As we bid farewell to 2024, I know you’re all busy drafting your New Year’s resolutions and strategic plans for 2025. It’s time to confront the harsh realities of disability representation in Indian media. Despite years of advocating for inclusivity, the industry remains plagued by tokenism, stereotypes, and systemic barriers. In this article, we’ll delve into the uncomfortable truths and outline the necessary steps for genuine change in 2025.
It’s that time when promises feel easier to make and change seems more possible than ever.
Let’s cut through the noise and face some uncomfortable facts about how our media landscape treats disability. After years of working in the disability space, I’ve witnessed plenty of lip service being paid to inclusion. But little has really changed.
Here’s a take on what needs to shift in 2025.
1. Stop making accessibility an afterthought
We’re still debating basic accommodations like closed captions and audio descriptions in 2025? Seriously? When a blind person can’t follow your primetime show or a deaf viewer misses crucial dialogue, that’s not their problem – it’s yours.
2. Enough with the fake portrayal
You wouldn’t cast a non-Indian actor to play an Indian character, so why is it acceptable to have non-disabled actors playing disabled roles? The talent exists. The excuse of “we couldn’t find anyone suitable” doesn’t fly anymore.
3. Drop the inspiration porn
Every time you showcase a disabled person as “brave” or “inspiring” just for living their life, you’re reinforcing harmful stereotypes. We don’t need another story about “overcoming” disability. We need stories about living with it.
4. Give them the reins
Want authentic disability representation? Put disabled people in charge of telling these stories. We need disabled writers, directors, reporters, editors and producers calling the shots, not just being “consulted” as an afterthought.
5. Watch your words
The language we use shapes perception. If you’re still using outdated terms or infantilising language, you’re part of the problem. I still see headlines using “differently-abled,” “specially-abled,” or worse, “divyang.” Stop sugar-coating disability. And please, spare Persons with Disabilities the “suffering from” or “afflicted with” narratives. They live with their disabilities, they’re not victims of some tragedy.
You know what else needs to go? Those patronizing terms like “wheelchair-bound” or “special needs”. They are wheelchair users – the chair or the device enables mobility. It doesn’t bind, it liberates. Their needs aren’t special, they’re basic human rights. And for heaven’s sake, stop referring to non-disabled people as “normal”. What does that make disabled people?
It’s 2025 – educate yourself on respectful terminology.
6. Success isn’t just about disability
When you profile a disabled entrepreneur, focus on their business acumen, not just their disability. They are successful because they are good at what they do, not despite their disabilities. Same is true for someone who is an academic or sporting genius.
7. Mainstream advertising needs a reality check
Disabled models shouldn’t just appear in CSR campaigns. Persons with disabilities buy clothes, use smartphones, and drive cars. Why are they missing from those advertisements?
8. Stop the calendar journalism
If your coverage of disability issues only surfaces on International Day or Persons with Disability, you’re doing it wrong. Disabled lives, challenges, and achievements exist 365 days a year.
9. Social media isn’t optional
Digital platforms have democratised storytelling. Let’s be brutally honest here. Your social media teams love hashtags like #DisabilityAwareness and #Inclusion when it’s December 3. But what about the other 364 days?
And speaking of content creators – why aren’t mainstream media platforms amplifying disabled voices? We have blind food critics reviewing restaurants on Instagram, deaf dancers creating viral reels, wheelchair users documenting their travel adventures and disability rights activists doing powerful advocacy work through Twitter threads. But the ‘trending’ sections and ‘recommended’ lists somehow never seem to find them.
Disabled creators exist. They’re creating compelling content, and they’re building engaged communities despite the algorithms working against them.
Here’s another reality check – your own social media content isn’t accessible. Where are the image descriptions, captioned videos and the transcripts? You can’t claim to support disability representation while excluding disabled users from accessing your content.
10. This isn’t a trend
Inclusion isn’t a box to tick or a phase to pass. It’s a fundamental shift in how media operates. If you’re not in it for the long haul, step aside for those who are. Commit to real, lasting change in how you operate – from your newsroom to your boardroom.
The bottom line is that the Indian media’s approach to disability inclusion needs more than cosmetic changes. It needs a complete overhaul. And 2025 is as good a time as any to start getting real about it.
being ritz 