Vice President, M. Venkaiah Naidu called for a change in people’s mindset towards the Divyangjan community or the differently-abled and asserted that it is the responsibility of the government and society at large to prevent any kind of discrimination against them.
He stressed the need for creating an environment for them to thrive and excel. “They do not need our sympathy, they rightfully deserve every opportunity to develop to their full potential”, he added.
The Vice President was speaking at the National Institute for the Empowerment of Persons with Intellectual Disabilities (NIEPID) in Hyderabad during his visit to the institute. Underlining that accessibility is an important area of intervention for the differently abled, Naidu noted the positive impact of the ‘Accessible India’ campaign and called for more interventions in the areas of environment, transport, information and communication systems.
Emphasising the need to make public spaces, transport and private buildings more accessible, Naidu said that it was also important to sensitise teachers and non-teaching staff in schools to the needs of the differently-abled children. Suggesting that it was important “to ensure that technology does not exclude differently-abled people”, he urged national institutions and universities in India to accelerate their work relating to accessible smart technology.
Naidu called for all-round efforts to make the Divyangjan people financially independent by identifying and honing their skills from a young age. Reminding that the core values of India are those of ‘Sarvejana Sukhino Bhavantu’ and ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’, he called upon everyone – including the government, private sector, civil society and families to take initiatives to empower the differently abled and fulfil their duty or ‘dharma’.
Vice President stressed the importance of early detection and identification of children at risk for disability conditions and called for opening up more such centres such as the newly established Cross-Disability Early Intervention Service Center (CDEISC) in all states.
He also suggested to NIEPID to have a tie-up with institutions like the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology for early detection of disability risk among children. He underlined the need for counselling parents in case of early detection of the risk for disabilities among children.
