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MAD A N M . V A SIS H T A AND M E HER SET H N A lubs, associations, societies, or federations for deaf people are found in almost all large cities in India. They are a natural outgrowth of a social and linguistic minority's desire to get together. In smaller towns where there are no formal groups or clubs, deaf people still get together for various activities. We recently conducted a survey to gather information about the social and cultural life of deaf people in India. This was the first known effort to document information about clubs and other organizations for deaf people in this country. A survey form designed to collect preliminary data was sent to forty-eight selected clubs for deaf people. We wanted to keep the sample small and still have various types of clubs represented. Of the forty-eight questionnaires sent out, twenty-two were returned after three follow-up letters. Only nineteen were included in this analysis; three of the returned questionnaires were incomplete. Our own experience working with deaf people and as active participants in such clubs makes us believe that the information collected is sufficiently representative to provide an accurate description of clubs for deaf people in India. Membership in the responding clubs ranged from a low of fifteen to a high of 650. The average club had 192 members. However, a majority of these clubs have about 100 active members. Almost all club members are deaf, but often hearing people are welcome as honorary members. The major sources of financial support for these clubs are membership fees, government grants, private donations, and advertisement revenue from program books. There are two kinds of membership fees-life and annual. Life memberships range from 50 to 300 rupees [roughly $3-18], and the annual membership fee ranges from 5 to 101 rupees. Members are not very regular in paying their dues, however, and the treasurer often has to be very persistent. Government grants are rare and are usually given for specific projects. Voluntary donations throughout the year are sometimes received, but more donations are collected through the flag week campaigns. Almost all clubs have serious financial problems. Their limited resources force them to keep their activities to the bare minimum. Rarely does a club have its own building: most use rented or donated quarters for club activities. Almost all the clubs are active in sports. The most popular sports are cricket and badminton (74 percent of the clubs engage in both of these activities). Soccer (63 percent ) and gymnastics (42 percent) are also very popular. There appears to be very mild interest in field hockey (21 percent), a sport in which India had led the world until the last decade. Some clubs also are involved in table tennis, volleyball, and swimming. Deaf clubs compete with each other, as well as with groups of hearing people, in cricket, badminton, and soccer. Regional sports competitions are also held to select ath- Clubs for Deaf People in India letes for the World Games for the Deaf. The All India Sports Council for the Deaf is planning ways to hold even more frequent organized athletic events for deaf people. The services these clubs and associations provide vary, depending on the demand of the membership and the resources available. Helping needy members is the most common service. Most of the clubs that responded to our survey provide family counseling, which usually involves interpreting. Club members with good oral communication skills often help clarify misunderstandings caused by lack of communication between a deaf person and his or her family. Marriage arrangements are the second most common service provided by the clubs. In India, where most marriages are arranged, marriages between deaf and hearing people are fairly common. These are usually arranged by the parents. Deaf clubs help their deaf members find deaf marriage partners. The deaf-deaf marriage, a fairly recent phenomenon in India, is becoming very popular. Deaf club members also help each other find suitable employment. This is a mostly informal, but highly effective, function of these clubs. Employed members recommend their friends to their employers or share information with other club members about available jobs.. More than half of the clubs that responded to the survey have adult basic education programs. Usually these are classes to help illiterate or semiliterate deaf people develop better reading and writing skills. Tutoring is provided by 37 percent of the clubs. This tutoring, usually free, is provided by hearing...

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