By Dr K G Satheesh Kumar, Executive Director, NISH
Right to language is an inalienable right of every individual and society. Communication is the most basic of all human activities. The story of human beings is essentially a long saga of how they developed and perfected the tools of communication.
This is the core message of the International Day of Sign Languages (IDSL), being globally observed for the first time on September 23. The objective of IDSL, declared by the United Nations last year as an annual feature, is to drive the message of universalising and popularising sign languages as the means of effective communication for the Deaf. Although there is a certain proportion of the deaf population that is able to successfully use spoken language, a significant part has to rely on sign language.
The important point here is that a language is must for communication and learning, whether spoken or signed. The first spoken language cannot be acquired beyond a certain age and hence sign language is the only choice for many deaf persons. Their inclusion in the society needs popularisation of the sign language.
While watching on TV the press conferences held by top officials before the Hurricane Florence lashed parts of the United States recently, we would not have missed that all the newscasts had been simultaneously interpreted in sign language as well. This was to ensure that every single warning about the impending hurricane is conveyed to the people with hearing and speech impairment . Such is the care that the advanced democracies take for their differently-abled communities. This also demonstrates the vital role of sign languages as an effective communication tool for the Deaf.
The decision of the United Nations Organisation to declare September 23 as the International Day of Sign Languages underscores the urgent need for every country to evolve a sign language of its own, as in the case of the United States, which has developed the American Sign Language (ASL) and promoted it actively for many decades. Indian Sign Language is only couple of decades old and is in its early stages of being promoted as a uniform sign language, as a medium that can be used and understood across the nation. This assumes added significance since India is one of those countries which has a high proportion of hearing and speech impaired to its total population. The recent estimates have put their number at 1.8 crore.
There are many institutions dedicated to the education and advancement of the people with hearing and speech impairment in the country. Many use local versions of sign language for communication. This would, obviously, pose difficulties for students and aspiring youth from this community as they go up in their academic and professional pursuit. Hence the need to promote Indian Sign language
as a national sign language. This is not an easy task. Developing the vocabulary is a huge task, especially in areas like engineering, medicine etc., which calls for combined efforts of academic and scientific institutions with the support of the government agencies.
Passing of the Rights of People with Disabilities Act in 2016 has given a fillip to the efforts in this direction. Since then, we are moving fast, pursuing the objectives set out by this path-breaking legislation. The Indian Sign Language Research and Training Centre (ISLRTC) was set up even before the act was passed, but the act has given lot of thrust to its activities. Still, we have many more things to do to secure all the objectives enshrined in this Act. Several of the states are yet to frame the rules based on this central legislation.
As the country’s premier institute for education and rehabilitation of the hearing and speech impaired, NISH has drawn up a series of programmes to mark the International Day of Sign Languages, and also the International Week of the Deaf, observed from September 24. Honourable Governor of Kerala, Justice (Retd.) Shri P Sathasivam , will be inaugurating the Deaf Week 2018 activities at the NISH campus here on September 24.
NISH, in a unique outreach initiative, has enlisted the co-operation of leading Malayalam television news channels for simultaneous sign language interpretation of their news bulletins side-by-side the audio visual newscast for a week starting from September 23. The institute will be providing the services of its Indian Sign Language interpreters to the channels for this.
During the Deaf Week, NISH will be organising literary contests and classes in Indian Sign Language. A sign language version of the National Anthem has been prepared by the students and staff of NISH and this is expected to be launched on 24th by the Honourable Governor. On 26th, Minister Shri Kadakampally Surendran will inaugurate Indian Sign Language literacy programme aimed at the public, officials, police, and professionals like dentists and doctors who interact with the deaf and hard of hearing. NISH is also planning to release sign language versions of Gandhiji’s favourite bhajans to coincide with the celebration of the 150th birth year of the Mahatma.
Framing and implementing policies for the advancement and welfare of the differently-abled people is an area of priority for all modern democracies. India, as the world’s largest democracy and as a fast developing country, has already moved ahead in this direction. Accessibility and technological accommodation to manage disability is an important need. For instance, now most buildings and public places have ramps for the people with movement disabilities. Similarly, in the case of the deaf, commercial and residential buildings shall have visible fire alarms. For blind, pathways need guiding design features. The list could be long but much more need to be added to that. The ISLD is a reminder to move further in that direction.