The Plight of the Differently Abled

Its a vicious cycle by any standards. Victims of polio like Bharat**, are a result of our society's apathy and sign of the extreme neglect being faced by the semi-urban and rural families across the country.

Living in squalid conditions further worsens their health, and the lack of any educational background prevents them from ever leaving these conditions, resulting in them being completely dependent on their already frayed caregivers, who barely are able to make ends meet.

In India we have close to 65 million differently-abled citizens, according to the latest figures released in the 2011 Census of the Government of India. Hardly 4% of this number have received a formal education. A vast majority of the differently-abled citizens do not have access to proper healthcare and recuperative treatment in their local environments, often having to travel to cities to get admitted to private hospitals.

In short there is a huge void between the needed rehabilitation of the differently abled in India, and the impact of the outreach programs being conducted by the state administrations, and the various NGOs. Yet another dastardly statistic in India, is the number of persons horribly maimed in road accidents  on our state highways, by passing trucks and speeding vehicles. 

Let us take the case of Suresh** who was recently injured in a vehicle accident. Suresh suffered a grievous injury to the left side of his head, rending him unable to speak , and affecting his motor functions of the left side of his body. He now faces a huge medical bill in a private hospital and is being attended to by his poor relatives, not knowing how they will face the rising sun tomorrow, with its set of bills , dietary requirements for their ailing son, and hardly any option for food, except the mercy of passers by in the neurological ward of the hospital.

Yet the hope out there is that state run institutions that cater to the differently abled, empathetic private citizens and NGOs will together continue to work towards building a cohesive partnership in order to solve the burning issue of disability empowerment, or rather the lack of it in our country.

**Names changed