Disability Ethics: The Dignity Framework
Disability is not a "Medical tragedy" but a Social construct resulting from barriers to participation.
Disability Ethics: The Dignity Framework
| Cue Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| Definition & Social Construct | - Disability is not a medical tragedy but a social construct created by environmental, attitudinal, and digital barriers |
| Charity Model vs Rights-Based Empowerment | - Transition from patronizing Charity/Sympathy model to human Rights-Based Empowerment model guaranteeing equal citizenship - Universal Design: ethical duty to create barrier-free physical and digital public spaces (Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan) |
| Political & Administrative Inclusion | - Guaranteeing persons with disabilities (Divyangjan) full electoral agency (accessible voting booths, braille EVMs, digital portals) |
| High-Yield Ethics Data & Exemplars | - Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPwD) Act 2016 (4% job reservation & 21 specified disability categories) - UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) ratified by India |
| Conclusion | - Success lies in moving from social invisibility to **"Inclusion-Saturated and Dignity-Verified Public Space"** |
| Real-World Precedent | - In *Vikash Kumar v. UPSC (2021)*, the Supreme Court held that a candidate with dysgraphia was entitled to a scribe even though his disability fell outside the notified benchmark categories, ruling that reasonable accommodation flows from the substantive right to equality (Art 14) rather than being confined to a rigid statutory list — a key precedent for the social/rights model over the medical model |