India Talks Inclusion. But Are We Actually Practicing It?
Inclusion isn’t a policy document or a checkbox; it’s a lived experience. For persons with disabilities, it determines whether they can move through the world with dignity or with constant struggle. Too often, we think of disability only in terms of physical support like ramps or reserved seats, but inclusion goes much deeper. It’s about creating an environment – physical, social, digital, and emotional – where every person is able to participate fully without feeling like an afterthought. It means designing cities, classrooms, workplaces, and online platforms that don’t require someone to ‘fight for access’ at every step. Accessibility includes emotional, social and cultural inclusion.
Think for a moment about everyday life: getting on a bus, wanting to be a part of family discussion ,finding information online, seeking to be the wise friend who others can consult, entering a government building, crossing a street, attending a job interview or desiring to be a married person. For many people, these are routine tasks. But for someone with a mobility impairment facing a flight of stairs, or a visually impaired person trying to navigate without tactile cues, or a neurodivergent individual overwhelmed by inaccessible systems, these small routines become daily barriers. Inclusion requires us to recognise these barriers, not as personal challenges for the individual, but as structural gaps that society has failed to bridge.
True inclusion begins with empathy, but it doesn’t end there. It demands intention, design, and action. It means consulting people with disabilities while building policies, not after. It means ensuring that digital content is screen-reader friendly, that public spaces have clear signage and auditory cues, and that workplaces offer flexible arrangements. Most importantly, it means shifting our mindset from ‘accommodating’ to ’embracing’. People are not disabled by their bodies nearly as much as they are disabled by inaccessible environments around them.
Inclusion is also about belonging. It’s the difference between being present in a room and being able to participate. When a student with a hearing impairment gets access to sign-language interpretation and the opportunity to participate in classroom discussions, they’re not being given special treatment, they’re being given an equal chance. When a workplace designs restrooms and conference rooms that are wheelchair accessible, it signals: You matter here. When a digital platform adds captions, it says: We thought about you before you asked.
Ultimately, inclusion is not charity, it’s humanity. A society that includes persons with disabilities is stronger, more compassionate, and more complete. And in designing for those at the margins, we often end up building systems that work better for everyone.