Silent shutdown of rural futures in Telangana Premium

Zubeda Begum's journey from crutches to entrepreneurship at NIRD&PR faces an uncertain future amid budget cuts and disengagement.

Nine years ago, Zubeda Begum took slow, determined steps on her crutches into the sprawling 177-acre campus of the National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayat Raj (NIRD&PR). She had no idea that this visit would be a turning point — not just for her, but for many others like her.

Aged 45 now, Zubeda had already battled a lifetime of challenges. A childhood medical mishap had left her unable to walk. “I was down with high fever and my family took me to the local medical practitioner, who gave me an injection. Soon, I lost sensation in my lower limbs and could not walk. I was forced to use crutches,” she shares.

But that handicap did nothing to break her spirit. Growing up in an orthodox Muslim family in Kandi village of Telangana’s Sangareddy district near Hyderabad, she faced restrictions at home and discrimination outside. Yet, she pushed forward, completing her education against all odds and rallying the differently-abled to fight for their rights.

Determined to uplift those often neglected by society, she formed ‘Vikalangula Chaitanya Sangham’ (Forum for the Disabled), a self-help group (SHG) that fought for medical assistance, government benefits and social acceptance. Their biggest success came when they established ‘Chaitanya Colony,’ an exclusive settlement for 300 differently-abled families in Sangareddy town, with the help of the district collectorate.

Zubeda’s breakthrough came when then district collector Ronald Rose introduced her SHG to an unexpected opportunity — manufacturing solar lamps at Cherlapally in Hyderabad.

“We were surprised as none of us had any experience in the field, but in less than a week, the Collector sent 14 of us to NIRD&PR for training,” she recalls. That leap of faith would go on to redefine their future.

Tucked away in Rajendranagar, a rapidly expanding residential neighborhood ofHyderabad, the NIRD&PR is an autonomous body under the Union Ministry of Rural Development, and the country’s only premier national centre of excellence in its field.