Blinds can read and write but blind people of JK are still illiterate?
Born in a small town called Coupvray in Paris on 4th January 1809, Loius Braille enlighted the world with education for the blind. Six dots in a section of a scale or slate give way to the persons with blindness to read and write. Braille technique of education made it possible that blind people can read and write by feeling the bumps on a paper. The bumps spread on a paper can be felt and person can realize what is written in codes. Louis learnt the basics from an army officer, who visited the Louis’s School to demonstrate them how army used codes during war time to communicate information during night, without listening or reading the information. Louis being an intelligent boy took advantage of the technique and developed a system of education for the blind people. The Braille system is widely used technique for the education of blind. Today is the birth day of the Louis Braille and world is remembering Louis for his greater contribution towards blind community. But it is unfortunate that even after 150 years of death of Louis our state is still lacking Braille facility for the Blind people.
We are surprised to know that as per Census 2001 our state Jammu and Kashmir has 302670 persons with disabilities out of which 2,08,713 persons face disability in seeing. The coming census report on disability is expected to be more alarming and astonishing. As per WHO reports around 285 million people are visually impaired globally: 39 million are blind and 246 million people have low vision. About 90% of the worlds visually impaired live in developing countries. In developing countries, 60% of children die within a year of going blind. About 65 % of all people who are visually impaired are aged 50 and older, while this age group comprises about 20 % of the world's population. With an increasing elderly population in some countries, more people are at risk of age-related visual impairment.
Chart Showing Census 2001 report on Disability in Jammu and Kashmir
India is now home to the world's largest number of blind people. Of the 39 million people across the globe who are blind, over 15 million are from India. What's worse, 75% of these are cases of avoidable blindness; it is because of the country's acute shortage of opticians and eye donors for the treatment of corneal blindness. While India needs 40,000 ophthalmologists, it has only 8,000.
The number of people visually impaired from infectious diseases has greatly reduced in the last 20 years. As per WHO research 80% of all visual impairment can be avoided or cured. Main causes of blindness are as follows: - Cataract (62.6%) Refractive Error (19.70%) Corneal Blindness (0.90%), Glaucoma (5.80%), Surgical Complication (1.20%) Posterior Capsular pacification (0.90%) Posterior Segment Disorder (4.70%), Others (4.19%) Estimated National Prevalence of Childhood Blindness /Low Vision is 0.80 per thousand
An estimated 19 million children are visually impaired. Of these, 12 million children are visually impaired due to refractive errors, a condition that could be easily diagnosed and corrected. 1.4 million are irreversibly blind for the rest of their lives. 1 million of whom live in Asia and 300 000 in Africa.
National Programme for Control of Blindness was launched in the country since 1976 as a 100% Centrally Sponsored scheme with the goal to reduce the prevalence of blindness from 1.4% to 0.3%.
The objectives of the programme are: -
To reduce the backlog of blindness through identification and treatment of blind.
To develop Eye Care facilities in every district.
To develop human resources for providing Eye Care Services.
To improve quality of service delivery.
To secure participation of Voluntary Organizations in eye care.
For the last ten years WHO has worked with the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness in the global initiative "Vision 2020: the Right to Sight". That means there should be zero blindness up to the year 2020. But it seems impossible. There are few hospitals in our state where standard ophthalmic checkups are done by the appropriate qualified doctors. As we go down towards sub-district hospitals and primary health centres only ophthalmic assistants or eye technicians treat the every person having visual defects. There is lack of infrastructure at the district hospitals so no required surgeries are done. Private clinics are full of patients and various doctors conduct surgeries in the private hospitals earning sound amounts thus. Poor patients prefer to be blind than to underwent debts for a corrective surgery.
Abhinanda home was known for its services towards disable people. A big plot of land donated by a Hindu Saint for the welfare of disable people, in the heart of city – Solina Srinagar became the victim of ignorance. The only school for deaf and mute students is at the verge of closure. Various Ministers visit the place, announce some cash grants for the school and never peep back what is going on? The school compound already encroached by security forces and rest full of ditches and not maintained. Few ruined buildings and untidy rooms contain deaf and mute children accompanied by some normal children from poor families. The conversion of special school into the inclusive school is no way concept of inclusion but to collect some revenue to pay the teachers there. Few rooms are occupied by some blind adults who earlier got trainings of Braille and making chairs and chalks. But now out of date trades the blind people are only fed there as parasites without any future career planning. It would have been better if Social Welfare or education department of our state will adopt the school and provide special education for deaf, mute and blind students there.
Various rich parents prefer to send their blind children out of state to seek education with Braille facilities. Most of them excel in the field of education. But in our state few organizations work for the blind kids in Jammu, Srinagar and Leh but no contribution from government is there to help such initiatives. Blind people in the state are forced live the life of isolation and social stigma.
In the Holy Quran’s, the story of Abdullah Ibn Umm Maktoom was described in the first sixteen verses of Surah [Chapter] Abasa. He is one of the Prophet Muhammad’s companions who were born blind. One day; Abdullah Ibn Umm Maktoom came to Prophet Muhammad and asked him to read a verse from the Qur'an. He said, “O messenger of Allah, teach me from what Allah has taught you.” The Prophet frowned and turned away from him. He turned his attention instead to the prestigious group of Quraysh (the same tribe of the Prophet Muhammad), hoping that they would become Muslims and that by their acceptance of Islam they would bring greatness to the religion of Allah and strengthen his mission. As soon as he had finished speaking to them and had left their company, Prophet suddenly felt partially blinded and his head began to throb violently. At this point the following revelation came to him that is Surah Abasa depicting that we one cannot underestimate any person’s capability on basis of disability.
The Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunity, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1998 was enacted some 14 years before and the country has ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. It is a rights-based legislation and contains a range of measures for the prevention and early detection of disabilities, education, employment and non-discrimination. But in our state it is not implemented fully on surface.
B3 Types of Disabilities at all India Level
Braille Book
Our state too can utilize Blind people intelligentsia. We have number of blind men and women like Louis Braille who can contribute in social development but they are hidden in the homes not given rights.
Javed Ahmad Tak
Disability Activist
Honorary Chairman
Humanity Welfare Organization Helpline NGO
jsocialactivist@gmail.com
9469064964
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