In 1997, a bullet changed Javed Ahmad Tak’s life. A young student from Bijbehara in South Kashmir, Javed was caught in the violence of the time and suffered a devastating spinal injury. He spent months in hospital and was eventually left paralysed from the waist down, dependent on a wheelchair. For years, he struggled to come to terms with a life that had suddenly taken a completely different direction.
But Javed refused to let the wheelchair become the definition of his life. While confined at home, he heard children playing outside. In 2000, he decided to start teaching them. What began with a handful of children grew into something remarkable, he went on to teach 80–90 children, while also creating a book bank and helping poor students with uniforms and school bags.
Then he understood something deeper. His own struggle had shown him how much harder life could be for children with disabilities. Many were isolated, denied education or lacked even basic aids such as wheelchairs and hearing devices.
So Javed went back to studying. He completed a Master’s in Social Work from the University of Kashmir in 2007, along with further training in special education and human rights.
In 2003, he established the Humanity Welfare Organisation Helpline, working for disadvantaged people and especially persons with disabilities. His mission soon moved beyond providing help to demanding dignity, accessibility and equal opportunity.
In 2008 came one of his biggest dreams, the Zaiba Aapa Institute of Inclusive Education. It began in a small rented room with just a few children and eventually grew into an inclusive education and rehabilitation centre serving children with different disabilities.
Government material has recorded it as providing free education and support to more than 100 children, while more recent reports say the institute now educates over 280 children. But Javed didn’t stop at building a school.
He pushed for ramps and accessibility in public institutions, fought for the rights of people with disabilities and helped secure practical support such as scholarships, reservations and assistive devices. His organisation has also worked in 50 villages across Anantnag and Kulgam, while its child-protection work has responded to the needs of 3,147 children through Childline and related programmes.
And then came the recognition that seemed almost impossible when that young man first lay injured in a hospital bed. In 2020, Javed Ahmad Tak was awarded the Padma Shri for Social Work, one of India’s highest civilian honours. The official Padma Awards records list him among the 2020 recipients under Social Work for Jammu & Kashmir.
A man who once lost the use of his legs went on to help thousands of children and families find education, mobility, dignity and opportunity.
