The Proclamation on the Full Participation and Equality of People with Disabilities in the Asian and Pacific Region was adopted at the meeting to launch the Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons 1993 – 2002 convened by the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and Pacific (ESCAP) held at Beijing on 1st to 5th December, 1992.

India was a signatory to the Proclamation and this led to the enactment of the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995, which came into force on Wednesday, 7th February 1996. This Act was passed to provide equal opportunities to persons with disabilities to protect their rights and to enable them to have full participation in public life.

The Indian Act specifies provisions for reservations in the education and employment sectors. It lists duties and responsibilities for making transport and other services disabled friendly and non-discriminatory. It promotes research and manpower development in the disability sector. Furthermore, the Act advocates the use of affirmative action. The Act provides for a redressal mechanism through the office of the Chief and State Commissioners of Persons with Disabilities. The Indian Disability Act identifies seven categories of disabilities, which are:

1. Blindness
2. Low vision
3. Leprosy cured
4. Hearing impaired
5. Locomotor disability
6. Mental retardation
7. Mental illness
   

To know more about the act, visit : http://www.disabilityindia.org/pwdacts.cfm

Besides the above categories there are many other different disabilities and there are as many causes of these. Some people are born with disabilities, others become disabled later on in their lives. Some disabilities exhibit themselves only periodically like fits or seizures, others are constant conditions and are life-long. The severity of some stay the same. Others get progressively worse like muscular dystrophy and cystic fibrosis. Some are hidden and not obvious like epilepsy or haemophilia (impairment of blood clotting mechanism).

Disabilities /Disabling conditions which are taken into account in some countries:

Aids
Asthma
Autism
Cancer
Cardio respiratory diseases
Cardiovascular diseases and disorders
Cerebral palsy
Dementia
Diabetes
Dyslexia
Epilepsy
Haemophilia
Leprosy
Mental illness
Musculoskeletal disorders
Neuro-muscular disorders including multiple sclerosis
Parkinson’s disease
Thalassemia
Tuberculosis