Disability rights advocate Aman Azad introduces a mobile SOS application designed to help speech and hearing-impaired users contact local police during emergencies | File Photo
Mumbai, Feb 21: A new mobile application has been developed to empower the speech and hearing-impaired community in times of crisis, which can prove to be a significant move towards inclusive public safety.
The app allows users to bypass traditional voice-based emergency lines, enabling them to send instantaneous SOS text messages directly to the senior police inspector of their nearest police station.
Brainchild of disability rights advocate
The application is the brainchild of Aman Azad, a Mumbai-based advocate for disability rights and the founder of News4Deaf, a platform dedicated to providing accessible news and information to the specially abled community, which roughly includes 63 lakh people in the country.
People with speech and hearing impairment can register once on the application and then remain in single-touch communication with the police.
Bypassing voice-based emergency systems
The app addresses a long-standing hurdle — the inability of deaf or mute individuals to use standard “100” or “112” emergency numbers, which rely heavily on verbal communication. Using real-time GPS data, the app identifies the user’s current location and, instead of a centralised call centre, the SOS alert is routed to the senior police inspector of the local jurisdiction.
The message includes the user’s precise coordinates and a pre-set profile, ensuring police have immediate context without the need for a voice exchange.
From information-sharing to life-saving technology
Azad has long been a significant figure in India’s disability advocacy space. Through his website, News4Deaf, Azad has worked to dismantle information barriers.
This new app represents a shift from information-sharing to active life-saving technology. The application is set to be launched soon on the Play Store for Android phone users.
Azad speaks on accessibility gap
“For a person who cannot speak or hear, a traditional emergency call is a wall, not a bridge. I’ve personally tried and tested the nationalised 112 helpline and it is not accessible to specially abled people. If there is a threat to them, they don’t have any option to reach out to the police. This app ensures that help is just one tap away, regardless of how you communicate,” said Azad while talking to The Free Press Journal.
Game-changer for personal safety
The silent SOS feature is being hailed by disability rights groups as a game-changer for personal safety, particularly for women and elderly members of the deaf community who may find themselves in vulnerable situations.
Moreover, the application will also provide relevant news, information about government schemes, Indian Sign Language (ISL) and American Sign Language (ASL) support, and information about various legal battles for the community.
Linked to broader legal advocacy
The app launch comes on the heels of Azad’s ongoing legal battle for systemic change. He had recently filed a public interest litigation (PIL) in the Supreme Court of India, seeking a direction that American Sign Language (ASL) should be mandatorily taught in Indian schools for the deaf and mute.
The legal move, which was earlier reported by The Free Press Journal, aims to provide students with greater global mobility and access to a wider range of international educational and professional resources.
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Call for national integration
As the app will soon begin its rollout across Mumbai and the country, the community has also suggested that the localised SOS technology should be integrated into the national emergency response framework of the Ministry of Home Affairs.
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