Mithu Alur is the founder chairperson of the Spastics Society of India (SSI) and the movement that began in 1972 and spread to 16 of the 31 states. Her work was honoured by the government when the organization received the Best Voluntary Agency Award in 1987; she received the Padmashri in 1989. She has played several roles as a parent, an educationist, a social reformer and an academic activist. The findings of her doctoral thesis on policy in India were entitled Invisible Children: A Study of Policy Exclusion ". "The findings of this study led her to set up the National Resource Centre for Inclusion, an Indo-Canadian initiative to move away from segregation to inclusive education. She has published numerous articles and research studies on children with special needs. She is principal coordinator of the National Resource Centre for Inclusion and convener of the All India Regional Alliance for Inclusive Education as well as the Asia Pacific Alliance for Inclusive Education. She heads the Indian team of UNESCO s Four Nation Study and has been the conceptualizer of the North South Dialogues. She has been appointed as member of the Central Advisory Board of Education (CABE).