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| LETTER TO EDITOR |
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| Ahead of print publication |
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History is rewritten-defeated the disability
Pallerla Srikanth
Department of Psychiatric Social Work, NIMHANS, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
| Date of Submission | 28-Nov-2021 |
| Date of Decision | 04-Dec-2021 |
| Date of Acceptance | 11-Dec-2021 |
| Date of Web Publication | 01-Feb-2022 |
Correspondence Address:
Pallerla Srikanth,
Department of Psychiatric Social Work, NIMHANS, Hosur Main Road, Bengaluru - 560 029, Karnataka
India
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None DOI: 10.4103/aip.aip_144_21
Sir,
Under heavy speculation, 44 Indian athletes have landed in the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics sphere this time. So far, India has won 12 medals in the six-decade history of the Paralympics games. Turning everyone's expectations upside down, nineteen Indian players have won the medals (5 Gold, 8 Silver, and 6 Bronze) in the latest Tokyo 2020 Paralympics; out of all the medal winners, three were women.[1] Beyond all expectations, the players excelled and created a new history by winning 19 medals, including five golds. India's triumphant had begun with the Bhavina Patel's silver medal in table tennis, which was a great start. Avani Lekhara, who has won the gold medal, became the first Indian woman to win gold at the Paralympics and became the first Indian to win a medal in Shooting in the Paralympics, equalling the world record in the shooting. Avani Lekhara and Singhraj Adhana won two medals each, saying they did not look back in the shooting range. In the Javelin throw, shooting, Badminton, Sumit Antil, Manish Narwal, Pramod Bhagat, Krishna Nagar became gold medallists. Badminton, which made its debut in the Paralympics, has been a solid success for the outstanding Indian-Athletics.[2] Surpassing the performance in Rio Paralympics, India stood the 24th place in the medal tally in Tokyo Paralympics. Many of them have won medals in the athlete's category (8) this time. All the medal winners are receiving enormous wishes and love from across the country for their magnificent performance at the Paralympics. Many of the state governments have felicitated and given economic support for the medal winners.[3] Even the prime minister of the country has also acknowledged their efforts and lauds their dedication.[4]
Their disability did not stop their quest to conquer aim, never prevented them from their goals. Their determination towards victory has made to hoist the tricolor flag with intact self-confidence. Disability is limited to their body structure and functions but not to their aspirations. Breaking through the all-hard phases of their life, who made the victory over their disability are the real heroes and a true inspiration for so many. As per the 76th National sample survey, the population of persons with disability (PwD) was 2.2% in India, about 21.8% only receiving aid from the government.[5] The rate of employment opportunities for PwD is very less, and government policies for self-employment and livelihood are also being watered down at the field level. Welfare schemes of PwD are limited to papers only, and equal opportunities for PwD in India are still an unanswered question. Many of the public places and transportation systems are not disabled-friendly. The stigma attached to the disabled in vocational aspects is needed to be addressed. Unfortunately, in some instances, the rights of the PwD are snatching away. Special focus to emphasize increasing the awareness about different disability conditions and their rights in the community is the need of the hour to protect the rights of the PwD. Central and state governments should be a part to take the initiative to respond actively to the PwD issues on time. Effective implementation of rights of PwD, providing equal opportunities in their field of interest, accessible infrastructure, allocating special funds will bring out many PwD to shine out their talents at various platforms in the future.
Financial support and sponsorship
Nil.
Conflicts of interest
There are no conflicts of interest.
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