Every year on the 4th of January is celebrated to mark the birth of the inventor of the tactile script writing system for the blind namely Louis Braille. Since its launch in 2019, this global observance calls to focus on the importance of the Braille, which is the key to the access to education, information and opportunities for visually impaired people and their integration into society.
What is Braille?
Talking refers to human speech as a language sound with words as the smallest units while Braille is a technique of touch reading with letters, numbers and even some alloy of symbols in music, mathematics or science. This was created by Louis Braille in 19th century in France, making the blind and partially-sighted readers and writers to open such books and gain abilities needed for independence and equality to completely sighted citizens.
The Significance of Braille
The Census taken in the year 2011 reveals that more than 50 lakh people in India are affected by different types of low vision and or blindness. More than a billion people with disabilities across the world struggle to access healthcare, education and employment. World Braille Day calls for the central function of Braille as medium denoting the equality and social, political and economic rights of the blind and the partially sighted citizens.
How can the Government Support the Visually Impaired?
1. Accessible Information
Working with the National Association for the Blind, more than ten thousands of pages of the most important documents are available for visually impaired persons.
Organizations such as Inclusive Science and Mission Accessibility rely on AI to improve the mobile application accessibility.
2. National Institute for the Empowerment of Persons with Visual Disabilities (NIEPVD)
Chartered in 1943, NIEPVD has offered education, training and rehabilitative services. Its programs were avails to over 2,94,223 people in the financial year 2023-24.
3. MSVH stands for Model School for the Visually Handicapped
MSVH provides free education along with accommodation, teaching aids and facilities to the visually impaired children of all classes from primary to senior secondary classes. During the academic year 2023-24, it taught 243 students and provided them essential elements of personality development both in curricular and co-curricular activities.
4. Braille Development Unit
It prepares code structure for different Indian languages braille and is in the process preparing “Manual on Bharti Braille” to automate the braille literacy across India.
5. National Accessible Library
NIEPVD’s National Accessible Library presents individual texts in the forms of Braille, audio, and ePub for people to learn from. The library associations have more than 55 nembers and through its on-line facility Sugamya Pustakalaya it hosts 6.79 lakh titles.
6. Braille Production
India’s robust Braille printing infrastructure includes:
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Central Braille Press was commissioned in 1951.
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Regional braille press (est in 2008: Chennai)
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25 additional braille presses anywhere in the country.
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These presses publish literature in 14 languages and these are Assamese, Hindi Tamil & Urdu etc.
Celebrating Progress, Pledging for the Future
For the celebrations of the past year's accomplishments, and the pledges of the future to come. Measures has been taken in India to prove a thrust that seeks to uphold the rights of the visually impaired people to be allowed to live their lives to the fullest. As hand join in honor the memory of Louis Braille, lets re-emphasizes its commitment to making the world an accessible place for all.
Conclusion
World Braille Day is a timely reminder of the possibilities of integration, creativity and perseverance in striving for an environment in which people with disability are empowered to be able contributors to society.
