The Brave Acid Attack Survivor With UPSC Dreams

Since childhood, the dream of Kaajal Prajapati has been to become a police officer. Kaajal comes from the Mehsana district of Gujarat. Her father who is an auto-rickshaw driver and her mother a housewife were always supportive of her dream. And everything was going on well too, until a day when Kaajal was subjected to a brutal acid attack.

On 1 February 2016, when Kaajal was 18-years-old, in front of her college, her stalker threw acid on her face because of the rejection he faced from her. She fell to the ground in severe pain. Her friends and seniors tried to help her by pouring water and milk on her face, but that just aggravated the situation. She was taken to the hospital and the doctors declared her blind. The acid had taken her eyes.

Kaajal was subjected to multiple surgeries. This whole process was earth-shattering for Kaajal. She has just begun her first year of college. Her entire life came to a standstill. Her education suffered, her brother had to leave his studies to take up a job and finance her surgeries and her father had to do extra shifts. The surgeries took lakhs of rupees, and yet they did not have the desired results.

Kaajal’s family has spent nearly Rs 20,00,000 so far on her medical expenses. Among which Rs 3,00,000 she received from the government and some amount via donations from strangers. It was only last year that Kaajal was able to see with one eye.

Even when various people, including her relatives, turned away from her, and never bothered to question the attacker, Kaajal gathered the courage to apply for jobs because of the support from her parents. But her job applications were rejected because of her appearance.

But Kaajal was not willing to give up easily. She recently re-enrolled in college and is currently finishing her first year while preparing for UPSC. We wish her good luck to achieve a greater life and be inspirational to the society.

Written by Poorna Krishnan