Why the attack on disability reservations is misguided and ableist

Following allegations that a few individuals availed of the disability quota in the civil services examination using fake certificates, several influential voices have demanded amending or restricting disability reservations.

For a long time, the community of persons with disabilities has been aware of fraudulent practices through which fake certificates are obtained. The community has pointed to the need for a scientific yet simple way to assess disability.

Undergirding the calls to revisit reservations is an ableist mindset and an understanding that persons with disabilities are beneficiaries of the state’s charity. Disability, in this view, is solely a medical fact and the benefit of reservations should find its boundary strictly within the medically-defined possibilities.

It ignores the fact that both technology and reasonable accommodation could enable persons with disabilities to perform demanding tasks and occupy positions that they could not have done otherwise. For example, an accessible e-filing system in a government office will enable a visually-disabled person using screen reader technology to be an efficient bureaucrat.

These critics also believe that since reservations are a benefit, the state has the right to renege on its promise unilaterally.

Over the decades, the disability rights movement in India has mounted a serious challenge to this view. It has framed disability reservations as...

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