Jammu, May 27 (Representative) An old adage—where there is a will, there is a way—and it fits well for brave Chandeep Singh, a para athlete from Jammu and Kashmir, who is not only an inspiration to many but a ‘role model’ as well for the students as Jammu and Kashmir Board of School Education (JKBOSE) has introduced his brief success story in a chapter ‘Social Exclusion and Inclusive Policy in Jammu and Kashmir’ of eighth standard Political Science textbook. Hailing from Jammu district, Chandeep Singh in the year 2011 lost both arms due to electric shock but he never lost courage and converted his disability to special ability, says a brief description about the real life hero published on pages 139-140 of the textbook with a picture of para-athlete in action on skates. Chandeep might be specially-abled to few but a motivation for thousands of souls, who watch him performing day-to-day routine alongside practising sports. Initially started with skating, Chandeep Singh in 2021 also became the first Para Athlete from the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir to win a medal at Para World Taekwondo Championship at Istanbul, Turkey.
The champion also won two gold medals in the Kimunyong Cup Taekwondo Championship in South Korea and was appointed as an Official Brand Ambassador of District Jammu in 2019-Lok Sabha elections.Speaking to UNI, Chandeep Singh expressed happiness and appreciated the Jammu and Kashmir administration for publishing a paragraph on his success story in class eighth Political Science Book. “If anybody gets motivated from my life, definitely it further motivates me and makes me stronger,” said the para athlete. “It will give me immense happiness if the students get motivated after reading my story in their textbook,” he said and added, “despite being specially abled, if I can motivate the young minds, it also encourages me a lot.” Chandeep, who has now turned a professional engineer (completed electrical engineering), lauds the JKBOSE for publishing the struggle and life of local personalities to inspire youth. “Such stories not only encourage students but the society also knows about the challenges we face to get through hard times and come out of trauma to scale our goals, which never was a cake walk without self grit and commitment,” said Chandeep. Director (Academics), J&K Board of School Education, Prof (Dr) Sudhir Singh told UNI, “we keep NCERT books as base and localise the content by publishing history of famous and brave personalities from the region with a motive to teach children about social exclusion and inclusion to know about their heroics.”
“The way Chandeep converted his disadvantage into an opportunity and did not allow himself to gently go into gloom, is commendable and he is a lesson to learn and taught that is loaded with positivity,” said the Director. The Professor said, “our generation must be aware of his determination. It is not all about his medals but the motivation, with which he raised himself, will boost the confidence of our future kids.“Such stories emphasize people and are adopted as a challenge to restore the lost confidence and help in inclusion in the society,” he stated. “Idea behind introducing a small success story in class eighth standard textbook is that children at this age are in a transition phase, facing emotional turmoil and pressure and such stories inspire them to take life the way it comes and never surrender,” Prof Singh added.Claiming that the children presently are very impatient and are temperamental, Prof Singh added, “bright people like Chandeep awaken us with positive vibes towards life to make people emotionally strong and transform disabilities into success stories with willpower and inner strength.”