This is a reality Kerala doesn't want the world to see: Between 1 January 1 2022 and 15 February 2025, 11 intellectually disabled individuals in the state were killed by their own parents. In most cases, the parents, too, died by suicide, taking the death toll to 23.
Published Feb 23, 2025 | 9:00 AM ⚊ Updated Feb 23, 2025 | 9:00 AM
Participants of BUDS Olympiad 2025 held in Ernakulam.
Synopsis: Families with intellectually disabled individuals need more support from the government and society. Their needs must be looked at with empathy, and efforts should be made to keep them from being sidelined. Instances of parents killing their special needs children before dying by suicide raise a pertinent question for Kerala, which takes pride in the advancements it has made.
Excited and proud, Ancy Shafeeque is looking forward to 8 March, when her son will receive the ‘Ujjwala Balyam Puraskaram,’ an award constituted by the Women and Child Development Department to honour children with exceptional talent.
Her 14-year-old son, Muhammed Alfin, has been selected for the award from the Thiruvananthapuram district for his extraordinary craftwork.
Alfin is intellectually disabled and faces psychological challenges. Yet, he is lucky that his parents could afford to send him to St. Martha Special School, which offers proper care, therapy, and counseling.
The boy had attended a regular school until the age of 10, but the teachers there eventually had his parents who could not manage him. The parents understood the teachers, who were not trained to support children with special needs. The special educator’s monthly visit to the school was inadequate for Alfin.
Alfin’s parents’ decision to transfer him to an expensive school seems justified. Though Andoorkonam, where they reside some 15 km from the city centre, has a BUDS school, they had decided to admit him to St Martha.
However, not all could afford to send their special child to such an institution.
At 30, Maya* is still child-like. On 4 November, she sat on a chair worried, embarrassed, and frightened. She had earlier gathered all her strength to get off the chair. In between sobs — which soon fell quiet as she resigned herself to her predicament — she asked for her mother, who did not turn up till evening.
The mother arrived early at the Kudambashree-run BUDS at Mangattidam near Kuthuparamba in Kerala’s Kannur district for a PTA meeting. She found her daughter bound to a chair, unattended, and with a dress wet with urine that kept dripping to the floor.
The incident made the news. The panchayat suspended four staff members of BUDS, including Principal PV Rekha. The district Congress committee staged a protest, demanding accountability and justice for Maya, even as the Local Self-Government Department sought a report.
Mangattidam Panchayat President PC Gangadharan said it was the first such incident in the school, which boasts of a decade-long legacy of serving students. Speaking to South First, he said the school has more than 30 students, including a few aged above 40. The school offers vocational training to students as well.
The suspension, protest, and the panchayat’s claim of the school’s legacy, however, would not heal the scar on Maya’s heart.
Each child with special needs has a unique story to narrate: a tale of survival, ostracization, humiliation, social stigma — and often, premature death.
BUDS Schools and BRCs (BUDS Rehabilitation Centres) serve as lifelines for intellectually challenged children. Jointly run by local self-governments and Kudumbashree, the first BUDS school opened its doors at Venganoor Gram Panchayat in Thiruvananthapuram on 16 August 2004.
Despite their noble mission, these institutions face harsh realities. Limited resources force both BUDS schools and BRCs to function under the same roof, leaving no separate space for adult learners. Consequently, four-year-old children and 40-year-old students often share the same classroom, learning the same lessons and skills.
The lack of infrastructure fails to address their distinct needs, highlighting a silent crisis in the system that deserves urgent attention.
The common perception of intellectually disabled individuals often stops at childhood, ignoring the harsh reality faced by aging parents of adults with such disabilities. As these parents grow older, they grapple with their health issues and a question over their child’s future after they are gone.
In Kerala, the solutions are limited. Private institutions charge fees beyond the means of many parents and often deny admission to bedridden individuals or those in wheelchairs who need full-time care. Though BRCs provide vocational training for people over 18, they don’t offer long-term care.
Save the Family, an NGO comprising parents of intellectually disabled people, shared shocking data with South First. From 1 January 2022 to 15 February 2025, 11 intellectually disabled individuals in Kerala were killed by their parents.
In most cases, the parents also died by suicide, bringing the total death count to 23. This tragic pattern has neither made headlines nor triggered political action.
The latest bloodshed came on Friday, 21 February, when a 25-year-old intellectually challenged youth murdered his mother, 62, at their residence in Tirur, Malappuram.
The man reportedly stabbed his mother with a knife before smashing her head with a gas cylinder around 7 am. She died instantly.
Police said he remained in the house till they arrived at the scene.
K Mujeeb, the state president of Save the Family, and his wife have been caring for their 23-year-old son, a responsibility that has shaped their entire lives.
“We can’t even attend a family function together,” Mujeeb said, his voice heavy with emotion. “Either my wife or I have to stay back. We haven’t gone anywhere together all this time,” he said.
Sadanakumar of Thiruvananthapuram opened up to South First. “I can’t send my child to a BUDS or special school because he needs help even to move,” he said. His 25-year-old son has cerebral palsy.
Preetha GP’s son Sidharth is active in cyberspace. She highlighted the neglect neurodivergent children face.
“Many incidents go unnoticed. (Minister) Veena George addressed a child’s request for biryani at an Anganwadi and plans to change the menu. But what about our neurodivergent children, who can’t express their feelings or needs,” the mother asked.
“The only politician who called me to address issues of neuro minorities is Shafi Parambil, MP. It gives hope,” she said.
“Differently-abled children and their parents in our country are facing a severe crisis. With no hope for the future, some parents are taking tragic steps. I have urged the minister to take immediate action. Efforts will continue inside and outside Parliament,” Parambil told South First.
Financial aid is the lifeline for many families with neurodivergent individuals and those with physical disabilities. However, the aid faces significant delays, creating immense hardship for the families.
People with physical disabilities are entitled to a monthly welfare pension of ₹1,600. Yet, this payment has been irregular for the past four months.
Mujeeb highlighted the disparity. “A person who lost a finger in an accident also comes under physical disability. Our children face far greater challenges to survive, yet they are placed under the same umbrella. We demand at least ₹3,000 a month, but there has been no response from the government.”
The ‘Aswasa Kiranam’ scheme, offering ₹600 a month to caretakers of intellectually and psychologically challenged individuals, has been pending for over 1.5 years.
The state provides up to ₹28,500 annually for the education of physically disabled children, but parents must submit bills for every expense, complicating access to the scheme.
The ‘Niramaya’ insurance scheme offers medical coverage of up to ₹1 lakh per year, with premiums of ₹300 (below poverty line ) and ₹550 (above poverty-line families). However, since last year, the state government has not paid its share of the premium, denying many families essential medical coverage.
Kerala currently has 330 BUDS institutions, including 155 BRCs, catering to over 11,092 students with special needs.
However, Mujeeb said new government regulations could result in the de-affiliation of institutions with fewer than 20 students or inadequate facilities. This, combined with difficulties in obtaining grants, poses a significant challenge to the sustainability of these centres.
Sreeja*, a teacher at a BUDS school in Thiruvananthapuram, pointed out the lack of infrastructure and inadequate resources. “We are experiencing the same challenges as the parents. The lack of infrastructure and limited resources in schools make things difficult for everyone.”
TM Rajeena, the Ernakulam District Mission Coordinator of Kudumbashree, told South First that the absence of a rank list has prevented the recruitment of new teachers.
“In Ernakulam, we have 46 schools and BRCs. Kudumbashree provides financial assistance for establishing BUDS schools. Until the last financial year, Kudumbashree managed to recruit special school teachers. But now, due to the absence of a new rank list, teachers are working on a daily wage basis,” she said.
Recognising that some children require their parents to accompany them, Kudumbashree also offers livelihood training for these parents in activities like paper-pen making and small-scale agriculture.
This initiative helps them transform their time into productive work, providing a source of income and a sense of purpose.
*Name changed. (Edited by Majnu Babu).
