Text - C
India needs persons with disabilities in politics
Persons with disabilities continue to face systemic barriers, biases, and stereotypes that hinder
them from contesting elections. Here's why this needs to change.
by Devarnav Sharma, Soumya Goyal, Akeel Ahmad Usmani
___________________________________________________________________________________
Ensuring the political participation of persons with disabilities is not merely about making the
voting process accessible. We must go a step further to ensure that persons with disabilities are
not only voters but also candidates. In other words, India needs more persons with disabilities
running for office.
Notable figures like Sadhan Gupta, India’s first blind parliamentarian, have demonstrated that
disability is no barrier to meaningful contributions in the political arena. In addition to being an
exceptional debater, he founded the National Federation of the Blind of India. Similarly, Minati
Barik became the first-ever female wheelchair user to win an election in Odisha (Katanabania Gram
Panchayat). During her tenure, hygiene and sanitation in her village, Bajapur, have improved
drastically.
Despite such examples of leadership, persons with disabilities continue to face biases and
stereotypes that hinder them from contesting elections. Moreover, the significant lack of political
will to support their candidacy has led to their being grossly under-represented in politics.
The Supreme Court’s judgment in Rajive Raturi vs Union of India reaffirmed that accessibility is a
fundamental right under Articles 14, 19, and 21 of the Constitution. As per Section 11 of the Rights
of Persons with Disabilities (RPwD) Act, 2016, the Election Commission of India and state election
commissions must ensure that all polling stations are accessible to persons with disabilities.
Additionally, all materials related to the electoral process should be easily understandable and
accessible to them.
However, this statute primarily focuses on accessibility for voters with disabilities rather than on
promoting the community’s representation in positions of political power. The absence of concrete
guidelines for persons with disabilities contesting elections is a notable issue. Even more
disheartening is the fact that outdated and exclusionary laws continue to exist, legally preventing
many persons with disabilities from holding public office. Take Tamil Nadu, for example. Until
recently, the Tamil Nadu Panchayats Act, 1994, disqualified persons with disabilities, including
those labelled as ‘deaf-mute’, from standing for elections. This exclusionary clause, rooted in
outdated perceptions of disability, effectively denied an entire section of society the opportunity to
participate in local governance.
Therefore, the lack of political will translates into systemic flaws that make it difficult—if not
impossible—for persons with disabilities to run for elections. Here are some of the key challenges
they face.
Every candidate in India is supposed to file a nomination paper and affidavit (Form 26) to contest
elections. This first step itself is a barrier to persons with disabilities. The Election Commission of
India does not provide a specific column in either document to capture the disability status of
candidates. This omission means that persons with disabilities are not explicitly recognised as
candidates in the nomination process. As a result, they face inaccessibility throughout the election
process. For instance, the nomination forms are not even available in accessible formats suitable
for blind candidates.
Electoral norms, including the Election Commission’s Model Code of Conduct, fail to address the
unique needs of candidates with disabilities. For instance, campaign finance policies don’t
consider the additional costs of accessible transport, sign language interpreters, or assistive
technologies. Without a party backing them, persons with disabilities running as independent
candidates struggle to mobilise resources. Unlike gender-based reservation for women in local
governance, no affirmative action exists to encourage disability representation. What is baffling is
that there is also no mention of political representation for persons with disabilities in the National
Policy for Persons with Disabilities, 2022.
Despite the existence of the RPwD Act, which guarantees equal opportunities and prohibits
discrimination, political parties have failed to take meaningful steps to include persons with
disabilities in governance. Election manifestos rarely go beyond tokenistic mentions of disability
rights. Even when persons with disabilities run for office, they encounter additional barriers—from
a lack of accessible campaign infrastructure to deep-seated societal biases that undermine their
leadership potential.
To address these challenges, the Election Commission of India must add a provision in both the
nomination paper and Form 26 to record the disability status of candidates. This simple step would
help produce a more accurate picture of political participation among persons with disabilities and
would nudge the system to make the entire process of contesting elections more accessible.
Task:
You are a journalist interviewing a famous disability rights activist about the need of persons with
disabilities in Indian politics.
During the interview, you focus on the following points:
A) The key barriers that prevent persons with disabilities from contesting elections, as
outlined in the extract.
B) How legal frameworks and political institutions fail to adequately support disability
representation in politics.
C) The reforms the writers suggest, and evaluate why these changes are necessary for
inclusive democracy.
Reading – 10 marks
Writing – 10 marks