550 days on, visually impaired protesters refuse to back down

Subhash Rajta

Tribune News Service

Shimla, May 5

A protest stretching beyond 550 days can wear down anyone, but the visually impaired protesters are in no mood to back down. They have been out on the road for more than one-and-a-half year now, demanding filling up of hundreds of vacant posts reserved for them under the Persons with Disability Act in several government departments.

“It has been over 550 days since we started the protest. It’s tough but we are prepared to sit on the road for as long as it takes for the government to accept our demands,” said the visually impaired protesters, who are camping in an open parking lot outside the Secretariat for over a month now. Before shifting here, they had been camping at a rain-shelter in the other part of the city.

Empathising with the protesters, Social Justice Minister Dhani Ram Shandil said they should end their protest as the government was seriously considering their demands. “We’ve had three meetings with them, and we are taking their demands to the Cabinet meeting,” the minister said.

The protesters, meanwhile, are not willing to end their protest until the government offers them something more concrete than mere assurances, even though it has started taking a toll on them emotionally as well as physically. “My six-year-old son calls me up three to four times every day to ask me when will I get a job and come home?” said Rajesh Thakur, a protester.

“I have been away from home for 400 days. I miss my son but can’t go back empty-handed,” he said, pushing back his tears.

Lucky Chauhan of Rohru, who got married a year ago, has spent much of the time spearheading the protest in Shimla. His wife, Rachna, who hails from Uttar Pradesh, also joins him occasionally. The visually impaired couple had met on social media. “He has been on the protest for most of the time since we got married. I had no idea our married life would pan out this way, but it’s alright. I am happy he’s fighting for himself and others,” said Rachna.

Apart from the emotional turmoil, the practical problems they have been facing are equally huge, especially for women protesters. “At times it becomes difficult to find washrooms. Sometimes, these are locked. It’s a nightmare for us to live in the open 24x7,” said the women protesters. Kalpana, a protester from Mandi, said they had no choice other than carrying on the struggle. “If we sit at home, nothing will happen. If we continue our struggle, the government might listen to us. Even our families will not care for us beyond a point if we have no jobs,” she said.