Bihar is often shown online as backward and poorly educated, but a fresh account from Patna tells a very different story. Dr. Monika Oledzka Nielsen, the chief of UNICEF India's field office in Bihar, recently shared on LinkedIn how impressed she was by the inclusive practices she witnessed at a hotel in the city.
A Warm Welcome on Arrival
Dr. Nielsen wrote that she reached Patna a week earlier to begin her work with UNICEF India. While looking for a place to stay, she checked into the Lemon Tree hotel. On the very afternoon she arrived, a small but striking detail caught her attention. The staff member who welcomed her had a hearing impairment and wore a badge asking guests to write down what they needed, so the staff member could help them. Dr. Nielsen described the gesture as thoughtful and genuinely inclusive.
Sign Language Over Breakfast
The next morning, at breakfast, she noticed two young waiters conversing in sign language. Curious and impressed, she later mentioned what she had seen to the hotel's receptionist. She told the receptionist that she had never come across such inclusive thinking, not even in hotels across Europe or anywhere else in the world.
The Receptionist's Reply
The receptionist responded with visible pride, telling her, Madam, at Lemon Tree, it is our policy to hire people with disabilities. Dr. Nielsen said she was genuinely taken aback by the answer. In her post, she wrote that moments like these are a reminder of what true inclusion actually looks like, not merely awareness, but deliberate action. She added that giving opportunities to people with disabilities is not just an act of support, it is a step toward building a society where everyone can contribute with dignity and pride.
Perception Versus Reality
This is not the first time Bihar has received international appreciation, but the sheer volume of social media content that paints the state as underdeveloped, illiterate, backward or a subject of ridicule tends to drown out such realities. Dr. Nielsen's experience is a reminder that on the ground, Bihar is running inclusive practices that, by her own account, outshine what she has seen even in some of Europe's bigger, more developed countries. Her post pushes back against the narrow, surface-level image that social media often builds around the state.
Who Is Dr. Monika Oledzka Nielsen
Dr. Monika Oledzka Nielsen is a senior international development professional with the United Nations. She currently heads UNICEF India's field office in Bihar, a role she took up in April 2026. Her career with UNICEF spans more than a decade, during which she has managed field offices, strategic programming and emergency response operations across the world.
