An inclusive society is a sign of progress

Gurav swings the bat as he looks to belt the ball out of the ground

A delegation of wheelchair cricketers and activists for the differently abled cause met the governor of Maharashtra recently. They exhorted the governor to order colleges to make available their grounds for wheelchair cricketers to practise. A report in this paper cited how wheelchair cricketers are finding it extremely challenging to get grounds for practice and play. In fact, this problem affects not just cricketers but wheelchair players in other sport too. Administrators and owners often tell them that the wheelchairs are damaging the ground/pitch and shut the space for these feisty players.

The governor is the chancellor of all state universities and hence the wheelchair delegation was at the Raj Bhavan to press that it would be of huge help if they have access to grounds. Even as you read this, Sri Lanka's wheelchair cricket team is in India to play a five-match T-20 series against the Indian team wheelchair cricketers. The series will be played in Greater Noida.

There is some awareness about making the differently-abled part of the mainstream. This means making buildings with ramps, having restrooms for the physically challenged, and in very rare instances, a place where wheelchairs can be parked. We have to make them part of our sporting system. This is especially true at a time when India is seeking to garner medals on the global sports scene. The paralympics have also brought India glory so it is important that these teams have a place to practise at the very least. Even the abled sometimes do find it challenging to find a place to play, so one can only imagine how problems are compounded for the differently abled. How can one expect any wins, even decent performances if the very basics are not given to our players?

With all these gameplans about sporting glory and a timeline charted out for the same, we also need to factor in the differently-abled.