Click to play videoNew Delhi: Border Security Force (BSF) constable Nikumb Ramesh's prayers have finally been answered and it is not just divine acceptance but also help from the BSF.
Thrown out of the force in 2005 after he was found unfit with AIDS, Mongia has been reinstated after personal intervention from BSF chief Ashish Mitra.
"I only took it as a single case because I felt gross injustice was being done,” said Mitra.
“I have taken my medicines on time and undergone my treatment properly to keep myself fit,” said Ramesh.
BSF rules do not permit personnel with 40 per cent physical inefficiency to continue in service.
So the BSF chief's decision to reinstate the 36-year-old jawan from Gujarat along the western frontier in Bhuj is seen as a path-breaking effort.
“AIDS as a disease came to light long after the medical manual was written,” said Mitra.
Officially, the BSF has 150 AIDS infected jawans and 25 HIV-positive personnel have died since 2003.
"I would really not place much credence on these numbers. I am afraid that due to the social stigma attached to AIDS, people are very hesitant to talk about it,” said Mitra.
The big question now is whether this particular incident will help change the mindset not only in the BSF but across all paramilitary forces.
It’s only then that the Government will be forced to change the medical manual that determines the physical fitness of a jawan.
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