, continue in employment.
J 12. TERMINATION OF EMPLOYMENT
12.1 If an employee becomes disabled, the employer should
consult the employee to assess if the disability can be reasonably

_ accommodated.
I 12.2 If not, the employer should consult the employee to explore
the possibility of alternative employment appropriate to the
employee's capacity.
112.3 If the employee is unable to be accommodated or there is

not appropriate alternative employment, the employei may
terminate the employment relationship.
12.4 When employees who have disabilities are dismissed for

operational requirements, the employer should ensure that any
selection criteria do not directly or indirectly unfairly discriminate
against people with disabilities. <
I 12.5 Employers who provide disability benefits should ensure
* that employees are fairly advised before they apply for the benefits
available and before resigning from employment because of a
medical condition.
13. CONFIDENTIALITY AND DISCLOSURE OF DISABILITY 13.1 Confidentiality
13.1.1 Employers, including health and medical services

personnel, may only gather private information relating to

employees if it is necessary to achieve a legitimate purpose.
13.1.2 Employers must protect the confidentiality of the

information that has been disclosed and must take care to keep
records of private information relating to the disability of applicants
and employees confidential and separate from general personnel
records.
13.1.3 When an employer no longer requires the information it must be returned to the
employee or be destroyed or rendered
anonymous.
13.1.4 Employers may not disclose any information relating to a person's disability
without the written consent of the person
concerned.
13.2 Employee disclosure
13.2.1 People with disabilities are entitled to keep their disability status confidential. But
if the employer is not aware of the
disability or the need to be accommodated, the employer is not
obliged to provide it.
13.2.2 If the disability is not self-evident the employer may require the employee to
disclose sufficient information to confirm
the disability or the accommodation needs.
13.2.3 If the employer disputes that the employee is disabled or that the employee
requires accommodation, the employer is
entitled to request the employee to be tested to determine the
employee's ability or disability, at the expense of the employer.
13.2.4 As information about disability may be technical,

employers should ensure that a competent person interprets the
information.
13.2.5 If an employer requires further information this must

be relevant to a specific job and its essential functions.
13.2.6 If accommodating the employee requires the

co-operation of other employees, it may be necessary to reveal
the fact of a person's disability if it is not otherwise obvious, to
some of the person's colleagues, particularly a supervisor or
manager.
13.2.7 The employer may, after consulting the person with the
disability, advise relevant staff that the employee requires
accommodation, without disclosing the nature of the disability,
unless this is required for the health or safety of the person with the
disability or other persons.
Appendices 487
U. EMPLOYEE BENEFITS
14.1 An employer who provides or arranges for occupational

insurance or other plans directly or through a separate benefit
scheme or fund, must ensure that they do unfairly discriminate,
either directly or indirectly against people with disabilities.
14.2 Employees with disabilities may not be refused membership of a benefit scheme
because they have a disability.
14.3 To increase job security for employees who have disabilities and to reduce the
costs of benefit schemes, designated
employers should investigate and, if practicable, offer benefit
schemes that reasonably accommodate persons with disabilities.
These include:
(i) vocational rehabilitation, training and temporary income

replacement benefits for employees who, because of illness or injury,
cannot work for an extended period, and
(ii) financial compensation for employees who because of a

disability are able to continue to work but at lower levels of pay
than they enjoyed before becoming disabled. 15 EMPLOYMENT EQUITY PLANNING
IN RESPECT OF PEOPLE
WITH DISABILITIES
15.1 The Code of Good Practice for the Preparation,

Implementation and Monitoring of Employment Equity Plans
provides guidelines to employers and employees. This Code out
additional measures to ensure that people with disabilities who
are suitably qualified for a job can enjoy equal opportunities and is
equitably represented in the workforce.
15.2 When designated employers are consulting in terms of Section 16 of the Act, they
should use the opportunity to heighten
the awareness of their employees of the value and importance of
recruiting and retaining employees who have disabilities.
15.3 When an employer facilitates the establishment of a consultative forum in terms

of Section 16 (1) (a) and (b) of the Act,
the employer should take specific steps to promote the representation
of employees with different disabilities in the forum.
15.4 If people with disabilities are under-represented in all occupational categories in

the workplace, the employer could seek
guidance from organisations that represent people with disabilities
or relevant experts, for example in vocational rehabilitation and
occupational therapy.
Act, employees with disabilities may choose to either:

(i) identify their disability themselves; or

(ii) disclose their disability to their employer as long as their
identity is kept confidential.
15.5 When designated employers are compiling their workplace profile in terms of
Section 19 of the (i) identify their
disability themselves; or (ii) disclose their disability to their employer
as long as their identity is kept confidential.
15.6 The workplace profile should include any employees who are not in active
employment; for example employees who are
receiving total or partial income replacement benefits while
recovering from illness or disability.
15.7 When designated employers are setting targets, they should aim to recruit and
promote people with disabilities at all
occupational levels, as people with disabilities are often employed
in low status work and tend to be promoted less often than employees
without disabilities.
15.8 If employees with disabilities are concentrated in

particular occupational categories, the employer should consider if
its criteria for selection or performance standards could be adapted
to facilitate employees with disabilities being employed in different
categories.
15.7 Employers should regularly evaluate the relationship

between employees and the working environment and where
necessary provide appropriate programmes to prevent injury,
illness and disability and promote health at work.
APPENDIXD
EMPLOYMENT EQUITY ACT
NO. 55 OF 1998
CHAPTER I
DEFINITIONS, PURPOSE, INTERPRETATION AND
APPLICATION
1. DEFINITIONS
— In this Act, unless the context otherwise indicates—
"Basic Conditions of Employment Act" means the Basic

Conditions of Employment Act, 1997 (Act No. 75 of 1997);
"black people" is a generic term which means Africans,

Coloureds and Indians;
"CCMA" means the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation

and Arbitration, established by section 112 of the Labour Relations
Act;
"code of good practice" means a document issued by the

Minister in terms of section 54;
"collective agreement" means a written agreement concerning

terms and conditions of employment or any other matter of mutual
interest concluded by one or more registered trade unions, on the
one hand and, on the other hand —
a. one or more employers;
b. one or more registered employers' organisations; or
c. one or more employers and one or more registered employers'

organisations;
"Commission" means the Commission for Employment
Equity, established by section 28;
"Constitution" means the Constitution of the Republic of South
Africa, 1996 (Act No. 108 of 1996);
"designated employer" means —

a. a person who employs 50 or more employees;
b. a person who employs fewer than 50 employees but has a

total annual turnover that is equal to or above the applicable
annual turnover of a small business in terms of the Schedule
4 of this Act;
c. a municipality as referred to in Chapter 7 of the Constitution;
d. an organ of state as defined in section 239 of the Constitution,

but excluding local spheres of Secret Service; and government,
the National Defence Force, the National Intelligence Agency
and the South African
e. an. employer bound by collective agreement in terms of section

23 or 31 of the Labour Relations Act, which appoints it as a
designated employer in terms of this Act, to the extent provided
for in the agreement.
"designated groups' means black people, women and people
with disabili ties;
"Director-General" means the Director-General of the
Department of Labour;
"dismissal" has the meaning assigned to it in section 186 of
the Labour Relations Act;
"dispute" includes an alleged dispute;
"employee" means any person other than an independent
contractor who --
a. works for another person or for the State and who receives, or
is entitled to receive, any remuneration; and
b. in any manner assists in carrying on or conducting the

business of an employer, and
"employed" and "employment" have corresponding
meanings;
"employment law" means any provision of this Act or any of
the following Acts:

a. The Unemployment Insurance Act, 1966 (Act No. 30 of 1966);
b. the Guidance and Placement Act, 1981 (Act No. 62 of

1981);
c. the Manpower Training Act, 1981 (Act No. 56 of 1981);
d. the Occupational Health and Safety Act, 1993 (Act No. 85 of

1993);
e. the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act,

1993 (Act No. 130 of 1993);
f. the Labour relations Act, 1995 (Act No. 66 of 1995);
g. the Basic Conditions of Employment Act, 1997 (Act No. 75 of

1997);
h. any other Act, whose administration has been assigned to the

Minister.
Appendices 491
I "employment policy for practice" includes, but is not limited
to-
a. recruitment
procedure, advertising and selection criteria;
b. appointments and the appointment process;
c. job classification and grading;
d. remuneration employment benefits and terms and conditions

of employment;
e. job assignments;
f. the working environment and facilities;

I g. training and development;
h. performance evaluation systems;
i. promotion;
j. transfer;
k demotion;
1. disciplinary measures other than dismissal; and
m. dismissal.
"family responsibility" means the responsibility of employees

in relation to their spouse or partner, their dependant children or
other members of their immediate family who need their care or
support; "HIV" means the Human Immunodeficiency Virus;
"labour inspector" means a person appointed in terms of

section 65 of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act;
"Labour Relations Act" means the Labour Relations Act, 1995
I (Act No. 66 of 1995);

"medical testing" includes any test, question, inquiry or other
means designed to ascertain, or which has the effect of enabling the
i employer to ascertain, whether an employee has any medical
condition;
. ¦> "Minister" means the Minister of Labour;
"NEDLAC" means the National Economic, Development q

, and Labour Council established by section 2 of the National
I Economic, Development and Labour Council Act, 1994 (Act No. 35
of 1994);
"organ of state" means an organ of state as defined in section

239 of the Constitution;
I "people with disabilities" means people who have a long-

' term
or recurring physical or mental impairment which
substantially limits their prospects of entry into, or advancement

in, employment;
"pregnancy" includes intended pregnancy, termination of

pregnancy and any medical circumstances related to pregnancy;

"prescribed" means prescribed by a regulation made under section
55;
"public service" means the public service referred to in section
1 (1) of the Public Service Act, 1994 (promulgated by Proclamation

No. 103 of 1994), and includes any organisational contemplated in
section 7 (4) of that Act and specified in the first column of Schedule
2 to that Act but excluding --
the National Defence Force;
a. the National Intelligence Agency; and
b. the South African Secret Service.
"reasonable accommodation" means any modification or

adjustment to a job or to the working enviromnent that will enable
a person from a designated group to have access to or participate or
advance in employment;
"registered employers' organisation" means an employers'

organisation as defined in section 213 of the Labour Relations Act
and registered in terms of section 96 of that Act;
"registered trade union" means a trade union as defined in

section 213 of the Labour Relations Act and registered in terms of
section 96 of that Act;
"remuneration" means any payment in money or in kind, or

both in money and in kind, made or owing to any person in return
for that person working for any other person, the State;
"representative trade union" means a registered trade union,

or two or more registered trade unions acting jointly, that are
sufficiently representative of the employees employed by an
employer in a workplace;
"Republic" means the Republic of South Africa as defined in

the Constitution;
"serve" or "submit", in relation to any communication, means

either--
a. to send it in writing delivered by hand or registered post; or
343
b. to transmit it using any electronic mechanism as a result of

which the recipient is capable of printing the communication;
"suitably qualified person" means a person contemplated in

sections 20 (3) and (4);
"this Act" includes any regulations made under section 55,

but excludes any footnote;
Appendices 493
"trade union representative" means a member of a registered

trade union who is elected to represent employees in a workplace;
"workplace forum" means a workplace forum established in

terms of Chapter V of the Labour Relations Act.
2. PURPOSE OF THIS ACT
--The purpose of this Act is to achieve equity in the workplace

by
a. promoting equal opportunity and fair treatment in

employment through the elimination of unfair discrimination; and
b. implementing affirmative action measures to redress the

disadvantages in employment experienced by designated groups,
in order to ensure their equitable representation in all occupational
categories and levels in the workforce.
3. INTERPRETATION OF THIS ACT

--This Act must be interpreted--
a. in compliance with the Constitution;
b. so as to give effect to its purpose;
c. taking into account any relevant code of go od practice issued

in terms of this Act or any other employment law; and in compliance
with the international law obligations of the Republic, in particular
those contained in the International Labour Organisation
Convention (No. Ill) concerning Discrimination in Respect of
I Employment and Occupation. 4. APPLICATION OFTHK ACT
(1) Chapter II of this Act applies to all employees and

employers.
(2) Except where Chapter III provides otherwise, Chapter III of

I this Act applies only to designated employers and people from
designated groups.
(3) This Act does not apply to members of the National Defence
Force, the National Intelligence Agency or the South African Secret
Service.l.
CHAPTER II
PROHIBITION OF UNFAIR DISCRIMINATION
5. ELIMINATION OF UNFAIR DISCRIMINATION
Every employer must take steps to promote equal opportunity

in the workplace by eliminating unfair discrimination in any
employment policy or practice.
6. PROHIBITION OF UNFAIR DISCRIMINATION
I (1) No person may unfairly discriminate, directly or indirectly,
against an employee, in any employment policy or practice, on one

or more grounds, including race, gender, sex, pregnancy, marital
status, family responsibility, ethnic or social origin, colour, sexual
orientation, age, disability, religion, HIV status, conscience, belief,
political opinion, culture, language and birth.
(2) It is not unfair discrimination to -- a. take affirmative action

measures consistent with the purpose of this Act; or b. distinguish,
exclude or prefer any person on the basis of an inherent requirement
of a job.
(3) Harassment of an employee is a form of unfair

discrimination and is prohibited on any one, or a combination of
grounds of unfair discrimination listed in subsection (1).
7. MEDICAL TESTING
-- (1) Medical testing of an employee is prohibited, unless -- a.

legislation permits or requires the testing; or b. it is justifiable in the
light of medical facts, employment conditions, social policy, the fair
distribution of employee benefits or the inherent requirements of a
job.
(2) Testing of an employee to determine that employee's HIV

status is prohibited unless such testing is determined justifiable by
the Labour Court in terms of section 50 (4) of this Act.
8. PSYCHOMETRIC TESTING
-- Psychometric testing and other similar assessments of an

employee are prohibited unless the test or assessment being used-- a. has been
scientifically shown to be valid and reliable; b. can be
applied fairly to employees; and c. is not biased against any employee
or group.
9. APPLICANTS
-- For purposes of sections 6, 7 and 8, "employee" includes an

applicant for employment.
10. DISPUTES CONCERNING THIS CHAPTER

(1) In this section, the word "dispute" excludes a dispute about an unfair dismissal,
which must be referred to the appropriate body
for conciliation and arbitration or adjudication in terms of Chapter
VIII of the Labour Relations Act.
(2) Any party to a dispute concerning this Chapter may refer the dispute in writing to
the CCMA witliin six months after the act
or omission that allegedly constitutes unfair discrimination.
(3) The CCMA may at any time permit a party that shows good cause to refer a
dispute after the relevant time limit set out in
Appendices 495
subsection (2).
(4) The party that refers a dispute must satisfy the CCMA
that-
a. a
copy of the referral has been served on every other party to
the dispute; and
b. the referring party has made a reasonable attempt to resolve

the dispute.
(5) The CCMA must attempt to resolve the dispute through conciliation.
(6) If the dispute remains unresolved after conciliation--

a. any party to the dispute may refer it to the Labour Court for
adjudication; or
b. all the parties to the dispute may consent to arbitration of

the dispute.
(7) The relevant provisions of Parts C and D of Chapter VII of

the Labour Relations Act, with the changes required by context,
apply in respect of a dispute in terms of this Chapter.
11. BURDEN OF PROOF
--Whenever unfair discrimination is alleged in terms of this

Act, the employer against whom the allegation is made must
establish that it is fair.
CHAPTER I'll
AFFIRMATIVE ACTION
H 12. APPLICATION OF THIS CHAPTER
Except where otherwise provided, this Chapter applies only

to designated employers.
13. DUTIES OF DESIGNATED EMPLOYERS
., (1) Every designated employer must, in order to achieve
I employment equity, implement affirmative action measures for
people from designated groups in terms of this Act.

(2) A designated employer must--
a. consults with its employees as required by section 16;
b. conducts an analysis as required by section 19;
r c. prepare an employment equity plan as required by section
I 20; and
d. report to the Director-General on progress made in
implementing its employment eq-ity

plan, as required by
section 21.
14. VOLUNTARY COMPLIANCE WITH THIS CHAPTER t An employer that is

not a designated employer may notify the
Director-General that it intends to comply with this Chapter as if it

were a designated employer.
15. AFFIRMATIVE ACTION MEASURES
(1) Affirmative action measures are measures designed to ensure that suitably
qualified people from designated groups have
equal employment opportunities and are equitably represented in
all occupational categories and levels in the workforce of a
designated employer.
(2) Affirmative action measures implemented by a designated employer must include

--
a. measures to identify and eliminate employment barriers,

including unfair discrimination, which adversely affect people from
designated groups;
b. measures designed to further diversity in the workplace

based on equal dignity and respect of all people;
c. making reasonable accommodation for people from

designated groups in order to ensure that they enjoy equal
opportunities and are equitably represented in the workforce of a
designated employer;
d. subject to subsection (3), measures to--
i. ensure the equitable representation of suitably qualified

people from designated groups in all occupational categories and
levels in the workforce; and
ii. retain and develop people from designated groups and to

implement appropriate training measures, including measures in
terms of an Act of Parliament providing for skills development.
(3) The measures referred to in subsection (2) (d) include preferential treatment and
numerical goals, but exclude quotas.
(4) Subject to section 42, nothing in this section requires a designated employer to
take any decision concerning an
employment policy or practice that would establish an absolute
barrier to the prospective or continued employment or advancement
of people who are not from designated groups.
16. CONSULTATION WITH EMPLOYEES
(1) A designated employer must take reasonable steps to

consult and attempt to reach agreement on the matters referred to in
section 17
a.
with a representative trade union representing members at
the workplace and its employees or representatives nominated by them; or
Appendices 497
b. if no representative trade union represents members al the

workplace, with its employees or representatives nomuwted by
them.
(2) The employees or their nominated representatives with

whom an employer consults in terms of subsection (1) (a) and (b),
taken as a whole, must reflect the interests of--
a. employees from across all occupational categories and levels

of the employer's workforce;
b. employees from designated groups; and c. employees who

are not from designated groups.
(3) This section does not affect the obligation of any designated
employer in terms of section <S6 of the Labour Relations Act to consult
and reach consensus with a workplace forum on any of the matters
referred to in section 17 of this Act.
17. MATTERS FOR CONSULTATION
A designated employer must consult the parries referred to in

section 16 concerning--
a. the conduct of the analysis referred to in section 19;
b. the preparation and implementation of the employment

equity plan referred to in section 20; and
c. a report referred to in section 21.
18. DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION
(1) When a designated employer engages in consultation in terms of this Chapter, that
employer must disclose to the consulting
parties all relevant information that will allow those paities to
consult effectively.
(2) Unless this Act provides otherwise, the provisions of section 163 of the Labour
Relations Act, with the changes required by
context, apply to disclosure of information.
19. ANALYSIS
(1) A designated employer must collect information and conduct an analysis, as

prescribed, of its employment policies,
practices, procedures and the working environment, in order to
identify employment barriers which adversely affect people from
designated groups.
(2) An analysis conducted in terms of subsection (1) must include a profile, as

prescribed, of the designated employer's
workforce within each occupational category and level in order to
determine the degree of under-representation of people from
designated groups in various occupational categories and levels in
that employer's workforce.
20. EMPLOYMENT EQUITY PLAN
(1) A designated employer must prepare and implement an employment equity plan
which will achieve reasonable progress
towards employment equity in that employer's workforce.
(2) An employment equity plan prepared in terms of subsection (1) must state--
a. the objectives to be achieved for each year of the plan;
b. the affirmative action measures to be implemented as

required by section 15 (2);
c. where under-representation of people from designated

groups has been identified by the analysis, the numerical goals4 to
achieve the equitable representation of suitably qualified people
from designated groups within each occupational category and
level in the workforce, the timetable within which this is
to be achieved, and the strategies intended to achieve those

goals;
d. the timetable for each year of the plan for the achievement of
goals and objectives other than numerical goals;
e. the duration of the plan, which may not be shorter than one
year or longer than five years;
f. the procedures that will be used to monitor and evaluate the

implementation of the plan and whether reasonable progress is
being made towards implementing employment equity;
g. the internal procedures to resolve any dispute about the

interpretation or implementation of the plan;
h. the persons in the workforce, including senior managers,

responsible for monitoring and implementing the plan; and i. any
other prescribed matter.
(3) For purposes of this Act, a person may be suitably qualified

for a job as a result of any one of, or
any combination of the persons --

a. formal qualifications;
b. prior learning;
c. relevant experience; or
d. capacity to acquire, within a responsible team, the ability to

do the job.
(4) When determining whether a person is suitably qualified

for a job, an employer must--
a. review all the factors listed in subsection (3); and

Appendices 499
b. determine whether that person has the ability to do the job

in terms of any one of, or any combination of those factors.
(5) In making a determination under subsection (4), an employer may not unfairly
discriminate against a person solely on
the grounds of that person's lack of relevant experience.
(6) An employment equity plan may contain any other measures that are consistent
with the purposes of this Act.
21. REPORTS
(1) A designated employer that employs fewer than 150

employees must--
a. submit its first report to the Director-General within 12

months after the commencement of this Act or, if later, within 12
months after the date on which that employer became a designated
employer; and
b. thereafter, submits a report to the Director-General once

every two years, on the first working day of October.
(2) A designated employer that employs 150 or more employees

must--
a. submit its first report to the Director-General within six

months after the commencement of this Act or, if later, within six
months after the date on which that employer became a designated
employer; and
b. thereafter, submits a report to the Director-General once

every year on the first working day of October.
(3) Despite subsections (1) and (2), a designated employer that submits its first report
in the 12-month period preceding the
first working day of October, should only submit its second report
on the first working day of October in the following year.
(4) The reports referred to in subsections (1) and (2) must contain the prescribed
information and must be signed by the chief
executive officer of the designated employer.
(5) An employer who becomes a designated employer in terms of the Act must--
a. report as contemplated in this section for the duration of its

current.employment equity plan; and
b. notify the Director-General in writing if it is unable to

report as contemplated in this section, and give reasons
therefore.
(6) Every report prepared in terms of this section is a public

document.
22. PUBLICATION OF REPORT
(1) Every designated employer that is a public company must publish a summary of a
report required by section 21 in that
employer's annual financial report.
(2) When a designated employer within any organ of state has produced a report in
terms of section 21, the Minister responsible
for that employer must table that report in Parliament.
23. SUCCESSIVE EMPLOYMENT EQUITY PLANS
Before the end of the term of its current employment equity

plan, a designated employer must prepare a subsequent employment
equity plan.
24. DESIGNATED EMPLOYER MUST ASSIGN MANAGER
(1) Every designated employer must--
a. assigns one or more senior managers to take responsibility

for monitoring and implementing an employment equity plan;
b. provide the managers with the authority and means to

perform their functions; and
c. takes reasonable steps to ensure that the managers perform

their functions.
(2) The assignment of responsibility to a manager in terms of

subsection (1) does not relieve the designated employer of any duty
imposed by this Act or any other law.
25. DUTY TO INFORM
(1) An employer must display at the workplace where it can be read by employees a
notice in the prescribed form, informing them about the provisions of this Act6.
(2) A designated employer must, in each of its workplaces, place in prominent places
that are
accessible to all employees --
a. the most recent report submitted by that employer to the

Director-General;
b. any compliance order, arbitration award or order of the

Labour Court concerning the provisions of
this Act in relation to that employer; and
c. any other document concerning this Act as may be

prescribed. (3) An employer who has an employment equity plan,
must make a copy of the plan available to its employees for copying
and consultation.
26. DUTY TO KEEP RECORDS
An employer must establish and, for the prescribed period,

Appendices 501
maintain records in respect of its workforce, its employment equity

plan and any other records relevant to its compliance with this Act.
27. INCOME DIFFERENTIALS
(1) Every designated employer, when reporting in terms of section 21 (1) and (2),
must submit a statement, as prescribed, to the
Employment Conditions of Commission established by section 59
of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act, on the remuneration
and benefits received in each occupational category and level of
that employer's workforce.
(2) Where disproportionate income differentials are reflected in the statement

contemplated in subsection (1), a designated
employer must take measures to progressively reduce such
differentials subject to guidance as may be given by the Minister as
contemplated in subsection (4).
(3) The measures referred to in subsection (2) may include --

a. collective bargaining;
b. compliance with sectoral determinations made by the

Minister in terms of section 51 of the Basic Conditions of Employment
Act;
c. applying the norms and benchmarks set by the Employment

Conditions Commission;
d. relevant measures contained in skills development

legislation;
(4) The Employment Conditions Commission must research

and investigate norms and benchmarks for proportionate income
differentials and advise the Minister on appropriate measures for
reducing disproporn'onal differentials.
(5) The Employment Conditions Commission may not

disclose any information pertaining to individual employees or
employers.
(6) Parties to a collective bargaining process may request the

information contained in the statement contemplated in subsection
(1) for the collective bargaining purposes subject to section 16 (4)
and (5) of the Labour Relations Act.
CHAPTER FV
COMMISSION FOR EMPLOYMENT EQUITY
28. ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMISSION FOR EMPLOYMENT

EQUITY
The Commission for Employment Equity is hereby

established. (Date of commencement 14 May, 1999)
II
29. COMPOSITION OF COMMISSION FOR EMPLOYMENT

EQUITY
(1) The Commission consists of a chairperson and eight other members appointed by
the Minister to hold office on a part-time
basis.
(2) The members of the Commission must include --

a. two people nominated by those voting members of NEDLAC
who represent organised labour;
b. two people nominated by those voting members of NEDLAC

who represent organised business;
c. two people nominated by those voting members of NEDLAC

who represent the State; and
d. two people nominated by those voting members of NEDLAC

who represent the organisations of community and development
interests in the Development Chamber in NEDLAC.
(3) A party that nominates persons in terms of subsection (2)

must have due regard to promoting the representivity of people
from designated groups.
(4) The Chairperson and each other member of the

Commission--
a. must have experience and expertise relevant to the functions

contemplated in section 30;
b. must act impartially when performing any function of the

Commission;
c. may not engage in any activity that may undermine the

integrity of the Commission; and
d. must not participate in forming or communicating any

advice on any matter in respect of which they have a direct financial
interest or any other conflict of interest.
(5) The Minister must appoint a member of the Commission to act as chairperson
whenever the office of chairperson is vacant.
(6) The members of the Commission must choose from among themselves a person
to act in the capacity of chairperson during the
temporary absence of the chairperson.
(7) The Minister may determine--

a. the term of office for the chairperson and for each member of
the Commission, but no member's term of office may exceed five
years;
b. the remuneration and allowances to be paid to members of

the Commission with the concurrence of the Minister of Finance;
Appendices 503
and
c. any other conditions of appointment not provided for in

this section.
(8) Hie chairperson and members of the Commission may

resign by giving at least one month's written notice to the Minister.
349
(9) The Minister may remove the chairperson or a member of

the Commission from office for
a. serious misconduct;
b. permanent incapacity;
c. that person's absence from three consecutive meetings of

the Commission without the prior permission of the chairperson,
except on good cause shown; or
d. engaging in any activity that may undermine the integrity

of the Commission. (Date of commencement of s. 29:14 May, 1999) 30. FUNCTIONS
OF COMMISSION FOR EMPLOYMENT
EQUITY
(1) The Commission advises the Minister on
a. codes of good practice issued by the Minister in terms of

section 54;
b. regulations made by the Minister in terms of section 55; and
c. policy and any other matter concerning this Act.
(2) In addition to the functions in subsection (1) the

Commission may--
a. makes awards recognising achievements of employers in

furthering the purpose of this Act;
b. research and report to the Minister on any matter relating to

the application of this Act, including appropriate and well-researched
norms and benchmarks for the setting of numerical goals
in various sectors; and
c. performs any other prescribed function. (Date of
commencement of s. 30:14 May, 1999)
31. STAFF AND EXPENSES
Subject to the laws governing the public service, the Minister

must provide the Commission with the staff necessary for the
performance of its functions. (Date of commencement 14 May, 1999)
32. PUBLIC HEARINGS
In performing its functions, the Commission may--

a. call for written representations from members of the public;
and
b. holds public hearings at which it may permit members of

the public to make oral representations. (Date of commencement of
s. 32:14 May, 1999)
33. REPORT BY COMMISSION FOR EMPLOYMENT EQUITY

The Commission must submit an annual report to the
Minister. (Date of commencement 14 May, 1999)
CHAPTER V
MONITORING, ENFORCEMENT AND LEGAL

PROCEEDINGS
PART A
MONITORING
34. MONITORING BY EMPLOYEES AND TRADE UNION
REPRESENTATIVES
Any employee or trade union representative may bring an

alleged contravention of this Act to the attention of--
a. another employee;
b. an employer;
c. a trade union;
d. a workplace forum;
e. a labour inspector;
f. the Director-General; or
g. the Commission. Enforcement
35. POWERS OF LABOUR INSPECTORS
A labour inspector acting in terms of this Act has the authority

to enter, question and inspect as provided for in sections 65 and 66
of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act. 36. UNDERTAKING TO COMPLY
A labour inspector must request and obtain a written

undertaking from a designated employer to comply with
paragraphs (a) to (j) within a specified period, if the inspector has
reasonable grounds to believe that the employer has failed to
a. consults with employees as required by section 16;
b. conducts an analysis as required by section 19;
c. prepares an employment equity plan as required by section

20;
d. implements its employment equity plan;
e. submits an annual report as required by section 21;
f. publishes its report as required by section 22;
g. prepares a successive employment equity plan as required

by section 23;
Appendices 505
h. assigns responsibility to one or more senior managers as

required by section 24;
i. inform its employees as required by section 25; or
j. keeps records as required by section 26.

37. COMPLIANCE ORDER
(1) A labour inspector may issue a compliance order to a

designated employer if that employer has --
a. refused to give a written undertaking in terms of section 36,

when requested to do so; or
b. failed to comply with a written undertaking given in terms

of section 36.
(2) A compliance order issued in terms of subsection (1) must

set out
a. the name of the employer, and the workplaces to which the

order applies;
b. those provisions of Chapter III of this Act which the employer

has not complied with and details of the conduct constituting noncompliance;
c. any written undertaking given by the employer in terms of
section 36 and any failure by the employer to comply with the written
undertaking;
d. any steps that the employer must take and the period within
which those steps rûst be taken;
e. the maximum fine, if any, that may be imposed on the

employer in terms of Schedule 1 for failing to comply with the order;
and f. any othur prescribed information.
(3) A labour inspector who issues a compliance order must serve a copy of that order
on the employer named in it.
(4) A designated employer who receives a compliance order served in terms of

subsection (3) must display a copy of that order
prominently at a place accessible to the affected employees at each
workplace named in it.
(5) A designated employer must comply with the compliance order within the time
period stated in it, unless the employer objects
to that order in terms of section 39.
(6) If a designated employer does not comply with ah order within the period stated
in it, or does not object to that order in
terms of section 39, the Director-General may apply to the
Labour Court to make the compliance order an order of the Labour
Court.
38. LIMITATIONS
A labour inspector may not issue a compliance order in respect

of a failure to comply with a provision of Chapter III of this Act if
a. the employer is being reviewed by the Director-General in

terms of section 43; or
b. the Director-General has referred an employer's failure to

comply with a recommendation to the Labour Court in terms of
section 45.
39. OBJECTIONS AGAINST COMPLIANCE ORDER
(1) A designated employer may object to a compliance order by making written

representations to the Director-General within
21 days after receiving that order.
(2) If the employer shows good cause at any time, the Director-General
may permit the employer to object after the period of 21 days has expired.
(3) After considering the designated employer's

representations and any other relevant information, the Director-General--
a. may confirm, vary or cancel all or any part of the order to
which the employer objected; and
b. must specify the time period within which that employer

must comply with any part of the order that is confirmed or
varied.
(4) The Director-General must, after making a decision in terms of subsection (3),
and within 60 days after receiving the
employer's representations, serve a copy of that decision on that
employer.
(5) A designated employer who receives an order of the Director-General must

either--
a. comply with that order within the time period stated in it; or
b. appeal against that order to the Labour Court in terms of

section 40.
(6) If a designated employer does not comply with an order of

the Director-General, or does not appeal against that order, the Director-General may
apply to the Labour Court for that order to be
made an order of the Labour Court.
40. APPEAL FROM COMPLIANCE ORDER
(1) A designated employer may appeal to the Labour Court

against a compliance order of the Director-General within 21 days
after receiving that order.
Appendices 507
(2) The Labour Court may at any time permit the employer to appeal after the 21-day
time limit has expired, if that
employer shows good cause for failing to appeal within that time
limit.
(3) If the designated employer has appealed against an order of the Director-General,
that order is
suspended until the final determination of
a. the appeal by the Labour Court; or
b. any appeal against the decision of the Labour Court in the

matter?
41. REGISTER OF DESIGNATED EMPLOYERS
(1) Tine Minister must keep a register of designated employers

that have submitted the reports required by section 21.
(2) The register referred to in subsection (1) is a public

document.
42. ASSESSMENT OF COMPLIANCE
In determining whether a designated employer is

implementing employment equity in compliance with this Act, the
Director-General or any person or body applying this Act must, in
addition to the factors stated in section 15, take into account all of
the following:
a. The extent to which suitably qualified people from and

amongst the different designated groups are equitably represented
within each occupational category and level in that employer's
workforce in relation to the--
i. demographic profile of the national and regional

economically active population;
ii. pool of suitably qualified people from designated groups

from which the employer may reasonably
be expected to promote or appoint employees;
iii. economic and financial factors relevant to the sector in

which the employer operates;
iv. present and anticipated economic and financial
circumstances of the employer; and
v. the number of present and planned vacancies that exist in

the various categories and levels, and the employer's labour
turnover;
b. progress made in implementing employment equity by oilier

designated employers operating under comparable circumstances
and within the same sector;
c. reasonable efforts made by a designated employer to

implement its employment equity plan;
d. the extent to which the designated employer has made

progress in eliminating employment barriers that adversely affect
people from designated groups; and
e. any other prescribed factor.
43. REVIEW BY DIRECTOR-GENERAL
(1) The Director-General may conduct a review to determine whether an employer is

complying with this Act.
(2) In order to conduct the review the Director-General may-- a. request an employer
to submit to the Director-General a copy of
its current analysis or employment equity plan; b. request an
employer to submit to the Director-General any book, record,
correspondence, document or information that could reasonably
be relevant to the review of the employer's compliance with this
Act; c. request a meeting with an employer to discuss its employment
equity plan, the implementation of its plan and any matters related
to its compliance with this Act; or d. request a meeting with any-- i.
employee or trade union consulted in terms of section 16; ii. workplace forum; or iii.
other person who may have information
relevant to the review.
45. OUTCOME OF DIRECTOR-GENERAL'S REVIEW
Subsequent to a review in terms of section 43, the Director

General may--
a. approve a designated employer's employment equity plan;

or
b. makes a recommendation to an employer, in writing

stating--
i. steps which the employer must take in connection with its

employment equity plan or the implementation of that plan, or in
relation to its compliance with any other provision of this Act; and
ii. The period within which those steps must be taken, and
iii. any other prescribed information.

45. FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH DIRECTOR-GENERAL'S
RECOMMENDATION
If an employer fails to comply with a request made by the

Director-General in terms of section 43 (2) or a recommendation
made by the Director-General in terms of section 44 (b), the Director-General
may refer the employer's non-compliance to the Labour
Court.
Appendices 509
PARTB
LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
46. CONFLICT OF PROCEEDINGS
(1) If a dispute has been referred to the CCMA by a party in terms of Chapter II and
the issue to which the dispute relates also
forms the subject of a referral to the Labour Court by the Director-General
in terms of section 45, the CCMA proceedings must be
stayed until the Labour Court makes a decision on the referral by
the Director-General.
(2) If a dispute has been referred to the CCMA by a party in terms of Chapter II
against an employer being reviewed by the
Director-General in terms of section 43, there may not be conciliation
or adjudication in respect of the dispute until the review has been
completed and the employer has been informed of the outcome.
47. CONSOLIDATION OF PROCEEDINGS
Disputes concerning contraventions of this Act by the same

employer may be consolidated.
48. POWERS OF COMMISSIONER IN ARBITRATION

PROCEEDINGS
A commissioner of the CCMA may, in any arbitration

proceedings in terms of this Act, make any appropriate arbitration
award that gives effect to a provision of this Act.
49. JURISDICTION OF LABOUR COURT
The Labour Court has exclusive jurisdiction to determine any

dispute about the interpretation or application of this Act, except
where this Act provides otherwise.
50. POWERS OF LABOUR COURT
(1) Except where this Act provides otherwise, the Labour Court
may make any appropriate order including
a. on application by the Director-General in terms of section

37 (6) or 39 (6) making a compliance order an order of the Labour
Court;
b. subject to the provisions of this Act, condoning the late

filing of any document with, or the late referral of any dispute to,
the Labour Court;
c. directing the CCMA to conduct an investigation to assist

the Court and to submit a report to the Court;
d. awarding compensation in any circumstances contemplated

in this Act;
e. awarding damages in any circumstances contemplated in

510 Policy Perspectives forthe VisuallyImpaired
this Act;
f. ordering compliance with any provision of this Act;

inclu ding a request made by the Director-General in terms of section
43 (2) or a recommendation made by the Director-General in terms
of section 44 (b);
g. imposing a fine in accordance with Schedule 1 for a

contravention of certain provisions of this Act;
h. reviewing the performance or purported performance of

any function provided for in this Act or any act or omission of any
person or body in terms of this Act on any grounds that are
permissible in law;
i. in an appeal under section 40, confirming, varying or setting

aside all or part of an order made by the Director-General in terms
of section 39; and
j. dealing with any matter necessary or incidental to performing

its functions in terms of this Act.
(2) If the Labour Court decides that an employee has unfairly

discriminated against, the Court may make any appropriate order
that is just and equitable in the circumstances, including
a. payment of compensation by the employer to that employee;
b. payment of damages by the employer to that employee;
c. an order directing the employer to take steps to prevent the

same unfair discrimination or a similar practice occurring in the
future in respect of other employees;
d. an order directing an employer, other than a designated

employer, to comply with Chapter III as if it were a designated
employer;
e. an order directing the removal of the employer's name from

the register referred to in section 41; or
f. the publication of the Court's order.
(3) The Labour Court, in making any order, may take into account any delay on the
part of the party who seeks relief in
processing a dispute in terms of this Act.
(4) If the Labour Court declares that the medical testing of an employee as
contemplated in section 7 is justifiable, the court may
make any order that it considers appropriate in the circumstances,
including imposing conditions relating to
a. the provision of counselling;
b. the maintenance of confidentiality;
c. the period during which the authorisation for any testing

Appendices 511
applies; and the category or categories of jobs or employees in respect

of which the authorisation for testing applies.
PARTC
PROTECTION OF EMPLOYEE RIGHTS
51. PROTECTION OF EMPLOYEE RIGHTS
(1) No person may discriminate against an employee who exercises any right
conferred by this Act.
(2) Without limiting the general protection conferred by subsection (1), no person
may threaten to do, or do any of the
following:
a. Prevent an employee from exercising any right conferred by

this Act or from participating in any proceedings in terms of this
Act; or
b. prejudices an employee because of past, present or

anticipated--
i. disclosure of information that the employee is lawfully

entitled or required to give to another person;
ii. exercise of any right conferred by this Act; or
iii. participation in any proceedings in terms of this Act.
(3) No person may favour, or promise to favour, an employee in exchange for that
employee not exercising any right conferred by
this Act or not participating in any proceedings in terms of this Act.
(4) Nothing in this section precludes the parties to a dispute arising out of an alleged
breach of any right conferred by this Part,
from concluding an agreement to settle the dispute.
(5) For the purposes of this section "employee" includes a former employee or an
applicant for employment.
52. PROCEDURE FOR DISPUTES
(1) If there is a dispute about the interpretation or application of this Part, any party to
the dispute may refer it in writing to the
CCMA.
(2) The CCMA must attempt to resolve a dispute referred to it iii terms of this Part
through conciliation.
(3) If the dispute remains unresolved after conciliation

a. any party to the dispute may refer it to the Labour Court for
adjudication; or
b. all the parties to the dispute may consent to arbitration of

the dispute by the CCMA.
(4) In respect of a dispute in terms of this Part, the relevant

provisions of Part C and D of Chapter VII of the Labour Relations
Act apply, read with the changes required by the context.
CHAPTER VI
GENERAL PROVISIONS
53. STATE CONTRACTS
(1) Every employer that makes an offer to conclude an

agreement with any organ of state for the furnishing of supplies or
services to that organ of state or for the hiring or letting of anything
a. must--
i. if it is a designated employer, comply with Chapters II and

III of this Act; or
ii. if it is not a designated employer, comply with Chapter II of

this Act; and
b. attach to that offer either
i. a certificate in terms of subsection (2) which is conclusive

evidence that the employer complies with the relevant Chapters of
this Act; or
ii. a declaration by the employer that it complies with the

relevant Chapters of this Act, which, when verified by the Director-General,
is conclusive evidence of compliance.
(2) An employer referred to in subsection (1) may request a certificate from the
Minister confirming its compliance with Chapter
II, or Chapters II and III, as the case maybe.
(3) A certificate issued in terms of subsection (2) is valid for 12 months from the date
of issue or until the next date on which the
employer is obliged to submit a report in terms of section 21,
whichever period is the longer.
(4) A failure to comply with the relevant provisions of this Act is sufficient ground
for rejection of any offer to conclude an agreement
referred to in subsection (1) or for cancellation of the agreement7.
54. CODES OF GOOD PRACTICE
(1) The Minister may, on the advice of the Commission--

a. issue any code of good practice; and
b. change or replace any code of good practice.
(2) Any code of good practice, or any change to, or replacement

of, a code of good practice must be published in the Gazette.
55. REGULATIONS
(1) The Minister may, by notice in the Gazette and on the

advice of the Commission, make any regulation regarding--
a. any matter that this Act requires or permits to be prescribed; and

Appendices 513
b. any administrative or procedural matters that may be

necessary or expedient to achieve the proper and effective
administration of this Act.
(2) The Minister must by notice in the Gazette make a

regulation providing for separate and simplified forms and
procedures in respect of the obligations created by sections 19,20,
21,25 and 26 for employers that employ 150 or fewer employees.
56. DELEGATIONS
(1) The Minister may delegate any power conferred, or assign any duty imposed,
upon the Minister in terms of this Act, except the
powers and duties contemplated in sections 29 (1), (5) and (7), 53
(2), 54,55,59 (4) and 61 (4).
(2) A delegation or assignment must be in writing and may be subject to any

conditions or restrictions determined by the Minister.
(3) The Minister may at any time --

a. withdraw a delegation or assignment made in terms of
subsection (1); and
b. withdraws or amends any decision made by a person

exercising a power or performing a duty delegated or assigned in
terms of subsection (1).
(4) The Director-General may delegate any power conferred, or assign any duty
imposed, upon the Director-General in terms of
this Act, to any employee in the Department.
(5) Subsections (2) and (3) apply with the changes required by the context to any
delegation or assignment by the Director-General
under subsection (4).
57. TEMPORARY EMPLOYMENT SERVICES
(1) For purposes of Chapter III of this Act, a person whose services have been
procured for, or provided to, a client by a
temporary employment service is deemed to be the employee of that
client, where that person's employment with the client is of indefinite
duration or for a period of three months or longer.
(2) Where a temporary employment service, on the express or implied instructions of

a client, commits an act of unfair
discrimination, both the temporary employment service and the
client are jointly and severally liable.
58. DESIGNATION OF ORGANS OF STATE
The President must, within six months after the

commencement of this Act, and after consultation with the Minister
responsible for the Public Service and Administration, publish a
notice in the Gazette listing every designated employer within any

organ of state.
59. BREACH OF CONFIDENTIALITY
(1) Any person who discloses any confidential information acquired in the
performance of a function hi terms of this Act,
commits an offence.
(2) Subsection (1) does not apply if the information--

a. is disclosed to enable a person to perform a function in
terms of this Act; or
b. must be disclosed in terms of this Act, any other law or an

order of court.
(3) A person convicted of an offence in terms of this section may be sentenced to a

fine not exceeding R1,000,000.
(4) The Minister may, with the concurrence of the Minister of Justice and by notice in
the Gazette, amend the maximum amount
of the fine referred to in subsection (3j) in order to counter the effect
of inflation.
60. LIABILITY OF EMPLOYERS
(1) If it is alleged that an employee, while at work, contravened a provision of this

Act, or engaged in any conduct that, if engaged
in by that employee's employer, would constitute a contravention
of a provision of this Act, the alleged conduct must immediately be
brought to the attention of the employer.
(2) The employer must consult all relevant parties and must take the necessary steps
to eliminate the alleged conduct and comply
with the provisions of this Act.
(3) If the employer fails to take the necessary steps referred to in subsection (2), and
it is proved that the employee has contravened
the relevant provision, the employer must be deemed also to have
contravened that provision.
(4) Despite subsection (3), an employer is not liable for the conduct of an employee if
that employer is able to prove that it did
all that was reasonably practicable to ensure that the employee
would not act in contravention of this Act.
61. OBSTRUCTION, UNDUE INFLUENCE AND FRAUD
(1) No person may
a. obstruct or attempt to improperly influence any person who

is exercising a power or performing a function in terms of this Act;
or
b. knowingly give false information in any document or

Appendices 515
Htnfonnation provided to the Director-General or a labour inspector

in terms of this Act.
(2) No employer may knowingly take any measure to avoid becoming a designated
employer.
(3) A person who contravenes a provision of this section commits an offence and
may be sentenced to a fine not exceeding
RIO 000,00.
(4) The Minister may, with the concurrence of the Minister of Justice and by notice in
the Gazette, amend the maximum amount
of the fine referred to in subsection (3) in order to counter the effect
of inflation.
62. THIS ACT BINDS THE STATE
This Act binds the State.
63. APPLICATION OF ACT WHEN IN CONFLICT WITH OTHER

LAWS
If any conflict relating to a matter dealt with in this Act arises

between this Act and the provisions of any other law other than the
Constitution or an Act of Parliament expressly amending this Act,
the provisions of this Act prevail.
64. REPEAL OF LAWS AND TRANSITIONAL

ARRANGEMENTS
Each of the laws referred to in the first two columns of Schedule

2 is repealed to the extent specified opposite that law in the third
column of that Sche dule.
65. SHORT TITLE AND COMMENCEMENT
(1) This Act is called the Employment Equity Act, 1998.

(2) This Act takes effect on a date to be determined by the President by proclamation
in the Gazette. The President may
determine different dates in respect of different provisions of this
Act.
(3) If, in terms of subsection (2), different dates are determined for particular
provisions of this Act
a. Schedule 2 must take effect at the same time as section 6 (1)

takes effect; and a reference in a provision of this Act to a time when
this Act took effect must be construed as a reference to the time
when that provision takes effect.
SCHEDULE 1
MAXIMUM PERMISSIBLE FINES THAT MAY BE IMPOSED FOR

CONTRAVENING THIS ACT
This Schedule sets out the maximum fine that may be imposed
in terms of this Act for the contravention of certain provisions of
this Act.
Previous Contravention
No previous contravention ;
A previous contravention in respect of the same provision ¦
A previous contravention within the previous 12 months or.

two previous contraventions in respect of the same provision j
within three years ¦
Three previous contraventions in respect of the same ;
357;
provision within three years ;
Contravention
of any
Provision of
Sections 16,
19,20,21,22
and 23
R500 000
R600 000
R700000
R800 000
Four previous contraventions in respect of the same \ provision within three years :
R900 000
SCHEDULE 2 LAWS REPEALED
Number
and year of
law
Extent of repeal
Act No. 66
of 1995
Labour
Relations
Act. 1995
Item 2(1) (a). 2(2)

and 3 (4) (a) of
Schedule 7
Appendices 517
SCHEDULE 3 TRANSITIONAL ARRANGEMENTS
1. DEFINITIONS.
In this Schedule, unless the context indicates otherwise --

"pending" means existing immediately before this Act came into
operation; and "repealed provisions of the Labour Relations Act"
means the provisions of the Labour Relations Act repealed by
Schedule 2.
2. DISPUTES ARISING BEFORE COMMENCEMENT OF THIS

ACT.
Any dispute contemplated in item (2) (1) (a) of Schedule

of the Labour Relations Act that arose before the
commencement of this Act, must be dealt with as if the repealed
provisions of the Labour Relations Act had not been repealed.
3. COURTS.
(1) In any pending dispute contemplated in item (2) (1) (a) of Schedule 7 of the
Labour Relations Act in respect of which
the Labour Court or the Labour Appeal Court had
jurisdiction and in respect of which proceedings had not
been instituted before the commencement of this Act,
proceedings must be instituted in the Labour Court or
Labour Appeal Court (as the case maybe) and dealt with
as if the repealed provisions of the Labour Relations Act
had not been repealed.
(2) Any dispute contemplated in item (2) (1) (a) of Schedule 7 of the Labour
Relations Act in respect of which
proceedings were pending in the Labour Court or Labour
Appeal Court must be proceeded with as if the repealed
provisions of the Labour Relations Act had not been
repealed.
(3) Any pending appeal before the Labour Appeal Court must be dealt with by the
Labour Appeal Court as if the
repealed provisions of the Labour Relations Act had not
been repealed.
(4) When acting in terms of subitems (1) to (3), the Labour Court or Labour Appeal
Court may perform or exercise any
function or power that it had in terms of the repealed
provisions of the Labour Relations Act.
, SCHEDULE 4
TURNOVER THRESHOLD APPLICABLE TO DESIGNATED
EMPLOYERS
Sector or subsectors m accordance with the

Standard Industrial Classification :
Total annual
turnover
Agriculture ;
R2,00m
Mining and Quarrying
Manufacturing ;
R7,50 m
R10,00 m
Electricity, Gas and Water ;
R10,00m
Construction :
R5,00 m
Retail and Motor Trade and Repair Services ;
R15,00 m
Wholesale Trade, Commercial Agents and-Allied
Services :
R25,00 m
Catering, Accommodation and other Trade :
R5,00 m
Transport, Storage and Communications .:
Finance and Business Services ;
R10,00 m
R10,00 m
Index
A Century of Blind Welfare in
India, 8
Abbreviation, 100
Adjustment to Blindness
Reviewed, 8
Advancing Monsoon Season, 23

Afrikaans, 60
Age of Imperialism, 123
Akhil Bhartiya Netraheen
Vidyarthi Parishad, 335

Ancosses, 33
Anglo-Indians, 48
Apartheid Regime, 55
Ashtavakra, 92
Association of the Physically
Handicapped, 126
Bantu-Speaking Negroids, 32
Basic Conditions of Employment
Act, 212
Black Africans, 35
Blind, 143
Soil, 25
Blind, 2
Persons Act, 73
Veterans Association, 138
Writing, 108
Brahmins, 62
British Dominance, 64
Buddhist Literature, 141
Caring for the Handicapped, 105
Carry Forward, 229
Census Commission of India, 74

of South Africa, 6
Chart Paper, 171
China Disabled Persons Federation,

110
Christian Blind, 143
Cicero, 84
Climatic Conditions of India, 21

of South Africa, 20
Code of Good Practice, 207
Colonial Era, 54
Coloured Blind, 143

Coming to Light, 11
Community Health Unit, 251
Compensation for Occupational
Injuries and Disease, 212

Constitution of India, 6
of the Republic of South
Africa, 6, 60
Criminal Law Amendment Act,
56
Curse of God, 54
Damodar River Valley, 27
Deaf and Dumb, 106

and Mute, 2
Democracy, 123
Department of Education and

Science, 177
of Education, 175
of Home Affairs, 56
Designated Employer, 211
Dhritrashtra, 141
Directorate General of Employment

& Training, 317
Disability Prevention, 157
Right Movement, 108,135

Challenges Vs. Responses,
10
Disabled in India, 10
Peoples International, 129
Peoples' International
Conference, 121
Peoples' International
Congress, 126
Persons, 2
Early Childhood Education

(ECD), 185, 280
Surgery, 157
Education and Employment of

Blind in India, 11
and Training Policy Framework,
181
of Learners With Special

Education Needs, 184
Educational Counselling, 157
Elimination of All Forms of

Discrimination, 148
Eminent Blind Persons of the
World, 9
Employment, 163
Equity Act, 4
Law, 212
Equal Opportunities, 131

Equality, 123
Estuaries, 19
Exchange of Jobs, 229
Feeble-Minded, 105
Francua Lesruva, 94
Fransova Huber, 90
French Revolution, 93-94
Full Participation, 131
Fundamental Rights Section, 50
G
General Education and Training,
185
Glorious Revolution, 93
Guidance and Placement Act, 212
Handicapped Children, 177

Health Care Access, 163
Hearing Challenged, 2
Index 521
Handicapped, 230
Hindu Blind, 143
Community, 62
History of the Movement, 8
Homelands, 56
Hospic Des Quinz Vingts, 88
Human Resource Development,
163
Rights, 179
Values of Participation, 180
Illiteracy, 70
Indian Blind, 143
Society, 48
Traditional Outlook, 79
Indus Valley Civilisation, 18
Information and Research, 163
Integrated Education of the
Disabled Children, 195
National Disability Strategy,
11,163
International Bill of Human
Rights, 147
Centre for Eye Health, 258

Covenant on Civil and
Political Right, 148
Decade for the Disabled
Persons, 5,79
Federation of the Blind
(IFB), 334
Labour Organisation
Convention, 5
Labour Organisation, 65, 208
Organisations, 129
Year for the Disabled
Persons, 79,126
Isindebele, 60
Isixhosa, 60
Isizulu, 60
Islands, 20
Jatis, 48
Kalahari Desert3,17
Khoisan, 31
Kshatriyas, 62
Kwa-Zulu-Natal, 35
L
Labour Court, 223
Relation Act, 212

League of Friends of the Blind
(LOFOB),332 ^
Learners with Special Education
Needs, 181
Legislation, 163
Liberal Philosophy of Lasses
Faire, 119
Line Type and Arbitrary, 98

Local Advocacy and Programme
Centres, 128
Educational Authorities, 177
Self-Help Groups, 128
Single Issue Advocacy
Groups, 128
Locomotor Impairment, 2
Lok Sabha, 48
Low Vision Clinic, 176
Lower Division Clerk, 317
Malnutrition, 70
Manpower Training Act, 212
Medical Model, 150
1WWFT' ~iW»-'
Mesopotamia!! Civilisation, 82
Mineral Resources of South
Africa, 26
Ministry of Social Welfare, 150

Model School for the Blind
Children, 272
Muslim Blind, 143
National Coalitions/Federations
of Groups, 128
Commission on Special
Education Needs and, 181
Committee for Education
Support Services, 181
Coordinating Committee,
184
Council of Disabled Persons

Zimbabwe, 127
Defence Force, 211
Federation of the Blind,
119, 325
Institute for the Visually

Handicapped, 139
Intelligence Agency, 211
Membership Organisations,
128
Single Disability
Organisations, 129
Students Organisation for
the Blind, 337
Natural Resources, 16
Vegetation, 24
Netraheen, 108
Nhera, 108
Non-Governmental
Organisations, 253
and Disability Pers, 147
Occupational Health and Safety

Act, 212
Therapy, 95
Official Languages, 60
Om Hansaay Namah, 84
Orange River, 17
Organization of the Revolutionary

Disabled, 127
Outcome-Based Education (OBE)

System, 281
Outlook of the Bureaucrats, 347
Parents Association of the
Mentally Retarded, 126

Parliamentary Law, 2
Pastoral Activities, 32
People with Awareness on
Disability Issues (PADI), 133

with Disability, 110
with Disability Act, 15
Perspective in Disability
Rehabilitation, 10
Philippine National Commission,

121
Physical Environment, 15
Physically Challenged, 2
Challenged Persons, 2
Policy-Making, 1
Political Structure of India, 65
Population Registration Act, 55
Post-Colonial Era, 55
Colonial Period, 68
Independent India, 64
Power of Sight, 107
Pragya Chakshu, 108

Index 523
Pre-Braille, 98
Colonial Era of the South
Africa, 53
Colonial Period, 62
Industrial Era, 82
Vedic Period, 62
Prevention of the Visual
Impairment, 156
Principle of Cross-Descent, 32
Project Integrated Education for
the Disabled, 197

Prophylaxis Programme against
Blindness, 162
Protection of Rights, 131
Psychotropic Drugs and Tobacco,
157
Public Interest Litigations, 134
Policy Groups, 128
Safety Act, 56
R
Races, 30
Racialism, 30
Recurring Impairment, 210

Regional Organisations, 129
Religious Groups, 100
Republic of South Africa, 16
Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP), 161
Retreating Monsoon Season, 23
Rivers of South Africa, 17
Salamanca Statement, 170

Saldanha Bay, 18
Sati Pratha, 101
Scheduled Castes, 50
Tribes, 50
Segregated Schools, 177
Seka Urema Wafe, 107

Self-Awakening in the Society,
234
Care Training, 157
Determination, 124
Emancipation, 90
Help Association of Paraplegics

(Soweto), 128
Sepedi, 60
Sesotho, 60
Setswana, 60
Sex Positivity, 39
Sheikh Haya Rashed Al Khalifa,
148
Shudras, 62
Sightless, 107
Single Issue National Advocacy
Groups, 128
Siswati, 60
Sixth Sense, 117
Social Integration of the Blind, 9
Justice and Empowerment,
193
Model, 152
Policy, 104
Socio-Economic Environment, 52
Features, 30
Soordas, 108
South African National Council
for the Blind, 248
Blind Youth Organisation,
331
Federal Council On Disability,

181
Secret Service, 211

Sovereignty, 123
Structural Adjustment
Programme, 363
Superstitions, 70
Survival of the Fittest, 84
Swami Vrijanand, 141
Tailor-Made Programme, 169
Teaching Methods, 179
Technical Assistance, 306
Teethys, 19
Tertiary Education, 378
Thar Desert, 19
The Census of India, 6
Cold Weather Season, 22
Cradle of the Civilisation,
54
Hot Weather Season, 22
New Testament, 85
Old Testament, 87
Rainbow Country, 15
Thomas Aquinas, 84
Tshivenda, 60
Ubulima Kabuhlaleli, 107

Unemployment Insurance Act,
212
Upa-Jatis, 48
Utopian Philosophy, 180
Vaishyas, 62
Valentine Hauy, 94
Vanderkloof Dams, 42
Varnas, 48
Visual Impairment, 158
Visually Challenged/Impaired,
Impaired Persons, 69
Webster's New World Dictionary

of the American Lan,
107
White Blind, 143
Man's Burden, 54
Witwatersrand, 35
World Blind Union, 144

Disabled Day, 134
Health Organisation, 74,164
War Ii, 103
Xitsonga, 60
Superstitions, 70
Survival of the Fittest, 84
Swami Vrijanand, 141
Tailor-Made Programme, 169
Teaching Methods, 179
Technical Assistance, 306
Teethys, 19
Tertiary Education, 378
Thar Desert, 19
The Census of India, 6
Cold Weather Season, 22

Cradle of the Civilisation,
54
Hot Weather Season, 22

New Testament, 85
Old Testament, 87
Rainbow Country, 15
Thomas Aquinas, 84
Tshivenda, 60
Ubulima Kabuhlaleli, 107
Unemployment Insurance Act,

212
Upa-Jatis, 48
Utopian Philosophy, 180

V
Vaishyas, 62
Valentine Hauy, 94
Vanderkloof Dams, 42
Varnas, 48
Visual Impairment, 158
Visually Challenged/Impaired,
2
Impaired Persons, 69
Webster's New World Dictionary

of the American Lan,
107
White Blind, 143
Man's Burden, 54
Witwatersrand, 35
World Blind Union, 144
Disabled Day, 134
Health Organisation, 74,164
War Ii, 103

Xitsonga, 60
Dr. Ramesh Kumar Sarin
Educated from one of the best school

of Asia, the author is graduated from
Delhi University. He got his master
degree in Political science from Punjab
University and did M.Phil, and Ph.D.
from Jawaharlal Nehru University.
Since his childhood, his desire was to
prove his worth by doing something
extraordinary so that the potence of the
persons with visual challenged can be
revealed. Keeping this in view, when
he was in fourth standard, he created a
world record in reading by reading
about 150 words per minute. Similar
inspiring achievement was made on
February 25, 1991 when he created a
World Record in Marathon Braille
typing for 158.30 hours. Apart from
this, due to his progressive outlook,
he was actively associated with the
globally recognised organisations of
and for the persons with visual
challenge. His association with
pressure groups gave him practical
experiences of adopting tactics of
creating atmosphere to stimulate the
government to take up steps for
progressive policies for the persons
with physical challenge. It is this association which stimulates him to
bring forth such a work. Currently,
he is working as an Assistant
Professor of political science in
Satyavati College, Delhi.

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ttMaking a vivid description of the

demography and socio-economic and

2009 Cloth (Hb) Rs. 1295/ISBN

Post-Apartheid South Africa and India

POLICY PERSPECTIVES FOR

Post-Apartheid South Africa and India

DR. RAMESH KUMAR SARIN

Delhi-110 031 (India)

(Publishers & Distributors)

42 Ekta Apartments, Geeta Colony, Delhi-110 031

POLICY PERSPECTIVES FOR THE VISUALLY IMPAIRED

Post-Apartheid South Africa and India

Published by Rajkumarfor Academic Excellence, Delhi Laser typeset

Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), so far as India is

Moreover, the issues pertaining to the physically

Working on physically challenged in general and visually

documents and it is my strong feeling that without knowing

Policy-makers are also one of the actors whose attitude,

A question which used to haunt my mind is that if other

Why have I chosen visually impaired only for the research

Voluntary organisations, may bring a lot of changes. So

For the purpose of the sample of research, two countries

Every research needs a guidance in the absence of which

I owe my allegiance to Louis Braille, a giant personality

It will be un fair on my part if the role of two personalities

Undoubtedly, it is pertinent to accept the role of various

I express my indebtedness to Mr. Jagdish Chander,

For the purpose of this research, I made four trips of

There are some personalities in South Africa who opened

My sincerest thanks go to innumerable representatives

Natal Blind and Deaf Society, Durban, KwaZulu-Natal and

This milestone cannot be achieved without the

I express my indebtedness to those who helped me in

the Visually Impaired 14

1.1.1 The Land and Borders of South Africa 15

1.1.6 Natural Vegetation and Natural 25 Produce of India

1.1.7 Mineral Resources of South Africa 26

1.2 Socio-economic Features 30

1.2.1 Socio-economic Features of

1.2.2 Socio-economic Features of India 43

1.3 Political Features 54

Political System of the

1.3.1.2 The Colonial Era 55

1.3.2 Historical Background of the

Political System of India 61

1.3.2.1 Pre-colonial India 62

1.4 The Visually Impaired 69

1.4.1 The Visually Impaired in South Africa 70

2.0 A Historical Analysis of the Changing

Policies for the Visually Impaired 81

2.2 New Inventions and the Policies for

2.3 Religious Groups and the Policies for

the Visually Impaired 100

2.4 State Support and the Policies for

the Visually Impaired 103

2.5 Social Attitudes and its Impact on the

of the Visually Impaired 104

2.6 Awakening and Self-dependence 118