As we move into a fast-paced digital world, campaigning for inclusion everywhere, many of us have lost something very special and crucial: the way we communicate.

Most of our conversations nowadays are limited to online platforms, sending message threads, voice notes, or having blurred video calls. We are losing touch with direct eye contact, a genuine smile, hand movements, and the facial expressions of emotion that used to knit us together. These small elements connect us with others, including people with hearing impairment and other communication difficulties, in day-to-day conversations. Sign language can help transform lives, but only if we treat it not as a symbolic gesture, but as an everyday language of dignity, connection and inclusion.

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that approximately 63 million people in India suffer from significant hearing impairment, a prevalence of 6.3 per cent of the population, and that 2.5 billion people will be affected globally by 2050. This includes children, adults, and the elderly.

Despite having a well-structured Indian Sign Language (ISL), how far it has reached the corners of the country remains doubtful. The availability of trained sign language interpreters and trainers is just a handful. This means that children with hearing impairment often sit in classrooms unable to follow lessons, resulting in disconnection from peers and gradual exclusion from both learning and........

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