Differently abled after suffering from pneumonia and polio when she was just nine months, Joan Laldinpuii from Salem locality in Lunglei, has been wheel chair-bound in school and college, but the sheer determination of this unconquered soul has secured the top position of Bachelor of Science (Mathematics) in the results that were declared on Monday.
Daughter of a teacher couple Lalhmangaiha and PC Lalhnehthangi from Lunglei in southern Mizoram, Joan Laldinpuii was a student of Government Lunglei College in Lunglei district.
Talking to Northeast Now, Joan Laldinpuii said, “It is unbelievable for me, this achievement is a dream come true for me.” Joan’s mother, a teacher by profession had to sacrifice a lot of her time sending her immobile daughter to school.
“Her condition did not give us any option but to send her to schools which are closest to our home, she has to be wheel chaired to school, I have to rush to her school during breaks to help her go to toilet, it is her strong determination that had helped, there were many a time when I thought it was too much, but then her indomitable spirit always inspire newer energy for me,” Joan’s mother PC Lalhnehthangi said.
Born in 1998 Joan Laldinpuii finished her HSLC and HSSLC in first division, she joined Government Lunglei College for her higher studies three years ago. “In schools we stuck to one classroom but college was different, we have to shift from one class to another as per the demand of the subject’s practical classes, our professors carried me around, my friends did the same, I was a big bother, I thanked my teachers and friends for their support without which I wouldn’t have achieved this feat,” Joan said.
In 1994 when the then parliamentary secretary of school education Joseph Lalhimpuia visited her school, he was so moved by the determination of Joan, he even constructed a wheel chair ramp at her school.
Reliving the moment he first saw her, Joseph Lalhimpuia, a legislator from Lunglei who is the chairman of Mizoram Youth Commission said: “I was told she was wheel chaired to school daily and the absence of ramp had made her life at school very difficult. She had that determination and sincerity, I thought, why not, and collected funds to construct the ramp, my heartfelt congratulations to Joan Laldinpuii.”
Joan now faces bigger challenges, though her dream was to finish her master’s degree in Mathematics, the compulsion of joining Mizoram University in Aizawl, which is almost 200 kilometres from Lunglei to finish her degree has made her opt for civil services competitive examinations.
“I can’t bring my mother to the university, so I thought trying out the civil services examinations is well suited for me, I have enrolled at the local coaching centre, I’ll try to do my best,” a determined Joan Laldinpuii said.
Joan Laldinpuii topped the Mizoram University BSc (Mathematics) securing 1025 marks out of the total 1200 passing her nearest competitor from a well known college of Mizoram by 78 marks.