Ian Stillman

A shocking episode in Himachal Pradesh brings to light the unbelievable level of apathy and ignorance in the most important and critical areas of the govt.

Ian Stillman is a victim of a miscarriage of justice. The Session's Court in Kullu has made a terrible mistake. An innocent man has been victimized. His human rights were denied in the trial. He has been unjustly sentenced to 10 years for a crime he did not commit. He is deaf and the court pronounced him an imposter, reiterated by the police. Perhaps they would be interested to know that the National Institute for the Hearing Handicapped (NIHH) in Bombay has him on their panel of experts and he is a member of the General Council of NIHH. This is absolutely atrocious conduct on the part of those responsible for protecting the law and upholding the law…to give a deaf man no access to his own trial is the equivalent of the treatment meted out in the Inquisition, or perhaps worse because though they were biased against the accused, at least the accused understood them. How shameful then for Mr. P.C.Haldar of the Indian High Commission to write blatant falsehoods to Ian Stillman's supporters in the UK at the Parliament level saying "he had full opportunity to defend himself and Kullu jail has Sign Language Interpreting facilities".

I would like to acquaint you with the facts:
Ian Stillman, a British national was arrested purportedly for possession of 20kgs of CANNABIS (hashish). After a 9 month long incarceration, he was convicted for 10 years without adequate opportunity to defend his good name. There are press reports that the police who arrested him have stated that Ian Stillman:

- is not deaf.
- knows Hindi.
- is a wanted criminal in the UK.

The truth is that Ian Stillman:

- is profoundly deaf.
- does not know Hindi.
- is not a wanted criminal in UK as confirmed by the British Government through its High Commission in Delhi. This fact is also confirmed by Interpol.

We, the Deaf Community in India, strongly protest at the treatment and gross miscarriage of justice concerning Ian Stillman. Indian Deaf leaders have known Ian Stillman since 1975, when he started working for the upliftment of the Deaf in India through his social work, Stillman has pioneered a project for the Deaf that has earned a national reputation among Deaf circles. Through a BBC documentary of this work, Stillman's efforts to help the Deaf are known Internationally. Many Deaf persons have benefited from projects initiated by Ian Stillman, in the fields of vocational training, non-formal education, employment, counseling, conferences, etc.

The conviction against Stillman is absurd for the following reasons:

- Being against his character as we have known for the past 27 years.
- Facts that show his innocence were totally ignored at his trial.
- He is also an above the knee amputee, wearing an artificial leg. Professionals etc who understand the nature of having such an amputation know it is absurd to think that Stillman is alleged to be carrying a 20kg bag.

There is no irrefutable proof that Stillman was in possession of 20kg cannabis (hashish). Hence the action of the sessions court in convicting Ian Stillman is unreasonable. This results in us losing confidence in the judicial system.

We are deeply hurt by the official ignorance of a deaf person and the treatment given to Stillman. What happened to him can happen to any one of us deaf people. Deaf people are now insecure about travelling to areas away from home, for fear of wrongful arrest and ARBITRARY treatment. Stillman's case has, and is still receiving international media attention which is negative for our country. We are deeply ashamed to call ourselves Indians under these circumstances.

The demands presented below represent the basic human rights of any person in any community which after 50 years of India's independence are still unavailable to us.

Our Demands:

1) That all charges against Ian Stillman be dropped and he is released immediately without further harassment from all authorities.

2) That the Indian Government recognizes the fact that Sign Language is the language of Deaf people. (This is a fact already recognised by most civilized countries in the world today) Without Sign Language, the Deaf have no language - therefore are incapable of communicating. Deaf people cannot integrate or co-operate with any government institution (be it hospitals, police, or courts) without a means of communication.

3) That suitable laws be passed by Parliament and implemented without delay to ensure that the Deaf and all handicapped persons are:
- Fairly treated at the time of arrest
- Given fair treatment during their trial
- The above two points include sign language interpreters for the Deaf.

A Sign Language Interpreter is to be available and present by law, for all Deaf people who appear in court. Failure to provide a qualified Interpreter invalidates the case against the Deaf person.

4) Are properly treated while incarcerated, otherwise they are to be automatically granted bail for whatever offence they are charged with.

Related to the above issues, the Deaf community urgently:

5) Demand that a massive public awareness campaign focusing specifically on the Deaf, is carried out soon - funded by the government. What is being done in this area up to now is simply not enough.

6) Demand that the government pass legislation, implement and finance the proper training and provision of professional full time sign language interpreters (treated on par as with teachers) in every district of India. This demand to be made in consultation with Deaf leaders.

7) Demand that the PWD (Persons with Disabilities) Act of 1995 is to be reviewed in consultation with Deaf leaders and the Disability Rights Group. Besides other things, the rights of Deaf people are inadequately mentioned by the present act of 1995. The Act is to be suitable modified and ratified by Parliament.

8) Demand that, once and for all, the word 'Dumb' is dropped from the expression 'Deaf and Dumb' - an expression used by most government institutions today.
Deaf people are not 'Dumb' - use of this word causes hurt and insult - moreover, it is not a civilised or 'socially educated' way in which to describe someone.
A public information campaign, notice to press council, and/or notice to all government establishments are some ways to go about the above point, and to educate government officials about Deaf issues.

ONLY WHEN THE ABOVE 8 DEMANDS ARE MET,
CAN WE BE PROUD TO BE CALLED INDIANS!