Why did Dritarashtra refuse the gift of vision??

Critical consciousness, ……… is anarchic. …………… critical consciousness

may lead to disorder. The debate was that the conscience (learning to
perceive social, political and economic contradictions, and to take action
against the oppressive elements of reality, Pedagogy of the Oppressed,
Chapter 3, Paulo Freire) of both men and women in an unjust situation
might lead them to a ‘sense of total collapse of their world’, to ‘destructive
fanaticism’. All the while, they seemed to confess that what they were really
afraid of was freedom.

Another feminist blogger writes that in the course of fighting oppression,

the oppressed could themselves turn into the oppressor instead of bringing
out he humanity in each other.

Did Dritarashtra feel like the oppressed one all his life? After all, his entire
life had been a long series of what he should or should not do, with no room
for what he wanted to do.
He not only had to live with his “disability” but with the so-called injustice
that came with it. A blind prince could not be crowned king- no matter how
capable otherwise. His hope of being able to see the world through the eyes
of his brilliant bride Gandhari, were dashed when she chose to literally
close her eyes. They combined desire to produce the heir to the throne of
Hastinapura was again dashed when the Pandavas arrived sooner. Between
Vidura- who constantly reminded everyone of Dharma and Bhishma- who
no one dared to oppose, Dritarashtra seemed to be stuck (between the
proverbial rock and hard place).

So it only seems natural that he was “blind” to the oppression his nephews
faced at the hands of his cruel sons; maybe it was his way of getting even.

The discussion however, was about why he refused to accept the Divya-
drishti, just before the war of Mahabharata began. He was getting the
ultimate gift; he would finally see the sons he adored so much. He would
see the incredibly powerful Duryodhana whose every crime he had
overlooked or justified. He would see the huge army that was backing his
warrior son. He would see his beloved Gandhari, the pitamaha he secretly
admired and also his nephews, whom he hated with a vengeance. So why
did he give up this golden opportunity to Sanjaya?
The gift of sight would not really have been a gift; it would have become a
curse. No matter how ambitious, Dritarashtra had a brilliant mind. He
knew that when he saw Duryodhana, he would not only see the great
warrior, the crown prince, he would also see the years of cruelty that his
first born had meted out to his cousins, the devil who had ordered the
stripping of his own sister-in-law in the open court. He would see the
epitomization of his own desires in the form of the Kaurava army, raring to
decimate their own brothers, nephews and grandchildren.

With the gift of sight, the truth would become a reality. He would have to
face up to the facts that he had stamped down on and buried deep inside
him in some unreachable place. And what can be more terrifying than
knowing that he had created these monsters, that he was the author of this
story of blood and gore that was sure to annihilate the entire kingdom? The
deaths of innocent soldiers, the tears of their widows and children, the
curses of the old parents would all be attributed to his “mahatvaakanksha”.

It is not easy to look in the mirror and see the spots on your character and it
is even more difficult to take responsibility for them. The freedom that we
acquire through education (in this case through sight) also comes with the
rider that we become responsible for our actions- past, present and future.
It is the fear of taking on this responsibility that stops us from truly
educating ourselves. It is the Fear of Freedom (Erich Fromm has written an
entire book on it) that stops the progress of society towards righteousness.
All of us have a little Dritarashtra in us, who desires great things, but has no
courage to deal with the consequences of his/her ‘blind’ actions and hence
refuses freedom. The day we actually stop being fearful, our conscience may
find its way to the universal truth.

Reference:
 Paulo Freire, Pedagogy of the Oppressed
 Erich Fromm, Fear of Freedom
 Maharshi Veda Vyasa, The Mahabharata