Date:11/06/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/06/11/stories/2007061117650300.htm

New Delhi

Call for an intellectual revolution for disabled

Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI: G.N. Karna, Jawaharlal Nehru University's expert on disability studies, delivered a lecture on "Disability Studies in India: New Directions for Future" at the 20th Annual International Conference of Society for Disability Studies at Seattle in the United States on May 31.

Addressing the plenary session, Dr. Karna underlined the need to institute Model Schools of Disability Studies in India and said the University Grants Commission should constitute a Model Curriculum Development Committee on the subject. He said the goal of empowering the huge population of persons with disabilities across the country could not be achieved unless a nation-wide intellectual revolution was launched.

"If the basics of disability studies are incorporated in the curricula at different levels ranging from schools to colleges and universities, it could go a long way in changing the mindset and eradicating misconceptions linked with disability," added Dr. Karna. He also delivered a lecture on "Global Disability Inclusion" at the University of New York.