As a wheelchair user who graduated from National Law Institute University (NLIU), Bhopal more than a decade ago, The Wire’s recent article on the lack of disability friendly infrastructure in Indian law schools resonated deeply with me. It served as a stark reminder of the fact that systems–physical, cultural and societal–are complex, and often resistant to change. It was disappointing to note that Dr. Satendra Singh’s recent struggle in navigating the infrastructure in the lecture halls in NLIU is not very different from the difficulties I faced as a student at the institution over a decade ago.

After my admission in 2008, the University administration came up with methods to ensure that the campus was accessible for me in some ways. For example, I was allotted one of the few hostel rooms on the ground floor and that became my home for all five years. This was unlike many others who often switched rooms in senior years. Additionally, a ramp was built to provide a side entrance to the academic block, which otherwise required climbing a few steps to enter. 

The academic block was a two-floor building without an elevator, so the administration assigned classrooms for my batch on the ground floor as an exception (ordinarily senior batches would be taught on the second floor). Crucially, the administration utilised funds provided by the University Grants Commission (UGC) to provide me with a motorised wheelchair to ease my movement around  the campus. 

Despite this, there were many areas on campus that remained out of bounds for wheelchair users. I distinctly remember the feeling of being excluded from the activities that took place in these parts of the campus which included the hostel facilities on the upper levels, the hostel mess, the college guest house, parts of the administration block as well as the podium area in the lecture halls. And this continues to be the case 15 years later. 

I have grown up finding ways to navigate the rigid infrastructure around myself, where no accommodations were made to facilitate my education and upbringing. I was profoundly aware of the expectation upon me to compensate for the inflexibilities of my surroundings. Notably, at that point of time, none of the Universities in the country had developed a comprehensive guideline to help students with disabilities access physical structures. In that context, the initial willingness of the NLIU administration to make modifications increasing accessibility for me seemed too good to be true.

Unfortunately, it was too good to be true. In my five years in NLIU, I continued to be disadvantaged by many aspects of the infrastructure, and faced systemic obstacles in my attempts to discuss these disadvantages with the administration. 

The minimal nature of the modifications made in NLIU to accommodate me became very clear to me years later when I got admitted to the Master of Laws Program at the National University of Singapore (NUS). It was there that I realised what it means for institutions to be truly inclusive and respectful towards diverse needs.

To begin with, NUS has a dedicated unit to assist students with disabilities. The staff members at the unit were quick to get in touch with me after my application was accepted and scheduled a detailed call to understand my needs in terms of residence and mobility. 

They agreed to loan me a wheelchair for the duration of my stay and shared details of the wheelchair's design in advance so that I could familiarise myself with its workings. They also helped me secure a barrier-free accommodation at the University hostel and  organised a comprehensive campus tour of the law faculty and the University town. I was also also given details of persons I could contact in case I faced any sort of difficulty with respect to accessibility. Almost the entirety of the campus and the country was within my reach, and for the very first time I knew how it felt to be truly independent. 

This difference between the two countries in their outlook towards people with disabilities (PwD) might appear peculiar when one considers how India has a law that directly addresses the rights of PwDs while Singapore does not. 

Instead of formal legislation, the Singapore government has drafted five year long programmes called ‘Enabling Masterplans’ since 2007. Among other things, this difference between the two countries underlines how passing legislation is not necessarily tied to impact in the real world.  

In India, the Right of Persons with Disabilities (RPWD) Act, 2016, defines ‘inclusive education’ as a system of education wherein students with and without disability learn together and the system of teaching and learning is suitably adapted for different types of students with disabilities. 

Chapter III of the Act enumerates upon the duty of educational institutions to promote inclusive education and Section 17 within that chapter talks about the measure an institution can take towards achieving that goal. The chapter mandates making the campus accessible to provide reasonable accommodation according to an individual’s requirement. However, Section 17 does not mention institutions of higher learning. 

Section 32 under Chapter VI, mandates higher education institutions receiving aid from the government to reserve not less than 5% seats for persons with benchmark disabilities. However, compliance with these provisions still seems like a distant dream even after seven years since the law's enactment.  

Interestingly, in Disability Rights Group vs. UOI and Rajive Raturi vs. UOI, the Supreme Court of India observed that even premier educational institutions have failed to implement the provisions of the RPWD Act and directed all higher educational institutions in the country to make their campus accessible.Yet, the Draft Comprehensive Accessibility Guidelines and Standards for Higher Education Institutions and Universities issued by the UGC in July, 2022 is awaiting execution. 

For India to make any real progress, it is imperative that marginalised sections of the society are included in that change. And while we need introspection on how society perceives inclusion, the premier institutions of the country cannot afford to lag behind on fostering an environment of true inclusion and diversity for students with disabilities. 

* The author is an alumna of National Law Institute University, Bhopal and National University of Singapore. 

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