Why 'accessible India will never be a reality', explains a former Miss Wheelchair India runner up

A deplorable incident on a Mumbai road led Virali Modi, a former Miss Wheelchair India runner-up, share the harsh realisation she learned because of it. It began Modi, shares in a Facebook post, when the driver of the Ola she, her mother and uncle were in, was attempting to find a space to park near the Samrat Hotel where they were going for lunch on Thursday.

Being a busy area, partly due to construction work of the metro, the driver parked ahead of the hotel in front of a guarded building and some shops. While her family members were unloading her wheelchair from the car's trunk, they heard the familiar sounds one expects on busy roads - honking horns and people yelling.

But what happened next, Modi did not expect. She reveals a woman she believes was in her mid to late 20's approached her uncle and started screaming. "If you want to unload a passenger do it somewhere else, not here. Can't you see that you've blocked the traffic?" Modi alleges the woman said.

Her angry uncle asks the woman to "have some courtesy" and "stop talking nonsense and wait". At which point, the woman threatens to call the cops.

In the post, Modi said she grew angry that the woman was talking about her like she was luggage and wanted to be spoken to with dignity.

"India needs sensitivity towards those on wheelchairs! Can you not wait for two seconds?" she tells the woman, who responds by telling her to shut up and that she needs to be spoken to with respect. Modi said that another individual in the midst of the argument intervened and agreed with the woman that the car should not have stopped there.

What infuriated Modi more was that upon leaving the Samrat Hotel, they saw a taxi park in the exact same spot, but there was no traffic. "So does that mean that I wasn't at fault?"  she wonders.

She feels you can have "as many ramps, lifts, and accessible buildings as you want" but " India will NOT become Accessible India until people's mentalities are changed".

"We will not be an accessible nation until we learn patience and we learn to put others before us," she said.

Modi hopes my sharing her story, that people learn to be patient, courteous and now and again put other before themselves.

She wrote on Facebook: “Accessible India will NEVER be a reality. Today I realized that.

My mom, my uncle, and I were in proper town today, at Samrat Hotel to have lunch. If you live in Mumbai or if you've been to that area, you'll know that the construction of the metro is currently going on. (The metro is being constructed mostly everywhere, but this location is special). There was no place to park the Ola, so the driver pulled ahead a bit near an entrance to some shops and a gate that guarded a building.

My mom and uncle were unloading my wheelchair from the trunk of the car and we suddenly hear people yelling and honking their horns. I wasn't phased because that's normal in Mumbai. This wasn't normal though, suddenly a young woman in her mid to late 20's come and starts shouting at my uncle.

She says, "If you want to unload a passenger do it somewhere else, not here. Can't you see that you've blocked the traffic?" (This was false.)

My uncle says, "There's so much space around the car! It's your car that's blocking the traffic. Move your car so the traffic will pass. Anyway, can't you be patient for two minutes, she's almost on the chair."

The woman says, "No, because I want to get inside my building. Why should I wait? Unload her somewhere else."

My uncle gets angry, "Is this your road? Then stop talking nonsense and wait! Where else are we supposed to transfer her? Have some courtesy!"

She starts taking her phone out saying that she'll complain to the cops. Suddenly a group gathers but they stay silent, either because they know she's wrong or they just want to watch the drama unfold.

At this point I got angry, why was she talking about me as if I was luggage? I'm a bloody human being! Talk to me with dignity. I transferred on to the chair and I said, "What's your problem? India needs sensitivity towards those on wheelchairs! Can you not wait for two seconds?"

She tells me to shut up. She goes on saying that my uncle and I need to talk to her with respect and she says that she'll slap my uncle. Suddenly this guy, I don't know who, comes and says that I should've gotten off some place else. We left and she went up to her flat.

What angers me is that there wasn't anywhere else to get transferred onto the wheelchair. Why isn't there space? Also, why couldn't she wait for two minutes? When we were leaving Samrat Hotel, we saw a taxi parked exactly where we were, there was NO traffic, so does that mean that I wasn't at fault?

I've realized this, implement as many ramps, lifts, and accessible buildings as you want. Have as many accessible festivals as you want – India will NOT become Accessible India until people's mentalities are changed. We will not be an accessible nation until we learn patience and we learn to put others before us.

I urge you to please share this because people need to understand that sometimes, it's okay to put others before themselves. Sometimes, it's okay to be patient and courteous. Life isn't always about you!

#AccessibleIndia #MyCountryToo #Mumbai” 

Read Modi's entire Facebook post here: 

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