The image of this nine-year-old boy, helplessly chained to a bus stop in sweltering heat, has shocked the world over.
Lakhan Kale, from Mumbai in India, has cerebral palsy and epilepsy, and is unable to communicate with others.
His grandmother Sakhubai, who tied him up while she went off to sell toys and flower garlands by the road, said, “What else can I do? He can’t talk, so how will he tell anyone if he gets lost?”
She said Lakhan ‘wandered off’ so she chained him to her leg while they slept on the pavement.
Lakhan’s father died several years ago and his mum walked out on the family leaving his homeless grandmother to raise him by the bus stop.
These harrowing images of Lakhan appeared in an Indian newspaper last week, and have since gone viral.
They sparked concern among charities and the police – but it was not a surprise to activists, who said those with disabilities such as Lakhan’s face daily discrimination and a lack of facilities to assist them.
Social worker Meena Mutha has since managed to place Lakhan in a state-run south Mumbai home, to the delight of his grandmother.
She said, “Residential homes are very few. There’s a major need for the government to do something, a social responsibility to provide residential centres for children like Lakhan.”
Between 40 and 60 million people with disabilities face similar struggles in India, activists say.
A long-awaited bill was introduced into the Indian parliament in February aiming to give disabled people equal rights – including access to education and employment – but it has yet to be passed.
