RIYAZ AHMED, 9
A girl and her father were walking on the railway tracks. The Cochin Express was speeding towards its next station on the same track. Riyaz Ahmed realised they were in danger. He managed to save the father, but the child died. In the process, Riyaz lost both his hands and one of his legs. He has now become an object of curiosity and pity and is dependent on others for his every move. Yet, this nine-year-old son of a poor rickshaw puller from Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, has a smile on his face.
He speaks sophisticated Urdu and loves to talk about everything except his disability. Ahmed, who has eight siblings, had drop out of school because he can no longer write. He takes private tuition instead and wants to be a doctor. He tells rediff.com he does not regret his decision.
"My friends and I were returning from Nimboo Park on January 16. We were walking along the railway tracks; this was our regular shortcut home. We were near Dalibagh Bridge when we saw a man and a girl walking on the railway tracks [They were later identified as Sabir Ali and his daughter, Shazia. While Shazia, 6, died in the accident, Ali lost his legs]. There was a train was behind them. We tried to warn them by shouting but they could not hear us. The girl was younger than me and I could not let her die. I rushed towards them. By then, the train was very close. I pulled the girl towards myself. But my feet got stuck in the tracks and all three of us panicked. We fell down. The train ran over us and we were thrown off the tracks. I could not see the girl, but the man was lying on one side. His legs were bleeding badly. I was also bleeding profusely. The train stopped and a huge crowd gathered. But nobody came forward to help. They were just staring at me. Then one man picked me up. A policeman also came to help. I was taken to the hospital. Both my hands and one leg had to be amputated. Later, the [Uttar Pradesh] government gave me a prize. Then I got another prize [the national award]. But I could not save the girl. If she had survived, I would have felt happy."
Riyaz Ahmed was honoured with the Sanjay Chopra award.