I recently watched the Indian blockbuster film Baahubali. I noticed the beautiful cinematic shots of waterfalls crashing into the jungle, immense palaces recreated, and gigantic war elephants brought to life by computer generated imaging. I also noticed how one of the chief villains, "Bijjaladeva", has crippled hand. It's not a coincidence.The theme of villains having disabilities is not exclusive to Baahubali, and has been firmly entrenched in Hindu culture for thousands of years.
A key reason why people with disabilities are stigmatized heavily in India is because of the way Hindu's define karma. Karma is essentially the idea that one's actions have consequences, and these consequences can stretch along different reincarnations of oneself. The understanding of karma has led to individuals believing that socioeconomic status and bodily function are all related to actions in a past life. People with disabilities are therefore viewed with suspicion, as it is thought that they have done something malignant in their previous life.
This definition of karma is wholly incorrect, however. Karma was not created as a means to justify someone's difficult living conditions. Instead, it is to discourage individuals from performing harmful actions. This idea is not uncommon, and can be seen across cultures. The problem is that many Hindus use it to explain circumstances that one has no control over. The fact of the matter is that the physical functioning capacity of the human body has absolutely no role in determining the quality of one's character, or their course of action in a hypothetical past life.
Along with the misunderstanding pertaining to karma, India is a third world country, meaning that it suffers heavily from a lack of educational resources. Therefore, in Bollywood movies, directors have to make it immensely clear who is the villain and whose not right off of the start of any film. Making sure the villain has a darker skin tone or a disability, while the hero has an immaculate body is the perfect way to make sure the audience knows who to root for.
With any ideological misconception, the best solution is education. The Indian education system is geared towards math and science, but human rights issues are barely addressed. The populace needs to understand that the notion of karma has absolutely no relation to someone's disability status. You can't judge how good or bad someone is based on how perfect their body is. While this may seem obvious, educating simple truths can take our flawed society a long way.
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