Information is a powerful tool. It can lead to self-advocacy and empowerment, if used intelligently. This is what we firmly believe in at Disability News and Information Service (DNIS) – a fortnightly news service on the Indian disability sector.
Disabled people account for a whopping 6 percent of India’s total population. Deprived of basic rights, they are often ignored when our country planners look into new changes in critical sectors like health, education, transport and commerce.
For far too long, disability in India has been viewed as a thing of charity rather than as a human rights issue. Although as a cultural trait charity may seem well meaning, it creates a dependency syndrome – humiliating indeed for an individual’s self esteem.
DNIS is maintained by the National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People (NCPEDP). NCPEDP is a cross-disability, non-profit organization, working as an interface between the government, industry, international agencies, and the voluntary sector towards the empowerment of persons with disabilities.