DREAM OF DIGITAL ACCESSIBILITY IN INDIA - MILES AWAY FOR
PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES
Accessibility is basic human rights recognized by United Nations
conventions on rights of persons with disabilities (UNCRPD). The Government of
India has ratified UNCRPD in 2007 and amended disability laws and regulations
by passing “Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act (RPWD”) act in 2016.
Ministry of electronics and Information Technology (MEITY), Government of India
has also designed Government of India Guidelines for Web accessibility (GIGW)
2010 and adapted National Electronic Access policy in 2012. In 2015, Ministry
of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India has started Accessible
India Campaign (AIC) under which the government has started making thousands of
websites accessibility compliant for the benefits of persons with disabilities
and others. Digital Accessibility that covers websites, mobile applications,
and multimedia content accessibility is one of the 3 components of the
campaign.
Although relevant government officials are claiming that
they have made around 200+ portal accessible; unfortunately in reality none of
the government website is accessibility compliant. the website of “Accessible
India Campaign” itself is not accessibility compliant. Then what more persons
with disabilities can expect from the digital accessibility component of the
campaign? Crucial websites for persons with disabilities such as Department of Empowerment
of Persons with Disabilities, MSJE, Government of India (DEPWD), Universal
Disability Identity Card (UDID), National Handicap Development Corporation
(NHFDC), “Chief Commissioner of Persons with Disabilities (CCPD)”,
Rehabilitation Council of India (RCI) are having severe accessibility issues
today. Very important websites for students and researchers with disabilities
like MHRD, UGC, NAAC, Svayam, Svayamprabha, Shodh Ganga, CBSE, NCERT,
e-Patshala, etc. are highly inaccessible for persons with disabilities.
It is highly disappointing that none of the Indian university/Institutes
including top Central universities, IITs, IIMs, AIMS, NIITs etc. websites are accessibility
compliant to any basic accessibility guidelines. Students with disabilities cannot
fill up online forms, check their examination results or use educational resources
on any of such websites. Also none of the corporate websites that people use
every day was accessible for persons with disabilities. E-commerce websites
such as Flipkart, Amazon, Swiggy, Zomato, Dominoes, and FoodPanda are so inaccessible
that they cannot order items without the assistance of able- bodied persons.
People also face several issues while using Paytm, Phone/Pe applications. Only
Google/Pe App is accessible to them. Persons with visual impairment face lot of
challenges while booking cabs on Ola and Uber Apps. Users with disabilities
cannot independently do their travel bookings on Make My Trip, Yatra.com,
Redbus, IRCTC websites. Persons with disabilities cannot create their profile and
search jobs independently on Naukri.com, monster.com. None of the online
banking services are accessible for persons with disabilities to do any banking
transactions independently. They have to share their important financial
information to the person who is assisting them for banking transactions which
is highly risky and vulnerable.
Unfortunately several Corporates in India have also not yet
understood business case for digital accessibility. They hardly consider 70
million customers with disabilities and their business potential or buying capacity.
They treat accessibility compliance as charity for persons with disabilities
rather than attracting them towards accessible products and services and
improving their customer base.
The National Association of Software and Service Companies
(NASSCOM) foundation has digital accessibility as one of the crucial vertical.
However their own websites has several severer accessibility issues as if they
have deliberately created barriers for screen reader users. Thus Digital
Accessibility programs are just a show for several corporates like Wipro, TCS, Infosys
and Cognizant like organizations which provide accessibility solutions to
others. These organizations have not even made their own web services accessibility
compliant to their employees with disabilities. They have Equal Employment
Opportunity policy on paper. How do we then expect that they will provide
accessible products and services? Several international companies adhere to
accessibility standards and regulations in other countries. But when they
provide services and operate in India they ignore accessibility compliance.
Severity of inaccessible environment is experienced
intensely in the current pandemic situation. persons with disabilities cannot
ask assistance from peer team while doing work from home. The digital content
is not fully accessible for persons with disabilities in India. Despite laws,
policies, guidelines, and mandates, persons with disabilities are deprived of
all the essential services. Their frustration
is so high that they feel highly dependent while living in an Independent
Nation. It would be very much convenient
for all the persons with disabilities to use digital services independently with
the use of assistive technologies if those services are designed and developed with
the consideration of universal design approach. They can use screen readers,
screen magnifiers, speech recognition like assistive technologies to interact
with the websites and digital content without any other’s assistance. Actually
they can enjoy very high level of independence if all such web services would
be accessibility compliant.
I personally believe that the bureaucrats of Indian
Government mislead the ministers, persons with disabilities and entire nation at
large as they are falsely claiming that thousands of websites are being made accessible
and around 200+ crucial websites are now become accessible. In disability
consultations, conferences and accessibility training programs, I have continuously
pointed out that none of the websites in India can be said accessibility
compliant to the standards/guidelines the government has adapted. Last year I
personally requested the concerned director, joint-secretary and Secretary DEPWD,
MSJE, Government of India who are nodal officers that they should seriously look
in to this matter and try to understand digital accessibility barriers of
persons with disabilities. I personally found that many such nodal officers are
insensitive and incompetent to handle the matter. Lack of their willingness is
another concern.
I have observed that several times National award for best
accessible websites are conferred to those websites which are highly
inaccessible and does not qualify for compliance. I believe that in their
understanding web accessibility means providing font resizing, color contrast
changing, language-changing features, providing screen-reader access link, on
the top of the website. Moreover providing alternative text to all the
informative and decorative images as well as providing text only version of the
website - that’s only accessibility.
Since last 10 years I tried to sensitize such nodal
officers. But they do not want to spend their very important time for such a
useless work what they believe. I also offered whatever expertise I have to
them for making important websites accessibility compliant for the benefit of
persons with disabilities with no any commercials. But no proper response was
forthcoming. The digital accessibility related work is with Ministry of
Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY), Government of India. They have been
doing accessibility audit and accessibility compliance work from the Companies
which do not have experience of accessibility compliance. Also nodal
authorities of digital accessibility in MEITY hardly have proper knowledge of Accessibility
guidelines. In fact most of them do not have willingness to learn accessibility,
which is the reason that they cannot monitor whether their empanelled vendors
have properly audited and remediated the websites for accessibility. Several empanelled
vendors who are working for web accessibility compliance with the government
are cheating government authorities as they have limited knowledge of
accessibility compliance. The government officials along with empanelled vendors
of access consulting services are collectively cheating ministers, law makers,
70 million persons with disabilities and the nation at large. Government and
corporate organizations are joking with persons with disabilities on the name
of digital accessibility.
We can ask for justice through disability tribunals. But
Commissioner of persons with disabilities does not know accessibility
compliance and its importance for persons with disabilities. Human rights
commission and activists never raise such issues as they are busy in designing manufactured
issues to trouble the government and create mess. The print media, audio visual
media never raise accessibility related challenges of persons with disabilities
in their shows and news bulletins as they think that this will not generate TRP
to them since this group is a minority. I have never seen any news debate about
accessibility challenges of persons with disabilities. Moreover they do not
bother that their Web portals, text and multimedia content is not accessible
and usable.
We can ask justice in courts by filing Public Interest Litigations.
But unfortunately courts web services do not adhere to any accessibility
guidelines or standards. How organizations will obey the court orders as their
own digital services are inaccessible?
Then what can be done to create barrier free and accessible
environment in India?
According to me we all certified accessibility
professionals, organizations working for persons with disabilities, lawyers
with disabilities, disability activists and users with disabilities should come
together and inform the current status of digital accessibility to concerned
ministers and Prime Minister’s office as Accessible India Campaign was started with
the cognizance of our request and suggestions. We should build good political
relations and improve our political status by joining disability cell of
political parties, contest elections and try to reach in the legislature to
raise our voice.
We all should demand to concern ministry to appoint competent
and certified digital Accessibility consultants in each government, non-government
and corporate organizations/departments who can guide and drive their
accessibility compliance program, Ensure accessibility of venders from
government organizations end.
We can start sensitizing nodal government officers and do
continuous follow up for accessibility compliance and monitor accessibility
programs on our end. We all should demand at least minimum level of compliance
and do not compromise with the partial accessibility.
We all the accessibility evangelist should sensitize
persons with disabilities about importance of accessibility compliance in their
life and its positive impact through social media by writing short articles,
sharing relevant news like news Hook, preparing short videos and uploading the
same on YouTube, taking opportunity on every conferences and public gatherings.
We should not tolerate inaccessibility of digital services
of government and corporate organizations and start filing Litigations against
the organizations which are not adhere to the mandatory compliance.
We all should be vocal for demanding minimum accessibility
compliance in the products and services that we use routinely.
Finally if people, government and corporate organizations,
Universities and research centres, schools and colleges are not responding
properly, then we should start strong agitation against them for meeting our
demand as digital accessibility is our basic human rights recognized by United
Nations and India As well. If we will start doing such things, then we will
commemorate Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD) in real sense. Good thing
is that many of us already have started doing so. Thus achieving digital
accessibility in India is difficult but we have to put much more efforts and
walk miles to contribute in building barrier free, accessible and Inclusive New
India where every one will have equal access to digital services.
Dhananjay Bhole,
Accessibility evangelist,
Assistant Professor,
Centre for Disabilities and Inclusive Education,
Savitribai Phule Pune University.