Dr Ganesh Baraiah shares journey from disability to becoming doctor on KBC 18

Gujarat: Dr Ganesh Baraiah from Gujarat's Bhavnagar district recently appeared on Kaun Banega Crorepati 18, where he spoke about his journey into medicine and the challenges he faced due to his disability. 

Baraiah, a resident of Gorkhi village, is 3 feet 4 inches tall and has a 72% locomotor disability. Despite these challenges, he performed well academically, scoring 87% in Class 12 and securing an All India Rank of 233 in NEET.

His path to becoming a doctor, however, was not straightforward. He was initially denied admission to an MBBS programme because of his disability. His school principal, Dalpat Katariya, supported him and challenged the decision in court.

The court subsequently ruled in Baraiah's favour under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, allowing him to continue his medical education. He has since completed his medical journey and is now working in the paediatrics department of a hospital in Bhavnagar.  

During the KBC episode, Baraiah also recalled an incident from his childhood that left him emotional. He said that when he was in primary school, members of a circus group had approached his family and offered his father Rs 5 lakh to take him with them.

His father rejected the offer and chose to prioritise his son's education instead.

According to TOI, speaking about the moment, Ganesh got teary-eyed and said, “Mere pita ne paise ke bajay padhayi ko chuna.” 

Baraiah has since gained recognition as the “World’s Smallest Doctor”, according to the report.

During his appearance on the show, Baraiah faced a question for Rs 3,00,000 involving four monuments: the Red Fort, Taj Mahal, Meenakshi Temple and Charminar.

He was unable to identify the monument located north of Gujarat and consequently dropped down to Rs 25,000.

Baraiah's appearance on the programme brought attention to his journey from facing barriers to medical education to working as a doctor in paediatrics.