This is Rajesh Kumar speaking on Hamari Vani from Topa village, Bawari, Delhi. Friends, just now a very good and detailed discussion on Netra Jyotish (astrology based on eyes) was going on in the voice of Munnalal Bharti, and it felt truly welcoming. There is no doubt that a very large section of society has supported us by holding our hands and helping us move forward. At present, we are only expressing separation and concern, because development of alternatives cannot happen solely on the strength of the government. So many organizations are connected with us — Able India, All Vani, NAB, IBN, SBBS, SBI of India, and many others — all working in their own ways for our welfare. Along with this, some worrying news is also coming in. Regarding the upcoming MTS recruitment, the Government of India has surrounded us in such a way: conditions like an 18-year writer, a 30-year writer, mandatory availability of writers, etc., have been imposed. Although the Delhi High Court has increased the strength and morale of this community, the SSC is still not ready to follow the court’s orders. So overall, what I want to say is that now visually impaired people must rise above sympathy and pity and become strong like iron. Only by working day and night with hard effort will you get jobs; otherwise, the old days are not far from returning. If the old era comes back, earlier we were completely alone. Today, at least on Hamari Vani, we have leaders like Ramesh ji and Kamal Kant ji standing with us. But if those old times return, we may again be left alone. What is needed now is that instead of occasionally hearing advertisements like “ikka-mikka masala” on Hamari Vani, we must rise above that and talk only about education — strong, quality education. Such education should be provided so that our visually impaired students can independently appear in any professional or competitive examination on their own. This dependence on a “crutch” will not work anymore. Today, this is exactly the reason why our severely disabled brothers and sisters, who cannot even walk, are still forced to rely on crutches instead of real empowerment.
