By Maloy Kumar Dutta
DHAKA, March 22, 2019 (BSS) – Differently-abled Joshiah Sangma Chibol,
popularly known as Chibol Sangma, was elected as member of the DUCSU emerging
as a highest vote-receiving aspirant among member candidates.
Twenty-four year-old Sangma, a master student of Sanskrit Department and a
member of minority ethnic Garo community, was not even born when the last
Dhaka University Central Students’ Union (DUCSU) polls were held in 1990.
Getting admission to the DU under 2014-15 sessions, ever-smiling Sangma,
who could not move without wheelchair since his 11-year-old, attained the
status to be a member of DUCUS though its much-talked about March 11 polls
that held after nearly three decades. It was not an easy journey for him to
be a DUCSU leader as his entire life went through different hurdles.
In 1995, he was born with a rare genetic disease Osteigenesis Imperfecta
(OI), a fragile bone condition from birth, to NGO worker Phanindra Sangma and
housewife Botika Sangma, resident of Mirpur in Dhaka and hailed from Dhobaura
upazila in Mymensingh.
“I am on wheelchair since I was 11. I face different problems throughout
my student life. High-graded schools in Dhaka denied receiving my admission
as the authorities had beliefs that especially abled students like me could
not cope with the competition with normal students,” Sangma said today in an
interview with BSS.
He, who was student of second grade school in the capital, said the school
authorities considered the necessary measures and extra cares that should be
taken for physically clanged students as a burden on them.
“For example, my school authority could not give me classroom facilities
in ground floor for my easier movement,” he added.
Becoming a student of Dhaka University, which has past glory of being
dubbed as Oxford of the East, has opened new doors for Sangma to dream
larger.
“Defying all impediments, my indomitable willingness helped me to get
admission to Dhaka University which was a dream for me. Coming to the
university campus, I found values, principles and humanitarian qualities in
the minds of students and teachers who encouraged me to go ahead to reach my
dreams,” he observed.
“Before the long-overdue Ducsu polls, Bangladesh Chhatra League’s DU unit
president Sonjit Chandra Das and general secretary Hussain Saddam offered me
to be a nominee of the students’ organisation formed by Bangabandhu Sheikh
Mujibur Rahman, the architect of independent Bangladesh,” he said.
“Without any more exchange of words, I accepted the offer and became the
BCL nominee to contest the polls,” he said.
“Finally in the March 11 polls, I was elected member of the prestigious
DUCSU bagging 12,868 votes, emerging as a highest vote receiving aspirant
among member candidates,” he said.
After being elected member of the DUCSU, now he wants to implement the
pledges he made before the polls for realising the rights of common students.
“I will raise my voice not only as a representative of common students but
also an envoy of differently abled students like me who face different
problems in their life. I will voice for making physically challenged
friendly the university thoroughfares, buildings, toilets, classrooms and
other establishments,” he said.
He wants to strengthen the existing friendly relations among students of
all communities.
“My areas of works will be ensuring access of wheelchair users at
administrative building, central library and academic building,” he said.
Sangma wants to continue his efforts for establishing rights of all kinds
of physically challenged and indegenous students and people.