Charter of Demands: Call to Action for Disability Justice

“Let’s get started by being unwilling to compromise on our freedom and fundamental human rights.”

Poornamidam and The Sangyan, in pursuit of our data-driven and evidence-based research, advocacy, and campaign endeavours, bring out the Charter of Demands for the concerned public authorities and other relevant stakeholders (governments, political parties, civil societies, etc.) to take cognizance of the prominent issues of the larger interest and asks of the disability community.

Image Description [Alt Text]: The poster features a beige background with the Dharma Chakra (Ashoka Chakra) at the center. At the top, there is a title that reads “Charter of Demands,” accompanied by logos of ‘The Sangyan’ and ‘Poornamidam’ on either side. The text is presented in 10 pointers depicted by various elements. “1. Amendment to Article 15 of the Constitution of India and Addition of “Disability” as the Ground of Forbidden Discrimination. 2. Formation of the National Commission for Persons with Disabilities under Article 340 of the Constitution of India. 3. Legislative Impact Assessment of The Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPwD) Act, 2016 and Citizens’ Chatters. 4. Periodic National Disability Census and Real-Time Tracker Dashboard for Disaggregated Data. 5. Proportional Budgetary Allocation for Persons with Disabilities to tackle historical marginalization and backwardness. 6. Formation of National Mission on Climate Change and Vulnerable Communities under the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC), 2008. 7. Initiation of Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan 2.0 [Accessible India Campaign 2.0]. 8. Establishment of Centre of Excellence for Research and Development on Universal Design and Accessibility. 9. Access to Affordable Assistive Technology (AT), Insurance, and Universal Health Coverage for All. and 10. Climate Resilient and Universally Accessible Housing under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana.” Hashtags at the bottom right and left corners read — “#BuildForwardBetter and #WeAllBelong”.

Despite a substantial rise from 45.84 lakh in 2019 to 88.35 lakh registered individuals with disabilities in 2024 (a 93.5% increase in eligible voters with disabilities), the voices and concerns of persons with disabilities remain largely unattended within the political arena and socio-economic discourse. Persons with disabilities as a voting bloc have huge untapped potential whose issues are awaiting to be addressed by the political parties and governments to ensure inclusive and sustainable development for all.

Being one of the most historically marginalized and backward sections of society in India and globally, persons with disabilities continue to be missing from the mainstream narrative and governance models. Therefore, it’s time to be unwilling to compromise on freedom and fundamental human rights of persons with disabilities, and thus, we are requesting the political parties as well as the governments to take due cognizance of our reasonable demands.

We call to action on our ten essential pointers for ensuring fundamental human rights in leading a life with freedom and dignity and pursuit of puruṣārthas of persons with disabilities in order to ensure disability justice and a Bharat that ‘leaves no one behind’ in its ‘Amrit Kaal’ and realise the value of ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’ in both letter and spirit.

Ten specific pointers in our ‘Charter of Demands: Call to Action for Disability Justice’ are as follows:

1. Amendment to Article 15 of the Constitution of India and Addition of “Disability” as the Ground of Forbidden Discrimination.
2. Formation of the National Commission for Persons with Disabilities under Article 340 of the Constitution of India.
3. Legislative Impact Assessment of The Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPwD) Act, 2016 and Citizens’ Chatters.
4. Periodic National Disability Census and Real-Time Tracker Dashboard for Disaggregated Data.
5. Proportional Budgetary Allocation for Persons with Disabilities to tackle historical marginalization and backwardness.
6. Formation of National Mission on Climate Change and Vulnerable Communities under the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC), 2008.
7. Initiation of Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan 2.0 [Accessible India Campaign 2.0].
8. Establishment of Centre of Excellence for Research and Development on Universal Design and Accessibility.
9. Access to Affordable Assistive Technology (AT), Insurance, and Universal Health Coverage for All.
10. Climate Resilient and Universally Accessible Housing under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana.

We look forward to a prompt and positive response (by including pointers from our charter of demands: call to action for disability justice) in the vision document of the political parties (upcoming election manifesto) and the actions of all concerned governments.

In that regard, we request one and all (who resonate with the cause of disability justice) to endorse and support our charter of demands for nudging, triggering, and catalyzing sustainable change and our endeavours to achieve a logical conclusion.

Image Description [Alt Text]: A poster with a beige background features the Ashoka Chakra (Dharma Chakra) at the center, with logos of The Sangyan and Poornamidam placed at the top on either side, and hashtags “#BuildForwardBetter” and “#WeAllBelong” at the bottom on either side. The title text in brown reads, “Charter of Demands: Call to Action for Disability Justice,” followed by a quote: “Let’s get started by being unwilling to compromise on our freedom and fundamental human rights” and “Sign the Petition!” Two infographics are included on either side: one towards the left displaying a scrolling screen showing the charter of demands, and another towards the right featuring human figures displaying the Change.org petition QR code indicated by an arrow.

Charter of Demands: Call to Action for Disability Justice — Sign the Petition! https://chng.it/vsq2PM8JW2 via Change.org

About the Authors

Adv. Abhishek Kumar, Founder and Curator, The Sangyan and NCPEDP-Javed Abidi Fellow on Disability [2021–24]

Ar. Kavya Poornima Balajepalli, Founder and Curator, Poornamidam and NCPEDP-Javed Abidi Fellow on Disability [2021–24]