Can you tell us a bit of background about yourself?

I was born a normal healthy child until one day my life took a devastating turn when polio virus got transmitted into my body due to the doctor’s negligence.  I was able to walk but because of this I was crippled and now am not able to walk.  It was really a bad sign for my parents and for me.  Many people ask me do I regret for what happened to me but very honestly I would say that I never think it’s something regretful or it’s something shameful.  In fact, from that point onwards it gave me more meaning to my life more basic intentions of working hard for people with disabilities and honestly I am really happy about it. 

What have you been doing to work with those with disabilities?

After achieving my bachelor’s degree in commerce, I started enrolling myself in other computer related diplomas and technological information and then I got an opportunity to work with disabled children in rural areas.  My primary job was to teach computer basic and professional courses to these children and working with these was like a turning point in my life.  I got to know these people really well.  The most striking feature for me was to see their enthusiasm their interests to move on with life no matter the kind of disability they had.  They had physical disabilities; they were just crawling on the ground they were having difficulty moving but still their interests and their inner enthusiasm was great.  Before joining this place I had some insecurity about my own disability but looking at these children gave me a sense of completeness and sense of fullness that I much more fortunate then them and it really enhanced my life my own feelings and I think that was really a great turning point in my life. 

Another advantage is that I came to know about the discrimination that day to day challenges the degradation of their existence in the society it really hurt me; I was really deeply moved by the kind of discrimination the kind of degrading behavior they were facing on a day to day life.  The bad thing was that they have accepted their life the way it was and that was really bad for me I thought these people deserved to have a quality life they should be respected they should be given encouragement for whatever they are but that was not at all the case.  I promised at that point in life to work for these people work for their cause getting them equal access and help them to come up in life and in a more meaningful way.

Another advantage that I got from getting involved in NGO was I became more aware of the barriers constraints these children were facing on a daily basis.  Exploitation abuse, degrading behavior and other constraints that had become apart of their life and they were just living with them and that really impacted me it really hurt me from inside.  At that point of time I promised myself that I will strive to work for their life and I will try to work to improve their condition bring them fair and equal access and this is how  my life was completely changed and I promised myself to work for their cause. 

Some of the things that I saw were probably things one would never see in United States .  I saw children that were severely crippled and they were just crawling on the ground.  They had no wheelchair and they had no crutches because they were coming from a very poor area.  There was no availability of these devices.  For me just looking at them, crawling on the ground and then knowing their classrooms were on the first floor so there was no ramp or elevator in that organization.  There were 15-20 steps they had to jump onto so they were really putting pressure on their arms and their hands to get onto the steps.  In that pursuit I saw their clothes tearing apart and getting dirty but still they were moving on and trying to get into the classes.  So I thought this was real life, but this is not the way things should be.  That was something I really wanted to work for, talk to the organization and people and improve the accessibility of the place and maybe these children can feel more comfortable in that environment.  That was something that deeply moved me from inside.

In 1999, I started collaborating with the other local resources called blind people association and other physically handicapped in society.  They were penetrating the rural areas and my real interest was to work in the rural areas. So because I saw other resources in those areas there was no proper education, employment, health facilities.  So my real focus was on the rural areas.  So I started collaborating with this organization and we developed a team of social workers.  So our focus area was mainly on the three things.  First was to help these development organizations to increase more resources, more networking, and more integration into the society.  Our second objective was to assist adults who had disability and who are not ready to do anything.  So our focus was to increase these adults to learn to skills and become more potential and contributing members of the society.  And our current objective was to work on awareness programs that that would help to remove the negative notions about people with disabilities.  That is the main problem in my community because people are still not very aware not very much comfortable with people with disabilities they have very wrong notions that they are limited they are confined to their houses they should not go out.  We had a great team of social workers and we really did a good job and I still want to do more and be fruitful to these organizations in coming years. 

As a team of social workers we tried to collaborate with these organizations and we did really in many places.  We visited many schools and colleges talked to principals that they should mainstream these people because the idea to have separate school for children with disabilities and our focus was to integrate these children because we were working on the goal of inclusion.  On the other hand we also started visiting private industries talked to the entrepreneurs to include these people to give them jobs because they had a lot of skills. The only thing is that they should be given opportunity.   

What are you working on now and what accommodations do you receive?

Currently I’m taking classes in University of Pittsburgh department of rehabilitation science and technology and my focus area is to learn about the rehabilitation counseling.  Now this is very interesting topic.  The course mainly is focusing on preparing rehabilitation counselors; they are  professionals who are trying to work people with disabilities to adapt to their environments, overcome the barriers facilitated and  try to reach to the as many as resources available in the society for their benefits.  So rehab counselors they have a very large role to play in the inclusion and the mainstreaming of the society so this is a very upcoming very novel kind of courses I am taking and I’m sure this research of mine here will definitely help me to go back to my country and work for my community the objectives that I carried along here and I’ll pass onto my community. 

Another part of this research is to know about the technical advancements going in US for people with different kinds of disabilities: physical, mental, hard of hearing.  These people need some kind of technical devices that could improve their quality of life and I’m really fortunate to be associated with the department of rehabilitation science and technology because they are pioneering in research into these devices.  It is really nice to know the world they are trying to integrate by doing research and by providing these devices. 

What is the attitude of people in India towards disabilities?

In my opinion India is on the way of inclusion.  I’m not saying as much as other developed countries like the United States or the other developed countries, but we are working.  Our government, our NGOs, they are working and I think education mainly we have done really well.  Schools they are mainstreaming and lot of funding is coming from various resources to make more schemes for the integration and teaches they are given special education special training how to accommodate these children.  I think in education we have really done good job; also I think health sector is coming up.   Big cities have lot of good resources, good doctors who understand the necessities for people with disabilities.  The only thing I believe needs improvement is the employment.  That is one area we need more resources and more focus.

I think more and more NGOs should try to build such awareness program with communities they should be involved.   They should be invited to come and participate.  The biggest thing is that there are no community oriented programs.  More organizations are believing in the magical model distributing some equipment or giving them some medical aid.  More and more awareness programs should be built up to invite communities to come and participate and talk and learn more about what’s going on in society. That’s not been happening communities; they are not involved at all to learn about the constraints so that is one thing we need to work on.

Is India accessible for students with disabilities?

Honestly, I would say it will be quite challenging if that student go to India and study.  Mainly the reason is that the physical involvement that is so inaccessible.  If you are a student you need a university, you need a campus to move around, you need physical transportation, and you need a house to live.  And very honestly I would say that the physical environment in India is not constructed keeping in view people with disabilities.  That’s my experience.  The university where I studied was totally inaccessible.  I had to take somebody with me who could help me at that steps or getting around within the university.  So for me, my childhood days were very challenging. 

If a student here wants to go to India and study, I think first of all he has to look to the area which have accessibility.  Some parts in India are accessible.  So he can approach that part of the India and find out if that university involved can help him.  Secondly, he should approach the university to find accessible accommodation to live.  That’s very important. I’m not saying it’s totally unavailable there are places available but he has to really work hard and find a suitable place.  I think the reception would be quite good; people would be very encouraging they have good attitudes and they are receptive to people with disabilities.  Only the physical environment will be little bit threatening and he have to really plan ahead to make things better for him.

Ten years back when I started working with disabilities, things were really bad.  There were no ramps or elevators.  But after ten years when I look back  different places different organizations I think there has been lot of advocacy going on to improve the physical environment because that is the key area.  If I want to empower myself and develop I need to first reach the places.  So I think the organization and government had understood this concept and they are really working hard now.  So things have certainly improved in these areas. 

Some parts of India are really working towards accessibility; our main government focus is New Delhi , which is the capitol of India . We also have a Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment who are responsible for creating a barrier-free environment.  I think places like Mumbai and Bangalore , which are capital cities, have huge industries and million dollar companies.  They are actually very much interested in investing some of their resources by inviting people from diverse backgrounds.  I think if a student wants to do internship in computer science, he can visit these cities.  In any part of world, you cannot expect 100% accessibility let me tell you.  There will be difficult doorways, steps, and sign boards; there is no 100% accessibility anywhere in the world and such is the case in India .  A person with disabilities has to be very creative, very adventurous enough to overcome certain barriers. 

How has study abroad and your disability affected your career plans?

My main goal is inclusion of people with disabilities in society.  Therefore, I want to emphasize measures that ensure that existence of services provided for local community should be also made available on equal terms to people with disabilities and that will be my key work.

What advice do you have for students with disabilities who want to study abroad?

The tips that I would like to give to aspiring students will be ability to dream for an international career.  I think each and every individual with disability should go for study abroad experience.  This will be something that will be very enriching.  I know it’s difficult to adapt to new environment with your disability but there are always creative ways to adapt. 

One tip is to keep looking about research options online.  Once you are really comfortable with the kind of program you want to do the next step is to start contacting the international organization working in your host community.  Try to approach them or write them about your visit to the country about your disability.  Also try to contact the other people with individual with disabilities who have some experience in accommodating people from different countries so try to contact these people. 

Be very realistic about your disability.  Openly talk about your disability to your host university to the staff to the faculty members.  Another major issue is to plan ahead.  That is key to success.  If you plan ahead about your visit and talk to the staff advisor and office of the disability resource office, they will surely make a very integrated plan for you.  Tell them about your disability and what special equipment you would need upon your arrival.  Students should not ignore the accommodation and transportation issues.  They should make sure that the host university what accessible apartments are available and what is the accessible transportation that is available to the place where they live because these two things are key for your commuting from once place to another.  The next important thing is to contact your travel agent regarding your flight planning.  Talk to your airline company and tell them what is your disability be very specific about it and tell them what special needs you require at departure, arrival and different halls at the airports. 

Another thing is do not assume 100% accessibility; there will be always challenging places inaccessible things.  But if you are very enthusiastic and very confident, you would be definitely asking for little bit help from people around and they will help you and make things easy for you because people in the United States they are very receptive.  They are very friendly and they definitely understand your barriers so also they are helpful so be creative in maneuvering your disability and other problems. 

I believe there is lot of need for good work to be done in this world.  Lot of development process be taken over for people with disabilities.  A student with disability can simply educate his non- disabled colleagues by taking part in the exchange program.  Sending the message that it is possible for him to participate so that is a lesson for non-disability community that everything is possible for student with disability.  I believe life is a journey and we should be able to enjoy it but also give back something concrete to those who follow after us. That’s my message.