Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and Simu Das (Pic credit: CM Office Assam) NEW DELHI: A mysterious early morning phone call from Prime Minister Narendra Modi has Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma scrambling for answers. The Prime Minister simply asked him, “Have you met Sima yet?” — a name Sarma was shockingly unfamiliar with.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SIGN UP NOW!“Around 5:30, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called me. He asked me about Sima. I was nervous and told him, ‘I speak Himanta.’ He said, ‘Yes, I’m talking to you. When you meet Sima, she has a problem, solve her problem.’ I was confused – who is Simu? What’s the problem?” reminded the CM at a recent public function.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi met the victorious Indian Women’s Blind Cricket Team
He only discovered the answer after contacting the PMO. Simu Das, a young woman from a poor family from Assam’s Nagaon district, became the player of the match in India’s historic win in the first ever Blind Women’s World Cup T20. She scored 86 runs and took the decisive wicket in the final against Nepal – a performance so extraordinary that even the Prime Minister took notice in person.Born completely blind, Simu grew up without a permanent home and is responsible for supporting his brother, who is both blind and deaf. Yet her passion for cricket changed her life. “She told me that she likes to play cricket and when she was in Class 8, she went to Delhi to play,” Sarma recounted.
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Identified and trained by the Cricket Association for the Blind in India (CABI) and the Samarthanam Trust for the Disabled, Simu’s journey from the extreme poverty of Nagaon to national stardom is a story of resilience in the face of overwhelming odds.She and the Indian team recently met Prime Minister Modi and presented him with an autographed bat. Her state also finally recognized her. CM Sarma presented a check of Rs 10 lakh to Sim and assured government support for her future career. An emotional Simu replied, “There were times when I felt my dreams were too big for someone like me. But this honor and government job gave me a new life and a new identity.”Behind this remarkable athlete is her mother Anju Das, a daily bet who raised two differently-abled children on her own. Simu attributes his success to perseverance and faith: “When one has no one of one’s own, one has to make one’s own.”
