Hmm. Well!
Do you know how many languages are official in India?
Twenty two languages are listed.
For example, the official language in Maharashtra is Marathi. In Gujarat, it is Gujarati.
In Southern India, Tamil Nadu's official language is Tamil. See these have all been approved by the Indian Government.
You all know this. Indian Deaf individuals use Indian Sign Language (ISL) to communicate. Right?
However, it is not recognised. Hmmm.. How do we fix this?
How many Deaf people are there? 1.80 crore. You know very well, it is 18 million.
So why hasn't ISL been recognised by the Government of India?
The Government gave a recognition to Marathi for Maharashtra. Likewise, Tamil has been recognised and even Gujarati!
You think this is because the Government is partial to hearing people and oppress the Deaf? I think the same too.
No no! Don't be under this misconception. The Deaf are at fault here and not the Government.
The Government has no idea about this. The Deaf are at fault here.
You may think it is not your fault, but I assure you it is.
Yes. See Deaf people are so happy and relaxed!
The salaries they earn as labourers, peons, government employees, clerks, etc. fills their bellies.
Who cares about the Deafness, right? We are getting to eat, travel and enjoy with our spouse and families.
What is the point in helping the Deaf Community. You feel this too, right?
Now the problem is, what do we do with the future generations of the Deaf?
Do we simply abandon them? Or do we save them? What do you think?
Do we simply throw ISL in the trash?
What do you feel?
Hmmm.. I am just thinking how do we give the Deaf the best?
Do you know that India's economy is booming. Hearing people say that soon in a few years, India will be one of the top 5 countries in the world.
This means that everyone will become rich!
Don't be so happy! Deaf people will remain the same!
Your hearing neighbours will become rich, buy new houses, cars, etc. while Indian economy grows but you, the Deaf, will remain where you are.
Are you still not understanding how is the language linked to the economy? Ok, wait I will tell you.
When a language is recognised as the official language, it empowers the community that uses it.
Businesses boom because their language is recognised.
Without the language, people do not have any power. Language empowers individuals.
The same can be done for the Deaf. So why isn't ISL being recognised. We know there are 18 million Deaf so why isn't anything happening.
Let me give you an example.
When you see an ant crawling, you simply ignore it. Right?
If two ants come, you would simply ignore. Similiarly, you would keep ignorning 3, 4 or 5 ants.
What if there are crores of ants? You will scream with fright and jump around. Right?
This is the same with the Deaf. If the Deaf come together and collectively demand the Government to recognise ISL,
the Government will first check how many people are demanding. If there are only 100 people, the Govenment will simply ignore them.
If the Deaf comes from places, the Government officials will give you snacks and shoo you away.
There are many other Deaf people who are indifferent to each other and not concerned about helping.
This is like the ants who are not united.
How ants come together into a large number and fight towards a goal, I want Deaf people to come together like that.
But how do the Deaf storm and get the Government's attention?
How? By filling this Google Form which is related to the census.
After 2011, the next census will be held this year in September 2023.
You have all seen A.S.Narayanan from NAD and MBM urging you to fill the Google Form.
But only 18,000 people have filled the form.
18,000 is a small number for the Government, and they ignore it like a few ants.
What we wanted is for each state to show that there are 10,000+ Deaf people. When multiplied by 28 states, it will come to 2,80,000 Deaf people.
Since there is 18 million Deaf people in India, we are sure to receive 5 to 10 lakhs and more requests to claim the recognition of ISL.
Once ISL is recognised, our lives will change.
There will be accessibility in all fields for the Deaf!
Deaf people will be proud and respected.
However, I think this is not possible since you are all complacent and giving silly excuses to avoid filling the form.
OK! ISL will not be recognised. Forget it.
Are you okay with that? Then it is upto you.
Hey hey, let me tell you what I have in my mind.
Go see WFD website. You will see that some countries like UK, Phillipines, Italy, Chile and more listed there,
have recognised their own Sign Languages.
Wow! You would say this is because the people in these countries are well educated and India is not.
Oh God! Another misunderstanding.
These countries recognised Sign Language because the Deaf were united. Education didn't matter at all.
They fought for the recognition with all their might. That's why they were successful.
Then, they were able to become lawyers, engineers, doctors, teachers, etc.
All of this was because of the unity of the Deaf Community.
We must learn from this example and make this possible in India.
You think it requires a good Education. In fact, it does not matter if you are educated or not.
All it takes is a committment from your heart: Do you want ISL or not?
If yes, then fill the form quickly.
If no, then the future generations of Deaf will suffer. Now, it is upto you.
You will be responsible for this and not the Government. So think about it.
So how do you feel?
Do you agree to let Deaf suffer?
NO? Even, I agree. NO!
So come on! Fill the Google Form! If you do not understand, take help from everyone.
After you finished the form, don't stop. Tell your spouse to fill it,
then tell the spouse's family to fill the form as well. Tell your colleauges and everyone to fill the form too.
You think that Deaf are the only people that uses ISL. No.
What about your hearing friends who grew up with you and communicated with you in ISL. They could support by filling the form.
Tell your siblings, your parents, relatives and
and anyone who supports ISL from their heart,
tell them to fill the form, not only the Deaf people. It is for everyone, so tell them.
Don't be lazy. Do you think it takes 10 or 24 hours to complete the form. No! It only takes 1 minute.
You have plenty of time to chat on Whatsapp, Instagram, watch live videos, etc.
You spend lots of time for these useless things whereas it takes only 1 minute to fill the Google form.
Remember that when you all fill this form in large numbers, we hope to receive 10 lakhs or above entries of data.
The National-level Deaf Associations located near Government Parliament in Delhi, like NAD, AIFD and others,
their Deaf Leaders will find it easy to advocate with the help of this data.
Everyone, please don't think about the reputation of yourselves or your associations. Push that thought and political issues to a later stage.
First let's give an impact to the Government. Remember what I told you about the ants.
As the large number of ants would get the attention, similiarly a large number of data from you will get the Government's attention to the recognition of ISL.
So are you ready? Come on!