Javed Abidi: The Father of Disability Activism in India

By Tabitha Pracale Ocampo

Javed Abidi was born on June 11, 1965 in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India with Spina Bifida, a condition that occurs when the spine and spinal cord do not form properly, leaving an opening in the backbone. By the age of fifteen he started using a wheelchair and through this experience he began to see how Indian society was not designed to be accessible or accommodating to people with physical or mental disabilities. Abidi used his experiences and the experiences of his peers to fuel his passion for activism through founding a disability rights organization and lobbying for the passage of several disability acts throughout the 1990s and 2010s.

Although Abidi’s disability could have been treated with timely medical intervention, an incorrect diagnosis at birth delayed surgery for eight years, ultimately leaving him with permanent nerve damage. At the age of ten he underwent another operation after injuring himself in a fall, and then shortly afterwards moved to the United States to receive care at the Boston’s Children’s Hospital and the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago.  While he was in the United States “he saw the comparative respect with which the orthopedically disabled lived and the empathy of the environment to disability” [1]. This inspired him to focus on advocating for disability rights after returning to India upon completing his studies in journalism and communication at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio.

Abidi’s degree wasn’t enough for him to secure a profession in journalism upon his return to India, as many publication editors didn’t consider him suitable for political reporting due to his disability. The discrimination he faced as a qualified individual was experienced by many disabled people across India, but Abidi was set on changing this. In 1993, he was invited by Sonia Gandhi, widow of Rajeev Gandhi, the former prime minister of India from 1984 to 1989, to organize the disability wing of the Rajeev Gandhi Foundation. He accepted the position because he felt that “refusing the offer would mean turning [his] back on so many things that [he] was angry about, not [his] disability, but the attitude of people to [his] disability” [1]. 

In 1994 Abidi founded the Disability Rights Group (DRG), whose work specifically focused on the drafting and passage of the Disability Act of 1995. The 1995 Act centered on legally mandating that people with disabilities be given equal opportunities in employment and education. The law also defined seven different disability types from blindness to mental illness, and reserved three percent of government jobs to people with disabilities [2]. Before the Disability Act of 1995, India had no formal laws protecting disabled people from discrimination in education, employment, or accessibility in public spaces. Although the Act was a good start, it did have several flaws. The definition of who is considered disabled was vague, therefore difficult to measure or implement, and it did not provide any specific guidelines for the implementation of making public transportation or public buildings accessible to people with disabilities.

Abidi strongly believed that “empowerment of persons with disabilities [was] strongly connected to education, which in turn hinges on accessibility” and that effective laws and policies were essential to achieving these goals [3]. He also introduced a cross-disability culture to the movement, which encouraged people with physical and mental disabilities to learn from and listen to one another. He believed that solidarity between both groups would ultimately strengthen public recognition of their struggles [1]. Abidi worked closely with various disability groups, training them in campaigning and negotiation skills while supporting their advocacy for disability rights in the political sphere. Abidi didn’t stop with the Disability Act of 1995, but continued to campaign and lobby into the late 1990s. In 1997, Abidi filed a public interest litigation (PIL) before the Supreme Court. In Javed Abidi v. Union of India 1999, Abidi argued that it was the “social responsibility of the Indian Airlines to provide aisle chairs and ambulifts to persons with locomotor disability” [4]. Additionally, Javed Abidi v. Union of India 2001 led to low-floor, high capacity buses for the use of people with disabilities in Delhi. 

In the 2010s Abidi campaigned and advocated for the Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 (RPwD). This act replaced the Disability Act of 1995, largely as a result of India signing the  United Nations Convention on the Rights of Person with Disabilities (UNCRPD). Similarly to the Disability Act of 1995, the RPwD Act makes the government responsible for ensuring that people with disabilities have “the right to equality and a life with dignity” [2]. However, the updated Act expanded upon the previous disability legislation by recognizing twenty-one disabilities, including sickle cell disease, autism, and muscular dystrophy. It also increased the reservation of government jobs for people with disabilities from three percent to four percent. Additionally, for the first time, the Act brought private employers under the scope of disability legislation by requiring equal opportunity policies, reasonable accommodations, and protections against workplace discrimination. Definitions for previously vague terms such as “discrimination” or “barrier” were also made clearer in the 2016 Act.

On March 4, 2018 Abidi passed away at the age of 52 from a chest infection, but nevertheless his legacy continues to live on in India and around the world. Aside from founding the DRG, Abidi was also Director of the National Center for the Promotion of Employment for Disabled People (NCPEDP), as well as the Global Chair of Disabled Peoples’ International (DPI). He was deeply respected and admired by people both within and beyond the disability community. Disability activist, Dr. Satendra Singh from Delhi University, lovingly looked back on Abidi’s life and activism by saying, “We have lost the most prominent voice in our sector. We have lost an international leader as he was the sole voice of the Global South. He pioneered the cross-disability movement in India and galvanized disability issues as developmental and human rights based issues. An era ends with Javed ji” [3]. Through his advocacy, leadership, and commitment to disability rights, Abidi left a lasting impact that continues to shape conversations surrounding accessibility, equality, and inclusion today.

Bibliography:

[1] “Javed Abidi,” Ashoka, accessed May 20, 2026, https://www.ashoka.org/en-us/fellow/javed-abidi. 

[2] Tibrewal, Anant. “The Slow March of Progress: An Overview of the History of Disability Legislation in India.” Last modified July 20, 2020. https://aif.org/the-slow-march-of-progress-an-overview-of-the-history-of-disability-legislation-in-india/. 

[3] Gohain, Manash Pratim. “Disability Rights Crusader Javed Abidi Dies at 53.” Times of India. Last modified March 4, 2018. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/disability-rights-crusader-javed-abidi-dies-at-53/articleshow/63160165.cms. 

[4] Gurpur, Shashikala and Viswesh Sekhar. “Empowerment of the Disabled: From Objects of Charity to Subjects with Rights.” Economic and Political Weekly 52, no. 8 (2017): 17–21, http://www.jstor.org/stable/44166944.