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Born without arms, Riaz Ahmad has taken into his feet, literally, the responsibility of shaping future generations. Defying innumerable challenges, the 32-year-old teacher imparts valuable life lessons to children in the strife-torn border district of Poonch, nestled in the mighty Pir Panjal range.
His family in Natrol Sinkhatta village, 15km from Mendhar tehsil, did not allow Riaz’s birth defect to overshadow his life, despite the struggles of growing up with a severe disability in an area which is not only geographically tough but also ravaged by militancy. “No one was bothered about the development of our State, forget the rights of a disabled person,” says Ahmad’s father. He put a pen between the child’s toes and motivated him to write. Ahmad practised hard and began to excel at it. He has not looked back since.
He studied up to high school in Natrol. “Not a single school was disabled-friendly. In this hilly region, I had my share of difficulties moving around but no obstacle was bigger than my will to overcome it,” says Ahmad.
He was a voracious reader and soon began studying for a degree. He married in 2003 and, with the support and care of his wife Shahida (name changed on request), spent seven years studying to qualify for the post of a government schoolteacher. “In 2008, his name appeared in the list of permanent teachers. Our prayers were finally answered,” says Shahida, now a mother of two children.
“He has been teaching in this school for eight years... We are very satisfied with his work,” says Mussarat Shah, the school head.
There are 8 lakh physically challenged people in J&K, according to a recent research by Javed Ahmad Tak, the founder of Zeba Aapa Institute for Inclusive Education. There are several State- and Centre-sponsored schemes to promote equal opportunities and rehabilitation of physically disabled people, but real progress is possible only when people with special abilities are accorded their rightful space in life.
“All it requires is a human touch to every welfare scheme launched for physically disabled people,” says Ahmad’s father.
The writer is a law student at Jammu University and a Charkha fellow
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