Dalit MCA-holder battles depression for a job

KOZHIKODE: Viju Meenath Meethal, 36, is a dalit MCA-degree-holder, who was a university Kho Kho player and the national athletic champion during his Navodaya days. But he fell a victim to multiple sclerosis (MS- a disease in which the immune system eats away the protective covering of nerves). He lost a job with an IT giant in Bangalore after he was diagnosed with MS seven years ago. However, with five years' treatment at Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology, Thiruvananthapuram, he regained his health.

But he is yet to get a preferred job in an IT company as he doesn't want a government job. Viju from Maniyur, Vadakara, is a frustrated man as he had undergone great difficulties in his life after his parents died while he was a child. Viju's elder brother V.M. Shashi and two other brothers struggled hard to bring him up. "Shashiyettan passed through more mental trauma than me. He set aside a portion of his meagre daily wage to ensure my study," he says. "I was born in a poor family and lost my parents in my childhood. But I faced the odds, got admission in Navodaya School and completed BSc physics and MCA with flying colours. I withstood the unexpected blow of MS too. Still a job in the preferred sector eludes me," he told DC.

He doesn't want a job in the government sector. "I want to prove my skill and I am sure that an opportunity will make me the old vibrant youth," he said. "I passed MCA from Calicut University in 2005. But I developed insomnia and later MS," Viju said. Viju's friend M.P. Muneer said Viju was a jovial person. "Viju never looked upset. Besides, he was the university Kho Kho player and the national athletic champion during his Navodaya days," said Muneer. Viju has conveyed his plight to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and is looking forward to his help.