Now, literacy visits lepers’ complex

FATEHGARH SAHIB, June 18: Men like Sita Ram, of Shekhupura, near here, just don't give up. Suffering from leprosy, and aged 85, he is learni...

FATEHGARH SAHIB, June 18: Men like Sita Ram, of Shekhupura, near here, just don’t give up. Suffering from leprosy, and aged 85, he is learning to become literate. “What would you gain when you become literate in the twilight of your life?” he was asked. With great pain he sits up and shoots a counter-question, his only surviving eye shining with hope: “Don’t you know? I will be able to make at least one more person literate.”

Sita Ram is one of more than three dozen lepers who, after work, attend literacy classes for two hours every day. They are from different parts of the country but they sit together to learn Punjabi language with a passion and a sense of discovery.For Chadrma, too, who belonged to Orissa about 12 years ago, the mission is the same. She also wants to get acquainted herself with knowledge and to teach others. Sarabjit, the son of another leper Pappu is the most educated among them for which Pappu is proud. But he harbours inferiority complex not because of his being a handicap but for being an illiterate.

There are three other persons Basanti, Ram Parsad and Devi Lal in the same complex who take classes. Basanti is a matriculate and started conducting classes about two months ago. Narrating her experience she says, “They were really in the hell so far. The literacy classes will enable them to lead a meaningful and purposeful life ahead.” Another `teacher’ Ram Parsad, who is a priest in the colony’s temple, hailed from Meghalaya about 23 years ago, was a third standard literate but now he has acquired enough knowledge of local language as well as teaching skill to help others to learn it. Visualizing his dreams, he said when all would be literate here, they would establish a library to develop book culture.

The literacy mission in district Fatehgarh Sahib has caught a great momentum. Deputy Commissioner T.R. Sarangal is hopeful of turning the entire district fully literate.Jaspal Singh, ADC (Development) and in-charge of the literacy mission in Fatehgarh Sahib disclosed that there were 54320 illiterate persons in the target age group of 15 to 45 years, of which about one thirds belonged to the Schedule Caste families.

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