Steadfast to succeed in mission inclusivity | Trending
Hasan Imam, 24, is on the road to making India more disabled-friendlyIn the recent times, there is an attempt being made to embrace inclusivity in all spheres. However, many gaps remain unfulfilled in terms of infrastructure in the country, making life difficult for the specially abled. Aiming to bridge those gaps is Hasan Imam, a native of Gaya, Bihar, who has undertaken a journey from Kanyakumari to Siachen Glacier (Ladakh) on his wheelchair, in a bid to generate awareness.“I had travelled to Kerala for some work right after the second [Covid-19] wave and realised that it’s really hard to get around, being a differently abled person. That’s when I decided to do an India tour on my wheelchair to raise awareness about the same and educate people of the importance of something as small as a ramp to help us move around,” he tells us.Talking about his journey so far, the 24-year-old says, “I began the tour from Kanyakumari on December 25, 2022. I hope to complete it in around 100 to 150 days. I’m only taking the west coast of India. So far, I’ve covered 90% of Kerala and a bit of Tamil Nadu. I’m in Bengaluru for a few days as I needed to get the battery of my wheelchair replaced. But, I’ll be back on the road soon and head towards Mumbai as I continue the journey.”Along the journey, Imam says he came across many “kind people” who ensured he wasn’t devoid of basic amenities: “In India, there’s a town or a village every 60km and I call it a day when I reach one. I have a tent of my own to spend the night. I look for temples, churches, mosques or gurdwaras, or else a petrol pump. If none of these are around, I set up my tent up near a police station. People have been very kind to me on the journey so far. They give me some food to carry, call me home for lunch or dinner. I can’t wait to experience the hospitality in the rest of the country!”Not only does he want to improve the country’s infrastructure, Imam also hopes to bring about a change in people’s mindset through his Accessible World Campaign. “It is startling to see how India, home to such a large number of differently-abled people, lacks infrastructure. I want to change the mindset [of people] and also the infrastructure, to make everything more accessible for everyone.”Besides wanting to create awareness and support inclusivity, Imam, who has studied Russian at Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi, hopes to someday travel to Russia. “Through this tour, I wish to raise funds to travel to Russia and learn the language there. It’s my dream,” he signs off.
