On 27 March, 2014, the World Well being Group (WHO) declared India polio free, following the final reported case of untamed poliovirus within the nation on 13 January, 2011, in West Bengal’s Howrah.
India has largely remained polio free, aside from a vaccine-derived case that was confirmed in a two-year-old little one from Tikrikilla within the West Garo Hills district of Meghalaya. Nevertheless, senior officers from the Union Well being Ministry emphasised in August 2024 that this wasn’t a case of untamed polio however an an infection affecting these with low immunity.
Whereas the vaccination efforts have slowed in some areas, India’s achievement of being polio-free stays a big public healthcare success. Due to the vaccine, tens of millions of Indian kids are spared from the illness, however we should keep in mind those that weren’t as lucky.
Whereas many have been held again attributable to an absence of help and empathy round them, there are those that overcame outstanding odds to attain nice issues in life.
Listed here are 5 inspiring tales of on a regular basis Indians who overcame polio and made a significant influence.
Dr Shravan Chaudhary
At simply 10 months previous, Dr Shravan Chaudhary contracted polio, leaving him unable to stroll. A resident of Jaswantpura in Rajgarh tehsil of Ajmer, Dr Chaudhary’s quite a few hospital visits throughout his childhood impressed him to pursue a profession in medication. Nevertheless, the street wasn’t simple.
Talking to The Higher India earlier this month, he mentioned, “I used to be disqualified from showing for the Pre-Medical Take a look at (PMT) as a result of 80 % incapacity in my decrease limbs. I needed to transfer the Rajasthan Excessive Court docket. Via their intervention, I enrolled for MBBS. After 5 years of devotion and exhausting work, I turned a health care provider!”
A certified physician, he serves on the prestigious JLN Hospital in Ajmer. For over a decade, he has been visiting villages to actively organise pulse polio campaigns and lift consciousness concerning the illness. “I share my story with mother and father who’re nonetheless afraid of vaccines, even many years after the launch of the marketing campaign. We now have an extended option to go to combat this worry, and I’m going to do my finest,” he mentioned.
Ajay Gupta
Ajay Gupta was recognized with polio at 9 months, leaving each his legs and left hand paralysed. As we speak, he’s the proprietor of Bachpan Playschools, with 1,100 franchisees throughout India.
Ajay couldn’t attend faculty till he was six years previous as a result of there weren’t any playschool amenities for youngsters like him. As an alternative, he went to a close-by authorities faculty, accompanied by a helper who would carry him from dwelling to high school and help him within the washroom. After highschool, he couldn’t enrol in faculty as a result of lack of accessibility. As an alternative, he did his commencement through correspondence.
In 2002, when he enrolled his kids in a playschool, he realised how insufficient the state of playschool schooling was within the nation. He realised that solely the prosperous might afford high quality schooling at these centres.
As we speak, Bachpan Playschools are current nationwide, educating virtually one lakh college students, and taking high quality playschool schooling to Tier-II and III cities. He additionally runs a non-profit known as ‘Hum Honge Kamyab’ that seeks to empower college students with disabilities.
Kiran Bavadekar
Contracting polio at three, Kiran Bavadekar confronted vital obstacles, together with two accidents that severely affected his leg. Regardless of dragging himself round till the age of 15, he turned a nationwide bodybuilding champion {and professional} wrestler.
Kiran later opened a health club, coaching over 300 college students, lots of whom have joined the Indian Military or police. If a scholar can’t afford the charges, he both offers a waiver or teaches totally free.
“At the moment, anybody will be no matter they need to be so long as they cease seeing themselves from an outdated perspective. I’ve at all times believed incapacity lies within the eyes of the beholder. I by no means noticed myself any completely different from the remainder and labored as passionately as others to pursue my wishes,” Kiran mentioned.
Deeja Satheesan
Wheelchair-bound from polio, Deeja Satheesan, a local of Thiruvananthapuram, was homeschooled and developed a ardour for cooking from her father, who was a resort cook dinner.
In a December 2020 dialog with The Higher India, Deeja recalled, “My father was an incredible cook dinner. Sitting on my wheelchair, the primary dish I cooked was hen curry once I was 19. Everybody liked the dish and appreciated me for it, and my father mentioned I had his expertise.”
After her father’s demise in 2017, she turned to her love for cooking to help her household. She launched ‘Nymitra,’ her pickle enterprise, which has flourished due to encouragement from family and friends. As we speak, she sells quite a lot of selfmade pickles and earns a good-looking revenue from the enterprise.
“One in all my household associates, Naushad Khan, motivated me by saying that I wanted to do one thing I like. With out giving it a second thought, I selected to start out a pickle enterprise, as I had made it earlier than. With the religion of my household and associates I started ‘Nymitra,’ which implies “new good friend,” with the assistance of Naushad,” Deeja mentioned.
Along with a big number of pickles, she additionally makes chutney powder, sambar masala powder, rasam masala powder, garam masala powder, and different snacks.
Shilpa Mehta Jain
Identified with scoliosis (polio) when she was two months previous, Shilpa confronted discrimination all through her schooling. Nevertheless, she remained targeted on her research and have become a Chartered Accountant (CA) on her first try.
In a 2023 dialog with The Higher India, she mentioned, “Once I was in class, folks used to inform my father to cease spending cash on my schooling. The varsity price was round eight rupees a month on the time. They’d categorical pity in direction of my father and inform him that he would want extra dowry to get me married as I used to be disabled.”
With no associates in class, she realised early on that schooling was her key to success. In 2001, she turned a Chartered Accountant (CA), a big feat given the excessive stage of problem in these exams. However regardless of her tutorial prowess, firms had been unwilling to enrol her for articleship due to her incapacity, however that didn’t cease her from advancing her profession.
On January 10, 2023, she was awarded the ICAI Award by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) for her diligent and glorious skilled achievements. After receiving this recognition, Shilpa pledged to financially help 100 folks with disabilities to pursue their CA within the subsequent 10 years. Shilpa additionally began a scholarship known as ‘Shantilal Mehta Scholarship’ in her father’s identify.
(Edited by Arunava Banerjee)
