V.J. Stajan, an ad filmmaker, was busy rummaging through pictures of his elder son Nehal late on Tuesday night. With a heavy heart, he zeroed in on a photograph of him with his 14-year-old son that was shot in a pine plantation at Wagamon, Idukki, and posted it on his Facebook page with a note, “I am proud of you my son”.
The Kochi-based filmmaker is one of the few distraught parents who posted pictures of their dyslexic kids on social media after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s comments on dyslexic children. In an apparent jibe at the Congress president Rahul Gandhi, Mr. Modi, while participating in a video conference with students at IIT-Kharagpur, asked a student whether her project could also help 40 to 50-year-old children. Mr. Modi asked the question to a student who was speaking about her project to help dyslexic children.
“My son is a talented person and I am proud of him. But I feel ashamed about the comments made by Mr. Modi,” said Mr. Stajan in the post.
“It’s the responsibility of the country, the Prime Minister, and the parents to identify the talents of such kids and nurture them. Shaming them is certainly not the way. Using issues such as disability to score political points is highly deplorable,” said Mr. Stajan, who broke down during the conversation.
Sandhya Prajin, the executive director of the Travancore National School, Thiruvananthapuram, too posted a few pictures of her dyslexic son Tejas on social media. Ms. Prajin has been honoured by the President of India as one of the 100 women achievers of the country for her contribution towards the education of dyslexic kids. She had opened an exclusive school to tutor her son and other dyslexic children in the State capital.
“Our kids are our pride and they cannot be ridiculed. Mr. Modi’s comment has caused a rude shock in the minds of parents who have struggled all through their lives to bring up their dyslexic children,” said Ms. Prajin. She urged other parents to post pictures of their children and take pride in them.
Priya Saji, a Thiruvananthapuram-based documentary filmmaker and the mother of an 18-year-old dyslexic son, said such children needed better understanding and support from the family and society.
“One should be sensitive enough to understand the importance of familial support to such kids. They don’t need your sympathy and no one should be allowed to ridicule them,” said Ms. Saji, who is also a television journalist.
Punishable offence
A doctor engaged in medical outreach programmes said Section 92 of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, made it a punishable offence to intentionally insult or intimidate a person with such disabilities. The offenders could be punished with imprisonment from six months to five years and fine for such offences, he added.