Filling the Gaps: Challenges of Regulatory Framework and Institutional Support For Persons With Disabilities in Educational Institutions

By Guest Writers Jayam Jha and Pooja Rajawat In the ongoing session of the Rajya Sabha, the seat of the former Indian Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh was shifted from the first row to the last row, due to his inability to walk to the first row because of health-related issues. This has sparked a debate regarding the accessibility of public buildings for persons with disabilities. It asks a pertinent question: what do we do when the parliament of a country is not accessible for persons with disabilities? Out of all other institutions, the need to revamp educational institutions—be it public or private—is more important than ever before, especially when we observe the 30 years of Unni Krishnan vs. The State of Andhra Pradesh, wherein the Right to Education was included within the ambit of Right to Life under Article 21 of the Constitution of India. This right to education was later explicitly inserted under Article 21A of the Constitution by...
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Will the ‘not so accessbile’ Rajasthan State Assembly Elections, 2018, be a precursor to the Lok Sabha Elections in 2019?

Will the ‘not so accessbile’ Rajasthan State Assembly Elections, 2018, be a precursor to the Lok Sabha Elections in 2019?

The 2019 Lok Sabha Elections are happening throughout India in several phases. At the present moment, the entire nation is embroiled in debates about who will be elected into the next Indian government, as well as reflections on the achievements of the current administration. Part and parcel to the upcoming elections is an important element that has been widely neglected: the question of accessibility. There is a broad lack of awareness about the issue of accessible elections, exasperated by a tendency for discourse to focus on more “appealing” election issues such as development, poverty, corruption and nationalism. ‘Accessible Elections’ was finalised as the central theme for all the upcoming elections by the Election Commission of India (ECI) during the National Consultation on Accessible Elections held in the first week of July, 2018. The aim is to increase the participation of Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) in elections by making them more inclusive and accessible to increasing numbers of people from different communities....
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