Restoring Dignity to Muted Lives
According to Census 2011, there are 2.68 crore differently-abled persons in Bharat—2.21 per cent of the total population. About 1.18 crore of them are female. These include persons with visual, hearing, speech and loco-motor disabilities; mental illness, mental retardation, multiple disabilities and other disabilities. Deeply touched with the agony that these people have to undergo in life Shri Yashpal Gupta, a Delhi based businessman and also a dedicated RSS worker, started experiment of making deaf persons self-reliant through his company, Share India Ltd. He got so much impressed with the initial results that he wants to recruit more such people. “Differently-abled also have talent. If utilised properly, they can work with equal perfection. This is our experience,” he said while talking to Organiser.
Inspiration
Being Sah Zilla Sanghachalak of RSS in East Delhi Shri Yashpal Gupta already had the motivation of supporting the deprived people so that they join the mainstream and become competent to the extent that they further help other deprived people of the society. He realised the pain of the people with disabilities because the son of his younger brother Shri Parveen Gupta, Rohin, is a deaf by birth. Unlike most parents who turn blind eye to such children, the family imparted Rohin the best education at Clarke School for the Deaf in Madras and then in the US for some time. Then they introduced him in the business where he performed exceptionally well. This motivated them to employ more such people.
Apart from it, Shri Gupta also transformed the life of a girl, Pinky, who used to work as a maid at his home along with her mother. He funded her education and after completion of twelfth offered a decent job. Being Sanghachalak of Anand Vihar district in Sangh parlance he acts as true guardian of the karyakartas. That is why he took no time in employing the wife of Nagar Karyavah Dinesh Singhal who passed away due to the negligence of doctors during treatment. “As a Sangh worker it is our endeavour that all people live a dignified life. We have taken a small step. Let others follow it,” says Shri Gupta.
Initiative
Involvement of Rohin in the business encouraged Shri Gupta to the extent that he thought of helping other youth with deafness. He created a special wing in his company and encouraged Rohin to bring his similar friends into it. Rohin brought four of such friends—Jagmohan, Akhil, Shashi and Ankur. He himself imparted them training for three months. Now, all of them are working perfectly. It is because of their perfection in the work that Shri Gupta is planning to recruit six more such youth in the company.
All the four youth understand English and are trained in sign language. Rohin trained them in online share trading. “Their learning-up power perfect. After training they work like any other ordinary worker,” says Pallavi Gupte who is from Mumbai and coordinates with them in the section. “I did not knew sign language, but now while dealing with them I do not feel any difficulty in reciprocating or communicating with them,” she says. When asked about the rate of committing mistakes compare to the general workers during work, she says, “They are working like any other general employee. Their physically handicappedness does not block their way.”
When asked whether the initiative had any adverse impact on the business, Shri Gupta says, “Not at all. Rather, it encouraged us to do more good to the society. That is why we are going to recruit more such people. If the
person is mentally sound he/she is
suitable for us.”
| Quick Take
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Impact
All members in the family of Jagmohan—father, mother, brother and wife—are deaf. His parents passed their time with huge difficulties. But now since he has started earning good amount of money—about Rs 75,000 per month—they live a dignified life. “Despite being a deaf, Jagmohan is a brilliant boy. He works exceptionally even more than our expectations. Now he is the backbone of his family,” adds Shri Gupta. Till sometime back, Jagmohan’s uncle used to send some amount every month for them. “Now since he has started earning good amount, he has told his uncle not to send the money as they are able to manage the family perfectly. This change of mindset is also applauding,” further adds Shri Gupta.
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Smt Neelam, wife of RSS Nagar Karyavah in Shahdara Zilla, had no means of earning after the sudden demise of her husband. “I have two daughters and also in-laws. Looking after them is a big responsibility. Guptaji extended us a helping hand in that difficult time. Now I am able to manage the family. I joined the Share India Ltd in March this year and now picked up the work after training,” she says. The life of Pinky also changed totally after she joined Share India Ltd. “Now the vision of people towards us in our locality has changed. Those who earlier thought us inferior now speak with respect. Guptaji has transformed our thinking and also status in the society. Apart from doing this job, I am pursuing my graduation from DU,” she says with glittering confidence on
the face. —Pramod Kumar
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