People & Their Problems

New Delhi, 19 March 2009

New Vision EVMs

INTEGRATING THE VISUALLY IMPAIRED

By Sant Kumar Sharma

 
On the threshold of another Parliamentary election, the Election Commission has good news for the handicapped, which however has largely gone unnoticed or rather reported. The news is heart-warming and signifies an effort to walk the extra mile to integrate the disabled, rather the differently abled into mainstream politics.

Well, the visually handicapped voters in some States will be able to cast their vote using electronic voting machines (EVMs), which will have Braille strips. These strips will carry the names of the contesting candidates and other relevant details. Thus, enabling the visually handicapped to exercise their franchise, far more confidently and in a better manner, than has been possible hitherto.   

The scale of the exercise is big for starters as the Commission will provide 4.5 lakh EVMs with this special facility. The States on the agenda include Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand and West Bengal. In the Karnataka Assembly last year, the exercise was undertaken and provided hundreds an ‘insight’ into voting as normal people. 

The State Election officers have been asked to write letters to the Braille society in their cities, asking them about the exact number of such voters. Following this the election wing of the administration will conduct a detailed training programme for blind voters before the election so that they can understand the new voting concept.

As per the mandate of the Constitution, the voters are entitled to vote in a free and fair manner. Besides free and fair, the Constitution also guarantees that the ballot is secret. This is the reason why the voters are given individual time to exercise their franchise in complete secrecy. The presiding officers and the polling staff cannot intrude into the secluded area where the EVMs are kept when a voter is voting.

Not so in case of the visually handicapped. So far, they need to take the assistance of the polling staff for voting as the law provides they can have a companion, while casting their votes. However, the vote cast by the visually handicapped is not truly `secret’ as the person casts his/her vote by taking the help of the polling staff.

For exercising franchise, the visually handicapped person goes into the polling booth, meets the polling staff and one of them is then asked to assist the voter in casting the vote. This member of the polling staff then presses the appropriate button on the EVM, on behalf of the visually handicapped person, to cast the vote. In this manner, the choice or the vote cast by the visually handicapped person becomes known to at least one member of the polling staff.

However, it cannot be ruled out that the polling staff may or may not vote as per the instructions of the visually handicapped. Nothing prevents the staff to vote in contradiction to the instructions issued, as only the two of them are in the enclosure.   

Therefore, the use of Braille strips on the EVMs will eliminate any such possibility of mischief and empower the visually handicapped voters and put them on a par with other voters. They will be able to vote freely as also secretly since their handicap or dependence on the polling staff to press the EVM button on their behalf would have been removed.

The visually impaired would thus not be compromised during the voting and nobody would know to whom they have cast their vote. This will fulfill the Constitutional mandate of voting being secret and in today’s times, we can say they would not have to worry about the “muscle power”. Of course, an attendant will be allowed to accompany the visually handicapped person to help him/her. This assistant will not be required to press the EVM button on behalf of the voter but just assist him/her up to the voting area.

To ensure a level-playing field and create an enabling environment, the Election Commission is also taking the initiative to use helicopters in the far-flung areas of Andhra to ferry voters to the polling booths. The voters in remote and inaccessible tribal areas of Vishakhapatnam and East Godavari will thus not have to walk for miles to exercise their franchise. Besides, as the State will have simultaneous Assembly and Lok Sabha poll, the visually impaired will need to take the trouble to cast their vote only once.

Recall that it was in the early 90s that the Union government formulated legislation which helped create new job opportunities for the handicapped, belonging to various categories. Since then on, the government has made it mandatory for schools, colleges and universities to create an enabling atmosphere in mainstreaming the handicapped.

The Government went a step further and ensured a three per cent reservation in several categories of jobs for the handicapped. Within the handicapped category itself, the government has now divided the quota among the visually handicapped, hearing and speech impaired and those having physical disabilities.

But it is not the Government alone, which has sought to make life easier for such citizens. A lot has also been done thanks to the initiative taken by activists and pressure groups. Steps even such as organizing tournaments for the physically handicapped, including cricket for the visually handicapped has been taken. Moreover, Bollywood too has played a role. Some films have helped create the public opinion in support of the people with special needs.

One film which comes to mind is Sparsh, in which Naseeruddin Shah played the role of a fiercely independent visually impaired person. It showed how given the right atmosphere, training and facilities, the visually handicapped could not only do equally well, but one better than others in day-to-day life. It does send out the message that the visually handicapped should not be made dependent or pitied, instead be treated as equal and helped, as equals and the help rendered to them is theirs by right not charity.
However, much more needs to be done to make our society truly egalitarian and equal. We are perhaps still a long way from replicating this innovative and liberating process nationwide. But to use a cliché, the longest march begins with the first step. A beginning has been made. --INFA

 (Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)