Disabled boy Muhammad Asim brims with excitement after witnessing Parliament session in Delhi

14 year old Muhammad Asim from Kozhikode in Kerala is quite popular on social media. Asim, who was born without both limbs, has been fighting to upgrade his school to higher secondary since they have only till class 7. Asim’s call for help was later heard by the Kerala High Court who directed officials to upgrade the school soon. Recently, Asim visited the Parliament session in Delhi. His supporters took to social media to share Asim’s exciting experience at the Parliament.

Muhammed Asim does not need an introduction to most social media users. This 14 year old disabled boy has beaten odds and obstacles to pursue his higher secondary school education. Asim, who is from a small village at Kozhikode in Kerala, recently visited New Delhi and witnessed one of the parliament sessions too. Being his first visit to the national capital, Asim couldn’t hide his excitement. It was clearly seen in his smile. This youngster hopes that he can take his education mission to the next level very soon.

Struggling to complete education

Asim’s struggle dates back to over two years. He was born with a 90% disability without both arms. After completing class 7, Asim was stuck in the dark as his school did not have classes above standard 8. He had to travel a few kilometres in order to attend a school at a nearby Panchayat. This was hard for his family members too, as they had to accompany him.

Asim and his family approached many local and state authorities to upgrade his school with facilities for higher secondary classes. The family even started a social media campaign #Justice4Asim which received a lot of attention.

Asim’s message reached many higher officials including Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. But nothing substantial was done during that time. His family later contacted the central government and then Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s office who instructed officials to take up speedy action. Two years back, the Kerala High Court ruled in favour of Asim and directed authorities to start higher secondary classes at the school. This was a big win to Asim and his family.

A visit to Delhi

In spite of a disability, Asim ensures to travel to whichever places he can. His latest visit to Delhi was widely shared on social media by his supporters. Asim was accompanied by his father Muhammed Said and Human Rights Activist Noushad Thekkayil.

Asim’s visit happened earlier in March, just before the spread of deadly Coronavirus across India. He attended the Parliament session and couldn’t be more excited and happier. He also met Ramya Haridas, a Member of Parliament from Kerala. “Parliament session is really vibrant”, Asim told Malayalam daily Mathrubhumi.

Apart from the Parliament, Asim also visited the National Human Rights Commission and National Child Rights Commission as well.

Many experts from the disabled community differs to Asim’s cause. They have specific reasons for it too. Like how Jomy Joseph, a disability rights activist from Kerala puts it, “Asim is someone who travels to places like Trivandrum and Delhi. So why can’t he travel every day to a school that is a few kilometres away? I feel this is exactly the same reason why the government is also hesitant to support his cause. If he was fighting for accessibility issues in educational institutions, he would have got a lot of support”.

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