He is the eye of a storm blowing at a congenitally blind world

Being an outcast is a tag Guwahati’s Prasanna Kumar Pincha has been wearing on hissleeve for the last 50 years with consummate ease. The disdain in the eyes of hissuperiors doesn’t hurt him anymore. No, not because of an inferiority complex forbeing born blind. But because he’s always been confident of his calling inlife—fighting for the rights of his other disabled brethren. A regional manager withActionAid, rubbing the high and mighty on the wrong side comes easy to him. His relentlessbattle to give a level-playing ground for all other disabled is today a legion in theAssam government’s department of social justice.

Youngest of the four children of a Rajasthani trading family from Churu district,Pincha’s forefathers had migrated to Assam about 200 years ago. His childhood dividedbetween Assam, Bengal and Rajasthan made him proficient in at least three languages. But,more than anything else, he never let his disability be the cause of any complexes in hispersonality. He attributes this to his parents’ vision in sending him to a“sighted” school. Says he: “My friends never treated me as different.Instead, they always devised ways to make me a part of them. Whenever we played cricket, Iwas always given a runner and they bowled underhand.” He philosophises:“Children have an amazing capacity to accept others, even the disabled.”

Determined to contribute to the cause of the blind, Pincha formed the Assam BlindAssociation from the upper Assam town of Jorhat immediately after he finished hispost-graduation in English literature. Says he: “My idea was to establish aprofessional institution for the blind. Till then, and even now, most blind schools smackof an orphanage. I wanted to come out of that mindset.” Soon, with help from localphilanthropists and politicians, the Jorhat Blind Institution, the only institute of itskind in the entire north-east, was established in 1973 with Pincha as the founderprincipal. “The then president of India, Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, inaugurated theschool,” Pincha recalls, his eyes gleaming with pride. Under his able guidance, theresidential institution had classes for the less privileged up to the high school leveland also gave vocational training in fields like music and handicraft.

But managing the institution was never an easy task—the myopic bureaucracy of thestate always plagued Pincha. Soon, funds became scarce, the initial enthusiasm of thephilanthropists waned and the very existence of the institution was threatened. Theinstitution was eventually taken over by the Assam government under the social welfaredepartment in 1981 and Pincha automatically became a Class I gazetted government employee,perhaps the first such instance in the north-east. In 1987, the department of socialjustice, underestimating Pincha’s tenacity, kept him out of the seniority list justbecause he was blind. But, armed with an llb degree, Pincha fought for his case for sixyears and was eventually posted as the joint director of the department. He made historyin 1999 when he was made the director of the department, a post normally held by seniorprovincial service officers. There again, a spat with the minister forced Pincha out. Butby then, his fame had spread. In December 1999, he received the Best Employee Nationalaward from President K.R. Narayanan in the visually impaired category.

But, in spite of all the awards he’s received, Pincha is a sad man—the lackof a political will to help the disabled pains him. “The disabled are not organisedand we do not constitute a political threat. My goal is to organise them into a force toreckon with,” he says. He adds: “The Disability Act, passed with such fanfare,is not adequate to address the problems of the disabled. It is only a policy statementbecause it has no power. The act stipulates that post of the chief commissioner at thenational level and commissioners at the state level must be set up. But since theydon’t have any punitive powers and their orders are not binding on anyone, it isredundant.” He wants to change that. “Everybody should be made aware of the actand a separate directorate for disabled within the directorate of social welfare should becreated. Only then will our condition improve,” he says.

He adds: “The one thing I have learnt in my life is not to take anything lyingdown.” Pincha can be contacted at ActionAid, Amabri bylane Guwahati-781 001.Telephone: (0361-638871/72).