Finding Disability

Yesterday I attended a very good rather introspective session on People With Disabilities (PWD) by the KGS I&D team.

There was an interesting statistics shared by the V-Shesh team, our NGO partner, that according to a very old census in 2011, PWD comprise 2.1% of the total population. However, as the definition of Disability been evolved over the years by including not just physical disability but also various non-physical manifestations e.g., depression and many more, the presenters said the real number may be very high in today’s time.

While we talk a lot about sympathizing and being extremely careful with people with any disability, I got really confused with what the real definition of Disability is. In fact, we also discussed cases that we think from a distance are disable but technically they are not or they don’t consider them to be one.

I really thought that I might need a reckoner to distinguish between who’s disable vs. who’s not.

The only definition in the session that struck me as a guiding principle of disability is if there’s an ‘element of incompleteness’ (physical or non-physical) that prevents someone from being fully productive, efficient or in simple terms, living life to the fullest.

…and with that’s yardstick that I wouldn’t mind calling myself (or perhaps everyone around) a Disable. This is because I very strongly believe that while we all may be physically the most gifted, but somewhere deep inside there’s an element of ‘emotional incompleteness’

Please don’t be offended by my statement above, but if there’s any element of void, an element of something very important missing that’s preventing you from living life to the fullest, then that’s also a form of disability. This could be an emotional incompleteness at a professional or personal level that may manifest itself via an unfulfilled wish related to career, trust in relationships, want of love or perhaps freedom from current constraints.

I am no preacher here but somewhere very strongly believe that almost all of us are Disable, incomplete inside in our respective spheres of life, physical or non-physical. So why sympathize with anyone when we are all EQUAL and perhaps 100% of the world’s population is Disable :)

So, here’s a note to appreciate and acknowledge our own disabilities and incompleteness and celebrate life by helping one another by not sympathizing, rather by completing them.

Regards,

Vinkal