Under the patronage of the Indian Army, these specially-abled ex-servicemen have become self-reliant and have learnt the importance and technique of keeping themselves physically fit

hills,” says Kumar, who was briefly employed in a school. “This is a second lease of life for me. We have learnt how to keep ourselves fit, and control our bladder and bowel movements,” he adds. Kumar has a fiveyear-old daughter. “Playing games induces a competitive spirit,” says Shukla, a matriculate, who works as a support staff at the Centre. Once his fingers manoeuvred sophisticated weaponry, today they deftly type on the keyboard. As the Vice-captain of the Wheelchair Basketball Team, representing Punjab, he has travelled throughout the country, and as a member of the national team, he visited Bali (2016) and Nepal (2017) where India stood second in the International Wheelchair Basketball Tournament held at Kathmandu. Reflecting on his life, Shukla says, “If I see from a family point of view, I have everything.” He married his sweetheart after the accident, and the couple had a twin boy and girl with the aid of in-vitro fertilisation (IVF). He knows that PRC has given him and other residents immense opportunities and such platforms may not be available elsewhere. “I can work as a data entry operator, and even teach wheelchair basketball to civilians who are disabled like me,” he says.

Under the patronage of the Army, these specially-abled ex-servicemen have become self-reliant and have learnt the importance and technique of keeping themselves physically fit. Since they are capable of working and earning, they want suitable opportunities where they can contribute. Spehia says these men can be employed as data entry operators, at receptions and other computer based work. Their bio-data has been sent to the placement node in Chandimandir, but a response from civilian employers is yet to come. A hiccup could be that these servicemen can only work for restricted hours for the fear of bed sores and pressure points. Further, there must be a suitable infrastructure for their accessibility at the workplace.

To integrate them in civilian life, there is an urgent need to bring a change in the thought process within society. In a cut-throat cost-cutting competitive environment, are the employers ready to generate more opportunities and create more infrastructural facilities for the men who have given up their today for our tomorrow? It is time those capable of bringing change start working to establish suitable facilities, which can be availed by both paraplegic ex-servicemen and paraplegic civilians.