Living with disability in rural India

Many in rural India live with disability or differential ability. Other than a chance at birth, disability can also come about due to social or state action or inaction – for example, due to proximity to uranium mines in Jharkhand, or unmitigated droughts in Marathwada that force people to drink fluoride-laced groundwater. At times, disability is an outcome of illness or medical negligence – Parwati Devi, a waste worker in Lucknow, has fingers damaged due to leprosy, while Debahala Chakma of Mizoram went blind after a bout of chicken pox, and Pratibha Hilim of Palghar lost all four limbs to gangrene. For some, the disability is intellectual – little Mohsin in Srinagar has cerebral palsy, while Prateek in Maharashtra was diagnosed with Down’s Syndrome. In many such instances, the challenges are aggravated by poverty, inequality, scarce healthcare services and discrimination. These are PARI stories from various states about people living with disability