Small In Stature, Giant In Spirit: The Inspiring Journey Of Dr. Ganesh Baraiya

"I was never afraid of my height. I was only afraid of failures."

Bhavnagar: Until November 27, Sir Takhtasinhji Hospital was known as Bhavnagar’s largest government hospital with a centre of cadaver donation. Today, it has become a centre of attraction with the motivating presence of 25-year-old Dr Ganesh Baraiya, a three-foot-tall doctor whose story has touched countless hearts.

Dr. Ganesh Baraiya’s Life Journey

The journey of Dr Ganesh, who joined the hospital as a medical officer at the trauma centre, is far from extraordinary. He waged a long legal battle to earn the right to study medicine. “He didn’t fight just for himself,” says a hospital employee, “He fought for every physically challenged child who is told he can’t dream.” People from Bhavnagar and neighbouring regions land at the hospital to catch a glimpse of the young doctor who defied the odds. Some even bring their children along, hoping they too learn no dream is too big and no challenge too small to overcome.

"I am meeting dozens of people each day," Dr Ganesh says. For him, height is not a barrier. He recalls his first day at the hospital emergency ward when a tall, broad-shouldered labourer arrived, who was unsure if the “small doctor” who weighed just 20 kg could treat his deep wound in the arm. Dr Ganesh examined him and cleaned his injury, stitched it with precision and told him, "Pain baddha nu ek jevu hoy che, height thi farak natthi padto (pain is the same for everyone, height should not be a barrier)."

He grew up facing physical limitations that made even simple tasks difficult. Classmates towered over him, school furniture didn’t suit him, and public spaces felt intimidating. But his spirit remained unbroken. “My teachers and parents were my pillars,” he says. “Every time I struggled, they told me, ‘Tu karish, Ganesh (you can do it, Ganesh).' That gave me strength.”

He waged a legal battle with the Medical Council of India (MCI), first in the Gujarat HC, and then in the Supreme Court in 2018. It was the top court's nod that secured his admission in the Government Medical college, Bhavnagar, in 2019. He cleared his MBBS in 2024. The courtroom memories are still fresh in his mind. “I was standing in the courtroom, barely visible to others, but I felt ten-foot-tall inside. My battle for justice was not just for myself — I was fighting for the countless physically challenged people like me."

“When the judgment was read out,” Ganesh says, “I felt like I had finally been allowed to breathe.” “I never thought my son would make it so big,” says his father, Vitthalbhai Baraiya, a farmer from Gorkhi village in Bhavnagar. “My life was full of struggle, but ever since my primary school days in our village, I dreamt of becoming a doctor," he says. He later joined Neelkanth Vidhyapeeth, which, according to Ganesh, was the turning point in his life.

School principal Dalpathbhai Kataria and teacher Revatsinh Sarvaiya helped him realise his dream. “He may be small in height, but his spirit is very high,” says Kataria. Dr Ganesh is actively involved in cadaver organ donation and blood donation drives. Marriage is his last priority. "I want to serve the needy and poor. I dream of opening a hospital in my village to provide state-of-the-art treatment to my people back home,” he says.