In a proud moment for Indians,?Major Gopal Mitra?became the first differently-abled person from India to be appointed at the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF).?
'Major Gopal Mitra, SM lost his vision in an IED blast. Despite all odd Major Mitra did Masters in social work from Tata Institute of Social Sciences and MSc in Development Management from London School of Economics', said the Indian Army's post on Instagram.
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'He is now the first disabled person from India to be appointed at the UNICEF Headquarters', reads the post.?
According to a Mid-Day report,?Mitra works at the UNICEF as programme specialist, and his role involves providing technical support to enhance the inclusion of children with disabilities in policies and programmes at global, regional and national levels.?
During a 'search and destroy' operation in the Kupwara district of Kashmir, Major?Mitra suffered serious visual impairment. After the insurgency attack, there were 60 stitches across his face and two years worth of trips to hospitals for surgeries.?
"Young people with disabilities are among the poorest and most marginalised of the world's youth. Estimates suggest that there are between 180 and 220 million youth with disabilities worldwide, and nearly 80 per cent of them live in developing countries," he?was quoted as saying in a 2012 interview with the Mid Day.?
"So our point is if people with disabilities are not included by the government in programmes and policy making, it is not a only violation of human rights of the disabled, but also a huge loss of potential to the nation" he added.?
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