reservation policy

RESERVATION POLICY AND ITS IMPLEMENTATION ACROSS DOMAINS IN INDIA: Niranjan Sahoo; Academic Foundation, 4772-73/23 Bharat Ram Road (23 Ansari Road), Daryaganj, New Delhi-110002. Rs. 595.

This slim volume is an attempt to assess the seriousness with which the Indian state has implemented programmes of affirmative action. The emphasis is on detailing the various components of such programmes and examining their effectiveness through published data. While the aim is laudable, it needs to be said at the outset that the work has fallen between two stools — its analysis is not incisive enough to hold the interest of an informed reader, nor does it serve as an introduction to the interested but essentially lay audience.

Data

First, let us see what the book’s strengths are. There are data on a spectrum of issues relating to affirmative action such as the status of the Scheduled Castes, the Scheduled Tribes, and the Other Backward Classes in political institutions from the local bodies to the StateLegislatures and Parliament, and in relation to parameters like literacy, education, and employment. The information is collated from authentic sources. In this sense, it will be useful for any student who wants to have a quick access to data. Of course, there are other such books. But this indeed is a positive feature.

Another positive element relates to the questions it raises for further inquiry. But then, the work has important limitations here. Principally, Niranjan Sahoo makes no attempt to situate his analysis against a large canvas such as the changes that have taken place in the economy and the role of the state, which is getting diluted.

With the state ceasing to be the main employer of the educated classes and with the market-friendly paradigm quite firmly in place, the policy of ‘positive discrimination’ (a term that is, at least in the opinion of this reviewer, more appropriate for the Indian context than ‘affirmative action’) confronts new challenges.

To be fair to him, the author does make a reference to this aspect as well as to the relative neglect that the various other forms of positive discrimination have suffered compared to reservation in employment, which has occupied the centre stage for too long. The work would have turned out to be much more impressive, if only the entire analysis had been housed in this framework.

There are other problems as well. The author rightly discerns a north-south divide with respect to the policy of reservations. But he fails to observe that in Karnataka, for instance, the displacement of Brahmins as the hegemonic class led to the emergence of ‘hegemony’ by the dominant among the backward classes, which in turn triggered a protest movement of sorts in the late 1960s — and this was utilised astutely by Devaraj Urs.

Also difficult to comprehend is Sahoo’s bland assertion that in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala the OBCs outperform the upper castes in higher education and in accessing jobs. The root of the problem must lie in the author’s inability to make nuanced distinctions among the OBCs. In States like Karnataka, this is a major issue.

Observations

There are some interesting, indeed sometimes insightful, observations. One such is that the STs perform better than the SCs in higher education, although, disappointingly, no attempt is made to take a closer look at it. This also goes for the data on enrolment in higher education, course-wise and caste-wise. Elsewhere, some of the information provided is difficult to digest. For instance, his statement that the IITs have been providing reservation for the SCs and the STs “since 1973 as per the constitutional provisions of 15 per cent for the SCs and 7.2 per cent for the STs”. There appears to be some confusion here, between a constitutional mandate and (presumably) a government order, since the percentages are not constitutionally mandated.

Among the interesting issues raised for discussion is the one relating to the woefully small number of SCs/STs securing positions in the non-reserved category — therein lies the “true test” of empowerment.

bhavsar kshatriya samaj

The Bhavasar (Gujarati:ભાવસાર, Marathi: भावसार) are an ethnic group in India. They belong to the traditional Kshatriya varna in Hinduism.^[1].

Contents

[hide

]

• 1 Kshatriya History and Saurashtra Origin
  • 1.1 Culture and Demographics
  • 1.2 Languages Spoken
  • 1.3 Surnames of the Bhavasars/Bhavsars
  • 1.4 Bhavasar Samaj
• 2 Notable individuals
• 3 See also
• 4 External References

//

[edit] Kshatriya History and Saurashtra Origin

The Bhavasar/Bhavsar is an ethnic group originating from the Saurashtra^[2][3]. Tradition has it that was formed by Bhavsingh and Sarsingh, two young princes from North Western India. Hinglaj Mata or Hingulamba is regarded as the Kuldevi or the Clan Goddess of the community. The princes sought protection from Lord Parashuram, who had vowed to destroy all Kshatriyas. The shrine where Bhavsingh and Sarsingh had prayed to the goddess is located near Karachi in present day Pakistan. In fact, the Bhavsar samaj is now negotiating with the Pakistan government for regular pilgrimage to Hinglaj^[4].

[edit] Culture and Demographics

Today, Bhavasars are found mostly in Maharashtra, southern Rajasthan, Gujarat, Karnataka and other South Indian States and Madhya Pradesh^[5] all adapting to their local culture and traditions to varying degrees. However, Gujarat and Maharashtra are the primary regions from where the more recent migrations have occurred. For instance, the Maharashtrian Bhavasars have migrated to South India since medieval period. They have settled in the South for several generations. However, they have maintained their Maharashtrian cultural ties to this date. Bhavasars are known for their simple, tolerant and integrating lifestyle. Traditionally, their diet has been vegeterian consisting of items prepared in ghee and jaggery. Curds is another indispensable item in their diet while liquor is strictly prohibited, thus maintaining the traditional Malwa culture. This community has been engaged in trade and merchandise activities for generations and with time they have also made a mark in Higher Education.

[edit] Languages Spoken

The Bhavasar community in Rajasthan speak Bagri, a Rajasthani language^[3]. Further south, a very large number of Bhavsars have either Gujarati or Marathi as their mother tongue. Migrants to states other than Gujarat or Maharashtra invariably continue to speak their native tongue while being multilingual with the local language. For example, migrants from Maharashtra to the southern Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu speak marathi, while being multilingual with the local language.

In Gujarat, the community has two linguistic divisions Gujarati and Marathi, which are endogamous (but slowly opening up) in nature. There is also a creole of Gujarati and Marathi called Bhavsari spoken in certain areas near Gujarat.

[edit] Surnames of the Bhavasars/Bhavsars

Some families from the Bhavasar Community apply Bhavasar(Bhavsar) as their last name, for the purpose of identity. The bhavasars originate from the Sanskrit language and aryan decent. Most of the them are found in Gujarat and Maharashtra. However, the Bhavasars from Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu have surnames in the Maharashtian tradition (with an adnav) and speak a dialect of marathi (Bhavsar Marathi). Most of these populations are concentrated in British cantonments where they found jobs. This indicates that Maharashtra has been their second home after Gujarat for a very long time and it preceded their migration further to south. Gujarat has the biggest majority of Bhavasars. Achalkar, Amathe,Astikar, Bangre, Bagle, Bakre, Bartakke, Basutkar, Belamkar, Bhavsar, Bhope, Bibekar, Bodke, Bomale, Bulbule, Dantkale, Dhayafule, Dhongade, Doijode, Gadale, Ghanathe, Githe, Godde, Gojje, Gondhale, Gondkar, Gujar(Gujjar,Gurjar), Hambar, Hambarkar, Havle, Hibare(Hebbare), Hiraskar, Hirave, Ijantkar, Jadhav, Jawale, Jawalkar, Jirafe, kakade , Kalekar, Kapadiya, Karne, Karmuse, Katare, Katyarmal, Khamitkar(Kamithkar), Khandetod, Khokhale, Khole, Kolekar,Kokney Kunte, Limkar, Lingarkar, Lokare, Lokhande, Mahindrakar, Malwade,Malve,Malwe, Malwadkar, Mankuskar, Maandhare, Mirajkar, Mulay, Musale, Oturkar, Pakhare, Patalay, Patange (Pathangay), Perkar, Pesay,Pissay, Pukale, Rangdal, Rakhonde, Rao, Rampure, Ransubhe, Relekar, Sarode, Sarvade,Shintre, Shamgule, Sutraye, Sulakhe, Tandale(Tandulae), Tandulekar, Temkar, Telkar, Tikar, Tikare, Torane, Urankar, Vutharkar(Uttarkar/Vuttarkar), Vaijwade, Vaikunthe, Zingade(Zingure) are few of the surnames in Bhavasar community.

[edit] Bhavasar Samaj

Bhavasars have their traditional caste council known as the Bhavasar samaj or Bhavasar Kshatriya samaj^[4]. This is a common denominator of all Bhavasars irrespective of the region they have migrated to. The main function of the jati panchayat is to settle inter-family feud, quarrels, etc. The office bearers of these panchayats are elected.

[edit] Notable individuals

• Swetha Temkar, youngest Woman pilot in India (hails from Mysore, born in a South Bhavasar family)
• Chunilal Asharam Bhavsar “Pujya Mota”, (1898-1976) : Saint
• Raj Bhavsar, (1980-) : Olympic 2008 bronze medal winner (born in America)
• Shashikala Jawalkar, Bollywood Actress
• Suryakant and Chandrakant Mandhare, Marathi Actors

[edit] See also

• Hinglaj mata
• Kshatriya
• Raj Bhavsar
• Pujya Mota

[edit] External References

• Bhavasar Kshatriya Samaj - Community Portal
• Bhavasar Kshatriya Matrimony - Matrimonial portal exclusively for Bhavasars. Register your profile for FREE
• Portal related to Matrimony and Counseling for Bhavsars
• Social Cause Help Desk for Bhavsars
• Social Networking Site for Bhavsars
• Hinglaj Mata Mandir
• Bhavasar Matrimony website

[[ ^[6]== Link title == Culture and Demographics ]]==References==

1. ^ Yadav, Neelam (2006). Encyclopedia of Backward Classes. Anmol Publications Pvt Ltd.. pp. 257. ISBN 8126122293. 
2. ^ Singh, Kumar Suresh, Anthropological Survey of India (2003). People of India: Gujarat. Popular Prakashan. pp. 206. ISBN 8179911047. 
3. ^ ^a b Singh, Kumar Suresh, Anthropological Survey of India (1998). People of India: Rajasthan. Popular Prakashan. pp. 146. ISBN 8171547664. 
4. ^ ^a b Singh, Kumar Suresh, Anthropological Survey of India (1998). People of India: Rajasthan. Popular Prakashan. pp. 148. ISBN 8171547664. 
5. ^ Singh, Kumar Suresh, Anthropological Survey of India (1998). People of India: Rajasthan. Popular Prakashan. pp. 206. ISBN 8171547664. 
6. ^ Advanced communities among the Kshatriyas of Malwa and Western India - Shankar Patwardhan, Arvind Vyas Paper no. AS056/2007 submitted to Anthropological Survey Of India

Retrieved from “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhavsar” Categories: Kshatriya | Social groups of India

inclusive education : policy and practice

INCLUSIVE EDUCATION - International Policy and Practice: Ann Cheryl Armstrong, Derrick Armstrong, Ilektra Spandagou; Sage Publications India Pvt. Ltd., B 1/I-1, Mohan Cooperative Industrial Area, Mathura Road, New Delhi-110044.

“Inclusive” is one of the most fashionable words in use especially in the context of governance and development. In education, initially, it referred to children with disabilities (the medical model) who could not join the mainstream because of the impairments and had to be taken care of separately, often in special schools, and given what is classified as ‘special education’. Later, the term was expanded to include all those children who were involuntarily excluded from the mainstream education for reasons that have to do with their economic, social, or cultural status or life-style.

This book argues that, though historically related to special education, the term ‘inclusive education’ goes well beyond it in terms of social integration and that it should be understood in the context of social diversity that is the result of such developments as the end of World War II, the end of colonialism, and increased labour force mobility.

Contradictions

It says, there are continuing contradictions between policy and practice as education systems attempt to manage the social and economic complexities of the national and cultural identities in societies that are highly diversified internally and interconnected globally. Again, it makes the point that the growth of inclusive education in developing countries reflects two factors: one is the attempt of those countries to promote the access to schooling and educational resources, and the other is the export of first-world thinking which reinforces dependency and what Paulo Freire calls “the culture of silence.” Flowing from these are the questions: What is meant by inclusive education? For whom is it meant and why? What are the existing practices that it challenges? What are the common values it advocates? How to judge its success? The book seeks to answer these questions by looking into the policies and practices obtaining in the developed as well as the developing countries and analysing them in the context of various related documents such as Education for All and the Salamanca Statement of UNESCO, and the Millenium Development Goals Report, the World Declaration on Human rights,and the Rights of the Child of the United Nations.

In narrow sense

The survey finds that inclusive education is interpreted and implemented mostly in the narrow sense of individual disabilities of children and it does not cover sections of children who are disenfranchised on account of economic deprivation or social discrimination. The authors pitch strongly for a whole range of groups, besides the disabled, to be brought within the concept of ‘inclusive education’.

To cite some examples: those who are experiencing difficulty of a temporary or permanent nature or repeating their school years or are forced to work; those who live far away from school or on the streets; and those who suffer abuses or are victims of war or are out of school for whatever reason. As far as the developing countries are concerned, they are trying to bring into the education system a large percentage of the excluded children. But many of them are following a Western model either on their own or because they are being forced to do so by the Western funding agencies. Thus a kind of intellectual colonialism persists, although these countries have managed to throw out colonialism of the political variety. A case study from Trinidad provides an example of the teachers rejecting a West-imposed model and evolving one that is rooted in native wisdom and culture — a phenomenon not much in evidence in the developing countries.

In conclusion, the book spells out the real purpose of education as something that draws lessons from real-life experience of the people and aims at the liberation of the mind, the raising of the critical consciousness, thereconfiguring of the traditional teacher-learner relationship, and the transformation of the classroom into a place where creative, and actionable ideas are generated.

At the cross roads of identity

At the crossroads of identity

KALPANA SHARMA It is 150 years since the first boat carrying Indians arrived on the shores of South Africa. How do South African Indians view themselves today? KALPANA SHARMA finds out that while the older generation is torn between their multiple identities, the gen next knows where it really belongs… This “Indian part” and the extent to which it is still important and relevant is just one of the many issues that the South African Indian community is debating today. ALL PHOTOS COURTESY: THE GANDHI-LUTHULI DOCUMENTATION CENTRE, UNIVERSITY OF KWA-ZULU-NATAL, SOUTH AFRICA

In a strange country:(Clockwise from top) The arrival of Indians in South Africa by boat Until they begin to speak, South African Indians could be mistaken for Indians from India. Yet, their journey to South Africa and their lives since then is a fascinating chronicle — of oppression, suppression, self-assertion, struggle and now a renewed search for an identity.

On November 18, 1860, a shipload of Indian workers — “indentured labourers” — landed in South Africa. This was a new form of slavery, six years after slavery had been officially abolished. They had travelled the distance not out of their free will but out of the compulsions that crushing poverty imposes on people. They thought they were escaping poverty. Instead, they landed in a country where their “Indianness” would determine their place in society for more than a century.

Later, others who were “free”, or paying passengers, followed. These were traders who chose to go to South Africa from India, Mauritius and other countries. Still later, post-1994 and the end of the system of apartheid, more people from the subcontinent chose to move to South Africa, people from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

These waves of migration together make up the complex, diverse and fascinating population of over one million South African Indians. This year, which marks 150 years since the arrival of that first boatload, has seen a series of events to “commemorate” and remember the presence of this community in the “rainbow” nation of South Africa.

Early settlers The Gandhi connection

Indians know of South Africa and its racist past and of the Indians who lived there because of Mahatma Gandhi’s struggles and experiences in that country. What is not so well understood by Indians is how the descendants of those early waves of migration view themselves today when South Africa is a free, democratic country and not one ruled by a small white minority that enforced separate development and apartheid. Do they consider themselves as overseas Indians, or non-resident Indians (NRIs), part of the Indian diaspora or are they South Africans of Indian origin?

This was one of several questions that came up for discussion at a two-day meeting in October organised jointly by the University of Johannesburg, the Centre for Indian Studies in Africa of the University of Witwatersrand and the Indian Consulate in Johannesburg titled, “South Africa and India: Dialogues on Social Justice and Contested Transitions”. It provided for many of the Indians who attended this meeting, a nuanced and insightful understanding of what it means to be a South African Indian today — 16 years after the country threw off the oppressive and cruel yoke of apartheid.

Indian immigrants at the Bluff, Durban. I personally got a hint of the significance of the question even before I landed in Johannesburg. A much-delayed flight allowed me to engage with several South African Indians on the way back home from holidays, visiting relatives and various ashrams. In fact, a significant number of passengers had spent time at an ashram near Bengaluru — a ritual which some of them said they followed every alternate year.

A couple told me how they had only recently traced their ancestry — prompted by the 150 years celebrations. A prosperous doctor from Pietermaritzburg said he had visited Faizabad/ Ayodhya from where his family originated and that ideally he would like to have dual citizenship. Why, I asked. “Because you never know how things will turn out in South Africa,” he said.

Younger people, on the other hand, were quite clear. A young woman, who works in government, said, “We are South African Indians. Of course, I love India, I love Bollywood and I love the fact that I can move around freely without fear of violence in your cities. But I am a South African. There is no confusion in my mind.”

An escape from poverty?Indian labourers in South Africa in the 19th Century Between these two responses lies the story of the South African Indians, a group who were lumped together under one racial category during apartheid. Since 1994, Indians are now free to assert their multiple identities — regional, caste and religion. There are also strong differences in attitude between the post-1994 migrants from the subcontinent and descendants of the original Indians.

Of the many papers that discussed various aspects of this issue, one that addressed, at least partially, the question of how Indians in South Africa identify themselves was a study of a place called Oriental Plaza in Johannesburg. It is located in the Indian-dominated area of Fordsburg. As the name indicates, it is a shopping centre but one with a distinct history.

The traders in Oriental Plaza, which is now a buzzing and popular shopping centre, once lived and worked in a mixed neighbourhood called Fietas, now called Vrededorp. Under the government’s rules, they were not permitted to own property. So they established their shops in rented property and much as Indians do in many parts of this country, lived on the same premises. The entire family was engaged in the business.

In 1942, the Johannesburg City Council asked Parliament to allow Indians to buy property and by 1943, many Indians had become owners of shops and homes. Their neighbourhood, Fietas, comprised Africans, Indians Coloured, Malay and Chinese people following many different religions. There were mosques and churches and Indian traders dominated the 14th Street bazaar. All this came to an end in 1950 when the government imposed the Group Areas Act that marked specific areas for specific races. The people of Fietas were forced to move to distant residential areas allocated according to their race while the locality that had been home to them for decades was redeveloped for whites only.

A painting that celebrates their labour… For the Indians, this meant separation of home and business. They were moved to “Indians only” residential neighbourhoods while their shops were relocated to Oriental Plaza in Fordsburg. Oddly, even though the law gave people no choice once the government decided they had to move, it also laid down that the government had to provide an alternative site to traders. Although some shopkeepers resisted, over time the majority moved, as they had no choice.

But, as the study presented by Pragna Rugunanan, Mariam Seedat-Khan and Letitia Smuts shows, the problem the traders faced was not just being forced to move, but also to radically change their style of trading. Traditionally, Indian traders would keep a little of everything in their shops, much as our kirana shops do even today in India. But under the new law, they were forced to sell only specific goods. So a person who sold men’s shirts could only sell that and not men’s socks. The traders were also not allowed to choose their shops; the authorities allocated these.

Net is necessary for lecturer job

Higher education teaching faces a huge shortage of faculty as the UGC regulation making NET qualification mandatory for teaching posts leaves thousands of M.Phil candidates in a quandary. PHOTO: A. Muralitharan

The yawning gap: Will there be enough NET and SLET-qualified candidates for the thousands of vacancies that would keep arising, given the ever-increasing number of universities and colleges? The recent observation of the Madras and Delhi High Courts on National Eligibility Test (NET) is clear. A pass in NET or State-Level Eligibility Test (SLET), as mandated by the University Grants Commission, is necessary for appointment as assistant professor (lecturer) for teaching in colleges or universities.

To upgrade and standardise teaching in colleges, UGC introduced NET as a basic qualification. The latest development is a cause for motivation for candidates appearing for NET on December 26. Universities and colleges had, so far, exercised the relaxations the UGC provided in recent years in appointing candidates with M. Phil qualifications. They now have to strictly confine their appointments to candidates with a pass in NET or SLET or a Ph.D as per UGC’s new norms.

Such a scenario would be a blow to the thousands of M. Phil degree holders in self-financing arts and science colleges. They are in a quandary since there is no way they could hereafter bank on their qualification or service-record to join teaching careers in government colleges and universities. “In fact, M. Phil degree holders after a regulation in 2006 were discouraged from taking NET as they already had the qualifications,” says Prof. C.R. Ravi of A.M. Jain College. Now, the recent HC judgments mandating NET/SLET has shocked thousands of lecturers who plan to move the Supreme Court next week.

The issue now is whether the there would be enough NET and SLET-qualified candidates for the thousands of vacancies that would keep arising, given the ever-increasing numbers of universities and colleges. This calls for efforts on the part of higher educational institutions to facilitate serving teachers to clear NET. However, the reality is that the self-financing colleges where they work in would rather prefer them to remain in a state of perpetual dependence.

Estimates show that there are just 12,500 NET and 15,000 SET certificate holders in the country. In Tamil Nadu alone, an estimated 45,000 candidates with M. Phil qualification are serving as teachers in the several hundreds of self-financing arts and science colleges as also government-aided colleges that offer programmes on a self-financing basis.

Prof. Sailapathy says the contradictions in the policies of UGC and the AICTE in making teacher appointments are causing enormous discomfiture to postgraduates in subjects such as mathematics, physics and chemistry. On the one hand, the AICTE permits candidates with B.E. or B. Tech. to handle these subjects, and on the other, the UGC forbids postgraduates in these subjects with additional qualifications of M. Phil from serving in arts and science colleges. A clear directive from the MHRD, he believes, would enable the M. Phil and Ph. D qualified candidates in these subjects to pursue teaching careers in engineering colleges.

According to S. Hariharan, the Director of the UGC-Academic Staff College in Puducherry, NET does not take into account the fact that capacities and awareness levels of those from smaller centres may vary largely due to their educational backgrounds. “This is the reason why so many opt for SLET where testing is different and yet it sets a benchmark for the lecturers,” he says.

Need for training

In order to help such candidates cope up with the standards of the NET, a mechanism should be developed to include training for such examinations from the graduate level. Also, there is lack of awareness about the exam itself among the large sections of the population, he said. “During training, I see students who cannot grasp the very idea of this examination though most of them are bright enough to become good teachers,” he says. He further adds that performance of students from Puducherry at the examination has been below par.

Dean of the School of Social Sciences at the Pondicherry University D. Sambandhan says that in the name of selecting “a creamy, intellectual class among the candidates,” common examinations such as NET deny opportunities to a large number of students to be part of the mainstream.

“There is no guarantee that passing in NET would ensure good teaching quality though people who pass the exam cannot be disregarded. The policy-makers should first put in place a system where candidates are trained for such an entrance examination right from the lower levels of their education to negate disparities in economic and educational backgrounds.”

Prof. Sailapathy advocates a system of equalisation between the ranking for seniority in acquiring higher qualifications and the merit-based on marks given for performance in qualifying examinations like NET and SET for the purpose of appointments in colleges and universities. Weightage for experience should be dropped in view of the hostility that self-financing institutions are prone to exhibit towards the candidates with the requisite seniority in qualification among their faculty, he adds.

one billion people disabled

Physically challenged persons participate in an event in Bangalore recently.

The proportion of disabled people is rising and now stands at one billion, or 15 per cent of the global population, according to the first official global report on disability.

An ageing population and an increase in chronic health conditions, such as cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, mean the proportion has grown from an estimated 10 per cent in the 1970s.

But, despite a robust disability rights movement and a shift towards inclusion, disabled people remain second-class citizens, according to the report by the World Health Organisation and the World Bank. One in five experience “significant difficulties”.

In developed countries, disabled people are three times more likely to be denied healthcare than other people. Children with disabilities are less likely to start or stay in school than other children, while employment rates are at 44 per cent, compared with 75 per cent for people without disabilities in OECD countries, the report found.

Barriers include stigma, discrimination, lack of adequate healthcare and rehabilitation services, and inaccessible transport, buildings and information. In developing countries the picture is even worse. Tom Shakespeare, one of the authors of the World Report on Disability, said: “The clear message from the report is that there is no country that has got it right. Italy is a world leader in terms of inclusive education and de-institutionalisation of people with mental health problems but in other areas it is not. In the U.S. the access is phenomenal — it is a civil rights issue. However, if you are looking at poverty and employment it is not good.

“Disabled people do not need to be poor and excluded; they do not need to be segregated. They do not need to be second class citizens.” One of the most “shocking and powerful” issues to come out of the report, according to Mr. Shakespeare, was the discrimination in healthcare.

Dr. Margaret Chan, Director-General of the WHO, said disability was part of the human condition. “Almost every one of us will be permanently or temporarily disabled at some point in life. We must do more to break the barriers which segregate people with disabilities, in many cases forcing them to the margins of society.” Professor Eric Emerson, of the Centre for Disability Research at Lancaster University, England, said the findings on healthcare were not surprising.

“In the U.K., there have been numerous independent reports documenting the systemic discrimination faced by people with disabilities, particularly people with learning disabilities. The health and wellbeing of disabled people is not simply as a direct result of their impairment. It’s a result of the way that people with impairments are treated by society.” Last year, the Life Opportunities Survey found many disabled people in Britain were isolated, cash-strapped and struggling to participate in normal activities, with a fifth saying they suffered from so much anxiety and lack of confidence that they lacked the ability to work.

The WHO report, which did not compare countries directly but highlighted best practice, singled out the U.K.’s Disability Discrimination Act 2005, which places a duty on public bodies to promote equality and its direct payment policies for disabled people as an example of good practice.

But Mr. Shakespeare said: “The U.K. has done very well, due to its direct payment mechanisms, and benefits like independent living allowance and access to work. It appears that many of these developments are under threat. The axing of the independent living fund and other changes to benefit appear to move away from what was a good situation.” Liz Sayce, of the U.K. disability campaigning organisation Radar, said: “The UK has made some real progress and it’s good to be reminded that there’s something to celebrate, but the employment rate of disabled people has crept up by only six per cent in recent years to 47 per cent. But it is still only 47 per cent and many people are working below their potential.” Tim Wainwright, of ADD (Action on Disability and Development) International, said: “We welcome the fact that there’s a lot more clarity on the figures. It confirms that disabled people are the world’s largest minority. Great strides have been made in making sure that women are included in international development programmes. The next biggest group is disabled people.”

— © Guardian Newspapers Limited, 2011

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