Visually impaired Kashmir youth cracks civil services, daily-wager father recounts years of struggle

BANDIPORA: There is festivity in the Mirpora locality of Naidkhai village in Bandipora, Kashmir, as children guide visitors to the home of Irfan Ahmad Lone, a visually impaired youth who has cleared the UPSC civil services examinations.

As their modest one-storey house is unable to accommodate the stream of people pouring in to congratulate, Irfan’s father Bashir Ahmad, a daily-wage labourer in the irrigation department, has set up a large tent in the lawn outside the house to welcome guests.

Sitting inside the tent with his daughter Shabia, a class 11 student, and son Mujtahib, who studies in class 10, Bashir is overwhelmed with emotion as he says: “On Friday evening, Irfan called me up from Delhi and shared the happy news. We had been waiting for this day for years. I just cried with joy.”

The proud father said Irfan sent him the result list on WhatsApp, showing his rank of 957. The news quickly spread in the village through social media.

The success and celebration came after years of struggle and adversity. Irfan, his father said, was born healthy. At the age of four, a boy in the neighbourhood accidentally inserted a syringe into his right eye, severely damaging it.

“It happened sometime in 2002. I took him to Chandigarh, where doctors said he could be operated upon when he reaches 10. We returned and admitted him to a school,” he said. “But, another tragedy struck. A fellow student pushed him and a pencil stuck his other eye.”

The family first took Irfan to Sheri Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences in Srinagar and later to AIIMS in Delhi. “We stayed at AIIMS for 14 months hoping he would regain his eyesight,” Bashir said. “Even after several surgeries, nothing changed and we returned home heartbroken.”

Back in the village, many people advised Bashir to admit Irfan to a special school for visually impaired children in Srinagar. “I went there, but my heart sank on seeing its poor condition,” he said.

Later, he heard about Model School for the Visually Handicapped in Dehradun. Determined to educate his son, Bashir got him enrolled there, although it took a year.

Irfan passed class 12 from the school with distinction and later graduated from Hindu College in Delhi. He then did his master’s in political science from JNU. He got a job at PNB, and worked for about 18 months before he qualified as an assistant administrative officer in LIC and was posted in Delhi.

In his first attempt at the civil services exams, Irfan cleared the prelims. The second time, he made it through the mains, and finally qualified in the third attempt.

Bashir said he used to visit Dehradun four times a year to see his son. “I even had to sell land to support his education. Those were tough times, but tough times don’t last,” Bashir said. Now, even his younger sister and brother dream of becoming IAS officers.

Villagers say Irfan’s achievement has inspired not just his siblings but the children of entire Kashmir.
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