Forty years ago, when an accident paralysed both his legs and made him immobile, Tami Tanyang almost gave up all hopes of leading a normal life. Today, at 46, he is not only as mobile on his wheel-chair as any other ‘normal’ person but also a promising politician in the making. Tanyang is contesting in the October 13 state Assembly elections from Itanagar constituency on a JD(U) ticket.

“I never thought of contesting until one day I realised that the so-called normal people, whether in politics or in the government, are least bothered about the differently abled segment of society,” said Tanyang, who is busy campaigning in his constituency on his wheel-chair.

Tanyang is pitted in a five-cornered contest for one of the most prestigious constituencies which not only covers the state capital, but also Naharlagun and Bandardewa, the two important commercial townships of the hill state.

There was a time when Tanyang was 100 per cent immobile. He, however, underwent at least two major surgeries at Apollo Hospital, Chennai, in 1993, following which he launched the Arunachal Pradesh Handicapped Welfare Society in 1995 to work for the physically challenged.

Tanyang has won a national award for outstanding performance for the welfare of the disabled in 2002. “The moment I received the award from Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, I felt a magic sensation. I heard with great interest how Kalam expressed his dissatisfaction over the indifference in the society towards the disabled. Then I decided I will fight election and take the cause to the Assembly,” he told The Indian Express.

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