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Probationary IAS officer Puja Khedkar has denied all claims of forgery, and her father has defended her stand. She has also filed a case of alleged harassment against the Pune collector, who reportedly disclosed her disability discrepancies.

Probationary Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Puja Khedkar is in the eye of a storm. The 2023 batch trainee was accused of lying about her disability and caste status to get the top job. 

She has been accused of faking mental and visual disabilities and claiming quotas under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) and Economically Weaker Section (EWS) reservations without belonging to either of the two.

Former IAS officer Abhishek Singh has also been caught in the crossfire. He retired to pursue a career in acting but was an officer under the LD, or locomotor disability, quota of the civil service. 

What is the controversy? 

Khedkar has been accused of lying, forging documents about her disabilities, and concealing her EWS and caste details. 

Her father, Dilip Khedkar, had declared assets worth Rs 40 crore in the recently-concluded Indian General Elections, which cast doubt on her purported EWS status.

Also watch | New discrepancies uncovered in IAS Khedkar’s official record, additional irregularities surface

Even more suspiciously, she has time and again refused to appear for tests at AIIMS to confirm her disability.

Khedkar has denied all claims of forgery, and her father has defended her stand. She has also filed a case of alleged harassment against the Pune collector, who reportedly disclosed her disability discrepancies.

A one-person panel will now decide her fate. 

Meanwhile, Singh has also been accused of lying about his locomotor disability as his videos of dancing and gymming frequently go viral, with social media users doubting his PWD claim.

He also denied any wrongdoing and credited “hard work” for all that he had achieved. 

It is important to take a pause and note that the accusations have not been confirmed, and people are innocent until and unless found guilty of misdeeds. 

But do such controversies and supposed malpractices cast a bad light on the already marginalised disabled people in the country? 

This author caught up with ‘S’ (name withheld on request), a social development professional, to learn more. 

How do people with disabilities view the IAS controversy?

“I am not surprised that things like these are happening. I get that the competition is very tough, but it is disappointing to see people do all this. Nothing can justify these actions or make them ethically correct. Taking opportunities away from people with disabilities who are already going through a lot in their lives is unacceptable.”

How difficult is it to secure employment as a PWD? 

“People usually hesitate to hire us because they think that we cannot provide them with as much as other able-bodied, neurotypical people, which is a lie. I seldom see any able-bodied, neurotypical person work as hard as disabled people do because they are always undermined, so they have to work twice as hard just to prove their potential. They have to work even more just to prove that yes, I am capable and I can do more than what people expect of me. It is sad because they are missing out on how talented disabled people can be.” 

According to India’s Ministry of Statistics, nearly 64 per cent of India’s people with disabilities are without jobs.

This points to a glaring lack of inclusion. The country can greatly benefit from PWD’s contributions, massively boosting the economy. 

Is there inequitable access to the basics? 

Education and good health are markers of employability in India. But a large number of us don’t have access to it. 

“When you see basic human rights like access to healthcare, you can see how resources are restricted. Everything that a disabled person has to go to the doctor is scrutinised so that it comes out not as a disability.” 

“For instance, there was this case where a disabled woman wanted to keep her child, but the family members, without informing her, gave her an abortion pill, and she had an abortion without her own will. This is a blatant stripping of one’s autonomy and agency.” 

Should the two IAS officers be convicted, or should they be counselled if found guilty? And why?
 
“The harm is already done. They have already taken the place of two disabled people who would have been able to earn a living, so what happens now doesn’t matter. Opportunities for disabled people were already taken. Disabled people are still suffering, and there is nothing that we can do as disabled people. So, I don’t care what happens to the two officers; what I care about is what is being done to safeguard these opportunities for PWD and what measures are being taken to ensure fair and equal employment for PWD folks.”

What steps do the authorities and government need to take to make the lives of disabled people easier?

“We need, as a community, to make things easier for disabled people in a manner that minimises their struggles. If I have to go to a government hospital to get a disability certificate, I would have to give them proof by presenting my parents in front of them so that they can vouch for my claims. Mind you, not every disabled person comes from an accepting environment. Many of them also come from ableist households, so that creates an unfair situation for disabled people.”

“The procedure to avail a disability certificate from a government institution is extremely exhausting and excruciating. To top it all, this procedure must be repeated every two years because the certificate’s validity expires. It is extremely inaccessible for a disabled person to go through that amount of exhaustion every two years because medical professionals contemplate the chances of an improvement or a cure for that disability. But the disability, in more cases than not, doesn’t go away.”

How do non-visible disabilities affect people, and how are they perceived? 
 
Contrary to popular belief, disabilities may not always be visible. Non-visible disabilities show up in a myriad of different ways, including developmental disorders, autism, etc. Just like gender and sexuality, disability exists on a spectrum too.

However, non-visible disabilities are not recognised in the country. 

“People are shocked whenever they come across someone with non-visible disabilities. They usually say, ‘You are not disabled; you are just lazy.’ ‘You are not disabled; you are just making it up.’ Invisible disabilities are a thing, and they are as devastating as physical ones. Just because you cannot see me struggling, that does not mean I am not struggling every moment of my life.”

What is the workplace like for a disabled person? 

“Even when I was in a full-time job, I was paid less than my peers except for the amount of work that I did. I used to do work of 3-4 people. My designation was always trainee, intern, etc., but I would be doing full jobs.

I would be doing so much more work than my neurotypical peers, but I will not be recognised. I would be doing the work, and people would be negating or ignoring all of my efforts as if I owed them these efforts. Isn’t the life of disabled people hard enough already? Why are we making it more difficult?”

What does society need to do to make life easier?

“The society can stop being ableist. To top it all, most of the folks that I come across don’t even know how to talk to disabled people. We are your regular everyday folx; we are not fragile pieces of glass. We need to be taken seriously, and we need to be taken seriously as adults. Be mindful and be kind.”

A lot needs to be done when it comes to disability rights, but stringent monitoring of the existing reservation and quota systems is the bare minimum.

Basic healthcare and education are everyone’s rights. 

But sadly, India has failed to respect and recognise people living with disabilities.

Akul Baiju

Akul Baiju

Akul Baiju is a journalist from New Delhi who is passionate about gender and queer rights. You can often find him reading, chatting with his loved ones, or dreaming

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