Bhavnagar’s shortest doctor: Ganesh Baraiya’s 7-year fight for a white coat
Ganesh Baraiya was still in primary school when a circus troupe walked into his home in Gorkhi village, Bhavnagar, and offered his father Rs 5 lakh to take him away as a performer.
Ganesh has dwarfism and stands barely three feet tall. His father, a farmer raising eight children, turned down the money and chose his son’s schooling instead — a decision Ganesh calls the turning point of his life.He wanted to become a doctor. He scored 87% in Class 12 and 233 marks in NEET 2018, clearing the entrance that should have opened the door to medical college.
Instead, the Medical Council of India denied him an MBBS seat, citing his 72% locomotor disability and height. “The committee said I would not be able to handle emergency cases because of my height,” he told PTI.
With help from his school principal Dalpat Katariya of Nilkanth Vidyapeeth, Talaja, who funded the legal fight his family could not afford, Ganesh approached the district collector, the state education minister and then the Gujarat High Court. The High Court upheld the council’s decision.
He enrolled provisionally in BSc while taking the fight to the Supreme Court. On October 22, 2018, the Supreme Court ruled in his favour — height alone cannot disqualify a candidate from studying medicine. Since the 2018 admissions had closed, the court directed he be accommodated in the 2019 batch.
Ganesh joined Government Medical College, Bhavnagar. The years that followed demanded adjustments from faculty and friends during practicals and hospital postings. He completed his MBBS and internship, finding his stature was at times an asset.”Children would open up to me easily. They would tell me their small problems, which they would not share with other doctors,” he said.
On November 27, 2025 — seven years after he was first turned away — Ganesh reported for duty as a Medical Officer, Class 2, at Sir Takhtasinhji General Hospital in Bhavnagar.
His story reached a wider audience this month when he appeared on Kaun Banega Crorepati 18, telling host Amitabh Bachchan about the circus offer before his run ended at the Rs 3 lakh question with Rs 25,000 in winnings.
His next goals: to specialise in paediatrics, dermatology or radiology, and to complete the brick house his family has been building in instalments for years.
