Our visually impaired brothers and sisters from Chennai, Tamil Nadu are facing a hard time. The disturbing visuals of visually impaired people being harassed and man-handled by the Chennai police have gone viral on social media. But what led to this situation in Chennai? Keep watching this video to know! It all started 10 months ago when Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin announced that all backlog government vacancies (unfulfilled reserved government jobs vacancies) would be filled through special exams and recruitment under the 4% quota for People with disabilities (PwDs). Out of this 4% quota, 1% is reserved for the visually impaired category. But neither the special exams & recruitment have taken place nor any announcements related to it. Having difficulty making ends meet and not hearing any update or resolution from the Stalin government, the visually impaired decided to resort to peaceful protesting. The protest started on 13th February with 5 visually impaired people going on hunger strike in support of their demands outside Chennai’s Commissionerate for the Welfare of the Differently Abled with hundreds of supporters. On 14th February police forcefully detained more than 100 protesting members from the commissionerate and dropped them at the Kilambakkam bus terminus. This forced the protestors to stage a road roko near the Kodambakkam Bridge after which they were again forcefully detained and kept at a marriage hall. The protestors demanded that the CM, who also handles the differently abled ministry department, should meet them to hear their concerns & needs. The protestors demand that the special 1% quota be implemented in government universities and colleges for teachers positions. They also demand that all the visually-impaired candidates who have cleared their Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) be exempted from the Tamil Nadu Teacher Recruitment Board (TN TRB) examination and be appointed as graduate teacher without it. They are also asking for an increase in their financial assistance. The protestors said that if the government had kept its promise and implemented the reservation, all the educated differently abled persons would have jobs by now. On 16th February the protestors continued their protest by sitting on the Race Course Road near Guindy Railway Station and blocking it. As a result of which traffic was affected. They shouted slogans reiterating their demands. Police officials urged them to disperse since the public and vehicular traffic were affected but they refused to budge & police had to again forcibly remove them and arrest them. According to some reports, the police took the protestors to many parts of Chennai throughout the night and dropped them 50 km away from Chennai at 3.30 in the morning. The police even beat and kicked one of the disabled leaders named Ramarajan. On 20th February, the police and the visually impaired people including more than 50 students who were protesting at the Sterling Road in Nungambakkam for the 6th consecutive day were forcefully picked & dragged by the police. According to the reports, the protestors were sitting on the road and raising slogans peacefully. This affected the traffic in the area for more than 30 minutes. The situation and the disturbing viral visuals have raised the question about the rights & respect of PwDs in India. The Tamil Nadu government has made no attempt to talk with the protestors.

Tags

• chennai
• blind
• visually impaired
• tamil nadu

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