It was almost surreal to see the tweet from DNIS about the Finance Minister's statement. Needless to say the deaf community is overjoyed and the smses and tweets are going totally crazy. The deaf have been waiting for validation of their language for a long time and now to have the institute in the budget is a long awaited dream come true.

I am particularly pleased since the section in the 11th plan on deafness was written by a friend of mine after long discussion with me and other NAD leaders. The academy was central to the development of the deaf and the emancipation of the deaf from the audist establishment who have guided the destruction of deaf education for the past 25 years.

The current trend in deaf education is still purely oral and dominated by oralists whoa re unwilling to concede that there theories are wrong and that the practice of their theory has caused the situation where we are today with the level of literacy we have today. I am sure now that there is a positive Govt. move toward sign language, the oralists will all be jumping on the bandwagon of sign language and hailing themselves as the authors and initiators of this revolutionary measure and claiming the responsibility for the 'brave new step' forward in the education of the deaf.

Minutes of the recently held RCI meetings will show the truth of these statements and I for one certainly hope that the Institute for Sign Language comes under the purview of the Dept. of languages in the Ministry of HRD or at least as an autonomous institute under SJE.

It has been said that there is nothing so difficult to carry out, nor more doubtful of success, nor more dangerous to handle, than to initiate a new order of things. For the reformer has as enemies all those who profit by the old order, and lukewarm defenders in all those who will benefit by the new.

It is in this rather uncomfortable spot that I find myself and my deaf friends. the battle for the institute has been won the battle for the effective participation of the deaf community is yet to be fought.

A long road ahead!