§ Mr. GRUNDYasked the Secretary of State for India the. approximate number of blind people in India; whether there is any legislation in force for their treatment and care; and, if not, whether he will make recommendations on this subject to the Government of India?
§ Mr. MONTAGUAt the Census of 1911, there were 175,214 blind males and 173,133 blind females in British India. There is no special legislation applicable solely to blind persons, nor has the need of such legislation become apparent. Dispensaries, stationary and travelling, are available throughout British India where treatment is given gratuitously to all poor persons; and cataract and other eye operations form one of the largest and most widely appreciated branches of their work. In the United Provinces, for example, 12,326 in-patients were treated during 1919, and 591,229 out-patients for eye diseases.