Life of Pi', the movie, has an interesting statement coming out of protagonist's father's mouth at their family dinner table, 'What the science of thousand years has given us religion of ten thousand years could not'- something like that. This comes as a coincidence when I am helping a quicky Internet type research on disability history relating to India, where the axiom holds true. Interesting read of the many in Internet is Prof. Dalal's simple concise work DISABILITY REHABILITATION IN A TRADITIONAL INDIAN SOCIETY [download] I couldn't agree more that much needs to be known and done [link to other paper]

and, Bend writes the history of Disability in India in form of a time line:

First they just ate, in a jungle,
soon they started living in trees and caves, and started respecting the individual,
wore clothes, and soon became charitable,
some gazed at fire, some heard storms, so they became spiritual,
more joined and made it honourable,
sooner to become a wel-
fare state, making it governable,
now advocating equality for the disable-
d