HYDERABAD: Dharmendra Chaudhary, 26, has been working at the Student’s Canteen at University of Hyderabad (UoH) for the past five years. His job was to pick used cups and plates and clean tables. He doesn’t have a roof over his head and sleeps on benches. Last month, he was fired from the job allegedly for his appearance.
Apparently, he is 75 percent deaf and dumb. He passed Class X from National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS), and can read and write English and Hindi. His fingers and toes are ‘disfigured’, and he is suffering from a degenerative disease. He can read people’s lips and understand Hindi. When his expressions and gestures fall short, he uses his fingers to write and communicate.
Hailing from a small town called Bithur, 24 kms north of Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, Dharmendra lost his mother at an early age, and has a younger sister whose current whereabouts are unknown. His father left them with their maternal grandmother, Subhagi Devi and an allegedly abusive uncle, Rajkumar.
Dharmendra says he met with an accident in his childhood when a scooter ran over him, and didn’t recover fully afterwards. Apparently, the ill-treatment and discrimination he had to face from society had a deep impact on him, resulting in paranoia.
Through various contacts, he got a job at the Student’s Canteen at UoH. He continued to work there until this May. Ever since being jobless, Dharmendra’s health had deteriorated sharply. He has only a single pair of clothes and no shelter. He doesn’t accept monetary help from anybody. All he asks from the society is a job so he can sustain himself.