By Sameer Ahmad
Anantnag (NVI): When Tariq Bashir Khan lost his vision at the age of eight, his parents became very worried about his future. The gutsy Tariq Bashir refused to allow his blindness become an obstacle to shape his destiny.
It had been a tough journey for the visually impaired Tariq Bashir, who is now an Assistant Professor in the Government Degree College Utrasoo in Anantnag District.
The forty year old academic, hails from South Kashmir’s Andoora Shangas village in Anantnag District, about 30 kms from the main town Anantnag, and is a proud son of son of Bashir Ahmad Khan,, a retired head master, and Tahira Begam.
According to Tariq Bashir, “While I heard people say ‘he can do nothing’, today I tell them ‘I can do anything”.
Recollecting his days when when people made him realise that he was useless without vision Tariq Bashir said, “Many people would say I am a”useless” boy without eyes and born blind is a sin. I can say now that after 40 years, Khan is standing tall and living by his conviction and clearly saying ‘I can do anything”.
Tariq said that he was born with ‘Retinitis pigmentosa’ a condition that changes how the retina responds to light, making it hard to see. People with Retinitis Pigmentosa lose their vision slowly over the time.
Tariq began to lose his vision at an early age of eight years.
Bashir Ahmad Khan said that Tahir at a very early age had eye sight issues and by the time he was eight his vision got impaired leaving him blind.
“I could not let his problems browbeat him, and as a father I had to do everything so that he is not dependent on anybody,” Bashir said.
In his father and brother Farooq Bashir who is also a government teacher, Tariq found these two people who would lay the foundation of his career that will open gates of success for him.
Tariq said, “It was a collective journey of my family and friends that helped me all along”.
After he lost his vision, it was only voices and concentration that made him study and remember things, Tariq said.
“My father and brother would read loudly to me and and I would listen carefully. Later they began recording my study materials so that I listen to it later and replay according to my needs,” he added.
Tariq has a huge collection of cassettes that his father has recorded for his son over the years. He cleared his 12th standard in 2003, after an eight years gap.
According to Tariq, one of his motivations came from Radio. “Radio used to broadcast a Punjabi programme “Akshar Akhanday” especially for blind. I was encouraged by that programme,” he said.
After completing his graduation in 2006 with 1st Division, Tariq pursued MA in History from the Kashmir University.
“In 2009, I qualified the preliminary examinations of Kashmir Administrative Service (KAS), but was not allowed by Public Service Commission (PSC) to sit in the mains examination for not being able to provide him a helper or Braille facility. I lost the opportunity to join the civil service,” he claims.
Unfazed by this, Tariq concentrated on other competitive exams and qualified the National Eligibility Test (NET) and State Level Eligibility test (SLET). This became a strength for Khan to qualify the screening and interview for lectureship at higher secondary level conducted by PSC.
According to his family, in 2011, Tariq was appointed lecturer and was posted in a government higher secondary school in his own area.
“The then principal of the higher secondary school was apprehensive about his ability to teach and thus denied him permission to join the school. It was only after the intervention of the then Director school education, Kashmir, he was allowed to join. He was posted in DIET Anantnag where he proved himself as the best lecturer,” Tariq’s father said.
In 2016, he cracked the PSC and was selected as Assistant Professor in History.
Tariq got married in 2011 and has three daughters. He thanks all his friends who have over the years helped him in various forms.
