Former NDA star Anil Kumar, paralysed in a bike accident in 1988, taught himself to write with his mouth
Former NDA star Anil Kumar, paralysed in a bike accident in 1988, taught himself to write with his mouthu00a0
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Former Indian Air Force fighter pilot Anil Kumar, widely known for his brave fight against paralysis for
11 eventful years, turned 45 yesterday.
Kumar was awarded the Best Air Force cadet at the National Defence Academy and the best student of aerobatics award at the Air Force Academy following which he commissioned into the Indian Air Force as a fighter pilot in 1984.
Kumar's life took a turn on June 28, 1988, when, after night-flying duty, he was heading back to the Air Force Station, Pathankot. He suddenly hit a road barrier and was flown off the bike, sustaining a cervical injury that made him a tetraplegic.
After spending two years at the Military Hospital, Anil Kumar in the meantime discharged from service admitted himself into the Paraplegic Rehabilitation Centre, Khadki (in Pune), rather than go home to Thiruvananthapuram.
The first person account of Anil Kumar's struggle has been a part of the SSC English textbook since 1995.
Given his Air Force background and nationalistic mindset, Kumar said he would have voted for bureaucrat-turned-political aspirant Arun Bhatia had it not been for the extremely hot and dry conditions that prevailed on the day of voting in Pune. "The same weather prevailed in Pune last year this time and I could not vote. I am not sure if Bhatia will win or lose, but I would have been satisfied for voting for the right man," he said.
Kumar has not allowed himself to become a vegetable during his bed-ridden days and is happy that he mastered programming languages like C, C++, Web programming, and even Assembly.
"I started learning computers in 1994 and now I can even write virus programmes," he said.
Kumar has written numerous articles for newspapers using a stylus held in his mouth to type words. "India has the scientific and technological prowess to be a world power, but it lacks the political courage," he said.
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