Gujarat: Brothers on wheelchair sail through JEE

VADODARA: It is often said that adversity brings out the best in man and these brothers from Borsad town of Anand are an apt example. On Sunday, Mohammed Rashid Pathan qualified in JEE (Advanced) in the persons with disabilities (PWD) category despite being on a wheelchair.
His achievement has come as a double joy for the family as he only emulated the similar success of his wheelchair-bound elder brother Ashrafi who had qualified in the JEE (Mains) in 2019.
Rashid and Ashrafi belong to a family with humble means from Borsad in Anand district. Both have locomotive disabilities and were on wheelchairs. It is only for the last two years that Ashrafi has been able to move with support of others. Both brothers aim to make a career in information technology by pursuing computer engineering.
Ashrafi had also appeared for GUJCET in 2019. "I could have got admission in some National Institutes of Technology, but these were outside the state. I also made the cut for Indian Institute of Information Technology.
However, I decided to the admission in the Birla Vishwakarma Mahavidyalaya in Vallabh Vidyanagar as it was close to our home," he said. Ashrafi, who studied in Hanifa School in Borsad, said, "During the pandemic when classes were being held online, I underwent physiotherapy and exercises so that I could start walking with help," he said.
Ashrafi, who studied in the Hanifa School in Borsad, said, "During the Covid-19 pandemic when classes were being held online, I underwent physiotherapy and exercises so that I could start walking with help," he said.
He is proud of his younger brother and said that while he could not clear the JEE Advanced, his younger brother did so. "We belong to a family with humble means, but our school and teachers ensured we do well in competitive exams," said Rashid, who took pain killers while appearing for the exam. "I had to undergo an operation, but postponed it due to the exams. There was a lot of pain," said Rashid.
Director of competitive exams at the school, Anand Gupta, said Rashid had to lie down for self-study at home and read books by holding them in front of his eyes for long hours.
Their father Ayub Pathan said that the family was able to survive from the income from the small general store he owned in the Gandhigunj area in Borsad.
"After the lockdown, their income fell drastically. It had reached a situation where paying electricity bills was also tough," he said. He added that the treatment and education of his children became possible due to help from hospitals, doctors and the school.