Inclusion

I'm a big fan of Harsha Bhogle, the admirable cricket commentator. When I was watching one of his videos on YouTube, I saw his speech at the India inclusion summit. I became curious and decided to find more about the event.

The India inclusion summit was an annual event happening at Bangalore, founded in 2012 by a gentleman called VR Feroze. This event is similar to a TED talks conference, where eminent personalities talk about Inclusion. They were trying to bring about awareness of inclusion to specially abled people in everyday life. I was intrigued and decided to register for the upcoming annual event in 2017 and persuaded my friend Raghav Ravichandran to also come along.

At the event there was a plethora of amazing speeches. From an awe inspiring quadruple amputee who was a record breaking athlete, a UPSC rank holder who defied polio to redefine boundaries, a jaw dropping dance by a visually challenged girl, the event had me completely absorbed. It was an unforgettable experience, where I got to witness some exemplary talents despite their adversities. When I walked out of the day long event, I was left with a sense of surreal amusement and inspiration.

The one thought that still lingers in my memory is that by Mr. Tom Harkin, a former US Senator. He said “Clearing the path for people with special needs, clears the path for everyone.”. I realised that how it would take just a small effort to consciously create a user friendly product for the specially abled but it would go on to be useful for Everyone. That lesson has made me look at the world with a different perception.

Being Inclusive is a choice, but if we do choose to be inclusive, we could have made the day a little less challenging for a special person.