“We have the can-do factor, and us doing what we do inspires people to just try that little bit harder, whether they are able-bodied or disabled” – Lee Pearson, 11 times Paralympic Games gold medalist
Over 2.2% of the Indian population has some kind of disability. For disabled people in India, their disability is not the only challenge that they have to face. The entire society itself comes as a challenge. A physically or intellectually challenged person does not ask for any special treatment from the society but has a desire to be looked at like a normal person. People with a disability wish to do all sorts of work that an able person can do, and they desire that such infrastructure be developed such that they too can express themselves.
Physical activities help in improving motor skills, socializing with people and such activities also benefit emotional well-being. But the concept of sports and recreation for people with disabilities is limited due to the lack of infrastructure in the country. There are special schools and training centers for disabled people to train in different sports and games but such infrastructure needs further development. More importantly, awareness about the benefits of physical activities and its training centers is the need of the hour.
Now, several institutes are talking about sensitizing people about equal space for physically disabled people in society and for providing the same standards of living to them. Many steps are being taken in furtherance of the same as well. But this awareness is limited to the educational sector. The development of sports for physically disabled people at a grass-root level still seems to be a far-fetched objective in India.
When it comes to organizing any sporting event, the sports or games for physically disabled candidates are ignored as if they are non-existent. I have been a sports enthusiast since my childhood and I have tried playing many sports like cricket, football, badminton, table tennis, and basketball. But being physically disabled I was always sidelined from every sport during my school years no matter how much better I knew that game compared to others and that used to pinch me a lot. All of this was because they didn’t have much idea about physical education from athletes like me. I always craved to perform among the normal candidates. Non-participation does not equal social exclusion, as this occurs when people want to participate but cannot. Living in a society where people have the least idea about physical education for physically disabled people, it feels like a curse for people like me.
Having had such experiences of discrimination during my school time, when I came to GNLU, I was very reluctant to involve myself in any physical activity fearing the same discrimination as I had faced in school. But just opposite to my expectations, I felt very motivated by the environment that I saw here. I could play any game or sport that I wanted to play with anyone and it was an amazing experience. And many a time when I was not able to participate in the field I participated from outside the field. So, later on, I thought of an idea of introducing para-games in Justice League with the help of the Sports Committee and the GNLU Committee for Persons with Disabilities which would provide an opportunity for athletes like me who have always wanted to participate.
Para-sports or para-games candidates need special logistic support, special types of equipment and a specially maintained ground for an event to be organized and to ensure that the be university equipped with all these arrangements I had to run to the office of the Special Olympics of India many times. But, unfortunately, I was not able to make it. However, I do see a positive approach of the university towards promoting para-sports as of now.
Inclusive approaches can be characterized by ensuring a bare minimum; in our case a minimum standard of sports for all starting at the university level. Hence, my focus is on the interrelations between inclusion in sport and Quality Physical Education, disability, and participation in the educational institution; which is why I want to go beyond questions of who has or should have access to sport. Or who achieves in joint physical activities and instead move towards consideration of various ‘terms of inclusion’.
-Kunal Kishore
Jury's Out 