Amit Saikia’s body may be wasting away but his indomitable spirit refuses to be conquered. He aspires to become an IAS officer.
Amit won the award for courage at the first edition of the IIHM Presents The Telegraph School Awards for Excellence 2018 Powered by Sister Nivedita University, held at the ITA Pragjyoti Centre for Performing Arts here on September 29. He suffers from Duchenne muscular dystrophy, which typically affects males beginning around the age of four and is one of a group of 30 types of muscular dystrophy that may affect up to one in every 5,000 males.
The awards, administered by The Telegraph Education Foundation, were first launched in Calcutta in 1996.
Muscular dystrophy is a group of diseases that cause progressive weakness, loss of muscle mass and control. There is no cure but medications and therapy can help manage symptoms and slow the course of the disease. People who have the disease can gradually lose the ability to do everyday tasks. Amit regularly undergoes physiotherapy sessions. Amit, 20, is a fifth semester BA student in the University of Science and Technology, Meghalaya (USTM). He is a brilliant boy, having scored 90 per cent in his matriculation and 93 per cent in the higher secondary or class XII exams. He has consistently scored 80 to 85 per cent marks in his semester examinations.
Amit was diagnosed with the disease in 2006, when he was eight years old. The symptoms became more pronounced after the age of 12 and he has been wheelchair- bound since the age of 14. He is unable to do anything by himself and his father Khairul Haque Saikia devotes most of his time to taking care of Amit, cutting down his business activities. His mother Halima Begum is employed in Brahmaputra Board.
Saikia transports wheelchair-bound Amit to and from college in his car. Amit is also taken on drives, sometimes to their hometown of Dampur in Hajo.
Saikia told The Telegraph, “Amit cannot do anything by himself. He’s unable to hold his toothbrush or open the cap of his pen. Once he grasps the pen, he can go on writing. I spend most of my time with Amit. I keep him occupied to take his mind off his problem. Doctors had predicted that Amit will live till the age of 20 to 25 but I refuse to believe them. They are not God. He is 20 now and I hope he will live for many more years.”
Amit has been selected in a group of 10 students being provided special UPSC coaching under the Haque 20 Mission of USTM. In his spare time, Amit reads and plays games on the computer.
Determination knows no bounds and Amit surely will realise his dream.
