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National Compendium of Laws, Policies, Programmes for Persons with Disabilities
https://cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/national-compendium-of-laws-policies-programmes-for-persons-with-disabilities
<b>This compendium was compiled by the Centre for Internet & Society in collaboration with the Office of the Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities, Department of Disability Affairs, Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment, Government of India. Prasanna Kumar Pincha, Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities, has written the Foreword. </b>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">Preface</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">India, one of the longest continuous civilizations in the world is also home to one of the largest populations of persons with disabilities. According to the 2011 census, around 2.21% of its population or around 26.8 million people have disabilities of some form or the other. While the country is developing rapidly, persons with disabilities are often left out of the process. Sometimes they are completely neglected from consideration and measures do not take into account their needs by virtue of being non inclusive. On other occasions, there may be special measures for some disadvantaged groups, but persons with disabilities may not be recognised as a separate group, with distinctive needs. <br /><br />Overall, there is a clichéd understanding about the needs and abilities of persons with disabilities, limiting efforts made towards their progress. Even in cases where some effort has been made, information about these measures is not available to persons with disabilities and their family members, who are consequently unable to avail of them. Additionally, the insensitivity of rules/ schemes/ procedures/ persons makes it difficult for persons with disabilities to benefit from them. However, regardless of the reason, the fact remains that there is a huge gap in the communication of information from policy makers, administrators and law makers to persons with disabilities as well as their family members, organisations and other concerned groups and institutions. <br /><br />It is extremely important to bridge this information gap in order to enable persons with disabilities to participate equally in development. Better access to information will enable them to avail of schemes/provisions for their benefit and will consequently enable governments to assess whether they have made adequate provision in various domains as well as identify gaps which need to be addressed.<br />Finally, accessibility of information will also facilitate the participation of government and persons with disabilities in implementation of measures and increase transparency and accountability<br /><br />With this aim in mind, The Hans Foundation decided to engage with Centre for Internet and Society (CIS) to put together a comprehensive resource on disability related policies across India. It gives us great pleasure to publish this resource and we hope that it be of great help to the community.<br /><br />Ms. Sweta Rawat<br />Chairperson<br />The Hans Foundation</p>
<hr />
<p>Click to download the PDF version of the book <a href="https://cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/national-compendium-book" class="internal-link"><b>here</b></a>. (File size 1.72 Mb approx.)</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/national-compendium-of-laws-policies-programmes-for-persons-with-disabilities'>https://cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/national-compendium-of-laws-policies-programmes-for-persons-with-disabilities</a>
</p>
No publishernirmitaFeaturedAccessibility2016-02-05T02:16:36ZBlog EntryMy Bubble, My Space, My Voice workshop - Perspective and future
https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/my-bubble-my-space-my-voice-workshop-perspective-and-future
<b>The second workshop for the “Digital Natives with a Cause?” research project named “My Bubble, My Space, My Voice” took place at the Link Center of Wits University, in Johannesburg, South Africa from 6 November 2010 to 9 November 2010. Samuel Tettner, Digital Natives Co-cordinator shares his perspective on the workshop.</b>
<p></p>
The workshop was organized by the <a href="https://cis-india.org/" class="external-link">Center for Internet
and Society, Bangalore</a> in partnership with <a class="external-link" href="http://www.hivos.nl/english">Hivos</a>, Netherlands and put together with indispensable help from <a class="external-link" href="http://www.africancommons.org">The African Commons Project</a>
<p>. The
workshop saw the coming together of 21 people, in the age bracket of 20 to 35, from eight African
countries, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Uganda, Rwanda, Morocco, Egypt and Kenya.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>They came in answer to a call; they came because they all felt they
were represented in some way or manner by one term whose simple nature hides a
myriad of socio-cultural nuances: <strong>Digital Native</strong>. They came thinking these
nuances were going to be explained to them, and they were wrong. The spirit of
the workshop can be summarized in one moment, where one Kenyan participant <a class="external-link" href="http://digitalnatives.in/users/mtotowajirani">Simeon
Oriko</a> commented after a bar camp session: “I have more questions than I came in
with!” Some of these questions were: "Who is a Digital Native?" "What is a cause" " What is the difference between information and knowledge" "How can a globalized world account for questions of indigenous cultural productions" " What are the necessary skills to use the internet" " How can the effects of an online campaign be assessed" and "is the information age a revolution"? </p>
<p><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/jozi2.JPG/image_preview" alt="Joburg2" class="image-inline image-inline" title="Joburg2" /></p>
<p>They,
who at first so adamantly claimed to be digital natives, found themselves
question their assumptions and the labels assigned to them externally. Through
a series of informal and unconference style engagements, participants were able
to reflect on their ideology and practice. These engagements were facilitated
by a team of more experienced practitioners, Marlon Parker, Shafika Isaacs and
Adam Haupt, who offered their insight and perspective to elicit relevant ideas
and conversations.</p>
<p><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/jozi3.JPG/image_preview" alt="joburg3" class="image-inline image-inline" title="joburg3" /></p>
<p>The
conversations centered around inquires on three focus areas: practice, politics and
ideology. Through the practice of Marlon at <a class="external-link" href="http://www.rlabs.org/about/">Rlabs</a> we learned about the key role
of “champions”, or people who have a vested interest in the organization and
are instrumental in crafting progress. Marlon also facilitated a group activity
in which participants broke into small sub-groups and had discussions around five
process-related keywords: Mobilization, Representation, Awareness, Campaign, and
Network Building.</p>
<p>We discussed politics with <a class="external-link" href="http://www.cfms.uct.ac.za/faculty/staff-directory/Adam">Adam Haupt</a> who made us aware
that the use of technology for social change is not a practice which originates
in the information age, as exemplified by South African hip-hop artists who
utilized mix tapes to spread socially conscious messages. Adam's presentations inspired participants to think of words that described their perspective and then break into groups, in an activity called "birds of a feather". In these groups, participants were able to discuss back and for about common ideas and identify differences in practice.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Lastly, we discussed
ideology and the power of having strongly strucutred convictions, dreams and ideals with Shafika Isaacs who invited us to frame our journey with technology in our respective projects through a 2-2 Matrix: Dream, Design, Discover and Destiny. James Mlambo, one of the participants from
Zimbabwe, has written an inclusive account of the day to day events <a class="external-link" href="http://digitalnatives.in/mlambo/blogs/digital-natives-workshop-sa-was-eyeopener">here</a>.</p>
<p><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/jozi5.JPG/image_preview" alt="joburg5" class="image-inline image-inline" title="joburg5" /></p>
<p>Post the workshop,
participants have started pouring their perspectives, stories
and anecdotes on the <a class="external-link" href="http://digitalnatives.in/">website</a>. At the time of this writing, they have already started pouring all this new knowledge onto the website: congealing new perspectives derived
not only from their own practice but also form shared lessons, within this workshop and
as connected with the Asian workshop which took place in Taiwan. Some of these new
perspectives will help us to better understand many questions about digital
natives, many others will provide insight into the knowledge gaps
identified by Sunil Abraham and Nishant Shah.</p>
<p>If I have learned something from
my experience with the Digital Natives project so far is that the idea that
young people who utilize technology are doing so for self-gratifying reasons, are
selfish and immature, and are disengaged from the political context is not
simplistic but plain wrong. At least some considerable portion is motivated and engaged with their respective social and
political context. Through their practice they are challenging previously
established conceptions and are creating their own definitions of engagement. I
now see it as crucial to the future of our information society to listen to
these people and provide them with the necessary platforms and support so that
they can have the positive impact they so want to achieve and strive for.</p>
<p><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/jozi6.JPG/image_preview" alt="joburg6" class="image-inline image-inline" title="joburg6" /></p>
<p>Proceedings from the workshop are available <a class="external-link" href="http://digitalnatives.in/africa">online</a></p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/my-bubble-my-space-my-voice-workshop-perspective-and-future'>https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/my-bubble-my-space-my-voice-workshop-perspective-and-future</a>
</p>
No publishertettnerFeaturedDigital Natives2012-01-03T10:32:41ZBlog EntryMultimedia Storytellers: Panel Discussion
https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/making-change/multimedia-storytellers
<b>This post brings three storytellers together to find points of intersection between their methods. The format will be that of a panel discussion and it features: Arjun Srivathsa from Pocket Science India, Ameen Haque from the Storywallahs, and Ajay Dasgupta from The Kahani Project. They discuss technology, interpretation and action in storytelling. </b>
<pre>CHANGE-MAKERS: Arjun Srivathsa, Ameen Haque and Ajay Dasgupta
ORGANIZATIONS:Pocket Science India, The Storywallahs and The Kahani Project
METHOD OF CHANGE: Storytelling</pre>
<p align="justify">Over the last couple of weeks, I had the privilege of interviewing three storytellers. What struck me the most, besides from their fascinating ideas about storytelling, was how many of their ideas overlapped. As much as I would love to sit all of them in the same room and enjoy the fireworks, there are a number of logistical constraints that shut my storyteller reunion daydreams down; so for this post, I decided to be a self-appointed liaison between you and them. I will mimic this discussion by putting my conversations with them side by side, in the format of a panel discussion. Their interaction will have to happen in the realm of your imagination.</p>
<p align="justify">The questionnaire I used for my interviews was open-ended. I was curious to hear what they wanted to share about their work, as opposed to filtering and steering the conversation in a certain direction; so I let them take their own turn. While I clearly inquired about the relationship between storytelling and making change, it was fascinating to see each storyteller reach the question of ‘social impact' through different channels; testimony of the influence of their education and professional backgrounds in their work.</p>
<p align="justify">If I were to bring them together, the topic of the discussion would be: '<strong>Technology, Interpretation and Action in Storytelling</strong>'. We briefly discussed mediation and semiotics<strong><a name="fr1" href="#fn1">[1]</a></strong> in the <a href="https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/making-change/storytelling-performance#pre-production">Pre-Production</a> section of the <a href="https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/making-change/storytelling-performance">Storytelling as Performance</a> post. We mentioned then:</p>
<p align="justify" class="callout"><em>"mediums are combined to enhance the visibility of the message and the power of the experience of stories. [...] Each medium: video, audio, text, music, etc.- becomes “a new literate space” or “symbolic tool” storytellers use to portray narratives about the self, community and society (Hull, 2006)”</em></p>
<em>
</em>
<p align="justify">These thoughts were triggered by the work of the French philosopher, <a href="http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/ricoeur/">Paul Ricoeur</a>, who considers our self-identity a result of sign mediation and interpretation. Other themes in his work include: discourse and action, temporality, narrative and identity; also useful and relevant when exploring how storytelling and reality intersect. For example, how does building a narrative develop into a discourse that mirrors our context and existence? How does the medium chosen to carry this narrative define the language system of our discourse? Finally, let’s not forget this discussion is happening amid the digital question: how does the mediation of digital technologies enable or constrain our narratives of change?</p>
<p align="justify">Against this background, I would like to propose a discussion around five points of intersection that came up organically* during my conversations with them.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>a)<strong> The power of storytelling</strong>: <br />What makes it a powerful vehicle of communication? How does this practice break from more traditional strategies of information dissemination?</p>
<p>b) <strong>Storytelling as a vehicle to make change: <br /></strong>How does the practice of storytelling intervene in the social imagination of its audience? Is it the experience or the content of stories what drives the message of change forward? Where does change happen: at the value, behavioral, community or macro level?</p>
<p>c)<strong> The role of technology in storytelling:</strong> <br />What is the part technology plays in storytelling vis-a-vis traditional storytelling? Is it a static infrastructure or does it shape the force and direction of the story? How does technology influence and impact their work</p>
<p>d) <strong>Translating awareness to action through stories: </strong><br />Can you guarantee the ideas and values imbued by the story will translate into action in the public space?</p>
<p>e)<strong> Influence of stories on citizenship and political participation:</strong> <br />Can the power of stories be leveraged to instill a sense of responsibility in the audience?</p>
<p align="justify" class="discreet">* With the exception of Arjun Srivathsa, who addressed these points in a conference I attended. He later responded to a questionnaire in which I inquired about the intersections specifically.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2 align="justify">Introductions<br /></h2>
<p align="justify">We first have <strong>Arjun Srivathsa</strong>. He has a Masters in Wildlife Biology and Conservation and currently works as a Research Associate for the Centre for Wildlife Studies (CWS India). In tandem, he started Pocket Science India, an initiative that combines wildlife science with art and cartoons to promote conservation in India and disseminate information from scientific journal articles. He aims to bridge the gap between the work of scientists and people using art and humour.</p>
<p class="callout">
<strong>Arjun:</strong> I find the world of science and scientists very cool. Finding new things, discovering and inventing ways to understand the world better is an awesome way of life. I chose a career in science for this reason, second only to my love for nature and wildlife. But the essence of science, according to me, is not just to discover, but also to communicate. Even though wildlife research in India has progressed massively in the past few decades, the only notion people have is that of exaggerated scenes from television documentaries. When I discovered that most of the work by Indian scientists on wildlife and conservation of India is making no difference to people (mostly because they are unaware), I decided to use the easiest way to bridge the gap: through humour and art.</p>
<p align="justify">Second speaker<strong> </strong>is<strong> Ameen Haque</strong> from <a href="http://www.thestorywallahs.com/">The Storywallahs</a>. In what he calls his past life, he worked for 18 years in Advertising and Brand Strategy Consulting. Ameen also has a background in theatre and now works as as storyteller for The Storywallahs.</p>
<p align="center"><iframe src="//www.youtube.com/embed/F8U5HAI-0TI" frameborder="0" height="315" width="420">&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/center&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;</iframe></p>
<p align="justify">Finally, we have <strong>Ajay Dasgupta</strong>, the founder of <a href="http://thekahaniproject.org/">The Kahani Project</a>, who also has a background in theatre and believes listening to stories is a fundamental right of children. His team works to capture stories in audio format and make them accessible.</p>
<iframe src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/144633144&color=00aabb&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_artwork=true" frameborder="no" scrolling="no" height="166" width="100%"></iframe>
<p>I will now invite them to share their thoughts on the points described above. Each panelist will respond to the questions using<strong> a different medium</strong>: Arjun will comment with text and images, Ameen will comment with video and Ajay will comment using audiobytes. The idea is for each storyteller to use the medium and language they use for their own storytelling: cartoons, body language and audio respectively, as we explore how this choice mediates how they conceptualize change. I will act as a moderator and comment on common themes in the light of Paul Ricoeur’s characteristics of narratives.</p>
<h2>1. The Power of Storytelling<br /></h2>
<h3>What makes it a powerful vehicle of communication?</h3>
<p> </p>
<h2></h2>
<div class="pullquote"><span id="docs-internal-guid-10dcb36e-642b-76be-1e09-54a2a3103a5c">“narrative attains full significance when it becomes a condition of temporal existence” Time and Narrative<br /></span></div>
<div><span id="docs-internal-guid-10dcb36e-642b-76be-1e09-54a2a3103a5c"></span></div>
<p align="justify">The first characteristic of narratives according to Ricoeur is:<strong> the ability to bring independent elements and episodes together into a plot within a specific context and time</strong>. The relationship between time and narrative is addressed by the philosopher in his work <em>'Oneself as Another</em>,' in which he frames narratives as the most 'faithful articulations of human time'. This leads to an understanding of time as a framework where we can locate unique events and patterns, trajectories and sequences. Our three storytellers comment on how stories are an effective mean to communicate information, and how this information resonates because it can be located in the frame of our human existence.</p>
<p class="callout">
<strong>Arjun:</strong> Storytelling really is the nascence of any communication technique. As kids we were all told stories with bees and birds, which spoke and thought. The moral life lessons and similar “information” were served to us on these fascinating platters.</p>
<div align="center"> <img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/1524964_614398581930298_1037858013_n.jpg/image_preview" alt="Pocket Science 1" class="image-inline image-inline" title="Pocket Science 1" /></div>
<div align="center">
<div align="center"><span id="fbPhotoSnowliftCaption" class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption"><span class="hasCaption"><em>Dugongs are closely related to whales and dolphins. They are peaceful mammals that swim around gracefully and feed on sea grass. <br />They are categorized as “VULNERABLE” because there are not too many of them left in the world. </em>
</span></span></div>
<span id="fbPhotoSnowliftCaption" class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption"><span class="hasCaption">
<p align="center">Find full cartoon <a href="https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=614398581930298&set=a.614397888597034.1073741836.609687355734754&type=1&theater">here</a></p>
</span></span></div>
<p class="callout">At some point in life, we all seem to stop appreciating the power of storytelling. Plain reporting of information has been done to death. Even an amazing discovery written as a formal report will fail to excite audience. It is time we all get back to appreciating stories. They sell. Movies generally do better than documentaries don’t they?</p>
<p align="justify"><strong>Ameen:</strong></p>
<p align="center"><iframe src="//www.youtube.com/embed/Q5fphRoT-2k" frameborder="0" height="315" width="420"></iframe></p>
<p align="justify"> </p>
<p><strong>Ajay:</strong></p>
<p align="center"><iframe src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/144633135&color=00aabb&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_artwork=true" frameborder="no" scrolling="no" height="166" width="100%"></iframe></p>
<h2>2. Storytelling as a vehicle to make change</h2>
<h3> How and where does change happen?</h3>
<p> </p>
<div class="pullquote">“All action is in principle interaction [...] change happens through interaction, as others are also encouraged to change” From Text to Action</div>
<p style="text-align: justify;" dir="ltr">The second characteristic of narratives is how the <strong>episodes in our narratives involve contingencies that will be shaped and reformulated through the development of the story</strong>. The narratives are constructed in such a way that induce us to imagine possible events in the future and how we would act in said circumstances. This characteristic is supported by Ricoeur's understanding of the <a href="http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/ricoeur/#3.2">'self' as an 'agent'</a>, who can act and influence causation by taking initiative or interfering<strong><a name="fr1" href="#fn1">[2]</a></strong> in the story. Even if the listener cannot necessarily influence the outcome of the story (unless it is participatory storytelling), it triggers thoughts about its capability to act and its ability to change future realities, as he imagines himself n the situation of its characters. This out-of-body experience is what turns story into experience.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;" dir="ltr">Our storytellers comment on how stories can influence and activate our agency and enable listeners to act towards creating change.</p>
<p class="callout"><strong>Arjun: </strong>Of course! Like I said, it is easier to influence people when you are not being preachy. Storytelling sidesteps the moral high ground that change makers are often blamed to occupy and takes a pleasantly shrewd path, as silly as it may sound.</p>
<table class="plain">
<thead>
<tr>
<th>
<div align="center"><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/PS.jpg/image_preview" alt="Pocket Science 4" class="image-inline image-inline" title="Pocket Science 4" /></div>
</th>
<th>
<div align="center"><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/PSI2.jpg/image_preview" alt="PSI2" class="image-inline image-inline" title="PSI2" /></div>
</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>
<em> </em><em><span id="fbPhotoSnowliftCaption" class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption"><span class="hasCaption">#2:
Increase in wildlife tourism has been brought about by the increasing
population of the ‘Tourist’. This species is easy to recognize (see
figure). The species has created an ecosystem of its own. It eats any
kind of high or low profile food. Lives in resorts. Seeks charismatic
animals like the tiger. Its daily activity involves excessive use of its
camera. This species facilitates wildlife tourism </span></span></em></td>
<td><span id="fbPhotoSnowliftCaption" class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption"><span class="hasCaption"></span></span><em>#9: Wildlife tourism is an excellent way to
expose people of India and abroad to its rich natural heritage [...] We
definitely need to regulate the number of tourists to avoid crowding in
the forests, but we also need to educate tourists, especially the
first-timers, about wildlife and its conservation. The tourist can be an important tool in conservation –
let’s not let it go waste!</em>"<br /></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p align="center">Find full cartoon <a href="https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=609780439058779&set=pb.609687355734754.-2207520000.1396426793.&type=3&theater">here</a>.</p>
<p align="justify" class="callout">To the question of where we locate change, it depends on what this change is. Through my work, I often target <strong>individuals and smaller communities</strong> (say students, villagers etc.). I don't necessarily grab my paintbrush and declare that I will change the world. My idea of change is a tailored, targeted and therefore an efficient influence on individuals.</p>
<p align="justify"><strong>Ameen:</strong></p>
<p align="center"><iframe src="//www.youtube.com/embed/GJpeQMltaT4" frameborder="0" height="315" width="420"></iframe></p>
<p align="justify"><strong>Ajay:</strong></p>
<iframe src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/144633137&color=00aabb&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_artwork=true" frameborder="no" scrolling="no" height="166" width="100%"></iframe>
<h2><br /></h2>
<h2>3. The role of technology in storytelling</h2>
<h3>How does technology influence and impact your work?</h3>
<p> </p>
<p style="text-align: justify;" dir="ltr">Ricoeur’s thoughts on the relationship between text and action, makes us reconsider how we think about ‘<em>text</em>’ and how this reading can be applied to technology. According to him, the distinction between text and action is not at the linguistic, but at the discursive level. This is how he differentiates language from discourse:</p>
<table class="plain">
<thead>
<tr>
<th><br /></th>
<th>Language<br /></th>
<th>Discourse<br /></th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>Structure</td>
<td>A system: timeless and static<br /></td>
<td>Located at a given time and moment<br /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Composition</td>
<td>A sequence of signs<br /></td>
<td>A sequence of events that describe, claim and represent the world<br /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Meaning</td>
<td>Refers to signs<br /></td>
<td>Refers to the world<br /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Communication</td>
<td>Provides codes for communication. <br />Necessary but not sufficient<br /></td>
<td>Communicates</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p align="justify">Using these working definitions, we can understand the medium as <strong>a language:</strong> a system that provides us with signs and codes for communication. A creative use of language and mediums will hence, enable us to create narratives and produce meaning (which will be generated and negotiated by the audience). Technology is in this case our language, and how each storyteller uses it determines new ways to create meaning: experiences, connections and associations with and within their stories. We now ask them if/how the use of this 'language' mediates and impacts their work.</p>
<p align="justify" class="callout"><strong>Arjun:</strong> Technology is the best facilitator in the realm of my science-art-communication. I depend on it extensively, to first educate myself. Then to create artwork (computer, tablet, smartphone). And then eventually I depend heavily on social media to broadcast my work. I will definitely credit the power of technology for fostering and enabling effective communication.</p>
<div align="center"><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/PSI3.jpg/image_preview" alt="PSI3" class="image-inline image-inline" title="PSI3" /></div>
<p align="center"><em># 11: The story of Ajoba was carried far and wide in newspapers, television news and the internet</em>. Find full cartoon <a href="https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=610114332358723&set=pb.609687355734754.-2207520000.1396426793.&type=3&theater">here</a>.</p>
<p align="justify" class="callout">In my capacity, I feel most confident targeting students and urban youth. But thanks to the power of social media, putting my work out there has grabbed the attention of change-makers who are capable of things that is beyond my scope. This has led to collaborations through which the reach has become wider. Teachers use my art work in their classes, some organisations are using it in forest department buildings to educate visitors, some local groups have translated my work into regional languages.</p>
<p align="justify"><strong>Ameen:</strong></p>
<p align="center"><iframe src="//www.youtube.com/embed/25EAnt1yi94" frameborder="0" height="315" width="420"></iframe></p>
<p align="justify"><strong>Ajay:</strong></p>
<iframe src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/144633141&color=00aabb&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_artwork=true" frameborder="no" scrolling="no" height="166" width="100%"></iframe>
<h2><br /></h2>
<h2>4. Translating awareness into action through stories<br /></h2>
<h3>Can you guarantee the ideas and values imbued by the story translate into action in the public space?</h3>
<p> </p>
<div class="pullquote"> “what must be the nature of action...if it is to be read in terms of change in the world?” From Text to Action</div>
<p id="docs-internal-guid-10dcb36e-6935-a65e-1136-120c46ff2174" style="text-align: justify;" dir="ltr">So far they have told us about the power and content of stories. However, we have yet to find out what is it in stories that make listeners translate fiction into real life action. Ricoeur's final characteristic of narratives points us in the direction of empathy and interpretation.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;" dir="ltr">Like discourse, action is open to interpretation. He posits t<strong>hat characters of our stories rise to the status of ‘persons’ when we evaluate their actions, including their doings and sufferings</strong>. This ethical verdict determines the identity of the character in the eyes of the audience (above any other physical or emotional characteristics) and this is what ultimately adds meaning to the events of the story, as it inspires the audience to emulate or reject this behavior through their actions.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;" dir="ltr">We asked our storytellers their thoughts on how to translate stories' messages into meaningful action, or if it was even possible to guarantee this transition to begin with:</p>
<p align="justify" class="callout"><strong>Arjun:</strong> I don’t [know]. One never does, I feel. But a lot of good awareness programs have made me change little things in my life. The people or groups who initiated those campaigns don't know of this, do they? This is somewhat similar. I believe that even if ONE person in the thousand who view my work gets influenced into making little changes, then it was worth my time and effort.</p>
<p align="justify"><strong>Ameen:</strong></p>
<p align="center"><iframe src="//www.youtube.com/embed/neFe7kj8dIc" frameborder="0" height="315" width="420"></iframe></p>
<p align="left"><strong><br /></strong></p>
<p align="left"><strong>Ajay: </strong>(Ajay commented on the impact of stories while we were discussing how to gauge the impact of his work. In our first conversation he said:<em> "Change is happening but there are no tests that can measure it and quantify it.</em>" and he elaborates on this idea below:)</p>
<iframe src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/144633138&color=00aabb&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_artwork=true" frameborder="no" scrolling="no" height="166" width="100%"></iframe>
<p align="left"> </p>
<h2 align="left">5. Influence of stories on citizenship and political participation<br /></h2>
<h3>Can the power of stories be leveraged to instill a sense of responsibility in the audience?</h3>
<div class="pullquote"><br />"You can only achieve power in common by including the opinions of as many people as possible in the discourse"</div>
<p align="justify"> </p>
<p align="justify">Finally, as stated in the brief of the project on methods for change, we are also interested in defining how political participation should be manifested in the public space. Ricoeur frames political action as a result of discourse and political deliberation.For a brief discussion of the relationship between storytelling and our political identity visit <a href="https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/making-change/storytelling-performance-2">Part 2 of Storytelling as Performance</a>.)</p>
<p align="justify">This last section captures the storytellers' point of view on how stories may affect our sense of citizenship and political responsibility.</p>
<p align="left" class="callout"><strong>Arjun</strong>: We are living in a society which is becoming increasingly insensitive and arrogant. There seems to be no time to stop and see the big picture: what are we doing? are our demands and lifestyles sustainable? Is the future generation secure? Impacts of our actions on the natural world.</p>
<table class="plain">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/1511040_609776472392509_490391694_n.jpg/image_preview" alt="Pocket Science 2" class="image-inline image-inline" title="Pocket Science 2" /></td>
<td><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/copy_of_1533944_609777242392432_1081033930_n.jpg/image_preview" alt="Pocket Science 3" class="image-inline image-inline" title="Pocket Science 3" /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> <span id="fbPhotoSnowliftCaption" class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption"><span class="hasCaption">#1: Most of us love seafood. And why shouldn't we? It tops the charts as some of the most delicious delicacies in the world! It so happens that we rarely think about what goes on
“behind-the-scenes” and take many things for granted. The story behind
how food reaches your plate is quite a scary one!</span></span></td>
<td> <span id="fbPhotoSnowliftCaption" class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption"><span class="hasCaption">#12: So next time you feel like a getting a seafood dinner, do it with some perspective.</span></span></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<div align="center">Find full cartoon <a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.609776052392551.1073741831.609687355734754&type=1">here</a></div>
<strong>Ameen:</strong>
<p> </p>
<p align="center"><iframe src="//www.youtube.com/embed/lO0y0QZ3vhQ" frameborder="0" height="315" width="420"></iframe></p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>Ajay</strong>:</p>
<iframe src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/144633136&color=00aabb&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_artwork=true" frameborder="no" scrolling="no" height="166" width="100%"></iframe>
<p> </p>
<h2>Closing Remarks</h2>
<p align="justify">I hope you enjoyed reading, watching and listening these three wonderful storytellers share their ideas on technology, interpretation and action. The question that remains unresolved is whether the effect of the story is shaped by the use of technology or not. At the end of the day it is the interpretation of stories -more than what it is said and how it is being said- what will determine the sustainability of these intents for change. The answers of our storytellers reinforce the notion that technology is a system, a language, a medium that transports our messages and intentions, but that inherently lacks the ability to provide guarantees for action and sway users into a lifestyle of responsible citizenship the second they pull out from their cartoon, screen or mp3.</p>
<p> The box below includes a quick run through the main ideas discussed throughout the post:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>1. <strong>On the power of storytelling: </strong></p>
<ul><li>Arjun argues that storytelling is the origin of all communication techniques, and this makes it extremely attractive for the public. <br /></li><li>Both Ajay and Ameen bring up the ability to influence behavior, shape the minds of people and transmit experiences, values and beliefs.</li><li>Both also brought up how dominant religions, ideologies, markets governments use storytelling to build movements and sustain their support</li><li>Finally Ajay comments on the issue of access: stories are powerful yet only a small share of stories are being told Hence, the need for this method to become more pervasive.</li></ul>
<br />
<p>2. <strong>Storytelling as a vehicle for change:</strong><br />Each storyteller locates change in different yet complementary spaces:</p>
<ul><li>Arjun believes it must occur at the community level and hence the approach (stories) must be tailored and targeted in order to achieve an effective influence. His approach to change is very contextual.</li><li>Ameen locates it at the behavioral level; in our ability to make decisions and choices. His approach to change is based on how we use information from stories to interact with our surroundings.</li><li>Ajay locates it at the value level: He believes stories should influence us to adjust our values and only then, we will shape our behavior accordingly.</li></ul>
<br />
<p><strong>3. Role of technology:<br /></strong>We approached technology as a 'text' and as a 'language' that creates new possibilities for meaning and interpretation.</p>
<ul><li>For Arjun and Ajay, technology enabled them to connect with other organizations and increased possibilities for partnerships and collaborations. </li></ul>
<ul><li>The three of them believe technology is an accelerator of the journey of stories and that it enables them to reach a larger audience.</li><li>Ameen argued that each medium requires different fluencies, and that the language of each medium should be adapted for the story. For example, a story will be told in different ways if using body language, video, audio, etc. He uses the example of the <a href="https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/making-change/Twitter">Twitter adaption of the Mahabharata.</a><br /></li><li>Ajay closes by noting that although technology enables, it cannot replace the storyteller. <br /></li></ul>
<br />
<p><strong>4. Translating awareness into action</strong></p>
<ul><li>Arjun and Ameen comment on the power of effectively and positively influencing <em>one</em> person. They believe the impact will exponentially spread and grow through that person's network or community.</li><li>Arjun believes you can guarantee it will turn into action.</li><li>Ameen believes you need to move them and inspire them through your characters to the point they feel they can be the hero of that story and act accordingly.</li><li>Ajay takes a more pragmatic approach towards action and shares some of the activities The Kahani Project uses to complement his storytelling sessions, such as: story-thons, story-booths and interactive storytelling, where they engage the audience in the production of their own stories.</li></ul>
<br />
<p><strong>5. Impact of storytelling on citizenship and political participation</strong></p>
<ul><li>Arun and Ajay believe this will come as a result of self-reflection and an evaluation of our impact in the world.</li><li>Ameen believes effective stories transmit the 'responsibility of action' through rhetoric. He uses the example of the popularity of India Against Corruption movement.</li><li>Ajay believes storytelling is a humanizing force that has the power of healing. He recommends institutions should utilize this method to spread confidence and inclusion among society and particularly with excluded groups. <br /></li></ul>
</blockquote>
<h2>Footnotes</h2>
<p align="justify">[<a href="https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/making-change/multimedia-storytellers#fr1" name="fn1">1</a>] Semiotics is defined as the study of signs and symbols and their use or interpretation. It is the study of making meaning and is essential to understand communication processes. While we will not look at any specific semiotics theory, we will focus on how stories create meaning through different signs and mediums, and how this meaning can be leveraged for making change.<br /><br />[<a name="fn1" href="#fr1">2</a>] Refer to Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy’s <a href="http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/ricoeur/">page on Paul Ricoeur</a> and the section on ‘Selves and Agents’ to learn more about how action is mediated by causation, interference and intervention. Some interesting thoughts that inspired the above post</p>
<p dir="ltr">“What must be the nature of the world … if human beings are able to introduce changes into it?. Ricoeur adopts the analysis of interference or intervention that G. H. von Wright gives in Explanation and Understanding, and shows that for there to be interference, there must be both: an ongoing anterior established order or course of things and a human doing that somehow intervenes in and disturbs that order. Moreover, interference is always purposeful. Hence an interference is not merely ascribable to an agent. It is also imputable to the agent as the one whose purpose motivates the interference.”</p>
<p>
“The second crucial question about action is “What must be the nature of action … if it is to be read in terms of a change in the world?” Ricoeur argues that every action involves initiative, i.e., “an intervention of the agent of action into the course of the world, an intervention that effectively causes changes in the world” (Oneself as Another, 109, translation modified). Initiative requires a bodily agent possessing specific capabilities and vulnerabilities who inhabits some concrete worldly situation.”</p>
<h2>Sources:</h2>
<p> </p>
<p>Dauenhauer, Bernard and Pellauer, David, "Paul Ricoeur", <em>The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy </em> (Winter 2012 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.),
URL = <http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2012/entries/ricoeur/>.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/making-change/multimedia-storytellers'>https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/making-change/multimedia-storytellers</a>
</p>
No publisherdenisseMaking ChangeNet CulturesResearchFeaturedResearchers at Work2015-10-24T14:26:51ZBlog EntryMarathi Language Fortnight Workshops 2019
https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/marathi-language-fortnight-workshops-2019
<b>Maharashtra is a state which is rich in diversity in terms of language and culture seen in its various regions such as Konkan, Marathwada, Western Maharashtra, Northern Maharashtra and Vidarbha. Awareness needs to be created to make Wikimedia movement inclusive and diverse in these geographical regions as well as in their social strata. </b>
<h3>Collaboration for organizing events</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The Centre for Internet & Society’s Access to Knowledge wing (CIS-A2K) launched the concept of organizing state-wide workshops to spread awareness and train editors in the nitty-gritties of Wikipedia editing and creating digital content. The campaign is now regularly conducted by Rajya Marathi Vikas Sanstha (RMVS), the language department of Maharashtra government with support from CIS-A2K and various institutions.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">These events were conducted during the Marathi language fortnight (1 – 15 January 2019) upto Marathi Language Day on 27 February 2019. The objectives of the event such as creating awareness about digital knowledge in Marathi, open knowledge resources and Wikimedia projects; explaining the history of Wiki movement; training participants in basic editing skills in Wikipedia; exploring ways to find reliable references; presenting article structure, were broadly covered in the sessions. Trainers also explained participants on copyright, community guidelines, uploading images, and so on.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><span style="text-align: justify; ">CIS-A2K had collaborated with the state language department from 2017 onwards. In the first series of workshops, three events were conducted. In the second series in 2018 six workshops out of a total 17 workshops were conducted across the state. In the year 2019, the awareness spread to more educational institutions located in different regions of the state. In the third series, CIS-A2K conducted five workshops out of total 21 workshops conducted. CIS facilitated the process and supported some workshops remotely.</span></p>
<h3><span>The Workshops</span></h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/SangliWorkshop.png/@@images/ac8d36b2-0bb1-483c-917b-09b99f4dc5cb.png" alt="Sangli workshop" class="image-left" title="Sangli workshop" /></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "> </p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><span>The first workshop was conducted at Chintamanrao College of Commerce at Sangli. The awareness session about open knowledge sources and Wikimedia projects was organized for students and faculty in the beginning of workshop. After this one hour session, actual skill training in Wikipedia editing was done for three hours for 24 participants. They created the account and learnt the editing and image upload on Commons. The practice was done in sandboxes before working in main namespace. The students of pre-university course and graduate course attended the workshop. The commerce and management related articles were edited.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "> </p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "> </p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><span><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/KolhapurWorkshop.png/@@images/e0343faf-e757-452b-bc12-ae44cbbfd087.png" alt="Kolhapur workshop" class="image-right" title="Kolhapur workshop" /><br />The second workshop was conducted at Shivaji University, Kolhapur. The Marathi language department took the initiative to organize this workshop for the second consecutive year. The participants were selected from 4 colleges affiliated to university. The faculty was also actively involved. The introductory session was attended by 50 students. The editing training of three hours was conducted in computer lab, in which 24 new users participated. The editors practiced the manual of style, providing links and references, etc. on their sandboxes before working on the main namespace articles. The editors mostly worked on locally relevant topics.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "> </p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "> </p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "> </p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><span><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/DayanandCollegeWorkshop.png/@@images/5aec339d-eed9-4cfe-98dd-8b47a0a2cd8a.png" alt="Dayanand college workshop" class="image-left" title="Dayanand college workshop" /><br /><br />The third workshop was conducted in Dayanand College at Solapur. This institution organized this event for the second consecutive year. The thematic discussion on history of Solapur was facilitated by a senior editor of Sakal newspaper. The plan for documentation of local festival - </span><i>Gadda Yatra</i><span> and history of Solapur was discussed. It is proposed to start this activity with thematic workshop. Total 15 new and old users participated in the workshop.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "> </p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "> </p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/SolapurWorkshop.png/@@images/0bcdf350-1af5-43a8-8e2a-ac7eebc4678c.png" alt="" class="image-right" title="" /></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><span style="text-align: justify; "><br />The fourth workshop was conducted at Mass Communication & Journalism department of Solapur University. The faculty of this department took the initiative to organize this event for the second time. Total 25 new and old users participated in the workshop. The participants edited the articles related to journalism and also uploaded the images on Commons. Some editors completed the task of adding references to articles. After the meeting with the faculty, group of post graduate students were assigned 50 articles about reputed Marathi newspapers. They will complete this task as part of their online academic submissions.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "> </p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "> </p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "> </p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "> </p>
<p style="text-align: center; "><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/KaranjaLad.png/@@images/c87be0c1-110b-41f1-a21b-28c4df9cd0ab.png" alt="Karanja Lad" class="image-inline" title="Karanja Lad" /></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The fifth wokshop was conducted at SSSKR Innani College at Karanja Lad in district Washim. This was the first Wikipedia programme in this region of the state. As it was the first Wiki event, we decided to organise a two day workshop. The management and faculty participated actively in this workshop. In the workshop, references and images were added to existing articles about local heritage, tourist places and personalities. The images were uploaded to newly created categories - Karanja Lad and SSSKR Innani College on Commons. Over 100 members participated in this two day event, while 45 users edited actively on Wikimedia projects.</p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">Follow-up</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">After the workshop, quarterly refresher sessions are planned in these institutions. The active students' WhatsApp groups will be formed for support and online training sessions. This cadre of Wiki Guides would facilitate the programs for other students. The meeting with faculty and board of studies would be held for integration of Wikimedia activities with the academic assignments.</p>
<hr />
<p>More info check out the <a class="external-link" href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/CIS-A2K/Events/Marathi_Language_Fortnight_Workshops_(2019)">Meta report</a>.</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/marathi-language-fortnight-workshops-2019'>https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/marathi-language-fortnight-workshops-2019</a>
</p>
No publishersubodhOpennessFeaturedMarathi WikipediaAccess to Knowledge2019-03-01T00:39:33ZBlog EntryMapping Institutions of Intellectual Property: Part B — India's National Program on Intellectual Property Management
https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/mapping-institutions-of-intellectual-property-part-b
<b>As a second part in the series on Mapping Institutions of Intellectual Property this blog post deals with the documents introduced at the Stakeholders’ Consultation for India’s National Program on Intellectual Property. </b>
<p>Many thanks to CIS interns Jessamine Matthew, Tanvi Mani and Upasana Chauhan for their support on this.</p>
<hr />
<p style="text-align: justify; ">On the 21st of February, 2014, the Planning Commission and the Ministry of Human Resource Development (“MHRD”), Government of India organized a Stakeholders Consultation at New Delhi (“the Consultation”) to discuss India’s National Program on Intellectual Property Management. <i>(Click here: </i><a href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/mapping-institutions-of-intellectual-property-part-a" class="external-link">http://cis-india.org/a2k/blog/mapping-institutions-of-intellectual-property-part-a</a> to read our post about this, the first in this series on mapping institutions of intellectual property). I attended this Consultation on behalf of CIS. Discussions were informed by three documents introduced at this meeting, the important parts of which have been summarized below:<a href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/report-of-the-evaluation-committee.pdf" class="internal-link"><b> </b></a></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><a href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/report-of-the-evaluation-committee.pdf" class="internal-link"><b>Report of the Evaluation Committee on Continuation of the Scheme of Intellectual Property Education, Research and Public Outreach (IPERPO) (“the Scheme”) in the XII Five Year Plan Period 2012-2017</b></a> (PDF, 21378 Kb)</p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">Introduction</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The Evaluation Committee involved in the preparation of this report comprised of Prof. Sudhir K. Jain, Shri T.C. James and Shri J.R. Agarwal. The rationale behind such scrutiny was to yield recommendations with regard to whether the Scheme should be continued or not. And if the answer was found to be in affirmative, to analyze the scope for improvement, phasing of expenditure and setting of targets for each component of the Scheme.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Essentially the report seeks to analyze the overall impact of the Scheme in the discipline of IP rights with respect to education and awareness. It examines the trajectory of progress of the MHRD-IP Chairs and assesses ways to monitor them more efficiently. In addition to that it also analyzes the procedure adopted to release grants to the Chairs and to recognized universities and explores the possibility of widening the scope of the Scheme.</p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">Genesis of the Scheme</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The Scheme was formulated to encourage study of IP rights and research, and create awareness about copyright and IP matters. It also aimed to develop specialized courses, train enforcement personnel, organize seminars and workshops on IPR matters, develop inputs, awareness on WTO matters and evolve strategies of regional cooperation.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Under the Scheme, the purposes for which expenditure is to be incurred by the Ministry are clearly chalked out. The details of the same are given in the Report of the Committee. It also lays down the eligibility of Institutions/ Organizations that are to be selected under the Scheme.</p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">MHRD-IPR Chairs</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Around 20 MHRD-IPR Chairs have been set up across various universities, IITs and National Law Universities for growth and development of IPR education, research and training. The staff –pattern followed for MHRD-IPR chair is one Chair Professor, two Research associates, one Steno-cum- Documentation assistant and one group-D employee. Such appointments are supposed to be made in accordance with the rules and guidelines of the UGC. Apart from the recurring expenditure towards salaries of the above-mentioned staff, the Chairs have also been given a non-recurring provision for library, equipments and ancillary items. However, such grants are to be given upon fulfilment of certain conditions imposed under the Scheme.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The working of MHRD-IPR Chairs is overlooked by two committees-namely, the ‘Coordinating Committee’ and ‘Review Committee’. The Coordinating Committee is responsible for discussing proposed activities and resolving pending disputes while the Review Committee review their progress periodically.</p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">Observations on Performance of IPR Chairs</h3>
<ul>
<li>Inability to find a suitable Professor level person to occupy the IPR Chair.</li>
<li>Absence of qualification- criteria for the IPR Chair in the Scheme.</li>
<li>Less focus on research component, development of human resource and teaching.</li>
<li>Few IPR-Chairs have appointed full staff which is complementary to their working.</li>
<li>Flow of fund to IPR-Chairs is interrupted dur to lack of proper documentation.</li>
<li>Uncertainty about the continuation of IPR Chairs which has a detrimental effect on their performance.</li>
<li>Active participation in seminars and workshops organized by universities, institutes and colleges on IPR awareness.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Plan Allocation and Expenditure</h3>
<p>There exists variations with respect to allocation and actual expenditure of funds due to various reasons.</p>
<h3>New Initiatives to be taken during XII Plan</h3>
<ul>
<li>New IPR-Chairs should be established to encourage research in the field of IPR and create a pool of trained human resources.</li>
<li>IPR Centres/ Cells should be set up and they should be linked to the IPR-Chairs.</li>
<li>Internal Monitoring and Information Systems should exist for effective implementation of the Scheme.</li>
<li>National Seminars/ Conference should be held annually.</li>
<li>World Intellectually Property Day should be celebrated annually with various themes as decided by WIPO.</li>
<li>Awareness about copyright and IPR should be spread through print and electronic media.</li>
<li>Copyright Office should be strengthened and modernized to bring it at par with offices in the USA, UK.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Specific Recommendations</h3>
<ul>
<li>The Committee recommended that the post of IPR-Chairs needs to be incentivized and given full functional autonomy. Moreover, the support provided by Government to the Chairs should be long-term.</li>
<li>The appointment of academic and administrative staff needs to be revised periodically.</li>
<li>Only publicly funded universities and institutes of higher learning should be beneficiaries to this Scheme.</li>
<li>The proposed activities and achievements of the IPR Chairs should be made public.</li>
<li>IPR Chairs should provide assistance to the Central Government by way of research and providing solutions to policy problems and issues.</li>
<li>Some flexibility should be allowed with respect to documentation for uninterrupted flow of accounts.</li>
<li>Provision for replacement/ purchase of equipments.</li>
<li>It should be made mandatory for IPR-Chairs to appoint full staff and conduct lon term training programmes in advanced areas of IPR at the national level.</li>
<li>The work of the IPR Chairs needs to be chalked out explicitly by the Scheme.</li>
<li>Having a scheme for converting the well-functioning Chairs into Specialized IPR Centres with the participation of MHRD.</li>
<li>Raising awareness on IPR issues and problems by holding workshops and seminars. Moreover, universities and colleges should ensure adequate participation in such seminars/ workshops.</li>
<li>School-curriculum should include Chapters on IPR.</li>
<li>Modernization of the Copyright Office should be considered to be a priority to ensure easy access and to make copyright registration easier.</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/note-on-establishment-of-inter-university-centre-for-ip-rights.pdf" class="internal-link"><b><br />Note on the establishment of an Inter-University Centre for Intellectual Property Rights</b></a></p>
<h3>Background</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The Inter-University Centre for Intellectual Property Rights (“the Centre”) will be established under UGC/ Ministry of HRD, Government of India. Broadly, the mission of this independent autonomous Policy Research Centre is to provide research and policy inputs in the arena of IPR. The targeted audience for these inputs will be the State and Central Governments. In addition to that, it also seeks to serve as a connecting bridge for dialogue between developing countries on IPR. To actualize the mission, it will work on inter-disciplinary research and disseminate information on various socio-legal and other aspects of IPR. It will also promote, integrate and develop models and mechanisms associated with IPR.</p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">Functions</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">In order to make IPR resources more accessible, the Centre will establish a repository of such resources by entering into collaboration with other organizations and institutions. It will also provide assistance to stakeholders by ways of and not limited to organization of seminars, awareness programmes. As a means to encourage inter-disciplinary research which is quintessential for this Centre, it would offer visiting fellowships and forge links with national and international research institutions. As a nodal centre with respect to interfacing government on IP matters, it will also have the added responsibility of reviewing performance of MHRD-IP chairs.</p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">Broad Deliverables and Outcomes of the Centre</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The Deliverables of this Centre world would include Policy Research Inputs, Research Publications, Research Monographs, Treaty Analysis, Sensitization Programmes and National and International Conferences. On the other hand, the outcomes would include Research on thrust areas, Knowledge Management in IPRs, IPR Online Resources and discussions.</p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">Linkages</h3>
<p>The Centre seeks to link MHRD-IP Chairs, Industry Associations, Civil Society Advocacy Groups and Public Institutes with IPR research capacity.</p>
<h3>Organizational Structure and Funding</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The organizational structure of the Centre would include the Governing Council, Governing Board and the Research Advisory Council. Each Council/ Board will comprise of Chairman, Ex-Officio Members and Nominated Members. The individuals who are responsible for the nomination of members to these structures are the President, Chairman of the GB and Chairman of the Centre respectively. It has laid down the specification of such composition in its note on establishment.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">For the purpose of funding, the Centre would depend on UGC for its building infrastructure, salary and non-salary components. In addition to that it will also aim to create its own corpus by means of consultancy and other grant-in-aids. Towards capital expenditure, the required allocation would be Rs. 65 crores. While the revenue expenditure is estimated at Rs. 25 crores annually. A detailed break-down of the expenditure also been laid down by the Centre in its note.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><a href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/dpr-establishment-national-ip-rights.pdf" class="internal-link"><b>Discussion Paper for the Establishment of a National Institute for Intellectual Property Rights </b></a></p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">Introduction<b> </b></h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The National Institute for Intellectual Property Rights (“the Institute’) will be established as an autonomous policy research institute under the Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India. It envisages a specialization in policy research and development cooperation in the field of IP rights. Further, it aims to provide multi-stakeholder collaborations in the fields of IPRs. It will provide policy inputs to the government of India for formulating legislations and international agreements. The Institute will serve as a common platform for dialogue among developing countries on IPR issues. Moreover, it will act as a ‘Hub and ‘spoke’ model to connect and coordinate with the MHRD IPR Chairs/ other institutions working in the field of IPRs.</p>
<p><i>Vision</i>: To be an institute of excellence in policy research and advocacy of IPR.</p>
<p><i>Mission</i>: To provide effective research and policy inputs in the field of IPR.</p>
<h3>Objectives</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The Institute would serve as a think-tank to provide policy inputs on IPR at a regional, national and international level. It would work on interdisciplinary research involving multi-stakeholders and focus on IPR trade related issues and their impact on socio-economic aspects at regional, national and international levels. Further, it would disseminate information regarding the social, legal, ethical and economic aspects of IPR. It would endeavour to promote, integrate and develop ‘Academia-Industry’ knowledge structures. Models and mechanisms associated with IPR. Further, it would coordinate the activities of ‘MHRD-IPR’ chairs on behalf of the Ministry of HRD. Lastly, it would engage in capacity building and provide inputs on IPR policy makers including the judiciary.</p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">Functions</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">In order to realize the objectives elucidated, the Institute would perform the following functions. It would undertake inter-disciplinary research and provide necessary inputs to the State and Central governments to formulate the required policy in IPR. It would further establish a repository of IPR resources in collaboration with various academic institutions, organizations, chairs and stakeholders engaged in IPRs. It would also offer visiting fellowships to encourage multi-disciplinary research. It would organize and participate in seminars, conferences and awareness programs. It would also undertake consultancy and conduct training in IPR to assist various stakeholders. Additionally, it would forge links with national and international IP research institutions/ organizations and act as a nodal institute to interface various Ministries/Departments of the Government on IP related matters. In furtherance of its adjudicative functions it would also undertake a review on the performance of MHRD-IPR chairs on behalf of the Ministry of Human Resource Development. Lastly, it would offer a Ph.D program in IPR in association with reputed Universities/ Institutions in India and abroad.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The Institute will mainly focus on: (I) Research, (ii) Policy and Advocacy, (iii) International Collaboration and (iv) Developmental Agenda</p>
<p><i>The Broad Deliverables and outcomes of the Institute include:</i></p>
<p>Deliverables : (i) Policy Research Inputs (ii) Research Publications (iii) Research Monographs (iv) Treaty Analysis (v) Sensitization Programs (vi) National and International Conclaves/Conferences/Roundtables</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Outcomes: (i) Research on thrust areas: Preparation of occasional briefs/ annual briefs and discussion papers/ books/journals. (ii) Knowledge and Management of IPRs: Documenting and mapping the competencies on various segments of IP (iii) IPR Online resources: Online documents relating to IPR policy inputs (iv) National/ International Conferences/ Public Debate and Distinguished Lectures: To provide a common platform for deliberation on contemporary IPR practices, issues and critical analysis.</p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">Linkages and Network</h3>
<p>The Institute will establish linkages and network with:</p>
<ul>
<li>MHRD-IPR Chairs</li>
<li>Industry Associations (National and International)</li>
<li>Civil Society Advocacy Groups</li>
<li>Public Institutes with IPR research capacity</li>
</ul>
<h3>Organizational Structure</h3>
<p>The organizational structure of the Institute would include the following sub committees:</p>
<ol>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Steering Committee: Ex-Officio Members: The Secretary, DHE,MHRD would be the president of the Committee. The members would include the Secretary of The DIPP,MOC, The Secretaries of the Ministry of Environment and Forests and The Department of Science and Technology, The Joint Secretaries of the (BP&CR),MHRD and the DIPP. MOC, GOI, The Director of (BP&CR),MHRD, The Vice Chancellor, Delhi University (Host Institution) and the Director of the NIIPR. The Members nominated by the President are the Two Members from the governing board, the two vice- chancellors of Universities having MHRD Chairs, the two directors of IITs/IIMs having MHRD IP Chairs and the two experts from the regulatory/ research councils.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Governing Board: The Chairman of the governing board shall be appointed by the president of the Steering Committee as per the procedure given in Rule 33.<br />Ex-Officio Members: These members include the Joint Secretary (BP&CR),MHRD, Joint Secretary (DIPP),GOI, The Director (BP&CR),MHRD and The Director, NIIPR who will be the member Secretary.The members nominated by the Chairman of the GB includes the Two Faculty Members of the Institute, The Two MHRD IPR Chair professors and Three National and International Experts in the field of IPR.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">The Research Advisory Council: The Director of the Institute is the Chairman of the Research Advisory Council. The Ex-Officio Members include the Deans and Two Professors of the Institute. The members nominated by the Chairman include two IP experts and one representative each from The Ministry of Culture, Arts, Agriculture, Information technology, Environment and Forests, Science and Technology and External Affairs, Two representatives from Civil Society Advocacy Groups and the Administrative Officer of the Institute would be a Non Member Secretary.</li>
</ol>
<h3>Funding</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The Institute will be established by UGC funding for its building, infrastructure salary and non-salary components. The institute will also strive to create its own corpus by way of consultancy and other grant-in aids from relevant National/ International Organizations to compliment the UGC funding. Required allocation is estimated at Rs 65 crore towards capital expenditure relating to acquisition of land, building (Academic Block, Conference Halls, Guest House, Administrative Block, Faculty Quarters, Equipment, IT infrastructure etc) The revenue expenditure is estimated at Rs. 25 crore annually, towards meeting the operating activities of the proposed Institute.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The report also contains particulars with respect to staff requirements. It also contains estimates with respect to Non-recurring Capital Expenditure and Recurring Expenditure per annum.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Lastly, attached along with the report is the Memorandum of Association for the National Institute for Intellectual Property Rights.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The memorandum contains the objectives, functions, members of the Steering Committee and the Rules of the Institute.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The Rules include the functions and powers of the Governing Board. The Board is to carry out the objectives of the Institute. It will be subject to the limitations of the Department of Higher Education, MHRD (the Department will also have the power to inspect the Institute at any time). The Governing Board will have the power to:</p>
<ul>
<li>Manage the affairs of the Institute, consider annual and supplementary budgets, </li>
<li>Create and abolish emoluments structures of various posts, </li>
<li>Appoint staff to these posts, </li>
<li>Enter into agreements with the Central or State Governments or public or private organisations or individuals for grants, donations etc, </li>
<li>Appoint Committees or Sub-Committees, </li>
<li>Delegate any administrative or financial powers to the Director, </li>
<li>Prepare budget estimate and sanction expenditure, </li>
<li>Prepare for the recruitment of offices, faculty and establishment of the Insitute, terms and conditions of scholarships, fellowships, etc. </li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">It also contains details regarding meetings and the powers and functions of the chairman.There are guidelines for the appointment of the Director and Staff Employees.</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/mapping-institutions-of-intellectual-property-part-b'>https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/mapping-institutions-of-intellectual-property-part-b</a>
</p>
No publishernehaaFeaturedAccess to Knowledge2014-06-26T15:27:18ZBlog EntryMapping Institutions of Intellectual Property (Part A): India's National Programme on Intellectual Property Management
https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/mapping-institutions-of-intellectual-property-part-a
<b>This blog post discusses India’s National Program on Intellectual Property Management, including the establishment of a National Institute of Intellectual Property Rights. </b>
<hr />
<p style="text-align: justify; ">On the 21<sup>st</sup> of February, 2014, the Planning Commission and the Ministry of Human Resource Development (“MHRD”), Government of India organized a Stakeholders Consultation at New Delhi (“the Consultation”). I attended this meeting on behalf of CIS. The discussion was centred around devising a strategy for India’s National Program on Intellectual Property Management under our 12<sup>th</sup> Five Year Plan (2012 to 2017). On the agenda were two key issues:</p>
<ol>
<li>Evaluating and rethinking the role of IPR Chairs established by the MHRD</li>
<li>Establishing a National Institute of Intellectual Property Rights</li>
</ol>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><i>Pawan Agarwal</i>, Advisor, Higher Education, Planning Commission, Government of India made a detailed presentation on both of these issues. The key parts of his presentation and the ensuing discussions have been reproduced below.</p>
<h2 style="text-align: justify; ">Presentation and Ensuing Discussions</h2>
<p>The diagrams in this section correspond to those in <i>Pawan. Agarwal’s</i> presentation.</p>
<h3>Ecosystem</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">In Figure 1, the proposed structure of the national intellectual property system has been outlined. Those government departments and ministries that would have a role to play have been identified, as well as the functions expected to be performed.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">In the discussion that followed it was observed that traditional knowledge should also be included within this ecosystem. The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (“DIPP”) could coordinate and seek inputs from the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.</p>
<table class="invisible">
<tbody>
<tr>
<th><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/copy_of_IP1.png" alt="IP1" class="image-inline" title="IP1" /><br /></th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="text-align: center; ">Figure 1</th>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">Education: Programs and Courses</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Figure 2 details the proposed structure of IPR education, including courses, financial aid and the nature of the program. Members attending the Consultation were of the opinion that having ten centres for doctoral education was an ambitious target. They were also of the opinion that there was need to integrate IPR education with more courses, for instance, MBA and MSc.</p>
<table class="invisible">
<tbody>
<tr>
<th><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/IP2.png" alt="IP2" class="image-inline" title="IP2" /></th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="text-align: center; ">Figure 2</th>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">Education: Various Elements</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Figure 3 deals with other elements of the IP education universe- curriculum development (envisaged as a joint effort), faculty development (of selected faculty) and funding. Various suggestions emerged on the role of the IP Chairs. This has been examined in greater detail subsequently in this blog post. A key suggestion was made regarding the establishment of more law schools in the IITs, along the lines of the Rajiv Gandhi School of Intellectual Property Law at the Indian Institute of Technology (“IIT”), Kharagpur.</p>
<table class="invisible">
<tbody>
<tr>
<th><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/copy2_of_IP3.png" alt="IP3" class="image-inline" title="IP3" /><br /></th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="text-align: center; ">Figure 3</th>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">Research and Policy Support</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Figure 4 lays out the details of the research and policy support to be provided by the Government towards developing this IPR ecosystem. The Government seeks to achieve this through the existing institutions of the IP Chairs, by way of awarding fellowships and research grants. Once again, concerns and questions were raised regarding the role of MHRD IP Chairs, which will be discussed subsequently in this blog post.</p>
<table class="invisible">
<tbody>
<tr>
<th><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/IP4.png" alt="IP4" class="image-inline" title="IP4" /></th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="text-align: center; ">Figure 4</th>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<h3>Training & Capacity building</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Training and capacity building has been visualised on two levels- basic awareness building about intellectual property rights in institutions of higher education and on the advanced level, dealing with specialised courses on trademark/patent drafting or technology licensing, among others.</p>
<table class="invisible">
<tbody>
<tr>
<th><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/IP5.png" alt="IP5" class="image-inline" title="IP5" /></th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="text-align: center; ">Figure 5</th>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<h3>Creation/ Protection and Management</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">For the creation, protection and management of intellectual property, a two pronged approach has been envisaged- the establishment of cells for the management of intellectual property in institutions of higher education and an increased focus on patents, including the creation of incentives for patenting for researchers. Figure 6 lays out the scheme.</p>
<table class="invisible">
<tbody>
<tr>
<th><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/copy_of_IP6.png" alt="IP6" class="image-inline" title="IP6" /><br /></th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="text-align: center; ">Figure 6</th>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">National/ Regional Centres/ Chairs</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">This program on intellectual property outlines a proposal for the establishment of one national centre, five regional centres and twenty chairs, with a distinct role outlined for each. Details are available in Figure 7.</p>
<table class="invisible">
<tbody>
<tr>
<th><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/IP7.png" alt="IP7" class="image-inline" title="IP7" /></th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="text-align: center; ">Figure 7</th>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<h3>Governance</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The National Program on intellectual Property Management lays out a three tiered governance structure, headed by the National Steering Committee on IPR, assisted by the Advisory and Project Approval Committees, with five Regional Committees constituting the final tier. This has been represented in Figure 8.</p>
<table class="invisible">
<tbody>
<tr>
<th><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/copy_of_IP8.png" alt="IP8" class="image-inline" title="IP8" /><br /></th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="text-align: center; ">Figure 8</th>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">Funding Arrangements</h3>
<table class="invisible">
<tbody>
<tr>
<th><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/IP9.png" alt="IP9" class="image-inline" title="IP9" /></th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="text-align: center; ">Figure 9</th>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The discussion that occurred after <i>Pawan Agarwal’s </i>presentation was centred around the issues of intellectual property education, revisiting the role of the MHRD IPR Chair Professor and on the establishment of a National Institute of Intellectual Property Rights.</p>
<h3>Intellectual Property Education</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">On a broader level, the Consultation dealt with the subject of intellectual property education, which the proposed plan envisaged on a generic basic level as well as a more advanced technical level. <i>Narendra Sabharwal, </i>former Deputy Director General, World Intellectual Property Organization (“WIPO”) was had a three pronged opinion on intellectual property education- <i>first, </i>that intellectual property education had to be mainstreamed, and that this mainstreaming should be a part of the vision and strategy of any national plan on intellectual property; <i>second, </i>that intellectual property education should be used to synergise and encourage the creation of more IP assets and <i>third</i> that the proposed national institute should play an advisory role in the intellectual property education framework.</p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">Evaluating and Rethinking the Role of IPR Chairs Established by the MHRD</h3>
<p><b>Background</b></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The MHRD has, under <a href="http://copyright.gov.in/Documents/scheme.pdf">the Scheme for Intellectual Property Education, Research and Public Outreach</a> (“the Scheme”), established twenty IPR Chairs in various universities and other institutions of higher learning across the country. According to the <a href="http://mhrdiprchairs.org/AboutChairs.aspx">MHRD IPR Chairs website</a>, six of these Chairs have been set up in Universities (University of Delhi, University of Madras, Tezpur University, CUSAT- Kochi, JNU- Delhi and the Delhi School of Economics); five in National Law Universities (NLSIU- Bangalore, NALSAR- Hyderabad, NLU- Jodhpur, NLIU- Bhopal and WBNUJS- Kolkata); six in the Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT- Delhi, IIT- Madras, IIT- Kanpur, IIT- Kharagpur, IIT- Bombay and IIT- Roorkee) and three in the Indian Institutes of Management (IIM- Bangalore, IIM- Kolkata and IIM- Ahmedabad).</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">With the purpose of creating awareness among the “general public intelligentsia etc. on IPR Copyright and WTO Studies”<a href="#fn1" name="fr1">[1] </a>, the Scheme has been implemented with the objectives of encouraging the study of intellectual property rights in universities and other institutions of higher learning and developing and encouraging study in specialized courses of IPR; creating awareness about IPRs; organizing activities such as seminars and workshops for IPR awareness; creating knowledge resources, developing policy inputs and negotiating strategies and course awareness- all on WTO matters and evolving strategies of Regional Cooperation and Regional Trading Agreements. Expenditure under the Scheme may be incurred by the MHRD (directly or indirectly) for a wide array of purposes including <i>inter alia, </i>the institution of “Chairs” for IPR Studies for higher education and “also on WTO Studies” (sic.).</p>
<h3>At the Consultation</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">There was a general consensus on the need to restructure the existing ‘MHRD Chair’ institutions and questions were raised regarding their longevity and the sustainability. Veena Ish, Joint Secretary, Department of Higher Education, MHRD, Government of India, spoke of the need to strengthen the existing IPR Chairs and bring about changes in the funding scheme. She also sought inputs on what form and structure the institutions should adopt.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Faculty members of various educational institutions present at the meeting were of the opinion that there was an urgent need to set norms clarifying the role of Chairs. Out of the various suggestions put forth, some of them were as under:</p>
<ol>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Specify the number of hours (if any) that a Chair was expected to teach. This proved to be a contentious issue at the meeting, with various members of the faculty raising questions on how one was to balance teaching requirements with research and policy feedback obligations.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Envisage the role of the Chair as that of a mentor who would not teach except for the occasional guest lecture, but would guide younger faculty in teaching. The Chairs would then instead produce at least three research outputs in a year based on topic inputs from the National Institute/Centre for Intellectual Property Rights. These research outputs would then act as policy inputs to the government. </li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">The Chair would liaison with industry, academia and policy makers to identify issues of policy concern and research interest.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">The institution of the MHRD Chair should be delinked from the university set up. Chairs should be appointed directly by the MHRD through a transparent and accountable process, distinct from the present state of affairs where the Vice Chancellors of universities were allowed to exercise discretion in appointments.</li>
</ol>
<h3>Establishment of a National Institute of Intellectual Property Rights</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Context</b><br />The present circumstances that might necessitate the establishment of a National Institute of Intellectual property Rights were highlighted at the Consultation by <i>D.V. Prasad, </i>Joint Secretary, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (“DIPP”), Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India. He said that there was a need for a nodal agency for World Intellectual Property Organization (“WIPO”) matters. He also said that there was a need for a body to focus on government policy and provide policy inputs to the DIPP and other departments and ministries working on intellectual property law and policy issues. At the moment, he said, there were no formal mechanisms in place though which the DIPP sought policy input, and instead relied on basic inputs from paid external consultants.</p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">At the Consultation</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The discussion at the Consultation pertained to the form and functions of this proposed institution. <i>D.V. Prasad</i> emphasised that this institution ought not to become an academic exercise or a university and that the focus should remain policy inputs to the government. This view was echoed by <i>Shilpi Jha</i> of the Confederation of Indian Industries. <i>V.C .Vivekanandan</i>, MHRD Chair Professor, NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad, was also in agreement with <i>D.V. Prasad </i>and <i>Shilpi Jha, </i>and said that the proposed institution ought to be a ‘stand alone model’. <i>Narendra Sabharwal</i> envisaged this institution as a think-tank that would research on legal and policy issues and international relations on emerging areas of technology. This would be distinct from university research undertaken by MHRD Chairs, although some of the university research ought to feed into the think-tank. <i>N.S. Gopalakrishnan, </i>former MHRD Chair Professor at CUSAT, Kochi was of the opinion that this proposed institution ought not to be within the aegis of the University Grants Commission. Further, he said that it was critical to develop capacity for policy research within the country, but until that time, it was critical to attract people from both within as well as outside India to undertake policy research. <i>Sunita Tripathy</i>, Assistant Professor, Jindal Global Law School was also of the opinion that there was a need to build capacity for policy research in India.</p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">Concluding Observations</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">From the conversation at the Consultation it seems evident that there is a need to revisit the institution of the MHRD Chair Professor, but what remains moot is the form that it should take. The viability of the proposed national institute would also have to be studied in further detail, against similar models in other countries.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">This is an exercise that we shall continue to undertake in subsequent blog posts as a part of this series of mapping institutions of intellectual property.</p>
<hr align="left" size="1" width="100%" />
<p>[<a href="#fr1" name="fn1">1</a>].See<i> Scheme for Intellectual Property Education, Research and Public Outreach</i>, available at http://copyright.gov.in/Documents/scheme.pdf (last accessed 03 June, 2014) at page 1.</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/mapping-institutions-of-intellectual-property-part-a'>https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/mapping-institutions-of-intellectual-property-part-a</a>
</p>
No publishernehaaFeaturedIntellectual Property RightsAccess to Knowledge2014-06-10T07:34:34ZBlog EntryMapping Digital Humanities in India - Concluding Thoughts
https://cis-india.org/raw/mapping-digital-humanities-in-india-concluding-thoughts
<b>This final blog post on the mapping exercise undertaken by CIS-RAW summarises some of the key concepts and terms that have emerged as significant in the discourse around Digital Humanities in India. </b>
<p><em> </em></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">The present exercise in mapping Digital Humanities (henceforth DH) in India has brought to the fore several learnings, and challenges in trying to locate the domain of enquiry even as our understanding of what constitutes new objects, methods and forms of research and pedagogy constantly undergo change and redefinition. Even as we wrap up this study, some of the key questions or problems of definition, ontology and method remain with us, as the 'field' as such is incipient in India, as with other parts of the world and the term itself is yet to find a resonance in many quarters, other than a few institutions and a number of individuals. However, what it does do for us immediately, is throw open several questions about how we understand the idea of the 'digital', and what may be the new areas of enquiry for the humanities at large.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">We began with the understanding that DH is a new space of interdisciplinary research, scholarship and practice with several possibilities for thinking about the nature of the intersection of the humanities and technology. The term was a little more than a found name of sorts, which since then has taken on various meanings and undergone some form of creative re-appropriation. The ubiquitous history of the term in humanities computing in the Anglo-American context has helped in locating and defining the field globally within the ambit of certain kinds of practices and scholarship in the contemporary moment. As most of the literature around DH even globally has pointed out, the problem with arriving at a definition is ontological, more than epistemological. The conditions of its emergence and existence are yet to be completely understood, although if one is to take into account the larger history of science and technology studies or even cyber/digital culture studies, these 'epistemic shifts' have been in the making for some time now. In India particularly, where a clear picture of the 'field' as such is still to emerge in the form of a theorisation of its key concerns, areas of focus or object of enquiry, it is only through a practice-mapping that one may locate what are at best certain discursive shifts in the way we understand content, structures and methods in the humanities, within the context of the digital. The fundamental premise of the nature of the digital and its relation to the human subject still lacks adequate exploration which would be required to define the contours of the field. The inherited separation of humanities and technology further makes this a complex space to negotiate, when the term may now actually indicate the need to decode the rather tenuous relationship between the two supposedly separate domains.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">The question of methodology then comes in as the next most important aspect here, as the method of DH is yet to be clearly defined. At present it looks like a combination and creative appropriation of methodologies drawn from different disciplines and creative practices. The change in the methodology of the humanities and social sciences itself as now longer remaining discipline-specific has been a contributory factor to the evolving methodology of DH. The practice itself is still evolving, and while DH in the Anglo-American context can trace a history in humanities computing, with now an active interest in other spaces where the digital is an inherent part of the discourse, in India there has been little work in mainstream academic spaces such as universities or research centres, and some interest from the information and technology sector. As such the skills and infrastructure needed to work with large data sets and new technologised processes of interpretation and visualisation still remain outside the ambit of the mainstream humanities. This mapping exercise largely relied on interviews as part of its methodology, without any engagement with the actual practice, mainly because of a lack of consensus on what constitutes DH practice. However, through an exploration of allied fields such as media, archival practice, design and education technology, the study tries to locate how certain practices in these areas inform what we understand of DH today.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">The archive, media and now to a certain extent art and design have become the sites for most of the discussions around DH in India, primarily because of the nature of institutions and people who have engaged with the question so far. Archival practice has seen a vast change with the onset of digitisation, and the growth of more public and collaborative archival spaces will also bring forth new questions and concepts around the nature of the archive and its imagination as a dynamic space of knowledge production. At a more abstract level, the nature of the text as an unstable object itself, now increasingly being mediated and negotiated in different ways through digital spaces, tools and methods would be one way of locating an object of enquiry in DH and tracing its connection to the humanities, which are essentially still seen as 'text-based disciplines'. What has been a definite shift is the emphasis on process which has become an important point of enquiry, and one of the many axes around which the discourse around DH is constructed. The rethinking of existing processes of knowledge production, including traditional methods of teaching-learning, and the emergence of new tools and methods such as visualisation, data mapping, distant reading and design-thinking at a larger level would be some of the interesting prospects of enquiry in the field. The method of DH is however, necessarily collaborative and distributed at the same time, as evidenced by its practice in these various areas and disciplines.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">While in the Anglo-American context the predominant narrative or <em>raison d'etre</em> of DH seems to be the so-called 'crisis' in the humanities, it may after all be just one of reasons, and not a primary cause, at least in the Indian context. Moreover, in a paradoxical sense the emergence of DH has been seen as endangering the future of the traditional humanities, in terms of a move away from certain conventional methods and forms of research and pedagogy. While this may be relevant to our understanding of the emergence of DH, understanding the emergence of the field as resolving a crisis also renders the discourse into a uni-dimensional, problem-solving approach, thus making invisible other factors, such as the technologised history of the humanities or several other factors that have contributed to these changes. The complex and somewhere problematic history of science and technology in India and the growth of the IT sector also forms part of this context, and will inform the manner in which DH grows as a concept, area of enquiry or even as a discipline. DH is yet another manifestation of changes that we have seen in the existing objects, processes, spaces and figures of learning, particularly the open, collaborative and participatory nature of knowledge production and dissemination that has come about with the advent of the internet and digital technologies. More importantly, they also point towards the larger changes in what where earlier considered unifying notions for the university, namely that of reason and culture, which have now moved towards an idea of excellence based on a certain techno-bureaucratic impulse, as noted by Bill Readings in his work on the rise of the post-modern university<a name="_ftnref1" href="#_ftn1">[1]</a>.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">If one may try to locate within this the debates around DH, the subject of this new discourse around the digital is also now rather unclear. One could explore the notion of the digital humanist, or in a more abstract manner the digital subject as one example of this lack of clarity or the distance between the practice and the subject, which is also why it has been of much concern for several scholars. As Prof. Amlan Dasgupta, with English Department at the University of Jadavpur says, it is difficult to identify such a category of scholars, although a person who is able to situate his work in the digital space with the same kind of ease and confidence that people of a different generation could do in manuscripts and books would perhaps fit this description, and he is sure that such a person may be found. For example someone who knows Shakespeare well and can write a programme, and he is sure a day will come when this is a possibility. It is a familiarity in which the inherent distance between these two pursuits becomes lesser - DH is at that moment - a composite of these two approaches rather than the difference.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">While many scholars concur with this explanation, others find the term misleading - humanities scholars do not call themselves 'humanists'. Also, by virtue of being a digital subject, anybody engaged with some form of digital practice is already a digital humanist of some sort. The problem also is in the rather unclear nature of the practice, all of which is not unanimously identified as DH, as a result of which not many scholars would want to identify with the term. As Patrik Svensson (2010) points out "The individual term digital humanist may be problematic because it may seem both too general in not relating to a specific discipline or competence (thus deemphasizing the discipline-specific or professional) and too specific in emphasizing the "digital" part of the scholarly identity (if you are scholar) or giving too much prominence to the humanities part of your professional identity (if you are a digital humanities programmer or a system architect). The more general and non-personal term digital humanities is more inclusive, but somewhat limited because of its lack of specificity and relatively weak disciplinary anchorage. For both variants, there is also a question of whether "the digital" needs to be specified at all, and it is not uncommon <a href="http://digitalhumanities.org/dhq/vol/4/1/000080/000080.html#N10309">[9]</a> to encounter the argument that technology and the digital are part or will be part of any academic area, and hence the denotation "digital" is not required" <a name="_ftnref2" href="#_ftn2">[2]</a>. Svensson further points out that since the term, like digital humanities, has proliferated so much in academic spaces, through publishing and funding initiatives that it has become a term of self-identification, but it could be a reference to the digital as 'tool' rather that the object of study itself. However, he also speculates that given digital humanists work across several disciplines, their understanding of humanities as a construct is stronger as the identity is linked to it at large. <a name="_ftnref3" href="#_ftn3">[3]</a></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">This debate is importantly, symptomatic of a larger conflict over the authority of knowledge, because of what seems to be a move away from the university to alternate spaces and modes of knowledge production. As Immanuel Wallerstein (1996) suggests, such a conflict of authority has already been documented earlier, in terms of the displacement of theology first and then Newtonian mechanics as dominant sources of knowledge, and the now in the manner in which the separation of disciplines is being challenged. The potential of technology in general and the internet in particular in democratising knowledge has been explored in several cases, with many such online spaces now becoming a suitable 'alternate' to the university mode of teaching and learning. What they have also given rise to are questions about the authenticity of knowledge produced and disseminated and who are the stakeholders in the process. The debates over MOOC's and the Wikipedia, and at some level the criticism that DH and certain methods like distant reading have attracted from traditional humanities scholars are a case in point. However, many of these alternate or liminal spaces have always existed; they are perhaps becoming more visible and acknowledged now. DH, with its emphasis on interdisciplinarity and different kinds of knowledge drawn from a diverse set of practices definitely opens up space for a new mode of questioning; whether all of these different modes of questioning can coalesce as a new discipline or interdisciplinary field in itself will remain to be seen.</p>
<p><strong> </strong></p>
<p><strong>References</strong></p>
<ol>
<li>Patrik, Svensson, "The Landscape of Digital Humanities". <em>Digital Humanities Quarterly</em>,4:1 <a href="http://digitalhumanities.org/dhq/vol/4/1/000080/000080.html">http://digitalhumanities.org/dhq/vol/4/1/000080/000080.html</a> 2010.</li>
<li>Readings, Bill, <em>The University in Ruins</em> Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1997, pp 1-20.</li>
<li>Wallerstein, Immanuel, "The Structures of Knowledge, or How Many Ways May We Know?" Presentation at "Which Sciences for Tomorrow? Dialogue on the Gulbenkian Report: <em>Open the Social Sciences</em>," Stanford University, June 2-3, 1996 http://www.binghamton.edu/fbc/archive/iwstanfo.htm </li></ol>
<hr />
<p style="text-align: justify;"><em> The author would like to thank the Higher Education Innovation and Research Applications (HEIRA) programme at the Centre for the Study of Culture and Society (CSCS), Bangalore for support towards the fieldwork conducted as part of this mapping exercise, and colleagues at CIS and CSCS for their feedback and inputs<strong>. </strong> </em></p>
<p><strong> </strong></p>
<p><strong>Concepts/Glossary of terms </strong></p>
<ol>
<li style="text-align: justify;"> Ontology - A lot of the work being done to define DH is in fact to understand its ontological status, the nature of its being and existence. As pointed out in the part of this section, the difficulty in arriving at a consensus on a definition is largely due to a lack of clarity over the ontological basis of such a field, rather than its epistemological stake, which one may already be able to discern in a few years. There is a slippage due to a lack of connection between the history of the term and its practice, particularly in India, where DH is still a 'found term' of sorts. See <a href="http://cis-india.org/raw/digital-humanities/a-question-of-digital-humanities"> http://cis-india.org/raw/digital-humanities/a-question-of-digital-humanities</a></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Humanities - The predominant discourse in the Anglo-American context on DH seems to have set it up in a conflict with or as a threat to the traditional humanities disciplines, the causal link here being the 'crisis' of the disciplines. While there is such a narrative of crisis in the Indian con text as well, anything 'digital' is understood in terms of a problem-solving approach, and at another level seeks to further existing concerns of the humanities themselves, such as around the text. The important shift that DH may open up here is in terms of thinking about the inherited separation of technology and the humanities, and if it indeed possible now to think of a technologised history of the humanities.See <a href="http://cis-india.org/raw/digital-humanities/a-question-of-digital-humanities"> http://cis-india.org/raw/digital-humanities/a-question-of-digital-humanities</a></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Digital - the debate around and interest in DH has reinforced the need for a larger and more elaborate exploration of the 'digital' itself, and as mentioned in an earlier post, deciphering the nuances of the current state of digitality we inhabit will be key to understanding the field of DH much better. This is challenging because India is a mutli-layered technological landscape, which is also quite dynamic, ever-changing and in a period of transition to the digital. Taking this back to more fundamental questions of technology and its relation to the subject would also provide more insights into DH.See <a href="http://cis-india.org/raw/digital-humanities/digital-humanities-problem-of-definition"> http://cis-india.org/raw/digital-humanities/digital-humanities-problem-of-definition</a></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Subject - DH is a manifestation of the relationship between technology and the human subject, and provides different ways to negotiate the same. The 'digital humanist' as the likely subject of this discourse has remained largely undefined in this series of explorations, partly because of the lack of resonance with the term among humanities scholars and the fact that everybody at some level is already a digital subject, and therefore a digital humanist. An exploration of how the digital constitutes or constructs a subject position is likely to reveal better the nuances of this term and the reason for its relation to or distance from the practice.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Method - the methodology of a discipline is the connection between theory and field of practice, and the method of DH is still being developed. Whether it is data mining, distant reading, cultural informatics, sentiment analysis or creative visualisations of data sets drawing from aspects of media, art and design, the methodology and interests of DH are necessarily diverse and interdisciplinary. In many a case the distinction among methods, content and forms do blur as newer modes or approaches to DH come into being. This becomes a particular problem in understanding DH in the context of pedagogy and curricular resources, and would therefore require a rethinking of the understanding of a singular methodology itself.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Archive - A large part of the DH work in India seems to be focussed around the archive - both as a concept and practice. With the digital becoming in a sense the default mode of documentation across the humanities disciplines, and the opening up of the archive due to more public and digital archival efforts, the concept of the archive and archival practice have undergone several changes in terms of becoming now more networked and accessible. As mentioned earlier, we are living in an archival moment where there is a transition from analogue to digital, and it is in this moment of transition that a lot of new questions around data and knowledge will emerge. See http://cis-india.org/raw/digital-humanities/living-in-the-archival-moment.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Text - the text has been one of significant aspects of the DH debate, given that the academic discourse on DH in the West and now in India is primarily located in English departments. The understanding of the text as object, method and practice as mediated through digital spaces and tools is an important part of the discourse around DH, and has implications for how we understand changes in the nature of the text, and reading and writing as technologised processes in the digital context. See http://cis-india.org/raw/digital-humanities/reading-from-a-distance.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Process: An important point of emphasis in DH has been that of process, perhaps even more than content or outcomes. Given that the method of DH is collaborative and peer-to-peer, the processes of doing, making or teaching-learning etc become increasingly visible and important to understanding the nature of the field and knowledge production itself. More importantly, it also seeks to bring in the practitioner's experience into the realm of research and pedagogy.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Liminal : DH is a good example of a liminal space; which is a space that is on both sides of a threshold or boundary, and is therefore at some level undefined and transitional. The liminal space is often located at the margin of a body of knowledge or discipline, and it is at the margins of disciplines that new knowledge is produced. The discourse and even criticism around DH highlights the difficulties with defining the present nebulous nature of these liminal spaces and what they could transform into in the future. See http://cis-india.org/raw/digital-humanities/digital-humanities-and-alt-academy.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Interdisciplinarity - Closely tied to the notion of liminal spaces is the notion of interdisciplinarity. DH by nature is interdisciplinary, given that it draws upon methods and concerns from the other disciplines, but instead of limiting the definition to just this, it also provides a space to understand the challenges of negotiating and using an interdisciplinary approach to the humanities and other disciplines and develop these questions further. See http://cis-india.org/raw/digital-humanities/digital-humanities-and-alt-academy. </li></ol>
<hr align="left" size="1" width="100%" />
<div id="ftn1">
<p><a name="_ftn1" href="#_ftnref1">[1]</a> See Bill Readings, <em>The University in Ruins</em> Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1997, pp 1-20.</p>
</div>
<div id="ftn2">
<p><a name="_ftn2" href="#_ftnref2">[2]</a> See Patrik Svensson. "The Landscape of Digital Humanities". <em>Digital Humanities Quarterly</em>,4:1 <a href="http://digitalhumanities.org/dhq/vol/4/1/000080/000080.html">http://digitalhumanities.org/dhq/vol/4/1/000080/000080.html</a></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn3">
<p><a name="_ftn3" href="#_ftnref3">[3]</a> <em> Ibid.</em></p>
</div>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/raw/mapping-digital-humanities-in-india-concluding-thoughts'>https://cis-india.org/raw/mapping-digital-humanities-in-india-concluding-thoughts</a>
</p>
No publishersneha-ppDigital KnowledgeMapping Digital Humanities in IndiaResearchFeaturedDigital HumanitiesResearchers at Work2015-11-13T05:36:10ZBlog EntryMaking Voices Heard: Privacy, Inclusivity, and Accessibility of Voice Interfaces in India
https://cis-india.org/raw/making-voices-heard-project-announcement
<b>We believe that voice interfaces have the potential to democratise the use of internet by addressing barriers such as accessibility concerns, lack of abilities of reading and writing on digital text interfaces, and lack of options for people to interact with digital devices in their own languages. Through the Making Voice Heard Project supported by Mozilla Corporation, we will examine the current landscape of voice interfaces in India.</b>
<p> </p>
<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/cis-india/website/master/img/CIS_Mozilla_MakingVoicesHeard_ProjectAnnouncement_01.jpg" alt="null" width="30%" /> <img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/cis-india/website/master/img/CIS_Mozilla_MakingVoicesHeard_ProjectAnnouncement_02.jpg" alt="null" width="30%" /> <img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/cis-india/website/master/img/CIS_Mozilla_MakingVoicesHeard_ProjectAnnouncement_03.jpg" alt="null" width="30%" />
<p> </p>
<h4>Download the project announcement cards (shown above): <a href="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/cis-india/website/master/img/CIS_Mozilla_MakingVoicesHeard_ProjectAnnouncement_01.jpg" target="_blank">Card 01</a>, <a href="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/cis-india/website/master/img/CIS_Mozilla_MakingVoicesHeard_ProjectAnnouncement_02.jpg" target="_blank">Card 02</a>, and <a href="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/cis-india/website/master/img/CIS_Mozilla_MakingVoicesHeard_ProjectAnnouncement_03.jpg" target="_blank">Card 03</a></h4>
<hr />
<h3>Making Voices Heard: Project Announcement</h3>
<p>Although voice enabled interfaces are being deployed there is a need to understand how they are beneficial, and what have been important knowledge gaps and challenges in their development, adoption, use, and regulation. Through the Making Voice Heard Project <a href="https://blog.mozilla.org/blog/2019/07/05/mozillas-latest-research-grants-prioritizing-research-for-the-internet/" target="_blank">supported by Mozilla Corporation</a>, we will be examining the current landscape of voice interfaces in India, and seek to address the following questions:</p>
<ul>
<li>What is the broad (sectoral and functional) typology of available voice interfaces in Indian languages? How widely are these voice interfaces (in Indian languages) used, and what barriers prevent their further adoption and use?<br /><br /></li>
<li>What are concerns related to privacy and data protection that emerge with the growth of voice interfaces? What kind of protocols for data processing may need to be built into the design of these interfaces?<br /><br /></li>
<li>How accessible are these interfaces for persons with disabilities (PWDs)? What kinds of accessibility features, especially for Indian languages, may need to be developed to ensure effective use of voice technologies by PWDs?<br /><br /></li>
<li>Where do challenges in these three areas intersect? For instance, is compromising on users’ privacy, including weak or missing data protection regulations, required to create comprehensive speech datasets that may help develop better accessibility features, and address linguistic barriers?</li></ul>
<p>In order to approach these questions we have begun mapping the various developers and users of voice interfaces in India. In the next stage of the process we will be looking at these interfaces through the lens of privacy, language, accessibility, and design. In order to add to the mapping and questions, we will be conducting interviews and workshops with users, developers, designers and researchers of voice interfaces in India, including the <a href="https://voice.mozilla.org/en" target="_blank">Common Voice</a> team at Mozilla.</p>
<p>We hereby invite researchers, developers and designers of voice interfaces to speak to us and help inform the study. You may contact Shweta Mohandas at shweta@cis-india.org.</p>
<p><em>- Shweta Mohandas, Saumyaa Naidu, Puthiya Purayil Sneha, and Sumandro Chattapadhyay (project team)</em></p>
<p> </p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/raw/making-voices-heard-project-announcement'>https://cis-india.org/raw/making-voices-heard-project-announcement</a>
</p>
No publishershwetaVoice User InterfaceLanguagePrivacyAccessibilityResearchVoice Assisted InterfaceFeaturedResearchers at WorkMaking Voices Heard2019-12-18T12:10:05ZBlog EntryMaking Voices Heard
https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/making-voices-heard
<b>We are happy to announce the launch of our final report on the study ‘Making Voices Heard: Privacy, Inclusivity, and Accessibility of Voice Interfaces in India. The study was undertaken with support from the Mozilla Corporation.</b>
<p style="text-align: center; "><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/WebsiteHeader.jpg/@@images/8d8ed2a0-f0e4-44d7-8938-493b186402c5.jpeg" alt="Making Voices Heard" class="image-inline" title="Making Voices Heard" /></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">We believe that voice interfaces have the potential to democratise the use of the internet by addressing limitations related to reading and writing on digital text-only platforms and devices. This report examines the current landscape of voice interfaces in India, with a focus on concerns related to privacy and data protection, linguistic barriers, and accessibility for persons with disabilities (PwDs).</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The report features a visual mapping of 23 voice interfaces and technologies publicly available in India, along with a literature survey, a policy brief towards development and use of voice interfaces and a design brief documenting best practices and users’ needs, both with a focus on privacy, languages, and accessibility considerations, and a set of case studies on three voice technology platforms. <span>Read and download the full report <a class="external-link" href="http://voice.cis-india.org/">here</a></span></p>
<hr />
<h3>Credits</h3>
<p><strong>Research</strong>: Shweta Mohandas, Saumyaa Naidu, Deepika Nandagudi Srinivasa, Divya Pinheiro, and Sweta Bisht.</p>
<p><strong>Conceptualisation, Planning, and Research Inputs</strong>: Sumandro Chattapadhyay, and Puthiya Purayil Sneha.</p>
<p><strong>Illustration</strong>: Kruthika NS (Instagram @theworkplacedoodler). Website Design Saumyaa Naidu. Website Development Sumandro Chattapadhyay, and Pranav M Bidare.</p>
<p><strong>Review and Editing</strong>: Puthiya Purayil Sneha, Divyank Katira, Pranav M Bidare, Torsha Sarkar, Pallavi Bedi, and Divya Pinheiro.</p>
<p><strong>Copy Editing</strong>: The Clean Copy</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/making-voices-heard'>https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/making-voices-heard</a>
</p>
No publishershwetaVoice User InterfacePrivacyAccessibilityInternet GovernanceResearchFeaturedHomepage2022-06-27T16:18:36ZBlog EntryMaking Public Libraries Accessible to People with Disabilities
https://cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/making-public-libraries-accessible-to-people-with-disabilities
<b>The Centre for Internet & Society was one of the 20 disability rights groups that wrote to the Ministry of Culture on January 23, 2013 seeking remedial action on the barriers faced by persons with disabilities in accessing public libraries in India.</b>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">To,<br />Hon’ble Ministers of Culture, HRD, Social Welfare<br />Secretaries of the above Ministries/Departments<br />January 23, 2013</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Dear Sir/Madam</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><span><b>Sub: Making Public Libraries Accessible for Persons with Disabilities </b></span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><span> </span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">We, the organizations representing persons with disabilities listed at the end of this document would like to bring to your attention for your urgent remedial action on the barriers faced by persons with disabilities in accessing public libraries in the country.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">As you are aware, India has approximately 150 million persons with disabilities<a href="#fn1" name="fr1">[1]</a>who have the inalienable fundamental right to life as enshrined in the Constitution including the right to seek knowledge and education. Public libraries play a critical role in creating an enabling environment for citizens to gain knowledge, information and education. This is particularly true in the case of persons with disabilities who have limited access to purchase books through mainstream shops due to various barriers including lack of physical access to shops, lack of availability of books in accessible formats like Braille, etc. India has signed and ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and therefore India is required to "to take all appropriate measures, including legislation, to modify or abolish existing laws, regulations, customs and practices that constitute discrimination against persons with disabilities<a href="#fn2" name="fr2">[2]</a>, "to develop, promulgate and monitor the implementation of minimum standards and guidelines for the accessibility of facilities and services open or provided to the public<a href="#fn3" name="fr3">[3]</a>” and take all appropriate measures to ensure that persons with disabilities enjoy access to libraries<a href="#fn4" name="fr4">[4]</a></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The recent copyright amendments enabling libraries to convert their collections into accessible formats free of cost for the benefit of persons with disabilities coupled with technological developments in the form of cost effective screen reading software have created an unprecedented opportunity to make libraries accessible to persons with visual impairment and dyslexia. Additionally increased clarity on standards for physical access also now enables libraries to be made physically accessible without expensive modifications to enable wheelchair users and those with limited mobility access the libraries.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">We understand that the Ministry of Culture has constituted a high powered committee as part of the National Mission on Libraries to look into revamping the library system in the country. We urge that the issue relating to making public libraries accessible to persons with disabilities is taken up by the government on a fast track basis, a separate budget is allocated for this exercise and libraries are made accessible on a priority basis. Please find attached a brief note on the steps to be taken to make libraries accessible to persons with disabilities.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">We recommend that regional consultations are conducted through which additional data can be gathered on regional/language/types of communication/availability of power and related issues. We also urge you take steps to extend library services to rural areas across the country. We are happy to assist the government in this initiative. Do let us know how we can contribute to this effort.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Thank you and best regards,</p>
<ol style="text-align: justify; "> </ol><ol style="text-align: justify; ">
<li><b>Inclusive Planet Centre for Disability Law and Policy (<a href="http://www.inclusiveplanet.org.in">www.inclusiveplanet.org.in</a>)</b><br />Rahul Cherian<br />+91 98403 57991<a href="mailto:rahul.cherian@inclusiveplanet.org.in"><br />rahul.cherian@inclusiveplanet.org.in</a></li>
<li><b>AccessAbility (<a href="http://www.accessability.co.in">www.accessability.co.in</a>)</b><br />Shivani Gupta+91 93102 45743<br />shewany@gmail.com</li>
<li><b>Xavier’s Resource Centre for the Visually Challenged (<a href="http://www.xrcvc.org">www.xrcvc.org</a>)</b><br />Sam Taraporevala<br />+91 99670 28769<br />sam@xrcvc.org</li>
<li><b>Saksham Charitable Trust (<a href="http://www.saksham.org">www.saksham.org</a>)</b><br />Dipendra Manocha<br />+91 98180 94781<a href="mailto:dipendra.manocha@gmail.com"><br />dipendra.manocha@gmail.com</a></li>
<li><b>National Platform for the Rights of the Disabled</b><br />Murali Alathur<br />+91 98687 68543<a href="mailto:nprd.in@gmail.com"><br />nprd.in@gmail.com</a></li>
<li><b>National Institute of Speech and Hearing (<a href="http://www.nish.ac.in">www.nish.ac.in</a>)</b><br />Samuel Mathew<br />+91 99615 68443<a href="mailto:snm@nish.ac.in"><br />snm@nish.ac.in</a></li>
<li><b>Centre for Internet and Society (<a href="http://www.cis-india.org">www.cis-india.org</a>)</b><br />Nirmita Narasimhan<br />+91 98458 68078<br />nirmita@cis-india.org</li>
<li><b>Indian Institute of Cerebral Palsy (<a href="http://www.iicpindia.org">www.iicpindia.org</a>)</b><br />Jeeja Ghosh<br />+91 94330 45340<a href="mailto:jeeja.ankur@gmail.com"><br />jeeja.ankur@gmail.com</a></li>
<li><b>National Centre for Autism (<a href="http://www.autism-india.org/">www.autism-india.org</a>)</b><br />Merry Barua<br />+91 98102 25923<a href="mailto:merry.barua@gmail.com"><br />merry.barua@gmail.com</a></li>
<li><b>Ability Foundation (<a href="http://www.abilityfoundation.org">www.abilityfoundation.org</a>)</b><br />Janaki Pillai<a href="mailto:ability@abilityfoundation.org" target="_blank"><br />ability@abilityfoundation.org</a></li>
<li><b>Nilesh Singit, Disability Rights Activist</b><br />+9199205 58867<a href="mailto:contact@nileshsingit.org" target="_blank"><br />contact@nileshsingit.org</a></li>
<li><b>Andhjan Kalyan Trust (<a href="http://www.aktrust.org/" target="_blank">www.aktrust.org</a></b><b>)</b><br />Praful Vyas<br />+9194282 61878<a href="mailto:aktrust.drj@gmail.com" target="_blank"><br />aktrust.drj@gmail.com</a></li>
<li><b>AccessIndia</b><br />Harish Kotian<br />hpkotian@rbi.org.in</li>
<li><b>Blind Graduates Forum of India</b><br />Harish Kotian<br />hpkotian@rbi.org.in</li>
<li><b>Tamilnadu Handicapped Federation Charitable Trust</b><br />T.M.N Deepak<br />+91 98406 46953<a href="mailto:deepaknathan@gmail.com"><br />deepaknathan@gmail.com</a></li>
<li><b>Human Rights Law Network AP Unit</b><br />M.A. Shakeel<a href="mailto:mashakeel2000@gmail.com"><br />mashakeel2000@gmail.com</a></li>
<li><b>Global Ability in Disability</b><br />Sai Padma<br />+91 9052627070<a href="mailto:saipadma@gmail.com" target="_blank"><br />saipadma@gmail.com</a></li>
<li><b>Mitra Jyothi</b><br />Madhu Singhal<a href="mailto:mj.tblibrary@gmail.com"><br />mj.tblibrary@gmail.com</a></li>
<li><b>Vaishnavi Jayakumar, Human Rights Activist</b><br />jayakumar.vaishnavi@gmail.com</li>
<li><b>Swadhikaar</b><br />Pavan Muntha<a href="mailto:pavanmuntha@gmail.com"><br />pavanmuntha@gmail.com</a></li>
<li><b>Samarthyam (<a href="http://www.samarthyam.org/" target="_blank">www.samarthyam.org</a>)</b><br />Anjlee Agarwal<br />+91 98105 58321<a href="mailto:samarthyaindia@yahoo.com" target="_blank"><br />samarthyaindia@yahoo.com</a></li>
</ol>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">With inputs from:</p>
<ol style="text-align: justify; "> </ol><ol style="text-align: justify; ">
<li><b>Stephen M. Shore, Ed.D.</b><br />Assistant Professor of Special Education, Adelphi University<br />International consultant, presenter, and author<br />Person on the autism spectrum<br />USA</li>
<li><b>Tania Meinyczuk</b><br />Director, Autistic Strategies Network<br />Autistic Consultant<br />South Africa</li>
<li><b>Shellique Carby</b><br />Self-Advocate<br />South Africa</li>
<li><b>Fazli Azeem</b><br />South Asian Self-Advocate for the Autism Spectrum<br />Fulbright Scholar @ MassArt Boston, USA<a href="http://www.fazliazeem.com/" target="_blank"><br />www.fazliazeem.com</a><br />Pakistan</li>
<li><b>Michael Vestergaard Drejer</b><br />IT Consultant<br />Denmark</li>
</ol>
<h2 style="text-align: justify; ">Making Public Libraries Inclusive For Persons With Disabilities – An Overview</h2>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">Problem Statement</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">It is estimated that India has approximately 150 million persons with disabilities<a href="#fn5" name="fr5">[5]</a> (“PWDs”). Depending on their disability, PWDs have varying degrees of problems in accessing libraries and the material available at libraries. PWDs cannot access the premises of libraries since the buildings themselves are not accessible. People who are blind or have low vision cannot access reading material in libraries since the reading materials are not in formats that are accessible. It is estimated that less than 0.5% of books are available in formats that are accessible by people who are blind or have low vision. It is therefore critical that libraries in India are made inclusive so as to become accessible by PWDs.</p>
<h2 style="text-align: justify; ">Suggestions For Improvement</h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Given below are suggestions to make the public library system inclusive to PWDs based on internationally recognized best practices:</p>
<ol style="text-align: justify; "> </ol><ol style="text-align: justify; ">
<li style="text-align: justify; "><b>Accessibility</b><br />Structural modifications must be made to the library to ensure that PWDs can use the library building easily and safely, without any barriers or obstructions. Some of the modifications required include accessible parking, clear paths of travel to and throughout the facility, entrances with adequate, clear openings or automatic doors, handrails, ramps and elevators, accessible tables and public service desks, and accessible public conveniences such as toilets, and drinking fountains. Other reasonable modifications may include visible alarms in toilets and general usage areas and signs that have Braille and easily visible character size, font, contrast and finish.<br />For further information see <b>Annexure 1</b> and <a href="http://socialjustice.nic.in/glinecpwd.php">http://socialjustice.nic.in/glinecpwd.php</a></li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><b>Accessible Formats and Library as a Distribution Centre</b><br />People, who are blind, have low vision, dyslexia and other print disabilities cannot access reading materials in printed formats. They require reading material in “accessible formats” such as Braille, large print, audio recordings and electronic formats including digital talking books. In addition, people with some disabilities may find it difficult to come to the library. Under the recently amended Copyright Act libraries can convert books into the accessible formats specified above free of cost and without requiring permission from publishers and can distribute them in physical form and in electronic form including over the Internet to persons with disabilities.<br /><br />Libraries now have the unprecedented opportunity to create an extensive collection of reading material in the accessible formats mentioned above in English and all Indian languages and make them available at the library in the form of physical copies, on CDs and other media, as well as over the Internet. The catalog of the collection must be in accessible formats. For digitization of books State Level Focal Points to be created for this purpose possibly at State level libraries. For further information on the standards to be adhered to when the library undertakes digitization see <b>Annexure 2</b>. State Level Focal Points will get production done through outsourcing or with some inhouse facilities for production of digital content. A National Level Focal point with full time staff will be required for standardization and networking between the State Level Focal Points and maintaining the central server as mentioned below. The central server will have a database containing digital copies of works in accessible formats created by the State Focal Points and other organizations that undertake the conversion of material into accessible formats such as the National Federation of the Blind<a href="#fn6" name="fr6">[6]</a>, All India Confederation of the Blind<a href="#fn7" name="fr7">[7]</a>, Daisy Forum of India<a href="#fn8" name="fr8">[8]</a> and the Indian Institute of Cerebral Palsy.<a href="#fn9" name="fr9">[9]</a> Requests for books in accessible formats can be sent to these organizations as well. The central server will also be connected to the Braille presses. Each public library at the district level will act as a distribution point for accessible formats and will be connected to the central server so that requests for books at each of the libraries can be sourced from the database on the central server. This is advantageous as the list of books available at each library will be constantly updated once they are added to the database. In addition, persons with disabilities must be able to download books in accessible formats from the database without coming to the library.<br /><br />The website of each library must contain the catalog of material available in accessible formats and the services provided for persons with disabilities. The website of the libraries and the centralized database must adhere to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 as outlined by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) so that persons with print disabilities can access the websites and the database. Each library must take orders for accessible books from library users over the internet and over the telephone and source the books from other libraries. Libraries must work together to enable interlibrary exchange of books in accessible formats including hard copy Braille books.<br /><br />All existing books published in India must be digitized over a period 7 years and all new books must be digitized within 60 days of their first publication in India. Special efforts must be made to provide accessible formats in Indian languages as these are extremely limited. An advisory committee consisting of specialist representatives from disability organizations, among others, may be constituted to oversee the implementation of this project. The expert committee will be associated with both the National Level Focal Points and the State Level Focal Points.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><b>Assistive Aids and Equipment</b><br />PWDs require certain assistive aids and equipment to be able to fully utilize the services of the library and the information available therein. Some forms of accessible formats specified above can only be accessed using assistive aids. Libraries must provide the assistive aids/equipment specified in <b>Annexure 3.</b></li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><b>Training and sensitization</b><br />Adequate training and sensitization must be given to library staff to ensure that they are able to interact with PWDs. This training can be in the nature of a short refresher course and the training and sensitization programs must be evolved in consultation with the disability sector and must be conducted with the assistance of experts in the disability space.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><b>Specialized personnel and services</b><br />The library should have a dedicated person to interact with persons with disabilities. This person should have a background in disability, highly motivated, familiar with sign language and also be responsible for providing specific assistance required by persons with disabilities such as guiding them to print out books in Braille, procuring books from the online database etc. The library should offer specialized services to PWDs including a telephonic help line and home delivery of books ordered online or over the phone and reading service at designated times at the library. It is pertinent to note that literature for the blind has no postal fees. Each library must have a specific section on disability related reading material. It is also essential to cooperate with other libraries around the world to share learning.</li>
</ol>
<h2 style="text-align: justify; ">Annexure 1<a href="#fn10" name="fr10">[10]</a></h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Accessibility</b></p>
<ol style="text-align: justify; "> </ol>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>a. </b><b>Outside the library</b></p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li style="text-align: justify; ">The main gate of the entrance of the library must be made accessible in accordance with applicable accessibility standards. If the main entrance cannot be made accessible, a secondary accessible entrance should be provided.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">At least covered three parking spaces marked with the international symbol of Accessibility (wheelchair symbol) close to the library entrance must be provided.</li>
<li>Clear and easy to read signposting must be provided. </li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Unobstructed and well lit access paths from the main gate to the entrance of the library must be provided. All steps must be replaced/complimented with ramps having less than 5% gradient, with railings on both sides.</li>
<li> Smooth and non-slip surface must be used throughout.</li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>b. </b><b>Getting into the library</b></p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li>A person using any kinds of support such as wheelchair, crutches or walker, cane, or guide dog, should be able to enter through the door and pass through security check points, if any, without encountering obstacles. </li>
<li>All mobility aids and assistive devices including wheelchairs, walkers, communicators among others must be able to pass through security checkpoints, if any. </li>
<li> Applicable accessibility standards must be adhered to.</li>
<li>Sufficient space must be provided in front of the door to allow a wheelchair to turn around.</li>
<li> Entrance door should be wide enough to allow a wheelchair to enter. </li>
<li> Non-automatic doors should be operable using one hand.</li>
<li> Glass doors, if any, must be highlighted with contrast colour band at eye level to prevent persons with low vision banging into these.</li>
<li> Stairs and steps edges must be marked with a contrasting color band.</li>
<li> Pictogram signs must be provided for services and amenities such as toilets, elevators, stairways. </li>
<li> Elevators, if any, must be well lit with buttons and signs in Braille and synthetic speech. </li>
<li> Elevator buttons reachable from a wheelchair.</li>
<li> At least 5 wheelchairs (preferably motorized) or mobility scooters must be made available for use by persons with physical disabilities</li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>c. </b><b>Inside the library</b></p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li> All parts of the library should be accessible.</li>
<li>The catalogs must be available in accessible formats.</li>
<li>Clear and easy-to-read signs with pictograms must be provided.</li>
<li>Service desks should be located close to the entrance. </li>
<li>A certain number of tables and computer workstations should be adapted for persons in wheelchairs. </li>
<li>Shelves must ideally be reachable from a wheelchair </li>
<li> Chairs with sturdy armrests must be provided</li>
<li> Unobstructed aisles between bookcases must be provided and wide enough to accommodate wheelchairs and one person not on a wheelchair.</li>
<li>Visible and audible fire alarms must be provided. </li>
<li>Non-fluorescent lighting. In case fluorescent lighting is used there must be an area free of visual clutter and sharp light contrasts, with plain walls and cubicles. </li>
<li>Printers must be kept in areas away from reading areas to reduce sound in the reading areas.</li>
<li>Suitable sound insulation to be used to minimize sound in the reading areas.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Stack area should have clear aisle space for wheelchair and bi-lateral crutch users (3ft. min.). Where book stacking is in shelves and areas beyond reach of persons with disabilities using mobility aids, human assistance should be available to access books.</li>
<li>Plants inside the space can help with air filtering, which can make a huge difference to the level of comfort.</li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>d. </b><b>Toilets</b></p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The library should have at least one toilet for PWDs, equipped with the following:</p>
<ol style="text-align: justify; "> </ol>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li> Clear signs with pictogram indicating the location of the toilets</li>
<li>Door wide enough for a wheelchair to enter and sufficient space for a wheelchair to turn around</li>
<li>Room enough for a wheelchair to pull up next to the toilet seat </li>
<li>Toilet with handles and flushing lever reachable for persons in wheelchairs </li>
<li>Alarm button reachable for persons in a wheelchairs </li>
<li>Washbasin, mirror at the appropriate height </li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>e. </b><b>Information Desk and Circulation desk </b></p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li>The desks must be of adjustable height to enable persons in wheelchair to be able access the desk</li>
<li>Chairs must be provided at the desk</li>
<li>Induction loop system for hearing impaired persons</li>
</ul>
<h2 style="text-align: justify; ">Annexure 2</h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Standards for material converted into digital formats by libraries</b></p>
<ol style="text-align: justify; "> </ol>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li>Master Digital Documents of converted material must be maintained in DAISY XML format.</li>
<li>All Master Digital Documents in Indic Languages must be encoded in Unicode [UTF8/16] and formatted using a royalty-free Open Type Font.</li>
<li>All Master Digital Documents must be tagged according to DAISY standards to capture semantic information for parts, units, chapter headings, subsections, pagination, ordered and un-ordered list, tables, images along with their alternative text, math equations, title, author, footnote, end-note, text box, abbreviation, acronym, etc.</li>
<li>Metadata information about the publication as prescribed in the DAISY Standards must be added to all Master Digital Documents.</li>
<li>Distribution of digital copies of the Master Digital Documents through web sites or otherwise must be done in epub format.</li>
<li>If other standards are used for different target populations those standards must be compliant with the National Open Standards Policy and the Interoperability Framework for E-Governance in India. </li>
<li>DAISY audio format for Indic languages. </li>
</ul>
<h2 style="text-align: justify; "><b>Annexure 3</b></h2>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; "><b>Assistance Aids/Equipment </b></h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>For assisting persons with Visual Impairment or blindness or autism spectrum disorders:</b></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Persons with vision impairments or blindness or autism spectrum disorders would benefit from software and hardware for enlarging displays on the monitor or reading material through a speech synthesizer.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Some of the most common assistive aids/equipment are:</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">For magnification</p>
<ul>
<li>Screen-magnification software. This program allows people with low vision to access computer information by enlarging the screen display or tailoring the display to accommodate their disability.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li> Large magnification devices such as closed-circuit television magnifiers (CCTV). This system employs a video camera lens to enlarge text from three to thirty times normal text size</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li> Handheld magnifiers</li>
</ul>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">For Screen reading</p>
<table class="listing" style="text-align: justify; ">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Screen reader software programs enables individuals who are blind or visually impaired to access the information on a computer screen through voice output. Some examples are NVDA (an open source software) or Dolphin or Jaws (proprietary software). Screen reading software with Indian language support must be provided.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Scanning and reading software helps those with low or no vision. Scans printed text and verbalizes the text via synthetic speech using optical character recognition technology.</li>
</ul>
</td>
<td><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/ComputerOperation.png/@@images/313def6f-7dc4-4716-9c4a-d3273a2b224d.png" alt="Computer Operation" class="image-inline" title="Computer Operation" /><br /></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">At least one computer must face outward and not against the wall since people with autism spectrum disorders find it disturbing to have people walking behind them.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">For Braille support -</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Braille Translating Software - To produce correctly formatted and coded Braille one needs a Braille Translation Software. A document prepared by a word processing program is loaded into the translation software. The final document may be printed in Braille by a Braille embosser. </li>
<li>Braille Embosser - Braille embossers print Braille output from a computer by punching dots onto paper and enable users to make hard copies of documents. </li>
<li>Refreshable Braille displays and DAISY players.</li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">All multimedia content to have audio descriptions</p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">For Assisting people with Hearing Impairment or Deafness</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Users with deafness or have hearing impairments do not have problems using the computer except problems will arise from programs and websites that have audio cues.</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li>Sound Sentry This option directs the operating system to display a visual signal when a sound is generated by a Windows application. Sound sentry in built into Windows and Apple operating systems.</li>
<li>All multimedia content to have captions</li>
</ul>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">For Assisting people with Learning Disabilities</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Specialized software programs and hardware for people who have learning differences will display print as well as provide auditory reading of the text simultaneously.</p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">For Assisting people with Physical Disabilities</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Persons with physical disabilities may need assistance in using the computer apart from having physical accessibility. The following items increase computer usability and safety:</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li>Special input devices such as trackballs, joysticks, switches, touch pads, and augmented keyboards (micro keyboards or oversize keyboards with enlarged keys)</li>
<li>A computer camera/tracker allows users to manipulate the cursor through head movement.</li>
<li>Software utilities that replaces the functionality of a standard keyboard with a full-featured, onscreen keyboard.</li>
<li>Speech to text software such as Dragon Naturally Speaking</li>
<li>Motorized wheelchairs to be used by physically impaired users especially motorized chairs whose seat can raise so that users can reach books on higher shelves on the rack. </li>
<li>Availability of reachers to access books that may be placed too low or too high on the book rack.</li>
<li>Page turners</li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b> </b></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Useful Links</b></p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li> <b>American Library Association:</b><a href="http://www.ala.org/ascla/asclaissues/libraryservices"> http://www.ala.org/ascla/asclaissues/libraryservices</a></li>
<li><b>International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions:</b><a href="http://archive.ifla.org/VII/s9/nd1/iflapr-89e.pdf"><b> </b>http://archive.ifla.org/VII/s9/nd1/iflapr-89e.pdf</a></li>
<li><b>World Wide Web Consortium:</b><a href="http://www.w3.org/WAI/"><b> </b>http://www.w3.org/WAI/<br /></a></li>
</ul>
<hr />
<p style="text-align: justify; ">[<a href="#fr1" name="fn1">1</a>]. The World Health Organization estimates that 15% of the population is disabled. http://www.who.int/disabilities/world_report/2011/factsheet.pdf<br />[<a href="#fr2" name="fn2">2</a>]. Article 4.1 (b) of the UNCRPD<br />[<a href="#fr3" name="fn3">3</a>]. Article 9.2 (a) of the UNCRPD<br />[<a href="#fr4" name="fn4">4</a>]. Article 30. 1 (c) of the UNCRPD<br />[<a href="#fr5" name="fn5">5</a>]. The World Health Organization estimates that 15% of every population is disabled. http://www.who.int/disabilities/world_report/2011/factsheet.pdf<br />[<a href="#fr6" name="fn6">6</a>]. For more information see www.nabindia.org<br />[<a href="#fr7" name="fn7">7</a>]. For more information see www.aicb.org.in<br />[<a href="#fr8" name="fn8">8</a>]. For more information see www.daisyindia.org<br />[<a href="#fr9" name="fn9">9</a>]. For more information see <a href="http://www.iicpindia.org">www.iicpindia.org</a><br />[<a href="#fr10" name="fn10">10</a>]. Based on checklist prepared by the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions available at <a href="http://archive.ifla.org/VII/s9/nd1/iflapr-89e.pdf">http://archive.ifla.org/VII/s9/nd1/iflapr-89e.pdf</a>. These should be over above the guidelines prescribed here <a href="http://socialjustice.nic.in/glinecpwd.php">http://socialjustice.nic.in/glinecpwd.php</a></p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/making-public-libraries-accessible-to-people-with-disabilities'>https://cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/making-public-libraries-accessible-to-people-with-disabilities</a>
</p>
No publisherRahul CherianFeaturedAccessibility2013-01-24T11:10:18ZBlog EntryMaking in the Humanities – Some Questions and Conflicts
https://cis-india.org/raw/making-in-the-humanities-2013-some-questions-and-conflicts
<b>The following is an abstract for a proposed chapter on 'making' in the humanities, which has been accepted for publication in a volume titled 'Making Humanities Matter'. This is part of a new book series titled 'Debates in the Digital Humanities 2015' to be published by University of Minnesota Press (http://dhdebates.gc.cuny.edu/cfps/cfp_2015_mhm). The first draft of the chapter will be shared by mid-August 2015.</b>
<p> </p>
<p>The object of enquiry in the humanities has traditionally been defined in the form of text, audio-visual or other kinds of ‘objects’ or cultural artifacts. With the growth of information and communication technologies, and the advent of the digital, the emergence of a ‘digital object’, as ambiguous as the term may sound, in the last couple of decades, has led to a rethinking of the conventional notion of research objects as well as modes of questioning, with larger consequences for the production and dissemination of knowledge. The rise of fields like ‘humanities computing’, ‘digital humanities’ and ‘cultural analytics’, suggest a combining of two separate domains, or polarized binaries (such as old and new media), and point to the availability of new objects of study, and therefore the need for new methods to study them. A large part of the discourse around these objects however, in trying to read them closely, obfuscates the processes by which they are constituted, which are often as novel and innovative as the artifacts themselves.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>This paper will attempt to explore the processes of ‘making’ of these digital objects in the context of several sites of recent humanities scholarship in India that mobilise digital techniques as key methods. These will include two online video archival initiatives (Indiancine.ma and Pad.ma), a digital variorum of Rabindranath Tagore's literary works (Bichitra) developed at the University of Jadavpur, Kolkata, and curatorial work undertaken by the Centre for Public History, Srishti School of Art, Design and Technology, Bengaluru. Film, text and archival objects acquire several nuances as they are ‘made’ into digital objects, which are also reflected in the methods of working with and studying them. At the same time, problems of authorship, authenticity, accessibility, and a lack of adequate methods to study these objects are some challenges faced across disciplines. The objective of the study is to outline some of the questions related to form and methods that emerge with the digital object, and in the process undertake a critical reading of the politics of making in the humanities. What is the role of ‘making’ in the humanities? Where does humanities research using digital technologies intersect with art and creative practices? How is this research manifested in new forms or objects and methods, and to what effects on the humanities? The paper will aim to respond to some of these questions through a discussion of the initiatives mentioned above.</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/raw/making-in-the-humanities-2013-some-questions-and-conflicts'>https://cis-india.org/raw/making-in-the-humanities-2013-some-questions-and-conflicts</a>
</p>
No publishersneha-ppDigital KnowledgeMapping Digital Humanities in IndiaResearchFeaturedDigital HumanitiesResearchers at Work2015-11-13T05:46:32ZBlog EntryMaking Humanities in the Digital: Embodiment and Framing in Bichitra and Indiancine.ma
https://cis-india.org/raw/making-humanities-in-the-digital-embodiment-and-framing-in-bichitra-and-indiancine.ma
<b>The growth of the internet and digital technologies in the last couple of decades, and the emergence of new ‘digital objects’ of enquiry has led to a rethinking of research methods across disciplines as well as innovative modes of creative practice. This chapter authored by Puthiya Purayil Sneha (published in 'Making Things and Drawing Boundaries: Experiments in the Digital Humanities' edited by Jentery Sayers) discusses some of the questions that arise around the processes by which digital objects are ‘made’ and made available for arts and humanities research and practice, by drawing on recent work in text and film archival initiatives in India.</b>
<p> </p>
<p>Through an exploration of an online film archive, Indiancine.ma, and a digital variorum of Rabindranath Tagore’s works, Bichitra, developed at Jadavpur University, Kolkata, the chapter engages with the processes of making and studying digital objects as creative and analytical, affective, and embodied. Drawing also on observations from a study on mapping digital humanities work in India, the chapter explores conceptual and material processes of the digital to understand how they affect research and practice in the humanities. These also allow for a new perspectives to understand the condition of digitality we inhabit today, as well as the possibilities it offers for the humanities.</p>
<hr />
<p>This chapter authored by Puthiya Purayil Sneha was published in <a class="external-link" href="https://www.upress.umn.edu/book-division/books/making-things-and-drawing-boundaries"><strong>Making Things and Drawing Boundaries: Experiments in the Digital Humanities</strong></a> (2017), edited by Jentery Sayers, University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, London.</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/raw/making-humanities-in-the-digital-embodiment-and-framing-in-bichitra-and-indiancine.ma'>https://cis-india.org/raw/making-humanities-in-the-digital-embodiment-and-framing-in-bichitra-and-indiancine.ma</a>
</p>
No publishersneha-ppResearchFeaturedPublicationsDigital HumanitiesResearchers at Work2018-06-25T12:50:36ZBlog EntryLocating Internets: Histories of the Internet(s) in India — Research Training and Curriculum Workshop: Call for Participation
https://cis-india.org/research/conferences/conference-blogs/workshop
<b>Deadline for submission: 26th July 2011-06-08;
When: 19th - 22nd August, 2011;
Where: Centre for Environmental Planning and Technology (CEPT) University, Ahmedabad;
Organised by: Centre for Internet and Society, Bangalore and CEPT University, Ahmedabad.
Please Note: Travel support is only available for domestic travel within India.</b>
<p>LOCATING INTERNETS is an innovative, multi-disciplinary, workshop that engages with some of the most crucial debates around Internet and Society within academic scholarship, discourse and practice in India. It explores Where, When, How and What has changed with the emergence of Internet and Digital Technologies in the country. The Internet is not a singular monolithic entity but is articulated in various forms – sometimes materially, through accessing the web; at others, through our experiences; and yet others through imaginations of policy and law. Internets have become a part of our everyday practice, from museums and archives, to school and university programmes, living rooms and public spaces, relationships and our bodily lived realities. It becomes necessary to reconfigure our existing concepts, frameworks and ideas to make sense of the rapidly digitising world around us. The Internet is no longer contained in niche disciplines or specialised everyday practices. LOCATING INTERNETS invites scholars, teachers, researchers, advanced research students and educationalists from any discipline to learn and discuss how to ask new questions and design innovative curricula in their discipline by introducing concepts and ideas from path-breaking research in India.</p>
<p>Comprised of training, public lectures, open discussion spaces, and hands-on curriculum building exercises, this workshop will introduce the participants to contemporary debates, help them articulate concerns and problems from their own research and practice, and build knowledge clusters to develop innovative and open curricula which can be implemented in interdisciplinary undergraduate spaces in the country. It showcases the research outputs produced by the Centre for Internet and Society’s Researchers @ Work Programme, and brings together nine researchers to talk about alternative histories, processes, and bodies of the Internets, and how they can be integrated into mainstream pedagogic practices and teaching environments.</p>
<h3>Knowledge Clusters for the Workshop</h3>
<p>LOCATING INTERNETS is designed innovatively to accommodate for various intellectual and practice based needs of the participants. While the aim is to introduce the participants to a wide interdisciplinary range of scholarship, we also hope to address particular disciplinary and scholarly concerns of the participants. The workshop is further divided into three knowledge clusters which help the participants to focus their energies and ideas in the course of the four days.</p>
<ul><li><strong>Bridging the Gap</strong>: This workshop seeks to break away from the utopian public discourse of the Internets as a-historical and completely dis-attached from existing technology ecologies in the country. This knowledge cluster intends to produce frameworks that help us contextualize the contemporary internet policy, discourse and practice within larger geo-political and socio-historical flows and continuities in Modern India. The first cluster chartsdifferent pre-histories of the Internets, mapping the continuities and ruptures through philosophy of techno-science, archiving practices, and electronifcation of governments,to develop new technology-society perspectives.</li><li><strong>Paradigms of Practice</strong>:One of the biggest concerns about Internet studies in India and other similar developed contexts is the object oriented approach that looks largely at specific usages, access, infrastructure, etc. However, it is necessary to understand that the Internet is not merely a tool or a gadget. The growth of Internets produces systemic changes at the level of process and thought. The technologies often get appropriated for governance both by the state and the civil society, producing new processes and dissonances which need to be charted. The second cluster looks at certain contemporary processes that the digital and Internet technologies change drastically in order to recalibrate the relationship between the state, the market and the citizen.</li><li><strong>Feet on the Ground</strong>: The third cluster looks at contemporary practices of the Internet to understand the recent histories of movements, activism and cultural practices online. It offers an innovative way of understanding the physical objects and bodies that undergo dramatic transitions as digital technologies become pervasive, persuasive and ubiquitous. It draws upon historical discourse, everyday practices and cultural performances to form new ways of formulating and articulating the shapes and forms of social and cultural structures.</li></ul>
<h3>Workshop Outcomes</h3>
<p>The participants are expected to engage with issue of Internet and it various systemic processes through their own disciplinary interests. Apart from lectures and orientation sessions, the participants will actively work on their own project ideas during the period in groups and will be guided by experts. The final outcome of the workshops would be curriculum for undergraduate and graduate teaching space of various disciplines in the country.</p>
<h3>Participation Guidelines</h3>
<p>LOCATING INTERNETS is now accepting submissions from interested participants in the following format:</p>
<ol><li>Name:</li><li>Institutional affiliation and title:</li><li>Address:</li><li>Email address:</li><li>Phone number:</li><li>A brief resume of work experience (max. 350 words)</li><li>Statement of interest (max. 350 words)</li><li>Key concerns you want to address in the Internet and Society field (max. 350 words)</li><li>Identification with one Knowledge-cluster of the workshop and a proposal for integrating it in your research/teaching practice (max. 500 words)</li><li>Current interface with technologies in your pedagogic practices (max. 350 words)</li><li>Additional information or relevant hyperlinks you might want to add (Max. 10 lines)<br /></li></ol>
<pre>Notes:</pre>
<ul><li>Submissions will be accepted only from participants in India, as attachments in .doc, .docx or .odt formats at <a class="external-link" href="mailto:locatinginternets@cis-india.org">locatingInternets@cis-india.org</a></li><li>Submissions made beyond 26th July 2011 may not be considered for participation. <br /></li><li>Submissions will be scrutinized by the organisers and selected participants will be informed by the 30th July 2011, about their participation.</li><li>Selected participants will be required to make their own travel arrangements to the workshop. A 2nd A.C. train return fare will be reimbursed to the participants. Shared accommodation and selected meals will be provided at the workshop.</li><li>A limited number of air-fare reimbursements will be available to participants in extraordinary circumstances. All travel support is only available for domestic travel in the country.<br /></li></ul>
<p><strong>Chairs</strong>: Nishant Shah, Director-Research, Centre for Internet and Society Bangalore;</p>
<p>Pratyush Shankar, Associate Professor & Head of Undergraduate Program, Faculty of Architecture, CEPT University</p>
<p><strong>Supported by</strong>: Kusuma Foundation, Hyderabad</p>
<p><strong>Experts</strong>:Anja Kovacs, Arun Menon, Asha Achuthan, Ashish Rajadhykasha, Aparna Balachandran, Namita Malhotra, Nithin Manayath, Nithya Vasudevan, Pratyush Shankar, Rochelle Pinto and Zainab Bawa</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/research/conferences/conference-blogs/workshop'>https://cis-india.org/research/conferences/conference-blogs/workshop</a>
</p>
No publisherpraskrishnaDevelopmentGamingDigital ActivismDigital GovernanceResearchCISRAWFeaturedCyberculturesarchivesNew PedagogiesWorkshopIT Cities2011-07-21T06:00:39ZBlog EntryLocating Constructs of Privacy within Classical Hindu Law
https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/loading-constructs-of-privacy-within-classical-hindu-law
<b>This white paper seeks to locate privacy in Classical Hindu Law, and by doing so, displace the notion that privacy is an inherently ‘Western’ concept that is the product of a modernist legal system. </b>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">Introduction: Conceptions of Privacy</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Because of the variance exhibited by the various legal, social, and cultural aspects of privacy, it cannot be easily defined. <a name="_ftnref1"></a> As a legal concept, privacy may form a constitutional claim, a statutory entitlement, a tortious action or an equitable remedy. As a constitutional claim, privacy is either an explicitly recognised right<a name="_ftnref2"></a> that is capable of independent enforcement,<a name="_ftnref3"></a> read into a pre-existing right <a name="_ftnref4"></a>, or located within the penumbra of a larger right.<a name="_ftnref5"></a> Statutory recognition of privacy may be afforded by both criminal and civil statutes. The offence of criminal defamation for instance, is perceived as an act of violating an individual's privacy by tarnishing his or her reputation.<a name="_ftnref6"></a> Similarly the provision of in camera trials for divorce proceedings is an illustration of a civil statute implicitly recognising privacy. <a name="_ftnref7"></a> As a tortious claim the notion of privacy is commonly understood in terms of the right against trespass of property. Equity, co-terminus with a statutory mandate or in isolation, may also be a source of privacy.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Most legal conceptions of privacy in everyday use in India originated from the English common law. Other constitutional and statutory constructions of privacy, even when not found in the common law, arise within a broader modernist system of law and justice that originated in Europe.<a name="_ftnref8"></a> During the European colonisation of India, the British (and, in a different manner, the French <a name="_ftnref9"></a>) attempted to recreate the common law in India through the establishment of a new legal and courts system, and the wholesale importation of the European idea of law<a name="_ftnref10"></a>. The very notion of privacy, as well as its legal conception, is a product of this legal modernity.<a name="_ftnref11"></a> In post-colonial societies, the argument against the right to privacy is usually premised on its perceived alien-ness - as a foreign idea brought by colonisers and imposed on a traditionalist society that favoured communitarian living over individual rights - in an effort to discredit it.<a name="_ftnref12"></a></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The fallacy of this argument lies in its ignorance of the cultural plurality of privacy.<a name="_ftnref13"></a> To begin with, the idea that is connoted by the modernist notion of privacy pre-dated the introduction of common law in India. By the time of the Enlightenment, Hindu law and Islamic law were established legal systems with rich histories of jurisprudence and diverse schools of law within them, each with their own juristic techniques and rules of interpretation.<a name="_ftnref14"></a> While neither Hindu law nor Islamic law use a term that readily translates to "privacy", thereby precluding a neat transposition of meanings between them, the notion of privacy existed and can be located in both the legal traditions. In this paper, the term 'privacy' is used to describe both the modernist notion that arises from the principle of personal autonomy as well as the diverse pre-modern concepts in Hindu and Islamic jurisprudence that resemble or relate to this notion. These pre-modern concepts are diverse, and do not permit an easy analysis. For instance, the <i>Manusmriti,</i> which is a source of classical Hindu law, prohibits bathing in tanks that belong to other men.<a name="_ftnref15"></a> Additionally it prohibits the use of wells, gardens, carriages, beds, seats and houses without the owner's permission.<a name="_ftnref16"></a> These prohibitions are not driven by the imperatives of privacy alone. The rationale is that in using others' belongings one appropriates a portion of their sins.<a name="_ftnref17"></a> Hence, these privacy protections are linked to an ideal of purity. Islamic law also restricts the use or misappropriation of another's property. <a name="_ftnref18"></a> However, this prohibition is designed to protect private property; it has no ideological link to purity.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">This paper attempts to locate constructs of privacy in classical Hindu law. The purpose of this exercise is not to privilege one legal system over another. Therefore, we do not intend to normatively assess the existing modernist discourse on privacy. We simply seek to establish the existence of alternate notions of privacy that pre-date modernity and the common law.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The scope of the paper is confined to locating privacy in classical Hindu law. The materials within the realm of classical Hindu law, relevant to this exercise are- the <i>sruti</i>, <i>smriti</i>, and <i>acara</i>. <i>Sruti</i> comprises of the <i>Vedas, Brahmanas, Aranyakas and the Upanishads.</i> It is considered to symbolise the spirit of Hindu law and is not the source of any positivist command as such.<a name="_ftnref19"></a> <i>Smriti</i> involves various interpretations of the <i>sruti</i>, We have however restricted ourselves to the <i>Dharmashastras </i>in this realm. Acara refers to the body of customary practices.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The review of the material at hand however, is not exhaustive. The reasons for this are twofold- <i>first</i>, given the vast expanse of Hindu jurisprudence, the literature review has been limited; <i>second, </i>there is a limited availability of reliable English translations of ancient legal treatises.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">This paper is divided into two parts. The first part of this paper deals with the interface of colonisation with Hindu law and elucidates the nature of Hindu law. With the advent of colonialism, classical Hindu law was gradually substituted by a modernist legal system. <a name="_ftnref20"></a> Exploring the characteristics of modernity, the factors that contributed to the displacement of classical Hindu law will be identified.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">One of the factors that contributed to the displacement was the uncertainty that characterised classical Hindu law. <a name="_ftnref21"></a> Classical Hindu law was an amalgamation of three sources, as. In an attempt to rule out the uncertainty, and the lack of positive command, the modernisation of Hindu law was brought about.<a name="_ftnref22"></a> Accordingly this part shall also examine the nature of Hindu law. Furthermore it shall determine whether the application of codified modern Hindu law, is informed by the precepts of classical Hindu law.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Having explicated the nature of Hindu law, the next part will focus on identifying instances of privacy in classical Hindu law.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Before ascertaining specific instances, however, this part will lay down a general understanding of privacy as it existed then. It will be demonstrated that regardless of the absence of an equivalent term, an expectation of privacy existed.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The specific illustrations of privacy will then be mapped out.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Given the different aspects wherein an expectation of privacy exists, there is also a possibility of competing claims. In the event that such conflicts arise, this part will attempt to resolve the same.</p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">Part 1: The Transmogrification of the Nature of Hindu Law</h3>
<p> </p>
<p>The evolution of Hindu jurisprudence can be charted through three phases- classical, colonial, and modern.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">In the classical phase, it was embodied by the Dharmashastra which elaborated on customary practices, legal procedure, as well as punitive measures. The Dharamshastra was accompanied by the Vedas, and acara. Whether this body of jurisprudence could be called 'law' in the strict modernist sense of the term is debatable.<a name="_ftnref23"></a></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Modernity has multifarious aspects.<a name="_ftnref24"></a> However, we are concerned with modernity in the context of legal systems, for the purpose of this paper. The defining attribute of a modernist legal system is the need for positivist precepts that are codified by a legislature.<a name="_ftnref25"></a> The underlying rationale for formalised legislation is the need for certainty in law.<a name="_ftnref26"></a> Law is to be uniformly applied within the territory.<a name="_ftnref27"></a> The formalised legislation is to be enforced by hierarchized courts.<a name="_ftnref28"></a> Furthermore this codified law can be modified through provisions for amendment, if need be. <a name="_ftnref29"></a></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">This modernist understanding is what informs the English common law. With the advent of colonialism, common law was imported to India. The modernist legal system was confronted by plural indigenous legal systems here that were starkly different in nature.<a name="_ftnref30"></a> In the given context, the relevant indigenous system is classical Hindu law. The classical precepts were interpreted by the British. These interpretations coupled with the sources of Classical Hindu law, constituted colonial Hindu law.<a name="_ftnref31"></a></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">It is pertinent to note that these interpretations were undertaken through a modernist lens. The implication was the attempted modernisation of a traditional legal system.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The traditional system of Classical Hindu law did not exhibit any of the introduced features. To begin with not all of classical Hindu law was text based. <a name="_ftnref32"></a> The problem with the textual treatises was threefold. First, they were not codes enacted by a legislature, but written by various scholars. Second, they were not phrased as positivist precepts. Third, their multiplicity was accompanied with the lack of an established hierarchy between these texts.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Additionally classical Hindu law was the embodiment of <i>dharma</i>, which in itself was an amorphous concept. The constitutive elements of<i>dharma</i> were law, religious rites, duties and obligations of members of a community, as well as morality.<a name="_ftnref33"></a> These elements do not however, exhaustively define <i>dharma</i>. There exist varying definitions of <i>dharma</i>,<a name="_ftnref34"></a> and in some cases even ancient texts dealing with <i>dharma</i> fail to articulate its definition.<a name="_ftnref35"></a> This is on account of the fact that the meaning of <i>dharma</i>, varied depending on the in which it is used<a name="_ftnref36"></a> Owing to the fact that classical Hindu jurisprudence was informed by <i>dharma, </i>the former was an amalgamation of law, religion and morality. Therefore it was categorised as jurisprudence that lacked the secularity exhibited by modern positivist law.<a name="_ftnref37"></a></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The co-existence of law and morality in classical Hindu law has led to various debates regarding its nature. <a name="_ftnref38"></a> Before explicating the nature of classical Hindu law, its sources must be elaborated on. As referred to, the sources are <i>sruti</i>, <i>smriti</i>,<i> </i>and<i> acara</i>.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Sruti is constituted by the <i>Vedas</i>,<i> Brahmanas</i>,<i> Aranyakas</i>,<i> </i>and<i> Upanishads</i>. Vedas are divine revelations that contain no positive precept <i>per se</i>. They are considered as the spirit of law, and believed to be the source of the rules of dharma.<a name="_ftnref39"></a> The Vedas are constituted by the Rigveda, Samveda, Yajurveda and Athravaveda.<a name="_ftnref40"></a> Based on the Vedic texts, treatises have been written elucidating religious practices. <a name="_ftnref41"></a> These texts are known as the Brahmanas.<a name="_ftnref42"></a> The Aranyakas and the Upanishads engage in philosophical enquiries of the revelation in the Vedas.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Interpretations of the Sruti by various scholars are embodied in the Smriti. The connotations of smriti are twofold. <a name="_ftnref43"></a> First, it implies knowledge transmitted through memory, as opposed to knowledge directly revealed by divinity.<a name="_ftnref44"></a> Additionally, it is the term used to collectively reference the Dharmasutras and Dharmashastra.<a name="_ftnref45"></a></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Dharmasutras were essentially interpretations of revelation in only prose form, or a mixture of prose and verse. <a name="_ftnref46"></a> They detailed the duties and rituals to be carried out by a person, through the four stages, of his or her life. The duties laid down also varied depending on the caste of a person.<a name="_ftnref47"></a> They also laid down guidelines for determining punishments.<a name="_ftnref48"></a></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Dharmasastras on the other hand were in the verse form. Though their subject matter coincided with the Dharmasutra in terms of domestic duties and rituals, they had a wider ambit. The Dharmasastras also dealt with subjects such as statecraft, legal procedure for adjudicating disputes. In a limited way, they marked the diversification from strictly religious precepts, from those that were legal in nature. For instance the Manusmriti was an amalgamation of law and ritual. The Yajnawalkya Samhita however, has separate parts that deal with customary practices, legal procedure, and punitive measures. The Narada Smriti, in turn deals only with legal procedure and rules of adjudication.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">It is opined that in due course of time, the Aryan civilisation diversified.<a name="_ftnref49"></a> Their life and literature were no longer limited to sacrificial practices, but took on a more 'secular' form.<a name="_ftnref50"></a> The Arthashastra is evidence of such diversification.<a name="_ftnref51"></a> Unlike the Dharmashastra, it deals with strategies to be employed in governance, regulations with regard to urban planning, commercialisation of surrogacy, espionage, among other things. <a name="_ftnref52"></a></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The third source of classical Hindu law, acara refers to customary practices and their authoritativeness was determined by the people.<a name="_ftnref53"></a> Their prevalence over textual tradition is contentious. <a name="_ftnref54"></a> Some opine that acara prevails over textual traditions. However, the opposing school of thought believes that customary practices prevail only if the text is unclear or disputed.<a name="_ftnref55"></a></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Other sources of classical Hindu law include the <i>itihas </i>(epics such as the Mahabharata and Ramayana), and digests written by scholars.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Given the diversity of sources and its non-conformity to positivism, the nature of classical Hindu law is a heavily contested issue. For instance, with regard to the legal procedure in the Dharmashastra, Maynes opines that these rules qualified as law in the modernist sense.<a name="_ftnref56"></a> Ludo Rocher however, opines that textual treatises would not qualify as law. <a name="_ftnref57"></a> Classical Hindu law can admittedly not be identified as strictly legal or strictly moral. However, it does in a limited way recognise the distinction between legal procedure and morality.<a name="_ftnref58"></a> This is to say, it is not merely a source of rituals, but also lays down precepts that are jurisprudentially relevant.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">On account of its non-conformity with characteristics of a modernist legal system, classical Hindu law was displaced by its colonial version. The British attempted to accomplish this though the process of codification.<a name="_ftnref59"></a> The colonial attempts to codify Hindu law were carried forward by the Indian government post-independence. The result was the Hindu Code Bill. The context in which this codification took place must be examined in order to better comprehend this transmogrification. Post-independence, the idea of a Uniform Civil Code had been debated.<a name="_ftnref60"></a> However it was at odds with the Nehruvian notion of secularity. <a name="_ftnref61"></a> The codification of Hindu personal law was an attempt at modernising it, without infringing on the religious freedom of Hindus.<a name="_ftnref62"></a> The idea was to confine the influence of religion to the private sphere. <a name="_ftnref63"></a> What emerged was the Hindu Code Bill, which served as the blueprint for the Hindu Marriage Act, the Hindu Succession Act, the Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act and, the Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act. <a name="_ftnref64"></a> Colonial Hindu law was thus displaced by modern Hindu law.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">As Galanter observes however, modernisation through legislations may formalise or even modify classical precepts, but cannot erase them completely. <a name="_ftnref65"></a> For instance, Section 7 of the Hindu Marriage Act, which prescribes the ceremonial requirements for a Hindu marriage, replicates those prescribed in Classical Hindu law.<a name="_ftnref66"></a> Additionally a plethora of judicial decisions have relied on or taken into consideration, precepts of ancient Hindu jurisprudence.<a name="_ftnref67"></a></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">It is evident thus that ancient precepts still inform modern Hindu law. Given their relevance, it would be erroneous to write off classical Hindu law as completely irrelevant in a modernist context.</p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">Part II: Precepts of Privacy in Classical Hindu Law</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">As referred to, we have not come across a terminological equivalent of the term 'privacy' in the course of our research. The linguistic lacuna is admittedly a hurdle in articulating the pre-modern understanding of privacy as found in Hindu jurisprudence. It is not however, an argument against the very existence of privacy. The lack of pre-modern terminology necessitates the usage of modern terms in classifying the aspects of privacy detailed in Hindu jurisprudence.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Thus, broadly speaking, the aspects of privacy we have culled out from the material at hand are those of physical space/ property, thought, bodily integrity, information, communication, and identity. As will be demonstrated these aspects overlap on occasion and are by no means an exhaustive indication. In order to contextualise these aspects within the realm of Hindu jurisprudence, they are detailed below through specific illustrations.</p>
<p align="left"><i>A. </i> <i>Privacy of physical Space/ property</i></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Akin to the modern legal system that first understood privacy in proprietary terms,<a name="_ftnref68"></a> Hindu jurisprudence too accorded importance to privacy in terms of physical space. This is further illustrated by the similarity between the common law notion of a man's house being his castle,<a name="_ftnref69"></a> and the institutional primacy accorded by the Naradsmriti to the household <a name="_ftnref70"></a>. The common denominator here is the recognition of a claim to privacy against the sovereign. This claim operated against society at large as well. For instance, an individual caught trespassing on someone else's property was liable to be fined. <a name="_ftnref71"></a></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">These religious precepts were supplemented by those reflected in texts such as the Arthashastra. By way of illustration the house building regulations prescribed by it are largely informed by the recognition of a need for privacy. To begin with, a person's house should be built at a suitable distance from a neighbour's house, to prevent any inconvenience.<a name="_ftnref72"></a> In addition the house's doors and windows should ideally not face a neighbours doors and windows directly.<a name="_ftnref73"></a> The occupants of the house should ensure the doors and windows are suitably covered.<a name="_ftnref74"></a> Furthermore in the absence of a compelling justification, interference in a neighbour's affairs is penalised.<a name="_ftnref75"></a>Juxtaposed to religious texts that often perceived privacy as a concept driven by the imperative of purity,<a name="_ftnref76"></a> the Arthashastra is reflective of a secular connotation of privacy.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Though the household was privileged as the foundational institution in Hindu jurisprudence, claims of privacy extend beyond one's house to other physical objects as well, regardless of whether they were extensions of the household or not. For instance, both the Yajnawalkya Samhita and the Manusmriti condemn the usage of another person's property without his or her permission.<a name="_ftnref77"></a></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">What is noteworthy in the context of personal property is that in an era infamous for the denigration of women, Hindu jurisprudence recognised a woman's claim over property. This property, also known as Stridhana, had varied definitions. In the Yajnawalkya Samhita for instance, it is conceptualised as, "What has been given to a woman by the father, the mother, the husband or a brother, or received by her at the nuptial fire, or given to her on her husband's marriage with another wife, is denominated Stridhana or a woman's property".<a name="_ftnref78"></a> In the Manusmriti, it is defined as "What was given before the nuptial fire, what was given on the bridal procession, what was given in token of love, and what was received from her brother, mother, or father, that is called the sixfold property of a woman".<a name="_ftnref79"></a></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Beyond mere cognizance of proprietary rights however, these precepts were also informed by the notion of exclusivity. Consequently, a woman's husband or his family were precluded from using her Stridhana, unless they were in dire straits. Additionally it was a sin for a woman's relatives to use her wealth even if the same was done unknowingly.<a name="_ftnref80"></a></p>
<p><i>B. </i> <i>Privacy of Thought</i></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">In addition to the aspect of physical space, a claim to privacy vis-a-vis the intangible realm of thought was afforded by Hindu jurisprudence. In the modern context the link between solitude and privacy has been recognised as early as 1850 by Warren and Brandeis. <a name="_ftnref81"></a> The key distinction is that in the modern era this need for solitude was seen as a function of the increasing invasion of privacy.<a name="_ftnref82"></a> In the pre-modern era however, solitude was considered essential for self-actualisation, and not as a response to the increasing invasion of the private realm. Meditation in solitude was perceived as enabling existence in the highest state of being.<a name="_ftnref83"></a> In fact a life in solitude was identified as a pre-requisite for being liberated.<a name="_ftnref84"></a></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Though solitude itself is intangible, engaging in meditation would require a tangible solitary space.<a name="_ftnref85"></a> This is where the privacy of thought overlapped with the aspect of privacy of space. Accordingly, the Arthashastra prescribed that forest areas be set aside for meditation and introspection.<a name="_ftnref86"></a> It also recognised the need for ascetics to live within these spaces harmoniously, without disturbing each other.<a name="_ftnref87"></a></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">It is evident, that as far as the aspects of privacy were concerned, there were no watertight compartments.</p>
<p><i>C. </i> <i>Privacy with respect to bodily integrity</i></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">A claim to privacy of thought can only be substantively realised when complemented by the notion of privacy with respect to bodily integrity, as corporeal existence serves as a precursor to mental well-being. The inference drawn from the relevant precepts concerning this aspect is that they were largely women-centric. Arguably they were governed by a misplaced patriarchal notion that women's modesty needed to be protected. At best they could be considered as implicit references to an expectation of privacy.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The Manusmriti states, "But she who…goes to public spectacles or assemblies, shall be fined six krishnalas". <a name="_ftnref88"></a> Restrictions operating during a woman's menstruation were twofold. Her family was prohibited from seeing her. Additionally cohabitation with such a woman was also forbidden.<a name="_ftnref89"></a> It should be pointed out that that these constructs had little to do with a woman's expectation of privacy. They were forbidden due to the attached implications of impurity that would vest in the defaulter. A woman's autonomy with regard to her body was not regarded as a factor meriting consideration.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">However, there were constructs, albeit limited, which were more egalitarian in their approach and did recognise her autonomy. They established that women do have an expectation of privacy in terms of bodily integrity. Sexual assault was considered as an offence. <a name="_ftnref90"></a> Evidence of this is found in the Yajnawalkya Samhita which states, "If many persons know a woman against her will, each of them should be made to pay a fine of twenty four panas".<a name="_ftnref91"></a> In addition, the Arthashastra vested in commercial sex workers the right to not be held against their will.<a name="_ftnref92"></a> Further it expressly states that even a commercial sex worker cannot be forced to engage in sexual intercourse.<a name="_ftnref93"></a></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Women could make a claim to privacy not only against society at large, but also against their husbands. Ironically, while our contemporary legal system (i.e., the Indian legal system) fails to criminalise marital rape, the <i>Manusmriti</i> considered it an offence. <a name="_ftnref94"></a> Additionally, husbands were also prohibited from looking at their wives when the latter were in a state of relaxation.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><i>D. </i> <i>Privacy of Information and Communication</i></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">While the three aspects explicated above were by and large restricted to the individual, the privacy of information and communication has been largely confined by Hindu jurisprudence to the realm of the sovereign. Both the Manusmriti and the Arthashastra acknowledge the importance of a secret council that aids the king in deliberations.<a name="_ftnref95"></a> These deliberations are to be carried on in a solitary place that was well-guarded.<a name="_ftnref96"></a> The decisions made in these deliberations are to be revealed on a need to know basis. <a name="_ftnref97"></a> That is to say, only persons concerned with the implementation of these decisions are to be informed. The Manusmriti also provides for private deliberation by the king on matters not involving governance. It provides, "At midday or midnight , when his mental and bodily fatigues are over, let him deliberate, either with himself alone or with his ministers on virtue, pleasure, and wealth".</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Apart from governance, privacy of information also pertained to certain types of documents that were considered private in nature. These are documents that involve transactions such as partition, giving of a gift, purchase, pledge and debt. What is interesting about this precept is the resemblance it bears to the common law notion of privity. The common characteristic of the documents referred to, is that they concerned transactions undertaken between two or more persons. The rights or obligations arising from these transactions were confined to the signatories of these documents. It could be possible that the privatisation of these documents was aimed at guarding against disruption of transactions via third party intrusions.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The limited reference to private communications is found within the realm of governance, within the context of privacy of information. The only illustration of this that we have come across is the precept in the Arthashastra that requires intelligence to be communicated in code. <a name="_ftnref98"></a></p>
<p><i>E. </i> <i>Privacy of Identity </i></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The final aspect that warrants detailing is the privacy of identity. The notion of privacy of identity can be understood in two ways. The first deals with protection of personal information that could be traced back to someone, thus revealing his or her identity. The second recognises the component of reputation. It seeks to prevent the misappropriation or maligning of a person's identity and thus reputation. In ancient Hindu jurisprudence there is evidence of recognition of the latter. An illustration of the same is offered by the precept which states "For making known the real defects of a maiden, one should pay a fine of a hundred panas".<a name="_ftnref99"></a> Another precept prescribes that false accusations against anyone in general are punishable by a fine. Additionally, there is also a restriction operating against destroying or robbing a person of his or her virtue.<a name="_ftnref100"></a> In the modern context, the above would be understood under the rubric of defamation. These precepts are indicative of the fact that defamation was recognised as an offence way before the modern legal system afforded cognizance to the same.</p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">Conclusion</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The dominant narrative surrounding the privacy debate in India is that of the alien-ness of privacy. This paper has attempted to displace the notion that privacy is an inherently 'Western' concept that is the product of a modernist legal system. No doubt the common understanding of the legal conception of privacy is informed by modernity. In fact, the research conducted in support of this paper has been synthesised from privacy information through a modernist lens. The fact still remains however, that privacy is an amorphous context, and its conceptions vary across cultures.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">To better appreciate the relevance of Classical Hindu law in a modernist context, the nature of Hindu law must be examined first. While Hindu jurisprudence might not qualify as law in the positivist sense of the term, its precepts continue to inform India's statues and judicial pronouncements.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Privacy is subjective and eludes a straitjacketed definition. On occasion this elusiveness is a function of its overlapping and varying aspects. At other times it stems from a terminological lacuna that complicates the explication of privacy. These impediments notwithstanding, it is abundantly clear that the essence of privacy is reflected in Hindu culture and jurisprudence. This may give pause to thought to those who seek to argue that 'collectivist' cultures do not value privacy or exhibit the need for it.</p>
<div></div>
<div>
<hr />
<div id="ftn1">
<p><a name="_ftn1"></a> Daniel J. Solove, <i>A Taxonomy of Privacy</i>, University of Pennsylvania Law Review, Vol. 154(3), January 2006.</p>
</div>
<div id="ftn2">
<p><a name="_ftn2"></a> <i>Id.</i></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn3">
<p style="text-align: justify; "><a name="_ftn3"></a> Upendra Baxi, <i>Who Bothers About the Supreme Court: The Problem of Impact of Judicial Decisions</i>, available at http://clpr.org.in/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/whobothersabouttheSupremeCourt.pdf (Last visited on December 23, 2014) (The enforceability of rights often sets their individual enjoyment apart from their jurisprudential value); In India, the reading of privacy into Article 21 has not resulted in a mechanism to enforce a standalone right to privacy, See R.H. Clark, Constitutional Sources of the Penumbral Right to Privacy, available at http://digitalcommons.law.villanova.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2046&context=vlr (Last visited on December 23, 2014) (In the United States, the right to privacy was located in the penumbra of the right to personal autonomy).</p>
</div>
<div id="ftn4">
<p><a name="_ftn4"></a> See PUCL v. Union of India, AIR 1997 SC 568.</p>
</div>
<div id="ftn5">
<p><a name="_ftn5"></a> See Griswold v. Connecticut, 381 U.S. 479 (1965); Lawrence v. Texas, 539 U.S. 558 (2003).</p>
</div>
<div id="ftn6">
<p><a name="_ftn6"></a> See The Indian Penal Code, 1850, Section 499.</p>
</div>
<div id="ftn7">
<p><a name="_ftn7"></a> See The Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 Section 22; The Special Marriage Act, 1954, Section 33.</p>
</div>
<div id="ftn8">
<p style="text-align: justify; "><a name="_ftn8"></a> Bhairav Acharya & Vidushi Marda, <i>Identifying Aspects of Privacy in Islamic Law</i>, available at http://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/identifying-aspects-of-privacy-in-islamic-law (Last visited on December 23, 2014).</p>
</div>
<div id="ftn9">
<p><a name="_ftn9"></a> See Robert Lingat, The Classical Law of India (1973).</p>
</div>
<div id="ftn10">
<p style="text-align: justify; "><a name="_ftn10"></a> Donald R. Davis, Jr., The Spirit of Hindu Law (2010) (This importation must be viewed against the backdrop of the characteristics of the era of Enlightenment wherein primacy was accorded to secular reason and the positivist conception of law. Davis observes "One cannot deny the increasing global acceptance of a once parochial notion of law as rules backed by sanctions enforced by the state. This very modern, very European notion of law is not natural, not a given; it was produced at a specific moment in history and promulgated systematically and often forcibly through the institutions of what we now call the nation-state, especially those nations that were also colonial powers.)"; But see Alan Gledhill, <i>The Influence of Common Law and Equity on Hindu Law Since 1800</i>, available at http://www.jstor.org/stable/755588 (Last visited on December 23, 2014); Werner Menski, <i>Sanskrit Law: Excavating Vedic Legal Pluralism</i>, available at http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1621384 (Last visited on December 23, 2014) (However, this replacement of traditional legal systems did not extend to personal laws. Personal laws in India continue to be community-based, sometimes un-codified, draw from a diverse set of simultaneously applicable sources and traditional schools of jurisprudence.).</p>
</div>
<div id="ftn11">
<p><a name="_ftn11"></a> <i>Supra </i> note 8, Acharya & Marda.</p>
</div>
<div id="ftn12">
<p style="text-align: justify; "><a name="_ftn12"></a> Privacy International, <i>A New Dawn: Privacy in Asia</i>, available at https://www.privacyinternational.org/reports/a-new-dawn-privacy-in-asia/background (Last visited on December 28, 2013) ("It is only recently that the debate around privacy was stuck in this "collectivist" vs. "individualistic" cultural discourse…we discovered that privacy concerns and the need for safeguards were often embedded deeply in a nation, and <i>not just as a response to a modern phenomenon.</i>").</p>
</div>
<div id="ftn13">
<p style="text-align: justify; "><a name="_ftn13"></a> Privacy International, <i>A New Dawn: Privacy in Asia</i>, available at https://www.privacyinternational.org/reports/a-new-dawn-privacy-in-asia/background (Last visited on December 28, 2013)</p>
</div>
<div id="ftn14">
<p style="text-align: justify; "><a name="_ftn14"></a> J. Duncan M. Derrett, <i>The Administration of Hindu Law by the British</i>, available at http://www.jstor.org/stable/177940 (Last visited on December 23, 2014).</p>
</div>
<div id="ftn15">
<p><a name="_ftn15"></a> Manusmriti, Chapter IV, 201.</p>
</div>
<div id="ftn16">
<p><a name="_ftn16"></a> Manusmriti, Chapter IV, 202.</p>
</div>
<div id="ftn17">
<p><a name="_ftn17"></a> <i>Id.</i></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn18">
<p><a name="_ftn18"></a> Wael B. Hallaq, An Introduction to Islamic Law 31 (2009).</p>
</div>
<div id="ftn19">
<p><a name="_ftn19"></a> Donald R. Davis, Jr., The Spirit of Hindu Law (2010).</p>
</div>
<div id="ftn20">
<p style="text-align: justify; "><a name="_ftn20"></a> Marc Galanter, <i>The Displacement of Traditional Law in Modern India</i>, Journal of Social Issues, Vol. XXIV, No. 4, 1968.</p>
</div>
<div id="ftn21">
<p><a name="_ftn21"></a> <i>Id.</i></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn22">
<p><a name="_ftn22"></a> <i>Supra</i> note 20, Galanter.</p>
</div>
<div id="ftn23">
<p><a name="_ftn23"></a> <i>Supra </i> note 10, Menski.</p>
</div>
<div id="ftn24">
<p><a name="_ftn24"></a> Werner Menski, Hindu Law: Beyond Tradition and Modernity (2003).</p>
</div>
<div id="ftn25">
<p><a name="_ftn25"></a> <i>Id.</i></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn26">
<p><a name="_ftn26"></a> Ashcroft as cited in Werner Menski, Hindu Law: Beyond Tradition and Modernity (2003).</p>
</div>
<div id="ftn27">
<p><a name="_ftn27"></a> <i>Supra</i> note 20, Galanter.</p>
</div>
<div id="ftn28">
<p><a name="_ftn28"></a> <i>Id.</i></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn29">
<p><a name="_ftn29"></a> <i>Id.</i></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn30">
<p><a name="_ftn30"></a> <i>Id</i> .</p>
</div>
<div id="ftn31">
<p><a name="_ftn31"></a> <i>Id</i> .</p>
</div>
<div id="ftn32">
<p><a name="_ftn32"></a> <i>Id</i> .</p>
</div>
<div id="ftn33">
<p><a name="_ftn33"></a> <i>Supra</i> note 19, Davis.</p>
</div>
<div id="ftn34">
<p><a name="_ftn34"></a> <i>Id.</i></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn35">
<p><a name="_ftn35"></a> <i>Id.</i></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn36">
<p><a name="_ftn36"></a> <i>Id</i> .</p>
</div>
<div id="ftn37">
<p><a name="_ftn37"></a> <i>Id</i> .</p>
</div>
<div id="ftn38">
<p><a name="_ftn38"></a> J. Duncan M. Derrett, Introduction to Modern Hindu Law (1963); <i>Supra</i> note 19, Davis.</p>
</div>
<div id="ftn39">
<p><a name="_ftn39"></a> <i>Supra</i> note 9, Lingat.</p>
</div>
<div id="ftn40">
<p><a name="_ftn40"></a> <i>Id.</i></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn41">
<p><a name="_ftn41"></a> <i>Id.</i></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn42">
<p><a name="_ftn42"></a> <i>Id.</i></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn43">
<p><a name="_ftn43"></a> <i>Id.</i></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn44">
<p><a name="_ftn44"></a> <i>Id.</i></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn45">
<p><a name="_ftn45"></a> <i>Id.</i></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn46">
<p><a name="_ftn46"></a> <i>Id.</i></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn47">
<p><a name="_ftn47"></a> <i>Id.</i></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn48">
<p><a name="_ftn48"></a> <i>Id.</i></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn49">
<p><a name="_ftn49"></a> John D. Mayne, Hindu Law (1875).</p>
</div>
<div id="ftn50">
<p><a name="_ftn50"></a> <i>Id.</i></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn51">
<p><a name="_ftn51"></a> <i>Supra </i> note 49, Mayne.</p>
</div>
<div id="ftn52">
<p><a name="_ftn52"></a> <i>Id.</i></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn53">
<p><a name="_ftn53"></a> <i>Supra </i> note 19, Davis.</p>
</div>
<div id="ftn54">
<p><a name="_ftn54"></a> <i>Id.</i></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn55">
<p><a name="_ftn55"></a> <i>Id.</i></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn56">
<p><a name="_ftn56"></a> <i>Supra </i> note 49, Mayne.</p>
</div>
<div id="ftn57">
<p><a name="_ftn57"></a> Ludo Rocher, Studies in Hindu Law and Dharamasastra (2012).</p>
</div>
<div id="ftn58">
<p style="text-align: justify; "><a name="_ftn58"></a> For instance the Yajnawalkya Samhita has clear delineations in its chapters, segregating customary practices, legal procedure and punitive measures.</p>
</div>
<div id="ftn59">
<p style="text-align: justify; "><a name="_ftn59"></a> Madhu Kishwar, <i>Codified Hindu Law: Myth and Reality</i>, available at http://www.jstor.org/stable/4401625 (Last visited on December 23, 2014).</p>
</div>
<div id="ftn60">
<p><a name="_ftn60"></a> <i>Id</i> .</p>
</div>
<div id="ftn61">
<p><a name="_ftn61"></a> <i>Supra </i> note 59.</p>
</div>
<div id="ftn62">
<p><a name="_ftn62"></a> <i>Id.</i></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn63">
<p><a name="_ftn63"></a> <i>Id.</i></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn64">
<p><a name="_ftn64"></a> <i>Id.</i></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn65">
<p><a name="_ftn65"></a> <i>Supra</i> note 20, Galanter.</p>
</div>
<div id="ftn66">
<p><a name="_ftn66"></a> See The Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, Section 7.</p>
</div>
<div id="ftn67">
<p style="text-align: justify; "><a name="_ftn67"></a> Saroj Rani v. Sudarshan Kumar Chadda, AIR 1984 SC 1562 (reflected the importance accorded by classical Hindu law to marital stability); M Govindaraju v. K Munisami Goundu 1996 SCALE (6) 13(The Supreme Court looked to ancient Shudra custom to adjudicate on a matter of adoption); Rajkumar Patni v. Manorama Patni, II (2000) DMC 702 (The Madhya Pradesh High Court, relied on the definition of Stridhan by Manu.).</p>
</div>
<div id="ftn68">
<p><a name="_ftn68"></a> <i>Supra</i> note 8, Acharya & Marda.</p>
</div>
<div id="ftn69">
<p><a name="_ftn69"></a> Semayne v. Gresham, 77 Eng. Rep. 194, 195; 5 Co. Rep. 91, 195 (K.B. 1604).</p>
</div>
<div id="ftn70">
<p style="text-align: justify; "><a name="_ftn70"></a> As cited in Julius Jolly, The Minor Law Books 164 (1889), ("A householder's house and field are considered as the two fundamentals of his existence. Therefore let not the king upset either of them; for that is the root of the householders").</p>
</div>
<div id="ftn71">
<p style="text-align: justify; "><a name="_ftn71"></a> Manmath Nath Dutt, The Dharamshastra - Hindu Religious Codes, Volume 1, 103 (1978) (Yajnawalkya Samhita, Chapter II 235-236: "He…who opens the doors of a closed house [without the permission of the master]…should be punished with fifty panas. Such is the law.").</p>
</div>
<div id="ftn72">
<p style="text-align: justify; "><a name="_ftn72"></a> L.N. Rangarajan, Kautalya: The Arthashastra 371 (1992) ("O be built at a suitable distance from the neighbours property so as not to cause inconvenience to the neighbour").</p>
</div>
<div id="ftn73">
<p style="text-align: justify; "><a name="_ftn73"></a> <i>Id</i> ., ("…doors and windows shall be made so as not to cause annoyance by facing a neighbour's door or window directly").</p>
</div>
<div id="ftn74">
<p style="text-align: justify; "><a name="_ftn74"></a> <i>Supra </i> note 72, Rangarajan, ("when the house is occupied the doors and windows shall be suitably covered").</p>
</div>
<div id="ftn75">
<p><a name="_ftn75"></a> <i> Id.</i>, 376.</p>
</div>
<div id="ftn76">
<p><a name="_ftn76"></a> See Manusmriti, Chapter IV, 201-202.</p>
</div>
<div id="ftn77">
<p style="text-align: justify; "><a name="_ftn77"></a> <i>Supra </i> note 71, Dutt, 27 (Yajnawalkya Samhita, Chapter I , 160: "One should avoid the bed, seat, garden-house and the conveyance belonging to another person.").</p>
</div>
<div id="ftn78">
<p><a name="_ftn78"></a> <i>Supra </i> note 71, Dutt, 89 (Yajnawalkya Samhita, Chapter II, 146).</p>
</div>
<div id="ftn79">
<p><a name="_ftn79"></a> Manusmriti, Chapter IX, 194.</p>
</div>
<div id="ftn80">
<p><a name="_ftn80"></a> <i>Supra </i> note 71, Dutt Volume 2, 276 (Angiras Samhita, Chapter I, 71).</p>
</div>
<div id="ftn81">
<p><a name="_ftn81"></a> Samuel D. Warren & Louis D. Brandeis, <i>The Right to Privacy</i>, Harvard Law Review, Vol. IV, December 15, 1890, No.5.</p>
</div>
<div id="ftn82">
<p><a name="_ftn82"></a> <i>Id.</i></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn83">
<p style="text-align: justify; "><a name="_ftn83"></a> Manusmriti, Chapter IV, 258; <i>Supra </i>note 71, Dutt, 134 (Yajnawalkya Samhita Chapter III, 111: "Having withdrawn the mind, understanding, retentive faculty and the senses from all their objects, the soul, the lord…should be meditated upon.").</p>
</div>
<div id="ftn84">
<p><a name="_ftn84"></a> Manu Chapter VI, 44.</p>
</div>
<div id="ftn85">
<p style="text-align: justify; "><a name="_ftn85"></a> <i>Supra </i> note 71, Dutt, 186 (Harita Chapter VII, 6: "Situated in a solitary place with a concentrated mind, he should, till death mediate on the <i>atman</i>, that is situated both in the mind and the external world… ").</p>
</div>
<div id="ftn86">
<p><a name="_ftn86"></a> <i>Supra </i> note 72, Rangarajan, (Arthashastra, 2.2.2).</p>
</div>
<div id="ftn87">
<p><a name="_ftn87"></a> Supra note72, Rangarajan, (Arthashastra 3.16.33-36).</p>
</div>
<div id="ftn88">
<p><a name="_ftn88"></a> Manusmriti IX, 84</p>
</div>
<div id="ftn89">
<p><a name="_ftn89"></a> <i>Supra </i> note 71, Dutt, Volume 2, 350 (Samvarta Samhita,163).</p>
</div>
<div id="ftn90">
<p><a name="_ftn90"></a> <i>Supra</i> note 71, Dutt, Volume 1, 112 (Yajnawalkya Samhita, Chapter II, 291).</p>
</div>
<div id="ftn91">
<p><a name="_ftn91"></a> <i>Supra</i> note 71, Dutt, Volume 1, 113 (Yajnawalkya Samhita, Chapter II, 294).</p>
</div>
<div id="ftn92">
<p><a name="_ftn92"></a> <i>Supra </i> note 72, Ranjarajan (Arthashastra 2.27.14).</p>
</div>
<div id="ftn93">
<p><a name="_ftn93"></a> Supra note 72, Rangarajan (Arthashastra 4.13.38).</p>
</div>
<div id="ftn94">
<p><a name="_ftn94"></a> Manusmriti, X, 62</p>
</div>
<div id="ftn95">
<p><a name="_ftn95"></a> Manusmriti Part VII, <i>Supra </i>note 101, Rangarajan (Arthashastra 1.15.2-5, 1.15.13-17).</p>
</div>
<div id="ftn96">
<p style="text-align: justify; "><a name="_ftn96"></a> <i>Supra </i> note 72, Rangarajan (Arthashastra 1.15.2-5 : The scrutiny of governance related affairs was take place in a secluded and well-guarded spot, where it could not be overheard. No unauthorised person was allowed to approach these meetings.).</p>
</div>
<div id="ftn97">
<p style="text-align: justify; "><a name="_ftn97"></a> <i>Supra </i> note 72, Rangarajan (Arthashastra 1.15.13-17: "…Only those who have to implement it should know when the work is begun or when it has been completed.").</p>
</div>
<div id="ftn98">
<p><a name="_ftn98"></a> <i>Supra</i> note 72, Rangarajan.</p>
</div>
<div id="ftn99">
<p><a name="_ftn99"></a> <i>Supra</i> note 71, Dutt, Volume 1, 112 (Yajnawalkya Samhita, Chapter II, 292).</p>
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<div id="ftn100">
<p><a name="_ftn100"></a> <i>Supra </i> note 71, Dutt, Volume 4, 919 (Vishnu Samhita, Chapter LII, 16).</p>
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For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/loading-constructs-of-privacy-within-classical-hindu-law'>https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/loading-constructs-of-privacy-within-classical-hindu-law</a>
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No publisherAshna Ashesh and Bhairav AcharyaFeaturedHomepageInternet GovernancePrivacy2015-01-01T13:56:04ZBlog EntryList of Recommendations on the Aadhaar Bill, 2016 - Letter Submitted to the Members of Parliament
https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/list-of-recommendations-on-the-aadhaar-bill-2016
<b>On Friday, March 11, the Lok Sabha passed the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Bill, 2016. The Bill was introduced as a money bill and there was no public consultation to evaluate the provisions therein even though there are very serious ramifications for the Right to Privacy and the Right to Association and
Assembly. Based on these concerns, and numerous others, we submitted an initial list of recommendations to the Members of Parliaments to highlight the aspects of the Bill that require immediate attention.</b>
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<h4>Download the submission letter: <a href="https://github.com/cis-india/website/raw/master/docs/CIS_Aadhaar-Bill-2016_List-of-Recommendations_2016.03.16.pdf">PDF</a>.</h4>
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<h3>Text of the Submission</h3>
<p>On Friday, March 11, the Lok Sabha passed the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Bill, 2016. The Bill was introduced as a money bill and there was no public consultation to evaluate the provisions therein even though there are very serious ramifications for the Right to Privacy and the Right to Association and Assembly. The Bill has made it compulsory for all Indian to enroll for Aadhaar in order to receive any subsidy, benefit, or service from the Government whose expenditure is incurred from the Consolidate Fund of India. Apart from the issue of centralisation of the national biometric database leading to a deep national vulnerability, the Bill also keeps unaddressed two serious concerns regarding the technological framework concerned:</p>
<ul><li><strong>Identification without Consent:</strong> Before the Aadhaar project it was not possible for the Indian government or any private entity to identify citizens (and all residents) without their consent. But biometrics allow for non-consensual and covert identification and authentication. The only way to fix this is to change the technology configuration and architecture of the project. The law cannot be used to correct the problems in the technological design of the project.<br /><br /></li>
<li><strong>Fallible Technology:</strong> The Biometrics Standards Committee of UIDAI has acknowledged the lack of data on how a biometric authentication technology will scale up where the population is about 1.2 billion. The technology has been tested and found feasible only for a population of 200 million. Further, a report by 4G Identity Solutions estimates that while in any population, approximately 5% of the people have unreadable fingerprints, in India it could lead to a failure to enroll up to 15% of the population. For the current Indian population of 1.2 billion the expected proportion of duplicates is 1/121, a ratio which is far too high. <strong>[1]</strong></li></ul>
<p>Based on these concerns, and numerous others, we sincerely request you to ensure that the Bill is rigorously discussed in Rajya Sabha, in public, and, if needed, also by a Parliamentary Standing Committee, before considering its approval and implementation. Towards this, we humbly submit an initial list of recommendations to highlight the aspects of the Bill that require immediate attention:</p>
<ol><li><strong>Implement the Recommendations of the Shah and Sinha Committees:</strong> The report by the Group of Experts on Privacy chaired by the Former Chief Justice A P Shah <strong>[2]</strong> and the report by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance (2011-2012) chaired by Shri Yashwant Sinha <strong>[3]</strong> have suggested a rigorous and extensive range of recommendations on the Aadhaar / UIDAI / NIAI project and the National Identification Authority of India Bill, 2010 from which the majority sections of the Aadhaar Bill, 2016, are drawn. We request that these recommendations are seriously considered and incorporated into the Aadhaar Bill, 2016.<br /><br /></li>
<li><strong>Authentication using the Aadhaar number for receiving government subsidies, benefits, and services cannot be made mandatory:</strong> Section 7 of the Aadhaar Bill, 2016, states that authentication of the person using her/his Aadhaar number can be made mandatory for the purpose of disbursement of government subsidies, benefits, and services; and in case the person does not have an Aadhaar number, s/he will have to apply for Aadhaar enrolment. This sharply contradicts the claims made by UIDAI earlier that the Aadhaar number is “optional, and not mandatory”, and more importantly the directive given by the Supreme Court (via order dated August 11, 2015). The Bill must explicitly state that the Aadhaar number is only optional, and not mandatory, and a person without an Aadhaar number cannot be denied any democratic rights, and public subsidies, benefits, and services, and any private services.<br /><br /></li>
<li><strong>Vulnerabilities in the Enrolment Process:</strong> The Bill does not address already documented issues in the enrolment process. In the absence of an exhaustive list of information to be collected, some Registrars are permitted to collect extra and unnecessary information. Also, storage of data for elongated periods with Enrollment agencies creates security risks. These vulnerabilities need to be prevented through specific provisions. It should also be mandated for all entities including the Enrolment Agencies, Registrars, CIDR and the requesting entities to shift to secure system like PKI based cryptography to ensure secure method of data transfer.<br /><br /></li>
<li><strong>Precisely Define and Provide Legal Framework for Collection and Sharing of Biometric Data of Citizens:</strong> The Bill defines “biometric information” is defined to include within its scope “photograph, fingerprint, iris scan, or other such biological attributes of an individual.” This definition gives broad and sweeping discretionary power to the UIDAI / Central Government to increase the scope of the term. The definition should be exhaustive in its scope so that a legislative act is required to modify it in any way.<br /><br /></li>
<li><strong>Prohibit Central Storage of Biometrics Data:</strong> The presence of central storage of sensitive personal information of all residents in one place creates a grave security risk. Even with the most enhanced security measures in place, the quantum of damage in case of a breach is extremely high. Therefore, storage of biometrics must be allowed only on the smart cards that are issued to the residents.<br /><br /></li>
<li><strong>Chain of Trust Model and Audit Trail:</strong> As one of the objects of the legislation is to provide targeted services to beneficiaries and reduce corruption, there should be more accountability measures in place. A chain of trust model must be incorporated in the process of enrolment where individuals and organisations vouch for individuals so that when a ghost is introduced someone has can be held accountable blame is not placed simply on the technology. This is especially important in light of the questions already raised about the deduplication technology. Further, there should be a transparent audit trail made available that allows public access to use of Aadhaar for combating corruption in the supply chain.<br /><br /></li>
<li><strong>Rights of Residents:</strong> There should be specific provisions dealing with cases where an individual is not issued an Aadhaar number or denied access to benefits due to any other factor. Additionally, the Bill should make provisions for residents to access and correct information collected from them, to be notified of data breaches and legal access to information by the Government or its agencies, as matter of right. Further, along with the obligations in Section 8, it should also be mandatory for all requesting entities to notify the individuals of any changes in privacy policy, and providing a mechanism to opt-out.<br /><br /></li>
<li><strong>Establish Appropriate Oversight Mechanisms:</strong> Section 33 currently specifies a procedure for oversight by a committee, however, there are no substantive provisions laid down that shall act as the guiding principles for such oversight mechanisms. The provision should include data minimisation, and “necessity and proportionality” principles as guiding principles for any exceptions to Section 29.<br /><br /></li>
<li><strong>Establish Grievance Redressal and Review Mechanisms:</strong> Currently, there are no grievance redressal mechanism created under the Bill. The power to set up such a mechanism is delegated to the UIDAI under Section 23 (2) (s) of the Bill. However, making the entity administering a project, also responsible for providing for the frameworks to address the grievances arising from the project, severely compromises the independence of the grievance redressal body. An independent national grievance redressal body with state and district level bodies under it, should be set up. Further, the NIAI Bill, 2010, provided for establishing an Identity Review Committee to monitor the usage pattern of Aadhaar numbers. This has been removed in the Aadhaar Bill 2016, and must be restored.</li></ol>
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<h3>Endnotes</h3>
<p><strong>[1]</strong> See: <a href="http://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/Flaws_in_the_UIDAI_Process_0.pdf.">http://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/Flaws_in_the_UIDAI_Process_0.pdf</a>.</p>
<p><strong>[2]</strong> See: <a href="http://planningcommission.nic.in/reports/genrep/rep_privacy.pdf">http://planningcommission.nic.in/reports/genrep/rep_privacy.pdf</a>.</p>
<p><strong>[3]</strong> See: <a href="http://164.100.47.134/lsscommittee/Finance/15_Finance_42.pdf">http://164.100.47.134/lsscommittee/Finance/15_Finance_42.pdf</a>.</p>
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For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/list-of-recommendations-on-the-aadhaar-bill-2016'>https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/list-of-recommendations-on-the-aadhaar-bill-2016</a>
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No publisherAmber Sinha, Sumandro Chattapadhyay, Sunil Abraham, and Vanya RakeshUIDBig DataPrivacyInternet GovernanceFeaturedDigital IndiaAadhaarBiometricsHomepage2016-03-21T08:50:09ZBlog Entry