The Evolution and Challenges of Disability Rights in India: A Human Rights Perspective

This article examines the status of human rights of persons with disabilities (PwDs) in India through alegal, social, and policy lens. Tracing the journey from a charity-based and medical model to a rightsbasedframework anchored in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities(UNCRPD), the paper analyses the transformative potential of the Rights of Persons with DisabilitiesAct (RPWD) 2016. It critically assesses the implementation gaps, persistent societal attitudinal barriers,and systemic challenges in realizing the rights to equality, education, employment, accessibility, andsocial participation. The article concludes by highlighting the need for robust implementation,adequate budgetary allocations, attitudinal change, and an intersectional approach to ensure that thepromise of the law translates into lived reality for over 26.8 million Indians with disabilities.