The Indianapolis journal., 1903-09-18
THE BLIND IN INDIA.

Indian Daily News.


According TO the latest available figures,
the proportion OF the blind to the sighted
among the population of India is / in Coo
more than double the rate which obtains in
Great Britain Allowance being made for
native reluctance TO enter personal defects
in census return. it appears that the
King must have more than 10000 blind
subjects in his Indian Empire. or the Ian
guages and dialects spoken in that great
dominion, at least $50 have been reduced
TO written or printed form, and to repre-
sent these languages over fifty different
alphabets or syllabaries have come into
use. Some Of the Indian alphabets. such as
Sanskrit. require over 200 distinct types for
printing an ordinary book. and even Tamil,
which is one of the least complex, de-
mands $50 types in the printers lower case.
Although the languages spoken by our In
dian fellow-subJects include only about
seventy different sounds. to represent these
sounds over 10000 separate and distinct
characters are altogether in use.
The Bible Society, in its conspicuous servt
ice to foreign missions. and. Incidentally TO
philology. has published the Bible in all the
principal languages OF India. Nor have the
needs of the blind been overlooked. The
Bible Society has steadily fostered efforts
10 prepare Scriptures both in Moon and
Braille type, and one special object which
Il now proposes to accomplish is the more
adequate provision for the needs of the
blind in the East. BY way OF preparation
the society has issued "for criticism" a
phamphlet entitled Oriental Braile: One
Alphabet for the Blind for all Oriental
Languages" AS indicated by ITS title. and
as stated in its preface. the idea OF the
phamphlet is to arrive at one uniform sys-
TEN OF Braille dots which shall be appli-
cable with only slight adjustment TO every
Oriental language. and OF the system which
II describes kindly and serious criticism is
invited from all friends of the blind. Since
the pamphlet was issued. its scheme of
OF the British and Foreign Blind Associa-
ton for application to all Indian languages
and has also secured very high commenda-
ton from Oriental scholars. both native
and European, as we'll as from missionaries
The SAM scheme of Oriental BraiIle had
already received the unanimous approval
OF the South Indian Missionary conference,
and OF the Bangalore Missionary confer
ence-re,o esenting all the chief missionary
societies at work In those fields. Lord Wen
lock, when governor or Madras, took a
lively interest in the scheme, and the
Madras Education Department. at the sug-
gestfon OF DR.. Duncan. director OF public
instruction. made grants in aid for print
ing primers in the new embossed charac-
ters. and sanctioned double the usual
grants in aid TO schools for the blind i'm
:he Madras presidency. The governments
os the native States have also favored the
scheme. the Maharsjah OF Travsncore pay
ing for primers In the language OF Travan-
core. and the government of Mysore for
these primers have already been published
IN seventeen different languages OF the
Indian Empire.
II might appear an impossible task to de-
wise a system which with only seventy
three symbols shall accurately transliter-
ate for the use OF the blind all the 10000
different types which are employed TO print
books for the sighted. 1t must. however
be borne i'm mind that the various alpha
bets OF India-which outnumber the re-
naming alphabets used by the rest OF the
world-are az derived from the same primi-
tive alphabet which In associated with the
name OF Asoka- The pamphlet shows that
its authors have taken a comprehensive
and systematic arrangement OF the San
scrit alphabet as basis. They have made
q close study OF the various alphabets and
q careful comparison OF the corresponding
letters In each And Indian scholars will
recognize that. by providing n sign for the
inherent vowel the necessity for the numer-
Gus coniunct letters has been avoided. and
the syllabaries are reduced to an alphabet
property so-caled. Briefly, this system
the authors claim that blind Indian boy
may be taught 10 read by it's means i'm far
less time than Is required by his sighted
brother. and with far less effort Thus. for
example. in Malayaam. the blind boy will
have only 10 learn ffty-three Braille sym
bols. and these will be made easy fer him
BY systematic classification and careful as
EocIa ton Of the form with the sound. while
his sighted brother has 10 master fifty
three difficult letters. and IN addition Go
various and complicated forms which these
letters assume IN combination. The growth
Of centuries does not always tend toward
simplicity.
This effort TO assist the blind IN India
received IN It's earlier stages most encour-
aging sympathy from the leaders of ma
tive fhought and phila hropy. and. when
the scheme has been subjected 10 thorough
k<iticism aud modified ia the light Of the