Thursday, July 25, 2013

The unanswered Social and Legal Issues Relating To Differently abled Persons in India

Indian Constitution on Disability

The Indian constitution assures and guarantees equally for all persons men, women, children, old, and disabled, minorities etc., without any bias or favour the fundamental rights as embodied in Part III . The concept of equality enshrined in Article 14 itself enjoins duty on the State to bring about a situation where the fundamental right can be exercised on the footing of equality. Therefore, a disabled person is entitled to a right to be placed at the level at which he can enjoy the rights . In the background of this fundamental right to equality, the directive principle of State policy contained in Article 39A of the Constitution assumes significance, where the State secures and promotes justice, on the basis of equal opportunity, and in particular, provide free legal aid, ensure that opportunities for securing justice are not denied to any citizen by reason of economic or other disabilities . Similarly, the principle contained in Article 41 enjoins a duty on the State to make effective provision for securing the right to work, to education and to public assistance in cases of unemployment, old age, sickness and disablement and in other cases of undeserved want. The concepts of justice social, economic, political, equality of status, opportunity and of assuring dignity of the individual incorporated in the Preamble, recognizes and is designed to flower the citizens’ personality to its fullest. Thus, much before the progress was made in the international arena, the founding fathers of the Indian Constitution found it necessary to emphasize these duties on the State.