The State Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities has recommended that the State government pass a resolution for inclusion of sign language in the 8th Schedule of the Constitution as an official language and submit it for the consideration of the Union government.
Responding to a petition filed by Varughese Mathew, Principal of St. Xaviers’ Arts and Science College, Kozhikode, recently, State Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities S.H. Panchapakesan noted that a considerable number of persons with hearing impairment used hand gestures and mouth movement for communication as stipulated in the Indian sign language, and considering the number of such people in the country, the plea deserved to be recognised.
The petitioner had pointed out that most of the 22 official languages of the country were restricted by geographical boundaries, while sign language was more or less the same across the country and hence could serve as a connecting language between different States.
The Commissioner further noted that for common people, learning sign language will provide an insight into the working of a visual language and help communicate with people with hearing impairment.
