This paper discusses the Person's with Disabilities Act (PDA) passed in 1995 in India and compares it with the United State's Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) of 1997. The comparison indicates the PDA is more limited in its coverage, does not include due process procedures, and does not fund the education of individuals with disabilities, but rather permits the state and local education agencies to provide services for individuals with disabilities within the limits of their economic capacity. It also describes two Indian institutions that serve individuals with physical disabilities, presents profiles of two children with physical disabilities who reside in North India, and discusses the absence of services for individuals with disabilities as an outcome of"Karma Theory," the theory of the inevitable consequences of one's actions whereby individuals with disabilities are disabled because of the misdeeds and evil actions they performed in their previous lives. The paper concludes by urging the need for more frequent dialogue between East and West. (CR)