Story of Bufano Who Inspired Many Physically Disabled Persons

Lisa Bufano who died a few months (October 2013) back was a disabled American interdisciplinary performance artist whose work incorporated elements of doll-making, fabric work, animation, and dance.

Because of a life-threatening staphylococcus bacterial infection at the age of 21, Bufano became physically disabled (a bilateral below-the-knee and total finger-thumb amputee). Later, she started her theatrical performance and dancing career when a professor at the University of Linz doing research on the lives of amputees discovered her web page and offered her a stipend to perform in Vienna.

Bufano once said: "Despite my own terror and discomfort in being watched (or, maybe, because of it), I am finding that being in front of viewers as a performer with deformity can produce a magnetic tension that could be developed into strength. I attempt to channel this tension by exaggerating the mode of physical difference (for example, presenting myself on stilts)."

Many people with disabilities remember her life and her inspiring words when facing with harsh realities in life. The world of the people affected with disabilities is a very tensed one. They daily pass through so many worries and difficulties. Even the brave Bufano had finally committed suicide. So, think about the predicament of the less courageous who are confronting the pain of disability in each moment of their lives!

Inclusion of the Disability Factor in the Census 2011 and India Govt's Efforts in Addressing the Issues

India's Census 2001 showed that over 21 million people (around 2.1% of the total population) as suffering from one or the other kind of disability, the website of the Office of the Registrar of General & Census Commissioner said.

Among the total disabled in the country, 12.6 million are males and 9.3 million are females. Data had been collected on 5 types of disabilities and disability ‘In seeing’ at 48.5% stood at No.1 position. The figures of other types of disabilities were reported as: Disability ‘In movement’ (27.9%), ‘Mental’ (10.3%), ‘In speech’ (7.5%), and ‘In hearing’ (5.8%). 

Uttar Pradesh with 3.6 million disabled people topped the states in the country. Bihar (1.9 million), West Bengal (1.8million), Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra (1.6 million each) were the other states with significant numbers of disabled. Tamil Nadu is the only state, which has a higher number of disabled females than males.

However, Rama Chari, director, Diversity and Equal Opportunity Centre (DEOC), the Bangalore-based organisation that conducted a research study with the NGOs in recommending the right kind of questions to be included in the census questionnaire, said: “Last time, NGOs had to really fight hard to include disability-related questions. The ineffectual nature of the questions and the insensitive handling of the queries by enumerators meant that the result was incorrect.” 

Rama Chari added that the figure given by Census 2011 about the percentage of disabled people in India is a misleading one given that several international agencies, including World Health Organisation (WHO), have been claiming that the numbers could be anywhere between 2% to 10%. But, the sector regards getting the questions in after a particularly tough battle with the officials was a victory last time.

Now, regarding the efforts of the India Government in addressing the issues of the people affected with disabilities, here is an excerpt from The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment’s website: “Though the subject of "Disability" figures in the State List in the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution, The Government of India has always been proactive in the disability sector. It is not only running seven National Institutes (NIs) dealing with various types on disabilities and seven Composite Regional Centers (CRCs), which provide rehabilitation services to PwDs and run courses for rehabilitation professional but also funds a large number of NGOs for similar services and also a National Handicapped Finance & Development Corporation (NHFDC) which provides loans at concessional rates of interest to PwDs for self-employment. Besides, the Union Government is a party to (i) Proclamation on the Full Participation and Equality of People with Disabilities in the Asian and the Pacific Region - adopted at Beijing in December, 1992, and (ii) The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), which came into effect in May, 2008.” 

 

You can find here a list of organizations under the Division of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment: Organizations on disabilities.

Intolerance Is Violence, said Vikram Seth - We Think It's Most Applicable for People with Disabilities in India!

Vikram Seth, the storyteller who helped India capture the world's imagination, was one of NDTV's 25 greatest global legends honored by President Pranab Mukherjee on December 14. In the award ceremony, he said, “Intolerance is violence, and accepted intolerance is violence with the acquiescence of society.”

Vikram Seth was at his sardonic best as he delivered a touching speech at the function. He emphasized that intolerance in the family setup would be disastrous and that we cannot have the spirit of intolerance in the country as a whole. 

 

 

One should link Vikram Seth’s speech with the situation of people with disabilities in India. Why do people with disabilities face intolerance in the Indian society, and why are they left with no option to choose? Why do we make them lose the option to have the opportunities that the rest of India has -  be it going out shopping, sightseeing, eating at a restaurant etc. etc.?

We need to plan and create an environment that is inclusive and welcoming by treating people with disabilities as people first, a soul first just like yours and mine and their disabilities should only come later.  Instead of trying to outcast them due to the disability factor, we need to see, as a nation, how we can measure up to support them.     

People with disabilities are at many instances gifted with great talents. We should be more tolerant and give them the opportunity to prove their God-given gifts. The virtue of a society can be measured by the way it treats the poor and the people with physical, mental or learning disabilities.