If you’ve opened X (Twitter) or TikTok in the last week of November 2025, you might have seen disturbing images of a man with a severely deformed face being used to mock Indians. That man has a name: Rajendra Panchal, a 45-year-old daily-wage labourer from Pune. Those photos are real — but they are eight years old, taken before life-changing surgery in 2017 that finally allowed him to open his mouth, chew food, and speak clearly after 38 years.
The Accident That Changed Everything
When Rajendra was just one year old, he fell while learning to walk and fractured his jaw. The injury led to a rare condition called temporomandibular joint (TMJ) ankylosis — his lower jaw fused completely to the skull. His family, struggling to make ends meet, could not afford the complicated surgery he needed. For the next 38 years, Rajendra survived only on liquids fed through a 1–2 cm gap between his teeth.
Daily Life With a Locked Jaw
- Could only consume milk, soup, and mashed food
- Severe malnutrition and stunted growth
- Constant bullying and social isolation
- Spoke with great difficulty; many avoided interacting with him
“I used to hide my face when I went out,” Rajendra told reporters in 2018. “People would laugh or look away.”
The Surgery That Gave Him a Second Life (21 December 2017)
In 2017, Dr. J.B. Garde, former principal of MA Rangoonwala College of Dental Sciences and Research Centre in Pune, heard about Rajendra’s case and decided to help. The four-hour surgery was performed completely free of cost. Doctors broke the bony fusion, inserted a gap, and reconstructed the joint.
Result:
- Mouth opening increased from ~1.5 cm to over 4.5 cm
- Rajendra ate his first full solid meal in 38 years — rice, dal, and chapati
- His speech became clear and confident
“I feel like a normal person now,” he said, smiling wide for the first time in decades.
November 2025: Old Photos Weaponized in Racist Memes
Eight years later, Rajendra lives a quiet, happy life in Pune. But his pre-surgery photographs have suddenly resurfaced on American social media, stripped of context and used in xenophobic posts targeting Indian immigrants. Many of the accounts spreading these images falsely claim the photos are recent or imply that “this is how Indians live.”
The Truth vs The Trolls
| Reality (2017–2025) | False Narrative (2025 Memes) |
|---|---|
| Surgery successful in 2017 | Photos presented as current |
| Rajendra now eats and speaks normally | Used to mock appearance and hygiene |
| Story of medical triumph and kindness | Weaponized for anti-Indian hate |
A Reminder About Online Cruelty and Healthcare Access
Rajendra Panchal’s journey is not a meme. It is a powerful reminder that millions in India still face lifelong disability because timely medical care remains unaffordable. It is also proof that one act of kindness — Dr. Garde’s free surgery — can completely rebuild a life.
As the hateful posts spread in November 2025, thousands of Indians on X are now sharing Rajendra’s real before-and-after story to fight the misinformation.
Rajendra himself remains unaware of the new wave of attention. He is simply grateful to finally live like everyone else.
The Chenab Times News Desk