Depiction of Disability in Children s Literature in India Mapping The Affirmative Shift Towards The Social Model

Abstract

There is no ambivalence in the depiction of disabled characters in the two newlineinfluential Indian epics, Ramayana and Mahabharata. Disabled characters are portrayed newlineas intrinsically evil, and conspiratorial, and they often provoked irreversible conflicts: newlineManthara in Ramayana (whose name translates as humpbacked) and Shakuni in the newlineMahabharata are telling examples of characters in this mould. Their physical inadequacies newlineare emphasized so much so that the readers, listeners, and interpreters of the epics may newlinesuspect that their disability should have some bearing on their nefarious designs. newlineUltimately, such characters are drained of any essential humanity accorded to human newlinebeings. This archetypal mould for characters with a disability has resonated with Indian newlinewriters up to the modern period and finds even stronger resonances in Children s literature. newlineHowever, a survey of the Indian children s books published for the age group 5-12 newlinein the English language between 2010 and 2020 throws up more than thirty outstanding newlinetitles featuring characters with disability, which is proof that Indian children s publishers newlinein the English language have begun to recognize the absence of children s books featuring newlineprominent characters with disabilities. These books have taken the conversation around newlinedisability forward, especially among young readers and educators. The eight children s newlinebooks selected for this study, published by independent publishers like Duckbill, Tulika, newlineKaradi Tales, Pratham and Katha, include Bookworm (2012) by R.N. Lavanya, Catch That newlineCat (2013) by Tharini Vishwanath, A Helping Hand (2014) by Payal Dhar, Simply Nanju newline(2016) by Zainab Suliaman, Abba s Day (2016) by Sunaina Ali, Against All Odds (2017) newline2 newlineby Ramendra Kumar, Manya Learns to Roar (2017) by Shruthi Rao and Maccher Jhol newline(2018) by Richa Jha. newlineBy way of a textual and thematic analysis of these books featuring disabled newlinecharacters from 2010 onwards using the Images and Encounters Profile tool developed by newlineJoan K. Blaska and Evelyn C. Lynch and critical consider