SHAKEELA ANDRABI
SRINAGAR: On the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, President Droupadi Murmuas part of the National Awards for the Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities for 2021 and 2022 felicitated 52 persons for their laudable contributions in various fields, including one Inshah Bashir from Kashmir who has been a shining example of courage and determination. Inshaa of Beerwah, Budgam, received the National Award for Individual Excellence 2022 ‘Shrestha Divyangjan’ – Locomotor Disability – on Saturday at a glittering function held in New Delhi.
Turning her physical disability into her strength and overcoming every adversity, Wheelchair Basketball champion, Inshaa Bashir added another feather to her cap when she received National Award from President at New Delhi.
President Murmu on the occasion stressed on the maximum use of technology to remove language-related barriers in education and to make education more accessible to children with disabilities. Inshaa, who after 2009 accident lost her ability to stand, remain active in Wheelchair Basketball since and has been making J&K and the country proud at the international level.
Inshaa Bashir has represented India in international competitions including one in USA. “I am currently captain of the National Women’s Wheelchair Basketball, J&K. I met with an accident when I was studying in class 12th, which injured my spine at L1 vertebra, thereby damaging control communication between brain and legs,” Inshaa said, adding that even today I could not stand on my feet. This incident shattered me for a while but I still continued my studies though on a wheelchair and focused on my goal, she added.
Apart from being active in sports, Inshaa continued her activities outside the basketball arena as well. She has been delivering lectures on various platforms to motivate people. She is the first TED Talk speaker from Kashmir, thus an inspiration for a lot of people in general and girls in particular. In the year 2017, Inshaa participated in the National Wheelchair Basketball Championship held in Hyderabad. She played another National Wheelchair Basketball Championship that was held in Tamil Nadu in 2018. Her big break came in 2019 when she represented India in an international competition held in the USA.The National Awards for the Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities for 2021 and 2022 she received on Saturday is the biggest achievement for her so far and another motivation for her to continue on her journey.”This is big and I am proud to receive such a high profile award from the President of India. It gives me further motivation to continue my journey and inspire others,” she said, adding that in my journey so far, my parents and family have played a huge role. Without them it wouldn’t have been possible.
