In our culture disability is essentially seen as individual characteristic because-
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → Disability is seen as a consequence of one’s past Karma
Option (1) Disability is seen as a consequence of one’s past Karma — Correct. The roots of the attitude lie in a cultural conception that sees an impaired body as a result of fate. The common perception views disability as retribution for past karma, from which there can be no reprieve. Since the cause is placed in the person’s own past actions, the dominant cultural construction in India looks at disability as essentially a characteristic of the individual.
Option (3) The disabled person is seen as a victim — Incorrect. The disabled person is indeed seen as a victim, and labels such as bechara deepen this. But the victim status follows from the belief in fate and karma; it is not the reason the culture treats disability as an individual characteristic.
NCERT (2025-26): “5.4 The Struggles of the Disabled … Here are some common features central to the public perception of ‘diability’ all over the world —
“In India labels such as ‘disability’, ‘handicap’, ‘crippled’, ‘blind’ and ‘deaf’ are used synonymously. Often these terms are hurled at people as insults. In a culture that looks up to bodily ‘perfection’, all deviations from the ‘perfect body’ signify abnormality, defect and distortion. Labels such as bechara (poor thing) accentuate the victim status for the disabled person. The roots of such attitudes lie in the cultural conception that views an impaired body as a result of fate. Destiny is seen as the culprit, and disabled people are the victims. The common perception views disability as retribution for past karma (actions) from which there can be no reprieve. The dominant cultural construction in India therefore looks at disability as essentially a characteristic of the individual.…” |