Jagdeep Dhankhar advocates enhanced support for disabled

CHENNAI: Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Friday emphasised the need for collective efforts to support disabled people, highlighting the importance of handholding and compassion to help them realise their full potential.

Speaking at the inauguration of the third National Conference on Deafblind Advocacy at the National Institute for Empowerment of Persons with Multiple Disabilities (NIEPMD) in Chennai, Dhankhar underlined education, accessibility and wellbeing as critical pillars for inclusivity.

“They have enormous talent and infinite capacity to contribute. What they need is a little handholding and support,” the Vice-President stated, calling it a profound form of service and dharma.

Dhankhar commended the progress made in empowering the disabled people or Divyangjan by the government in recent years. He noted significant measures, including increased reservations in education from 3% to 5%, access to prestigious services like IAS and IFS and initiatives such as the establishment of a Centre for Disability Sports.

Highlighting India’s growing recognition in international arenas like the Paralympics, he remarked, “History has shown us that disability is no hindrance to achievement. Mountains were climbed and records broken, proving the resilience and strength of the human spirit.”

The Vice-President called for greater use of technology, artificial intelligence and emotional support systems to address the unique challenges faced by the disabled people.

He stressed the importance of community engagement and urged NGOs and corporates to focus on impactful, result-oriented initiatives for their development.

“We must converge our efforts to bring out the best in them,” Dhankhar stated. “When it happens, they will give more to society than they take from it.”

As he addressed the gathering, speech and hearing impaired participants helped each other translate his speech in sign language.