Telangana bureaucrat questions hiring specially-abled in civil services; faces backlash

A senior bureaucrat in Telangana has come under fire for questioning the need to recruit the specially-abled in civil services by stating that such people will find it difficult to cope with field work.

Smita Sabharwal, Member Secretary in the Telangana Finance Commission, said the demands of the job in civil services will make work difficult for those with physical disabilities.

Questioning the disabled

Justifying her stand in a post on X, Sabharwal asked if airlines and hospitals would respectively recruit pilots and surgeons with disabilities.

“With all due respect to the Differently Abled. Does an Airline hire a pilot with disability? Or would you trust a surgeon with a disability,” she said.

“The nature of the #AIS (IAS/IPS/IFoS) is field-work, long taxing hours, listening first hand to people's grievances – which requires physical fitness. Why does this premier service need this quota in the first place," Sabharwal said in the post.

Social media decries comments

Her comments have drawn sharp responses with several users on social media accusing her of being “ignorant” and “insensitive” about the differently abled.

“This is such a pathetic and exclusionary view to have. Interesting to see how bureaucrats are showing their limited thoughts and their privilege too," Shiv Sena MP Priyanka Chaturvedi said in reply to the bureaucrat’s post.

Chaturvedi said it was interesting that bureaucrats were in for doing away with a reservation that promotes diversity and inclusion instead of criticising the misuse of the quota.

“Amazed that an IAS officer would be so fundamentally ignorant about disability. Most disabilities have no impact on stamina. Or intelligence. But this tweet shows enlightenment and diversity are badly needed,” posted Supreme Court advocate Karuna Nandy.

Arvind Gupta, a trustee at the National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People, said people with disabilities come out with thousands of innovative outcomes.

“If given a universal ecosystem, persons with disabilities can contribute to the mainstream society on an equal basis. It's time we educate ourselves rather than excluding 20 crore Indians from contributing to a better India," he said.

Bureaucrat’s defence

Following the massive backlash that her comments have received, Sabharwal in a fresh post on Monday (July 22) defended her stand, asking activists to examine why the disability quota has still not been implemented in the IPS/IFoS and several sectors of defence.

“See a lot of outrage on my timeline. I suppose addressing the elephant in the room gets you that reaction. Would request the Rights Activists to also examine why this quota has still not been implemented in the IPS/ IFoS and certain sectors like defence. My limited point is that the IAS is no different. To live in an inclusive society is a dream that we all subscribe to. Insensitivity has no place in my mind,” she posted.

Puja Khedkar row

Sabharwal comments come amid a raging controversy over the appointment of Puja Khedkar into the Indian Civil Services. Khedkar, an IAS trainee officer, has been accused of getting into the civil service claiming an entitlement she was not eligible for. She was found to have availed of concessions for physical disability and OBC candidacy.