Introducing SCLHR’s Blog Series: A Conversation on Inclusivity

Source: https://www.forbesindia.com/article/thunderbird/corpo-rate-leadership-diversity-inclusion/78047/1

[This Blog introduces A Conversation on Inclusivity Series]

Every year, students step into colleges with dreams, aspirations and a quiet hope, to belong. In addition to learning about the world, college is also a place where students discover themselves. What does one like? What does one stand for? What are one’s biggest fears? What does one relate to? Colleges offer a space to explore these vital threads of individuality. But this journey of self-discovery requires a particular culture.

In an ideal world, colleges would serve as educational melting pots where students from different cultures and backgrounds come together to create a rich tapestry of perspectives. At the heart of this vision lies the principle of equal concern for all individuals. One of the most influential legal philosophers of the past few decades, Ronald Dworkin, emphasized that societies must treat every person as a "moral member", someone whose dignity and sense of worth is not merely acknowledged in law but affirmed in everyday experience. In colleges, this means more than enrolling students from diverse backgrounds; it requires creating spaces where every student feels they matter equally.

Educational campuses are microcosms of society. The diversity that students, faculty, and staff bring with them is not just demographic, it is epistemic. Different lived experiences shape how we think, learn, teach, and relate. Inclusivity, therefore, means creating spaces where everyone, regardless of their identity, background, or beliefs, feels valued and accepted.

Inclusivity finds roots in the traditions of multiculturalism and pluralism, which argue that a just society must seek to embrace differences, not merely tolerate them. Thinkers like Charles Taylor and Bhikhu Parekh have emphasized that recognition is essential to identity formation and dignity. In an educational context, this means that institutions must actively cultivate spaces where all individuals, regardless of background, can thrive equally.

Inclusivity within law schools attains heightened importance because the legitimacy of modern legal systems is fundamentally tied to this value. As Latin American scholar, Roberto Gargarella, profoundly observes:

Law rises above other rules because its rules are written collectively for everyone and in everyone’s name, with the ultimate aim of improving conditions for everyone. That is precisely where the beauty of law lies: to acquire its respectability, legitimacy, and support the consent of everyone law must be written in universal terms…. which every single citizen can invoke. Universality is what makes it possible for everyone to recognize the law and accept it.

In this light, legal education must not only teach the law but also embody the values on which the law claims its legitimacy, the foremost among them, the value of inclusivity.

As members of a pluralistic society, we believe that it’s time to open a more honest and constructive conversation around inclusivity within educational spaces. This blog series by SCLHR is a small step in that direction. Through a set of reflective pieces written by a diverse set of faculty members, we aim to explore the many dimensions of inclusion: caste, gender, sexuality, class, disability, regionality, religion and language.

We invite you to read, reflect, and respond. This series is not just about what faculty members have to say, it’s about sparking conversations across classrooms, hostels, hallways, and beyond. In the weeks to come, we hope these posts will challenge assumptions, offer comfort, and help us all rethink inclusive educational spaces.

Alind and Gautam are Assistant Professors at UPES School of Law and Faculty Advisors to SCLHR.

{The opinions expressed herein are the authors' own and do not necessarily reflect the views of the University.}