Prof. (Dr.) V. S. Verma
Man is superb among all creatures gifted both with intelligence and wisdom that distinguishes him from all other creatures on the earth. All parts of the human body are unambiguously not only essential, but indispensable. Sometimes, due to cruelty of nature or whatsoever, some children are born with some body parts either missing or aberrant or natural cruelties make some children, men and women lose one or more of their body parts after birth making them to lead a crippled life. But some courageous children do not fall back upon nature, rather stand erect against nature to brave away the shortcomings and get ready to frustrate the challenges.
One among such exemplary children is eleven year old Khannu of Kathua. She is a handicapped girl child, born with only one leg and has just upper half of both arms. But she never succumbed to the malformation and is braving unkindness of nature and courageously defying bias of nature at the tender age. She is studying in fifth class and has always excelled in studies right from the childhood. She is the inmate of JRC Home for Handicapped, Udheywalla, Jammu. Viklang Chhatra Trust, Akhnoor (a voluntary organization given to the cause of handicapped) came forward, literally adopted her and decided to help refining the extraordinary qualities she had exhibited not only in academics, but also in sports. The Trust got her fitted with the world class Jaipur foot/leg, which helped her not only walk upon her own legs and perform day-to-day activities successfully, but facilitated in exceeding her fellow children in sports. With the help of artificial legs, she won laurels to the community of differently challenged persons by earning Gold Medal in hundred meter Sprint Race in the National Olympic Games for Handicapped held in Ajmer (Rajasthan) in December, 2013. Not satisfied by her achievements, Khannu looks up to accomplish her dreams and rise to the peak of success in academics as well as sports. She wants to set an example for her community to defy the challenges of the nature to rise high in sports as well.
Likewise, a twenty two year old Sikh youth Chandeep Singh son of Surinder Singh, a small farmer of Simbal Camp in R. S. Pura was trapped by ominous High Tension live electric wire accidently falling on him in 2011 and got both of his arms burnt to be amputated making him handicapped for the rest of his life. Isn’t it brutal in today’s enlightened society and despite tall claims made by government, Chandeep Singh has not received any compensation either from the Power Development Department or any other Government agency? Being a sportsperson, Chandeep did not allow the amputation to dampen his desire to excel or quell his spirit standing between him and his future prospects in sports. Braving pain and agony, he continued his sports spree and won many medals at State level Roller Skating championship and earned laurels not only to the State, but to divyangs community too. On meeting Chandeep Singh, Milkha Singh, the renowned sportsperson of international fame was impressed by his achievements and aspired that such sportspersons with exceptional outstanding qualities should be encouraged in their field of excellence since they become brand ambassadors of the country.
There may be many more, but I cannot help making reference to Amir Hussain, another glaring, but rare example of double arm amputee and famous cricketer from Waghama, Bijbehara (Anantnag) in South Kashmir, the home constituency of our incumbent Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti as well as former Chief Minister, Late Mufti Mohammad Sayeed. Amir, who is also captain of State Para-Cricket team, lost both of his arms in a tragic accident at the age of just eight years. He aspires to join International Para-Cricket team of India. In March, 2016, Deputy Commissioner, Anantnag Muneer-ul-Islam felicitated the outstanding cricketer and the District administration recommended Amir to be employed on a monthly honorarium of Rs 12,000 per month to RAMKY Infrastructure who had agreed to appoint him formally under Corporate Social Responsibility. This is step forward in the right direction helping the one who helps himself. But, is this enough?
Impressed by the extraordinary qualities of these brave heart children, the State government should ambitiously come forward to perform their legal as well as moral duties to provide all possible assistance to translate their dream into reality to excel in academic as well as sports activities. The Government should get these outstanding physically challenged divyang children fitted with the latest technological intervention, the bionics arm, which is an engineering feat based on the application of biological method and systems found in nature, the design of engineering systems coupled with modern technology. With the bionic arm, a person can successfully control multiple and complex movements of a prosthetic limb with his or her thoughts which opens up a world of possibilities for amputees. The surgical and technological setup that makes this feat possible is very marvelous human intervention that mimics the natural procedure. However, the procedure being the latest invention pioneered in USA, is a very costly affair beyond the reach of an ordinary person with meagre resources.
The aspirations and passion to help the underprivileged are bigger, dearer and beyond the reach of small NGOs of the State. Since the State Legislature has the provisions to help such disable persons, the claim becomes compelling for the Jammu and Kashmir government to come forward to help these divyang children to get them fitted with bionic arms, and whatever help required for their progress, and extend support to them excel in academics, sports and other exceptional inherent qualities, assist them to fulfill their humanly aspirations and so that they become brand ambassadors of the State and the country. This is otherwise Government’s constitutional obligation to provide dignified life (right to live) to its state subjects. Though the previous Government in the State was willing to provide bionic arms to rehabilitate the limbless, yet the dream of the limbless could not be realized due to their exit from the seat of power.
In a landmark legislation, the State Administrative Council, during the recent Governor rule, approved the ‘Jammu and Kashmir State Trust for Welfare of Persons with Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation and Multiple Disabilities Act, 2016’ which was expected to unfold myriads of opportunities for the envisaged categories through a number of interventions and schemes. Taking a further leap to help the disabled persons, the State Administrative Council sanctioned a post of Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities. Let the present Government in the State come out with a sympathetic attitude to give a helping hand to these children who want to help themselves and let the State be proud for realizing the dreams of less fortunate children into reality defeating the designs of the unkind nature. This will also send a message to other divyang children that the cruelty of nature is not the last inscription of their destiny and that their determined efforts can defy the unwanted endowment of the nature. Moreover this will prove the Government’s intention to provide succor to the differently challenged but upcoming young persons of the State. Let the Government do something tangible rather than making various laws, which virtually remain in Law Volumes only.
Being brought under the umbrella of myriads of Schemes for the welfare of disabled persons, the State government, under the dynamic leadership of benevolent Chief Minister, Ms Mehbooba Mufti is expected to take personal interest in this matter and come out with a compassionate heart to provide the divyang children opportunities enabling them to translate their dreams into reality and stand by them to defeat the cruelties of nature.
(The author is a social worker.)
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