Status of Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHH) individuals in India

Source: The post Status of Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHH) individuals in India has been created, based on the article “Still no sign of the language of equity and inclusion” published in “The Hindu” on 29th May 2024.

UPSC Syllabus Topic: GS Paper 2-social justice- mechanisms, laws, institutions and bodies constituted for the protection and betterment of these vulnerable sections.

Context: The article discusses the challenges faced by Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHH) people in India due to societal and systemic ableism. It highlights the lack of sign language use and accessibility in education, employment, and public information. Status of Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHH) individuals in India

What is the current status of Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHH) individuals in India?

1. In India, there are significant discrepancies in the count of hearing-impaired individuals: the 2011 Census reported five million, the National Association of the Deaf counts 18 million, and the World Health Organization estimates nearly 63 million.
2. Despite these numbers, only 5% of deaf children are in school, and deaf adults struggle to secure employment.
3. The education system heavily relies on oralism, which focuses on teaching deaf people to use their voices and lip-read rather than communicating through sign language.

How does the government address deafness?

1. National Programme for Prevention and Control of Deafness: The government launched this program to prevent and treat hearing impairment through medical interventions. However, it mainly focuses on screening and hearing aids without addressing the broader quality of life or integrating Indian Sign Language (ISL).
2. Lack of Official Recognition for ISL: Despite setting up the ISL Research and Training Centre in 2015, ISL is not recognized as an official language in India. This lack of recognition limits accessibility in education and public communication.
3. National Education Policy 2020: This policy recommends the teaching of ISL across schools. Despite this recommendation, the use of ISL remains sparse, especially in schools for the deaf, which predominantly use oralism (teaching deaf individuals to speak and lip-read rather than sign).

What are the challenges in everyday life for DHH individuals?

1. Educational Barriers: Only 5% of deaf children are enrolled in bschool, facing challenges with an oralist education system that emphasizes speaking and lip-reading over sign language.
2. Employment Difficulties: Deaf individuals often struggle to find jobs, with limited opportunities primarily in roles like housekeeping and data entry. Protests in 2020 highlighted recruitment biases favoring those with less than 40% hearing impairment.
3. Accessibility Issues in Public Information: Public transport announcements, TV shows, and directions in public facilities lack sign language interpretation, making daily navigation and information access extremely challenging for the DHH community.

What should be done?

1.Official Recognition of ISL: Recognize Indian Sign Language as an official language to enhance accessibility in education, media, and public communications.

2.Integration of ISL in Education: Implement the National Education Policy 2020’s recommendation to standardize ISL teaching across all schools, ensuring both hearing and DHH students can learn it.

3.Improve Media Accessibility: Extend efforts like Doordarshan’s weekly news segment in ISL across more channels and include ISL interpretation or subtitles for all public broadcasts and media content.

4.Accessible Healthcare: Increase the number of ISL interpreters in hospitals and integrate sign language training into healthcare professional education.

Question for practice:

Discuss the current status of Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHH) individuals in India, highlighting key challenges they face and the government’s efforts to address them.