In a tiny 250 sq. ft home in Jharkhand's remote Rapcha village, with no indoor plumbing or steady electricity, a dream quietly took root. That dream now has a new address: IIT Delhi. Meet Lakhan Mahali, the son of unskilled labourers, who, despite a severe locomotor disability and unimaginable odds, has secured admission to one of India’s most prestigious institutions to study Computer Science.
Lakhan ranked second in the country among tribals with disabilities in the IIT entrance examination—a feat made even more remarkable by his condition. Due to a genetic bone disorder, he can barely write with a pen. Any attempt at handwriting causes unbearable pain that radiates from his fingers to his elbows, forcing him to stop and rest every few minutes. Yet, he never stopped dreaming. This was shared by a Harvard Business School graduate, Mohnish Pabrai, a renowned investor and founder of the Dakshana Foundation, on X.
He shared that Lakhan's mother is not formally educated, and his father didn’t finish 10th grade. Both parents work hard jobs, earning less than Rs 125 a day. Despite such poverty—and a younger brother who also suffers from a similar disability—Lakhan remained determined to break the cycle.
While traditional writing is painful for him, Lakhan thrives when using a laptop or tablet, which became his bridge to education and possibility. With the help of Dakshana Foundation, which is dedicated to uplifting underprivileged students, he was able to prepare for and ace one of the toughest entrance exams in the country. In 2029, when he graduates from IIT Delhi, Lakhan won’t just be earning a degree—he’ll be rewriting the future for his entire family.
Lakhan ranked second in the country among tribals with disabilities in the IIT entrance examination—a feat made even more remarkable by his condition. Due to a genetic bone disorder, he can barely write with a pen. Any attempt at handwriting causes unbearable pain that radiates from his fingers to his elbows, forcing him to stop and rest every few minutes. Yet, he never stopped dreaming. This was shared by a Harvard Business School graduate, Mohnish Pabrai, a renowned investor and founder of the Dakshana Foundation, on X.
“If there was only one university in the world I could hire from, it would be the IITs.”
— Mohnish Pabrai (@MohnishPabrai) July 1, 2025
-@BillGates
With 1.3 million kids applying for one of 18,160 seats, the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) are the toughest undergrad engineering program to get admitted to. The admit… pic.twitter.com/gtPz2VR1AA
He shared that Lakhan's mother is not formally educated, and his father didn’t finish 10th grade. Both parents work hard jobs, earning less than Rs 125 a day. Despite such poverty—and a younger brother who also suffers from a similar disability—Lakhan remained determined to break the cycle.
While traditional writing is painful for him, Lakhan thrives when using a laptop or tablet, which became his bridge to education and possibility. With the help of Dakshana Foundation, which is dedicated to uplifting underprivileged students, he was able to prepare for and ace one of the toughest entrance exams in the country. In 2029, when he graduates from IIT Delhi, Lakhan won’t just be earning a degree—he’ll be rewriting the future for his entire family.
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