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Disabled left out of census again

Swapna Khanna in New Delhi

The non-inclusion of a specialist survey for disabled in the 2001 national census has angered health activists. They fear this could deprive disabled of several facilities that they badly need.

There hasn't been a comprehensive national survey to identity the number of disabled in the country in the last 20 years. Estimates vary from less than 2 million (government figures) to 70 million (as claimed by voluntary agencies).

Javed Abidi, convenor, Disabled Rights Group, said the matter was discussed in 1993-94 with the government. ''We were assured that a special census on disabled would be included in the 2001 population census. But this has not happened.''

The next census will take place after a gap of ten years.

According to estimates 6 per cent of the Indian population suffers a physical disability of one kind or the other. That is approximately 65 to 70 million people.

A census apart from being a data collection instrument, can also be used to screen people with disabilities and a method to provide basic information on issues related to disability, says Abidi.

While censuses carried out before 1931 did carry a section on disabled, the practice was discontinued for reasons best known to the administrators.

Only once after Independence was an attempt made in 1981 to collect such information. This was done following a request from the Ministry of Education and Social Welfare and some social organisations.

Three columns were assigned to physical disabilities, restricting the scope of the study to only three categories - totally blind, totally crippled and totally dumb.

According to the data collected in 1981 the total number of disabled in India was just 0.16 per cent of the population.

While the reintroduction of a section for disabled in population census did provide a framework for detailed investigation, the same was withdrawn after doubts were expressed about the reliability of the data.

Health activists agree there are problems. ''The incidence and prevalence of disabilities cannot be estimated precisely through a survey because of the inherent difficulties involved in collecting the necessary information. But we should try to train the enumerators...we can't just throw up our hands and say this can't be done,'' says Vandana Bedi, secretary, Spastics Society of Northern India.

Abidi adds: "The survey should be divided into four categories - orthopaedic, visual, mental, and communication."

Both Abidi and Bedi warn that ten years from now, when the next census will take place, the difficulties will only increase.

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