FROM MARGINS TO METAPHOR: A DISABILITY STUDIES PERSPECTIVE ON CHHOTO BORO (1951)

This paper offers a critical reading of Satinath Bhaduri's short story Chhoto Boro (1951) (1951) through the lens of Disability Studies. The study moves beyond traditional interpretations to examine how disability is represented not merely as a physical condition but as a metaphorical and political construct shaped by socio-cultural hierarchies. Through a close textual analysis and an application of key theoretical frameworks from scholars such as Lennard J. Davis, Rosemarie Garland-Thomson, and Tom Shakespeare, this paper argues that Chhoto Boro (1951) critiques normative ideals of bodily integrity, productivity, and value. The narrative positions the disabled character at the intersection of social marginality and symbolic richness, exposing the latent ableism embedded in the rural Bengali society portrayed in the text. This study thereby contributes to rethinking Bengali literature's engagement with the politics of difference, exclusion, and resistance.