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Nov182008
Leprosy : The long shadow lingers
One of the hallmarks of a developing and progressive society is the degree to which it is inclusive – inclusive of minorities, marginalized and other vulnerable sections of society who may normally not expect to find a place under the sun. Such a place of equality is what the Indian constitution guarantees in Article 14(equality) and Article 15(no discrimination)
It is this provision that one takes shelter under to fight for one’s rights; whether it be gay activists, or those who are fighting discrimination against one’s HIV status. And yet, in the gargantuan labyrinths of the Indian states, discrimination is in built in to our laws itself; effectively legitimizing them.
Usually it is assumed that the law is ahead of times when it comes to social legislation for it is understood that while society has many obscurantist and divisive influences, law makers at least in theory are above such influences and will enact laws that are progressive and inclusive. That was how laws that made Sati illegal or raised the age of marriage got into the statute books ; not because society as such was ready for them but because legislators of the time thought beyond their times and into an equitable future.
So what is one to make of the recent Supreme Court ruling that those leprosy patients cannot contest a civic election or hold municipal office in Orissa state? The case was brought to court by two men who were elected to a civic body in Orissa in 2003, but were later disqualified as they had leprosy. The Orissa Municipal Act of 1950 bars people suffering from tuberculosis or leprosy from holding such posts. “The legislature in its wisdom has thought it fit to retain such provisions in the statute in order to eliminate the danger of the disease being transmitted to other people from the person affected,” Supreme Court judges CK Thakker and DK Jain said in their ruling,
In the colonial era, the central government passed the Lepers Act of 1898, which provided legal provision for forcible confinement of leprosy sufferers in India. A hundred and more years have passed by ; politically India is an independent state, has become a signatory to the UN resolution which says discrimination against leprosy patients must be ended. Medically, leprosy is detected early and thanks to a multi drug regime, cured early too. And yet a few years short of the second decade of the 21st century, piles of archaic legislation keep those who happened to have contracted leprosy at some point on the margins of society.
The Life Insurance Corporation Act of 1956, which specifies a higher premium to the leprosy-affected, is one such law. The Special Marriage Act, Dissolution of Muslim Marriage Act 1939, The Hindu Marriage Act, 1956 or the India Divorce Act, 1869, all have provisions for divorce on the grounds of a partner suffering from incurable and virulent leprosy. Similarly, the Juvenile Justice Care and Protection Act 2000 says a child found to be affected by leprosy should be dealt with separately.
A leprosy patient cannot stand for local body or panchayat elections in states like Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Orissa.This prohibition extends to tuberculosis patients in Orissa’s Panchayati Raj Act. Further, if a member of local office contracts tuberculosis or leprosy during his/her tenure he/she may be declared ineligible for the job. While there are heaps of organizations fighting for the rights of those who are HIV positive, and there is pressure to constantly enact laws that are sensitive to some one who is HIV positive. There is a ringing silence when it comes to the rights of those who are being victimized for having once contracted a disease that is now completely curable.
Mahatma Gandhi, in his life time had made tending to leprosy patients and bandaging to their wounds as a personal initiative in his mission to create a society that was inclusive. Sixty years after his death, the work of fighting stigma and discrimination in alls spheres of course continues; but more pertinently in leprosy; the battle is even against an insensitive State and the laws it has kept on the books; not only sanctioning discrimination; but actually making it legal. And that feels worse !
The views expressed in this post are those of the writer and are not necessarily endorsed by Mutiny.in
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almostinfamous
001
9:29 pm
thanks for bringing this to our attention. very thoughtful and well written essay
pradeep patra
002
12:21 pm
Thanks Shantanu for bringing up such a sensitive topic. And honestly not many care about all such issues. Macro is fashionable but micro issues been ignored. We have serious equity and human rights issues be it about rights of people belonging to cerain religion, region or caste or about people who are physically challenged, the women, the landless and the homeless.
here are some more instances with regard to leprocy and violation of their rights:
• Motor Vehicle Act 1939 considers leprosy patients ineligible for a driving licence.
• Likewise, Section 56 (1) and (2) of the Indian Rail Act 1990 declares a leprosy patient ineligible for rail travel.
• Almost all the marriage and divorce laws of the country make leprosy grounds for divorce. Even today, the Special Marriage Act of 1954 declares leprosy “incurable”.
• According to Section 36 (1) (H) of the Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh Panchayat Raj Act, any leprosy patient who spreads infection cannot become a member of the panchayat.
• Section 16 (A) (5) of Orissa’s Municipal Act 1950 has similar provisions. Section 16 (1) (IV) of the Orissa Municipal Act 1950 states: “No person shall be qualified for election as a councillor of a municipality if such person has been adjudged by a competent court to be of unsound mind or is a leprosy or a tuberculosis patient.”
• Section 26 (9) of the Rajasthan Municipality Act 1959 and Section 19 (F) of the Rajasthan Panchayati Raj Act 1994 declare leprosy patients ineligible to contest elections.
• Section 19 (2) (B) of the Andhra Pradesh Panchayati Raj Act 1994 prohibits dumb and deaf people, along with leprosy patients, from becoming candidates in panchayat elections.
• Section 26 (1) (F) of the Karnataka Municipality Act 1976 also declares deaf and dumb people ineligible for municipal elections.
You can see a nice detailed report on this at - http://southasia.oneworld.net/Article/laws-in-india-criminalise-leprosy
I am really happy to see someone talking about issues like these. I donot know much but guys like you always help me to know more. Thank you.
Swati
003
1:25 pm
Thank you for a very good blog Mr. Datta.
Isn’t there some way leprosy can be eradicated like Small pox?
shantanu.dutta
004
1:44 pm
Swati,
In the early post independence years, there was an attempt to do so but it didnt work. The treatment for leprosy is 6-9 months long and requires the use of more than one drug - like TB. Many people stopped taking treatment after a while and the strains of the leprosy bacillus became resistant. The attempt was eventually given up and today the program is called leprosy “control” program.
Swati
005
3:30 pm
So there aren’t any vaccines?
shantanu.dutta
006
3:43 pm
Leprosy is eradicated in most parts of the world ; India is one of the last places on earth where it is still seen in sizeable numbers. Pharma companies are not going to invest in researh for a leprosy vaccine- there are no profits there - if any one has to it is the Indian government ; but successive governments havent seen it as a priority - it is not like HIV & AIDS, which has captured media space and attention.
Swati
007
3:55 pm
10 crores for a farmer’s rally in Bangalore and nothing for a leprosy vaccine? Where is our country heading?
1conoclast
008
4:53 pm
Shantanu,
Thanks for bringing this up. While I think much of myself & the causes I espouse, I think posts from the likes of you & Ujj are probably the soul of this blog. Not that I don’t love the others more!
Now I know what people are going to say in response to my bringing the following issue up, but like I said my mission is to expose the hypocrites, the so-called social service volunteers.
Mother Theresa did so much work in our country around Leprosy. Here’s what fans of the sangh have to say about her. Do read the very interesting comments section. I wonder who feeds this information into innocent minds?
And of course Gandhiji who fought against stigmas of untouchability & leprosy was killed by followers & members of you know who…
Kya Rashtra Seva hai bhai…! Wah!
sanjay… you have any propaganda to offer?
almostinfamous
009
5:10 pm
dude 1con… did you have to do that?
this goes far beyond such pettiness… why dont you write a separate post about that instead of hijacking an otherwise useful thread.
1conoclast
010
5:21 pm
almost~,
Yes. Cheap shot. But cheapskates deserve cheap shots. They’ve hijacked every thread on this site. And I’ve made it my mission to meet them on every front they open up. I will fight them in the mountains. I will fight them on land. etc. etc. etc.
Don’t want this thread to go totally awry, but it’s a point I’m bringing up. What happens to these so called social service organizations on issues like this. Bharat Nirmaan ka kya?
shantanu.dutta
011
5:36 pm
1con,
While i thank you for your kind words aboout my posts, it is really difficult to justify nudging the topic off course, and almost pushing for a confrontation when there is no particular reason to incite one.
1conoclast
012
5:54 pm
Shantanu…
No thanks required.
Apologies. You know me. I am always looking for a confrontation with these types. And I look for any opportunity to take a shot at them. That makes me confrontational, pugnacious &… desirous of developing a Gandhi-like approach towards them. It’s taking longer to develop than I’d like.
Anyway… Didn’t mean to spoil the nice & polite conversation on this forum. I will take this elsewhere.
Apologies again.
contentious
013
6:52 pm
http://www.novartisfoundation.org/page/content/index.asp?Menu=3&MenuID=236&ID=524&Item=44.5
Some good work being done by Novartis foundation
Swati
014
7:10 pm
Pradeep,
# 26 in Karnataka…it isn’t supposed to be deaf and DUMB in the first place. They’re MUTE …and many of them - only because they cannot hear and therefore have nothing to mimic as infants. Even basis sensitivity is absent in this country.
Lepers, eunuchs, mentally/physically challenged people are all stigmatised and turned into social outcastes in our country. There has to be something we can all do to change this situation.
Swati
015
7:11 pm
Nice link Contentious. Thanks for sharing.
Cathy
016
3:12 am
So nice to see that people FEEL for this legislation, that it is wrong etc etc.
No vaccine, because still not sure how it spreads. Something like 95% of the population are immune to Leprosy. It has a 10 year incubation period, which makes it difficult to deal with… and seems to go hand in hand with poverty… however I’m sure we all saw the article about the teenage American girl diagnosed with Leprosy this year… very healthy normal middle class kid.
I was simply blown away by the big step backward that India government made when they approved to continue this rule in Orissa state. Really, it felt as though all the education, within and without India was falling on deaf ears…or that those who make such decisions simple have blocked ears…. why are the decision makers of entire states in India not more clued on??
so frustrating!!!
scary is another word