How many times have you sighed when you realised your class was on the third floor and you had to climb the stairs? Or dashed up a ramp, not because you needed it, but just for fun? For many of us, these moments pass without thought.

Maybe it made you groan for a moment or reconsider your gym session that day. Now imagine if that weren’t just an inconvenience, but a daily reality, a constant barrier between you and your dreams, dignity, or even just an ordinary day out.

That’s what millions of people with disabilities across India navigate every single day — not just the absence of infrastructure, but the deeper reality of living in a world that wasn’t designed with them in mind.

Accessibility here often feels like an afterthought — a ramp installed because regulations required it, not because someone genuinely considered who might need it. And perhaps that’s exactly why so many of us take mobility for granted: because we’ve never had to imagine what it’s like to be excluded by design.

Manpreet Singh, a 22-year-old from Rourkela, Odisha, knows that struggle intimately. Living with the post-surgical effects of meningitis since infancy, his mobility has been limited his whole life. But what he lacks in ease of movement, he makes up for with passion, purpose, and a tireless drive to advocate for people with disabilities.

“Living with these challenges has shaped who I am and inspired me to speak up for the rights of the disabled community,” says Manpreet. “I speak up wherever necessary, not just to make my own life easier, but to ensure others with disabilities get dignity, freedom, inclusion, and equal access to opportunities.”

An everyday challenge

Despite India’s 2011 Census reporting 2.68 crore (26.8 million) persons with disabilities —

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