Gold medal is polio-ridden girl’s answer to naysayers
LUCKNOW: As she pushed her wheelchair towards the stage to receive a gold medal certifying her academic prowess, BA student Deepmala Gautam couldn’t help but recall an incident of two years ago when she was denied admission to a college because of her disability.
“I will visit the college again and show my degree to the principal just to tell her we are not different. This medal is my sweet revenge against all such people,” said an emotional Deepmala, who has been polio-ridden since a very young age.
As Dr Shakuntala Misra National Rehabilitation University, Lucknow, held its first convocation in the presence of chief minister Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday, quite a few such heartwarming stories came to the fore but Deepmala’s story shone through. She scored 90% marks in the examination to become one of the highest scorers of the university.
Giving the entire credit of her success to father Munnalal and mother Shyamsati, she said, “I was confident that I will be among the top scorers. But I never imagined getting such a grand felicitation.”
The spirited girl now hopes to become an IAS officer. “I also want to become a teacher for those who are afflicted with disabilities like mine,” she added as her proud parents looked on.
B Ed student Neetu Singh is another gold medallist, who fought disability — hearing impairment in her case — to score 85% marks. Like Deepmala, she too credited her parents with the success. “It’s all because of my parents and their support.
As a teacher, I will launch special classes for the hearing impaired,” said Neetu who was accompanied by her father Seshpal Singh.
Syed Shabihul Abdeed and Ram Babu Rawat, both visually impaired students, didn’t get any medals but were happy to attend the event graced by the CM. “I never imagined that the CM would be around,” said Abdeed, who was felicitated on the day.
In all, 77 medals, including 37 gold, 20 silver and as many bronze, were awarded to the students. Governor Ram Naik gave away degrees to 633 students of which 237 were disabled. Apart from the CM, Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav was present on the occasion.