INVISIBLE CITIZENS: DISABILITY, DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION, AND THE CONSTITUTIONAL PROMISE OF EQUAL CITIZENSHIP IN INDIA

Abstract

India's constitutional framework pledges equality, dignity, and democratic participation to every citizen. Yet for the estimated 26.8 million persons with disabilities in India, these guarantees remain structurally incomplete. This article argues that persons with disabilities constitute a class of 'invisible citizens'—formally recognised by law but substantively excluded from the architecture of democratic life. Drawing on constitutional provisions, Supreme Court jurisprudence, the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act 2016, and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the article examines how physical, institutional, technological, and attitudinal barriers combine to deny persons with disabilities meaningful participation in electoral processes, public institutions, and democratic deliberation. The analysis demonstrates that existing judicial interventions, while salutary, have not resolved the systemic deficiencies that render disability a persistent marker of democratic marginalisation. The article concludes with legally grounded recommendations directed at achieving substantive rather than merely formal citizenship for persons with disabilities in India.