WHO is Sumit Antil? Let’s make it easier for you if you don’t know the answer. Who’s Neeraj Chopra? If you know that he is the javelin gold medalist for India at the Tokyo Olympics, and didn’t know that Antil won the same honour at the Paralympics in the same city, then we are afraid to say that you might just be part of the problem when it comes to othering disabled people in our society. Because the fact is that despite our Paralympians outstripping able-bodied sportsmen at the two Games this year, the situation on the ground for disabled people in India is so woeful that their needs remain an afterthought not just for governmental authorities, but most private institutions too.

Think of the last restaurant you visited. Did it have a ramp at the entrance? Was there a section designated for disabled people at the last parking lot you drove into? Was there a sign-language expert for deaf people at the last live event you attended? The one answer to all these questions, in all probability, is a resounding ‘no’. But why is that, when affirmative accessibility is a basic right for all human beings, when it’s not something that disabled people should be thanking the authorities for with folded hands?