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One of India's strongest voices championing the cause of a more accessible and inclusive society, Sminu Jindal, the Managing Director of Jindal SAW and the founder of NGO Svayam emphasized the need of the hour- building a more equitable society that builds a stronger India and delivers on the vision of Viksit Bharat 2047. In an exclusive conversation with ANI on the inclusion and accessibility, she shared how accessibility must make financial sense to become successful and recalled how a visit of celebrated scientist Stephen Hawking to India paved the way for making historic public places more accessible to the masses.

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The Spark: Stephen Hawking's Visit

Speaking about her NGO, Svayam, Jindal shared with ANI, a key incident that inspired her. During the visit of Stephen Hawking to India in 2001, she shared, "He (Hawking) couldn't go to Qutub Minar, Taj Mahal and Red Fort. As an Indian, it hurt me. We have a beautiful culture, then why is it that a person with disability can't go around and experience it. Buildings become alive with people, not the other way round. That is where the first job we did was with the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) for making the Qutub Minar accessible. It was the first World Heritage site in India that was worked upon to become accessible. It was also one of the first ones in the world to have that kind of distinction. We had Sitaram Yechury come in with 20 young parliamentarians to give a flag off. That is how ASI was told to make all sites accessible."

Making Accessibility Financially Sustainable

She underscored that for any initiative to be sustainable, it must make financial sense. Elaborating the example of Qutub Minar, she shared how the monument surpassed the earnings from a total of the Red Fort and Humayun's Tomb put together, reflecting how accessibility increases footfall and helps in generating better revenue.

Legislative Progress and Novel Suggestions

As the historic Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act 2016 nears a decade since its adoption, Sminu Jindal lauded the adoption of the Act and recommended the need to have specific committees in every section of society where certain grievances can be taken up. With the second phase of the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls having started in 12 States and Union Territories on Tuesday, a novel suggestion pitched forward by Jindal was to introduce a criterion in the voter IDs for people with "reduced mobility" so as to understand the scale of the issue. She noted it to be an appropriate time, "otherwise we will miss the bus".

National Summit: Expanding the Vision of Accessibility

Speaking about the upcoming National Summit on Accessibility in Sports and Tourism, Sminu Jindal expressed that it builds on the idea of an equitable India. "This national summit, which is happening for the first time in India will see people talk about accessibility and take it out of the marginalised community of disability. Accessibility is a universal right. Every human being, no matter what stage of their life they are going through should have opportunities available to them. The Summit is going to target the opportunity of earning financially and become an economic opportunity that we are not talking about."

She highlighted how tourism, ICT and the transport sector with a focus on accessibility can create a tremendous economic opportunity to tap into. "Just by making things accessible, our country can actually be a superpower and head towards a stronger and Viksit Bharat by 2047. We want everybody to have the freedom of choice, to do what they want to do and help in the growth of our country".

The monumental National Summit on Accessibility 2025, which will take place in New Delhi on November 6 will see transformative discussions in the fields of intersection of accessibility with sports, transportation, tourism and the ICT sector. (ANI)