History

The seeds of PRPS were sown when the organization’s current General Secretary, Mr. Kanti Ganguly, came across a disabled boy during one of his casual outings. Knowing the difficulties that such people face moved him. He requested his associates to convene a meeting of people experiencing similar challenges.

The meeting occurred in 1984, and the large turnout inspired him to learn more about the socio-economic challenges faced by the disabled. Thus, the casual meet evolved into an organization for the disabled called Dakshin Sahartali Pratibandhi Sammilani (DSPS). It was to be based in the southern suburbs of Kolkata, where Mr. Kanti Ganguly lived.

While working with disabled people through DSPS, he became aware of the need for a more significant forum to represent the entire disabled community in the state. Thus, PRPS was formed in 1986 during a Convention on Disabled Rights held at Moulali Yuva Kendra (one of the city’s largest and most renowned youth convention centers).

PRPS started working with all stakeholders, including the government, to advocate for an inclusive society. A society in which every disabled individual has a place in the mainstream and their demands are heard and acknowledged.

PRPS’s primary motto was social recognition and economic rehabilitation, which is still a part of the party’s ideology today. However, as new ideas emerged, PRPS adapted to meet them.

PRPS is now one of the few large autonomous organizations that address all types of problems faced by disabled individuals.

Few of our accomplishments –

• The state government started to issue health certificates, identity cards, and free passes and introduced seat reservations on state transport buses for the disabled.
• We successfully convinced the state government to increase the percentage of government jobs reserved for disabled people.
• The former state government changed the rules for issuing disability certificates due to our consistent public awareness campaigns.