Odisha Panchayat Polls: Visually impaired candidate denied right to contest, determined to fight discrimination

Shantilal Sabar (right) filing his nomination papers at Gandamer Gram Panchayat office on Jan 21 (Picture Credit - Mayadhar Saraf)Following the cancellation of his nomination for the post of Sarpanch, a visually-challenged candidate is determined to seek the intervention of the Election Commission and the High Court to reinstitute his right and provide an equal platform to persons with disability.Nuapada: The nomination of 40-year-old, visually impaired Shantilal Sabar, a candidate for the Sarpanch of Gandamer Gram Panchayat, Nuapada district, was rejected because he signed the nomination papers in Braille. This has triggered a demand for amendment in the Odisha Gram Panchayat Act and reservations for the differently-abled and highlighted the discrimination and insurmountable challenges faced by the community.Three-tier panchayat elections are to be held in Odisha in five phases from February 16 to 24. On January 21, Sabar had filed his nomination. During the scrutiny on January 22, Election Officer cum Komna Block Development Officer (BDO) Sushant Rana cancelled his nomination, stating that a candidate who cannot read and write Odia is ineligible for the post of Sarpanch under section 11(b) of the Orissa Gram Panchayat Act 1964.His case has also attracted the attention of the Odisha film industry (Ollywood), he said, and a few people have expressed interest in making a film based on his life. “They said they will visit me in my village soon,” said Sabar. Without rhyme or reasonIn 2012, the nomination of another visually impaired candidate, Golak Gauda from the Sanakhemundi block of Ganjam district, was rejected because he had placed a thumb impression instead of his signature. Sabar said that there was a call to amend the Act at that time; however, even after ten years, nothing has changed. The uproar only lasts during elections and fizzles out once the polls have concluded. Nevertheless, Sabar is determined to pursue his case and fight for reinstating his nomination. Many visually impaired officers are employed across the nation despite their disability, including the IAS and IFS. Their contributions to the country, notwithstanding, Nuapada Sub Collector Taranisen Naik told The Hindu, "Shantilal's nomination had been cancelled as he could not read and write Odia. A visually impaired candidate cannot hold a highly demanding post like a Sarpanch who has to handle a fund of almost Rs 1 crore. The work of Sarpanch requires multi-tasking. Under various government schemes, they have to go through hundreds of applications seeking houses, pensions, etc. Blind candidates may face problems in grievance redressal."The sub-collector's statement disappointed Sabar. He told 101Reporters, "When an officer has this perception of visually impaired people, how could the general public trust him? The treasury officer of the district is also visually impaired. He is doing his job well. If I become the Sarpanch, I will discharge my duties responsibly. I can do my job well with the advancement in technology with the help of screen reading software, scanners, etc. Also, it is in the guidelines that I can have a helper to assist me."Sabar wants to develop his village, Dabripada. He said, "The government has provided so many schemes that everyone can live comfortably. However, their benefits are not reaching the villages. If I become the Sarpanch, I will provide all the facilities available in towns in my Panchayat. My priorities are building proper roads, providing clean drinking water, a good mobile network and a public library. I will install a big screen in the village centre so that the villagers can be up-to-date with news and information." He said that if elected Sarpanch, he would develop a model Panchayat in two years and set up a fund of one crore rupees towards the development of the village. Based on the success of his endeavour, he would then contest elections for the post of MP or MLA in 2024.Shantilal Sabar has big plans for a career in politics, starting with the development of his village, Dabripada (Picture credit - Darshan Sharma) Living and dreaming beyond disabilitiesSabar has been blind since birth and has studied at a school for the visually impaired in Kalahandi district. He completed his tenth board examination in 2003 through correspondence conducted by the Board of Secondary Education, Odisha. He had scored 50 marks out of 100 in the Odia language in this exam. Due to personal reasons, he then had to discontinue his studies. However, he is currently pursuing his final year BA from IGNOU. In 2012, he started Samarth, an organisation in Gotia village, Kalahandi, which works for the upliftment of the visually impaired. They are currently working with about forty persons who are blind, helping them with skill development, technology access and training in music and handicrafts. They are also assisted in their chosen subject of studies. The organisation also has a manufacturing unit of phenyl, dish wash liquid, sanitiser and candles. He has also contested the Panchayat elections in 2007 but was initially stopped from filing his nomination, for the same reason. The Election Officer cum BDO informed the higher officials of the Panchayati Raj Department, who had instructed the BDO to accept the nomination because of the candidate's educational qualifications. Although Sabar had lost the 2007 election by nearly 200 votes, he did not lose his spirit. In 2012 and 2017, he wanted to contest elections again, but the post of Sarpanch was reserved for women. This time the seat is unreserved, and therefore, he had filed yet another nomination.Demand for equal opportunitiesSabar has demanded that the Gandamer Panchayat elections be postponed and that he be given the opportunity to contest the elections this time. He said that differently-abled people were deprived of their rights by cancelling their nominations despite having necessary educational qualifications. He plans to approach the Odisha High Court with support from Odisha Blind Association and Odisha Viklang Manch, and initiate a district-wise protest.In Sabar's case, senior advocate and social activist Murlidhar Panda said, "The Gram Panchayat Act does not say that the candidate should only read and write the Odia alphabet. The defendant can read and write Odia in Braille. In Section 25 of the Act, it is not specified that a blind person can be disqualified for the post of Sarpanch. Under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act 2016, no person can be classified based on disability. The cancellation of his nomination is unconstitutional." The Odisha Viklang Manch has written a letter to the State Election Commission, Odisha Human Rights Commission and State Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities, demanding amendment in the disputed Act and immediate validation of Sabar's nomination.Sabar is hoping to set a precedent for all differently-abled candidates. He said, "I do not have any specific knowledge of the law, and due to my financial condition, there may be some problems in fighting the legal battle. However, if the verdict is in my favour, other people like me will also stand a chance in future." 

A village in Odisha bans alcohol after incident of sexual harassment

The village meeting where the decision to implement prohibition was taken (Screengrab from video by Darshan Sharma)Through a de-addiction campaign led by youth and the women of the village, Dharambandha in Odisha has taken a historic decision to ban alcohol and impose heavy fines on its sale, production and consumption.Nuapada: In mid-September this year, a group of women from Dharambandha village — situated in the Sadar block of Odisha's Nuapada district — went for a bath in the village canal. Nearby, a shop was serving and selling liquor to some men. Soon, under the influence of alcohol, these men proceeded to molest the women. When the women protested, the drunkards started abusing them. Although no official complaint was registered with the police, the village's youth decided to eradicate this problem from its roots. They started an alcohol de-addiction campaign in Dharambandha. "I was present during the [molestation] incident that took place near the canal. I had been protesting against the sale of liquor there. However, no one agreed. But after the incident, a meeting was held in which all the women of the village participated, and the decision to ban liquor was taken," said villager Padma Dewangan.In several Indian states, the demand for liquor prohibition has been raised from time to time. Complete liquor prohibition is in force in Gujarat, Bihar, Mizoram and Nagaland. However, it's no secret that alcohol consumption continues to plague many places in these states through the black market or illicit liquor production. Andhra Pradesh and Haryana were the states that completely prohibit alcohol in the mid-90s but it was restored in 1997 and 1998, respectively. In Chhattisgarh, the Congress government's promise to ban liquor remains unfulfilled even after two and a half years. In Odisha, following the May 1992 event in Cuttack in which more than 200 people died and 600 people were hospitalised after drinking spurious liquor, the state imposed a ban on alcohol in 1994. However, the Congress government that came to power in 1995 lifted prohibition on the grounds that it was causing huge losses in revenue. A 2019 report in the Financial Times quoting a study by AIIMS Delhi stated that, "Nearly one in five alcohol users suffers from dependence and needs urgent treatment. Among the 5.7 crore people considered alcohol addicts in India, the number of people who need urgent treatment is pegged to be 3.2 crores." The consumption of alcohol has also been directly linked to crimes against women. Confronting this reality, the youth of Dharambandha village decided to take matters into their own hands. They initiated an alcohol de-addiction campaign with the cooperation of the village Sarpanch. As a result, on September 21, the sarpanch called the gram sabha meeting, where the decision to prohibit liquor in the village was passed with mutual consensus.The women in the village have been feeling safe since the ban, said former Sarpanch, Kusum Sahu (in yellow) (Screengrab from video by Darshan Sharma)Plan for the banLocated 20 km from district headquarters, Dharambandha has a population of about 6,000. Here, selling, buying and making any kind of liquor is now prohibited. No one can open a liquor shop or a furnace to brew liquor. If someone is caught selling liquor, they will be fined Rs 51,000 and forced to parade around the village wearing a garland of shoes and slippers. The person caught buying alcohol will be fined Rs 5,100. An action committee consisting of 25 men and 25 women from Dharambandha has been formed to enforce the prohibition. Five senior members supervise them. The committee's job is to conduct raids on places selling liquor based on the information received. A day after the prohibition, the action committee had raided a place after receiving information about continuing liquor sales. However, no alcohol was found. An active member of the alcohol de-addiction campaign, Ankit Jain told 101Reporters that villagers also wrote a letter to Dharambandha Police Station, the SP Office and the Excise Department informing them about the campaign. "We got assurance of cooperation from them," Jain added. No more ‘bad water' The ban on alcohol in Dharambandha was not just welcome but also seemed necessary. According to Ramesh Sahu of the village, "People's health deteriorated due to excessive consumption. Most of the deaths in the village were due to sharab." (Sharab is an Arabic word derived from the combination of Shar meaning ‘bad’ and Aab meaning 'water’) Liquor was being sold in the streets, and the villagers had started depleting their savings to buy it. Some villagers suggested that cases of atrocities on women and domestic violence had also increased. Even the village children started drinking alcohol with the money they got for chocolates or ice cream. The panchayat office at Dharambandha (Screengrab from video by Darshan Sharma)Sadanand Majhi, the president of the de-addiction campaign, suggested that crime has reduced in the village after the ban. Earlier, there used to be eight to ten incidents of abuse and assault in the village. However, no such cases have come to light recently. "Now that liquor is not being sold; the focus is on development and cleanliness of the village. Children and youth are concentrating on studies and sports," he told 101Reporters.The former Sarpanch of Dharambandha, Kusum Sahu resonated with Majhi's statement. She said, "Earlier, it was difficult for women to leave the house. But ever since the ban, the women have been feeling safe. Not only Dharmabandha, but the entire country should also be alcohol-free.' The slogan of prohibition gets its strength from women. Today, all the women of Dharambandha are unitedly involved in the drug de-addiction campaign. However, while women of the village are happy, liquor traders and wine lovers are disappointed with this decision. Harinder Singh, manager of one of the liquor shops in the village, had opposed the ban, but this had no effect. He said, "With the mutual consent of the villagers, the sale of liquor is prohibited in the village. At present, liquor is not being sold, and everyone is following the rules. Let's see what happens next."  Post the ban, there have been no cases of selling liquor in Dharmabandha. "The campaign is going well so far. However, if we don't get continued cooperation, then we are prepared to go directly to the Excise SP and Collector," said Omprakash Kalar, the village sarpanch. This has also created fear among the liquor traders of the surrounding areas. Dharambandha has set such an example from which the whole country can take a lesson. Nuapada MLA Rajendra Dholakia told 101Reporters, "The people of Dharambandha have taken a historic decision. This step is welcome. I hope their campaign is successful."