She lit up every path she took in life

Born blind in Sukma, she overcame hardship with education, independence and determination, writes Ejaz Kaiser

- Ejaz Kaiser

IN remote Sukma, south Chhattisgarh, till recently associated with geopolitical strife rather than with stories of modern triumph, a silent shift was brewing.

It does not carry weapons; instead, it is armed with textbooks, screen-reading software, and an unbreakable human spirit.

At the centre of this is 22-year-old Roshni Gupta, a girl born into absolute physical darkness. She is rewriting the script of what is possible for disabled women in rural India. Born to Upendra Gupta, a street vendor who struggles daily to make ends meet, Roshni’s life began at the absolute intersection of poverty and disability.

Born totally blind in south Bastar’s Sukma district—where her 20-year-old sister also faces partial blindness—Roshni’s future seemed predetermined by geography and circumstances. Her parents sought medical miracles as far as Hyderabad, but the diagnosis was permanent. “In a deeply traditional society, my birth was not celebrated. Instead, it was mourned,” she elucidated.