SociologyIndian Society: Patterns of Social Inequality and Exclusion

Which leading activist and scholar of disability in the Indian contex…

Which leading activist and scholar of disability in the Indian context compared the invisibility of the disabled to the Invisible Man of Ralph Ellison?

Answer & explanation

Correct answer: option 2

The correct answer is Option (2) → Anita Ghai

Option (1) Pandita Ramabai — Incorrect. Pandita Ramabai was a nineteenth-century social reformer who worked for women, especially child widows.

Option (2) Anita Ghai — Correct. Anita Ghai is a leading activist and scholar of disability in India. She compares the invisibility of the disabled to the Invisible Man of Ralph Ellison, who is unseen because people refuse to see him.

Option (3) Tarabai Shinde — Incorrect. Tarabai Shinde wrote Stri Purush Tulna in 1882, attacking the double standards of a male-dominated society. Her work is about the position of women.

Option (4) Begum Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain — Incorrect. Begum Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain wrote Sultana's Dream, a story imagining a world run by women. She is known as a writer on women's rights.

NCERT (2026-27): “5.4 The Struggles of the Disabled
The differently abled are not ‘disabled’ only because they are physically or mentally ‘impaired’ but also because society is built in a manner that does not cater to their needs. In contrast to the struggles over Dalit, adivasi or women’s rights, the rights of the disabled have been recognised only very recently. Yet in all historical periods, in all societies there have been people who are disabled. One of the leading activists and scholars of disability in the Indian context, Anita Ghai, argues that this invisibility of the disabled can be compared to the Invisible Man of Ralph Ellison. …”