The Paralympic games get underway in London tonight with an opening ceremony involving 7,000 athletes and performers. It is expected to be the best attended Paralympic games ever with India being represented by a 10-member contingent at the games including one swimmer, one shooter, three power-lifters and five athletes.The torch is being carried in a relay to the Olympic Stadium in east London from Stoke Mandeville Hospital. The history of Paralympics goes back 1948, when a doctor, organised the first sports events for World War II veterans with spinal injuries at Stoke Mandeville that later grew to become the largest international sports event. The first official Paralympic Games were held in Rome in 1960. The Paralympic games are a multi sports event where athletes with different physical disability compete.