Persons with Disabilities in Mainstream: A Collective Effort

Disability has been understood in numerous ways, but today it is generally recognised that disability involves the interaction of medical and social factors. A disability-inclusive approach to development seeks to include people with disability in the development process by “recognising their potential, valuing and respecting their contributions and perspectives, honouring their dignity, and effectively responding to their need”. Rather than implementing isolated policies and actions, an inclusive approach to development promotes an integrated strategy benefitting persons and society as a whole. Marginalizing and impoverishing persons with disabilities, barriers to their employment also impose significant costs on the economy at large. Current best practice in this area is summarised by the World Report on Disability (WHO & World Bank 2011), which emphasises a multi-faceted approach to tackling the social and economic barriers facing people with disabilities. This kind of a participatory approach to economic empowerment engagements contribute significantly to an improvement in their quality of life and heightened self-esteem. In this direction, Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD), Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment has conceptualized the “Accessible India Campaign (Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan)” as a nation-wide flagship campaign for achieving universal accessibility that will enable persons with disabilities to gain access for equal opportunity and live independently and participate fully in all aspects of life in an inclusive society. In this paper, the pros and cons of inclusive approach has been explored so that it can be promoted in order to make disabled persons dignified instead of an object of pity.