-The Hindu   Where prison facilities are not equipped to deal with the specific needs of persons with disabilities, arrest and detention in custody should be a measure of last resort We have a slew of cases around prisoners' rights that emphasise their right to dignity and their right against cruel and degrading punishment, which have been understood to violate the right to life, guaranteed by Article 21 of the Indian Constitution. In...

-Economic and Political Weekly     Disabled citizens face a traumatic time procuring the crucial disability certificate. Among the tasks that fill most Indians with dread is the act of procuring the all-important identity and eligibility documents so dear to the Indian bureaucracy. Imagine the plight of disabled citizens for whom getting a disability certificate that officially recognises their disability and medically ranks it in percentage terms has long been a nightmarish experience. Yet,...

-The Hindu The disability sector is torn between rejecting the Bill outright and assembling a few non-negotiables to have the Bill passed by the Lok Sabha After inter-governmental consultation and scrutiny by the Ministry of Law, the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill, 2013 stands approved by the Union Cabinet. What has the Cabinet approved? Is it the same legislation formulated by a joint committee of civil society, States and Union Ministries...

-Kafila.org The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill was meant to be an enactment to codify India's obligations under the UNCRPD, which it ratified without reservations. There was a Committee set up in 2009 by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, headed by Smt. Sudha Kaul, to draft a Bill to this effect. Like the UNCRPD says, the Committee included different people with disabilities - across disabilities - to draft...

-Frontline A report by ActionAid and the Tata Institute of Social Sciences highlights the vulnerability and tragic living conditions of thousands of children who take shelter in Mumbai's streets. IN 1988, the acclaimed film-maker Mira Nair made Salaam Bombay!, a poignantly revealing film on street children in Mumbai. The plot revolves around the protagonist, Krishna or "Chaipau", who is kicked out of his home by his mother for having damaged his...