27. India's Injured Soldiers Aim at New Careers

Like many technology-aware Indian youngsters, N. Rajendran is learning computer applications to become an entrepreneur. That is nothing in a country seen as a fountainhead of budding software talent, where founders technology companies have become multi-millionaires. But Mr. Rajendran is no star-gazing college student. He is a 36-year-old army veteran who is blind in one eye and has an artificial leg. Four years ago, fighting separatist guerrillas in the disputed province of Kashmir, an artillery shell nearly killed him.

Slowly, he is learning to start life afresh at a school specializing in the rehabilitation of battle-maimed army veterans in western India. The school is the Queen Marv Technical Institute for Disabled Soldiers in Khadki, about 190 km southeast ol Bombay. The institute was set up in 1917 to assist soldiers who had been seriously injured in World War I. At present, it has 165 students; 84 of them are maimed veterans, with the remainder made up of former soldiers and their dependants. It aims to equip disabled soldiers with skills that they can use to earn their living in civilian life. “I am learning a new trade, and am planning to open a cyber cafe,” Mr Rajendran said, “I feel positive about my future.”

Wheelchair-bound Kumudchandra Saikia, 38, is also studying computer operation on the same course as Mr Majendran. He lost both his legs in a railway accident while ferrying vehicles to Kashmir from the southern state of Tamil Nadu. He expects to work as a civilian computer operator for the Indian defense forces, Even before they leave the Institute, many of the soldiers, ex-soldiers and their wives are already starting to earn money making electronic parts for companies such as Philips India or steel labels for Kirloskar Oil Engines in the Institute’s workshop.

Attached to the Institute is the Paraplegic Rehabilitation Center, established in 1974. The mission of the Center, one of only two establishments in India which treat paraplegic soldiers, is to prepare the disabled soldiers to handle the psychological shocks they will meet when they leave the Institute and make the first steps in the
civilian world. The senior registrar of the Center, Lieutenant-Colonel Jyoti, considers sporting activities to be an essential part of the rehabilitation process. He is proud to show visitors the huge showcases of trophies that the disabled veterans who have been trained at the center have won at national and international events. The Center makes specially designed wheelchairs which allow paraplegic veterans to play basketball and engage in racing tournaments. It also boasts sports grounds, workshops and specially equipped housing.

But psychological support is no less important than medical treatment and physical therapy. Lieutenant-Colonel Jyoti explained that all the disabled soldiers who undergo rehabilitation suffer bouts of depression from time to time, especially soon after they are injured “I was in total despair,” Mr Rajendran said. "I didn’t know what to do with my life. I couldn’t think of alternatives until somebody recommended rehabilitation to me.” But the road to rehabilitation is long and painful. "The process usually takes about two years,” said Colonel A.S. Kandalla, senior registrar at the military hospital attached to the Institute, which has a special wing for spinal cord injuries. "Especially for those who are destined to live their lives in a wheelchair, it takes at least that long.” Besides the physical healing, he pointed out, it also takes time for the disabled soldiers to get themselves ready to face the arduous task of re-establishing their independence when they return to civilian life.

But the institute is proud of its success stories. Lakhwinder Singh, 27, was paralysed from the waist down after he was shot 21 times in a 1999 skirmish on the India-Pakistan border. Soon, he will open a cyber cafe in the northern city of Jalandhar in premises given to him by the government of the State of Punjab and with funds extended to him by a leading Indian media company.

Adapted from a Reuters Article by Beverh Mathews

Questons 1 -4

Choose the appropriate letters A —D for each question, and write them in boxes 1—4 on your answer sheet.

1. N. Rajendran is __________

A. a college student.
B. a battle-maimed army veteran.
C. an entrepreneur.
D. wheelchair-bound.

2. The Paraplegic Rehabilitation Center was founded to ___________
A. teach computer applications.
B. train soldiers wounded in World War 1.
C. train soldiers wounded in Kashmir.
D. give disabled soldiers psychological preparation.

3. Rehabilitation at the Paraplegic Center stresses ____________
A. treating spinal cord injuries.
B. work.
C. sport.
D. counseling.

4. Which of the following is true about the inmates of the Institute?
A. They all want to open cyber cafes.
B. They were all wounded in combat.
C. They are all vulnerable to depression.
D.They are all soldiers.

Questions 5—8
FIive people are mentioned in the reading passage. For whom are the following statements true?
Write the appropriate letters in boxes 5—8 on your answer sheet.
You may use any name more than once.

R Rajendran KS Kumudchandra Saikia
J Jyoti K Kandalla
S Singh

Example : Answer
was shot in a border battle : S

5. runs tile Paraplegic Rehabilitation Center
6. will be employed by the defense forces
7. is a senior registrar
8. is blind in one eye

Questions 9—14
Do the following statements reflect the claims of the writer of the passage?
In boxes 9—14 on your answer sheet write:

YES if the statement agrees with the writer
NO if the statement contradicts the writer
NOT GIVEN if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this

9. Prospects are dim for computer experts in India.
10. There are only two places that train paraplegic soldiers in India.
11. The wages in the Institute’s workshop are low.
12. Psychological help is as important for disabled soldiers as physical assistance.
13. Disabled soldiers find it difficult to re-adjust to civilian life.
14. Civilian employers are eager to hire people trained at the Institute.



Answer: 1-B, 2-D, 3-C, 4-C, 5-J, 6-KS, 7-K, 8-R, 9-NO, 10-YES, 11-NOT GIVEN,
12-YES, 13-YES, 14-NOT GIVEN

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