INTRODUCTION
In India, the issue of disability rights has always been a marginalized subject in the legislative and judicial agenda. The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016[1] (RPWD Act) which superseded The Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995,[2] has not eradicated the structural exclusion, institutional neglect, or societal stigma that continue to affect the lived realities of Persons with Disability (PwD). In this background, the policies and programmatic framework of Project Ability Empowerment provide a promising yet incomplete vision of disability justice in India.
This blog explores the philosophical foundations of Project Ability Empowerment, its implications for the current legal landscape, and the project’s future prospects for disability justice in India. It states that the project is a positive development, but real disability justice requires a paradigm shift from a charity or welfare view to a rights and social justice view of disability.
FROM WELFARE TO RIGHTS: THE LEGAL LANDSCAPE
The RPWD Act marks India’s formal adoption of the social model of disability and its commitment to equality, in line with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), which India ratified in 2007.[3] It identifies 21 categories of disability, widens reservation quotas in government jobs and education, and creates institutional frameworks, such as the Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities and commissioners at the state level.
But as scholars and advocates have pointed out, there has been no substantive equality in the law. Accessibility is still a long way off, both in the physical and online world.[4] Persistent shortcomings in the enforcement of the reservation provisions have been noted by the National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People.[5] Additionally, the courts have often vacillated between rights-based and welfare approaches. In various cases, the Supreme Court of the land[6] has ruled that the issue of disability is not a charity case but rather a gross violation of rights.[7]
PROJECT ABILITY EMPOWERMENT: CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
Project Ability Empowerment is based on 3 core pillars: Inclusive Education, Accessible Employment, and Barrier-Free Public Participation. This design is based on the UNCRPD’s principle of reasonable accommodation and on the disability justice approach that activists, including Mia Mingus, have built, which places disability in the context of other axes of oppression and marginalisation such as caste, gender, and class.
The project specifically addresses the intersectionality of disability and poverty and acknowledges that most PwDs in India are from economically marginalised communities. The project aims to go beyond disability-specific programming by integrating disability-sensitive components into the implementation of existing poverty alleviation programs like the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) and the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana.
Most importantly, the project uses a participatory design approach, ensuring a meaningful role for PwDs in planning, implementation, and evaluation. This is in line with the UNCRPD’s principle of “nothing about us without us.”[8] and stands in contrast to paternalistic welfare models, where PWDs are passive recipients of state beneficence.
INTERSECTIONAL DIMENSIONS OF CASTE, GENDER, AND DISABILITY
It is impossible to talk about disability justice in India without addressing the intersectionality of disability with caste and gender. The burden of disability on Dalit and Adivasi persons is compounded by the stigma of disability, which is added to the structural violence of caste.[9] Women with disabilities face a heightened risk of sexual violence, forced sterilisation, and denial of reproductive rights, for which the current legal structure provides insufficient protection.[10]
To its credit, Project Ability Empowerment has incorporated gender disaggregated data collection and Dalit-specific outreach components. But critics say these measures are “not strong enough. The National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights has pointed out that information on disability is not usually disaggregated by caste, and it is not possible to gauge the specific deprivations faced by Dalit PwDs.
JUDICIAL DEVELOPMENTS AND CONSTITUTIONAL DIMENSIONS
The rights of the differently abled have been increasingly considered as part of the Constitution by the Supreme Court and High Courts of India. In Jeeja Ghosh v Union of India (2016),[11] The Supreme Court ruled that the removal of a person suffering from cerebral palsy from a flight was a violation of her constitutional rights under Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution and awarded compensation. In Nipun Malhotra v Sony Pictures Films India (2024), the Supreme Court stressed the need for media to be disability-sensitive and the need for reasonable accommodations in public life.[12]
These judgments indicate judicial receptivity towards the social model of disability and the realisation that discrimination against PwDs could become a constitutional issue. Project Ability Empowerment aims to embed reasonable accommodation and inclusive design principles into law, and fits into this developing constitutional jurisprudence.
CHALLENGES AND THE ROAD FORWARD
Structural and political obstacles are the most prominent problems of Project Ability Empowerment. First, Resource constraints are the foremost problem in disability policy in India. The needs of persons with disabilities are consistently underfunded in the social sector. ¹⁰ If not adequately funded, programmatic goals are unrealised.
Second, attitudinal barriers remain at all levels in the state system, from frontline officials who don’t apply the statutory benefits to individuals with disabilities, to judges who tend to think about disability in a medical rather than rights-based framework. Unless coupled with system-wide accountability mechanisms, training and sensitisation programmes are not enough.
Third, the project needs to address the differences among people with disabilities. Persons with psychosocial disabilities, deaf persons, and those with intellectual disabilities, for example, are often not represented in disability policy, which is more influenced by more visible physical disability advocacy.
CONCLUSION
Project Ability Empowerment is a major but limited measure towards achieving disability justice in India. It adopts a participatory method, recognises the need for dealing with issues from an intersectoral perspective, and integrates with the mainstream welfare system, reflecting an advanced understanding of the structural causes of disability marginalisation. However, its achievement will rely on political determination, sufficient financing, and a sincere desire to uphold the principle that disabled people are not a charity case but a right holder. The future of disability justice in India does not belong to benevolent accommodation, but to transformative structural change that will remove the barriers, be they architectural, legal, or attitudinal, that stop persons with disabilities from living a full life with dignity and freedom.
References:
[1] The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act 2016.
[2] The Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act 1995.
[3] Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (adopted 13 December 2006, entered into force 3 May 2008) 2515 UNTS 3.
[4] Manu Gupta, ‘Right of Disabled People in India-The Need of the Hour’ (2021) 2 Indian Journal of Law and Legal Research 1.
[5] Javed Abidi and Dorodi Sharma, ‘Poverty, Disability, and Employment: Global Perspectives from the National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People’ (2014) 37(1) Career Development and Transition for Exceptional Individuals 60.
[6] Rajive Raturi v Union of India (2018) 2 SCC 412 (India).
[7] Vikash Kumar v Union Public Service Commission (2021) 5 SCC 370 (India)
[8] UNCRPD (n 3) Preamble para (o).
[9] Neelaksh Pithauria and DS Singh, ‘Interactive Effect of Caste and Disability: An Analysis’ (2022) 7(4) International Journal of English Literature and Social Sciences 250.
[10] Nilika Mehrotra, ‘Disability, Gender and Caste Intersections in the Indian Economy’ in Sharon N Barnartt and Barbara M Altman (eds), Disability and Intersecting Statuses (Research in Social Science and Disability vol 7, Emerald Group Publishing 2013) 295.
[11] Jeeja Ghosh v Union of India (2016) 7 SCC 761.
[12] Nipun Malhotra v Sony Pictures Films India Pvt Ltd 2024 SCC OnLine SC 1247.