Braille-ing the trail in fight for access

This deaf-blind lecturer is on a mission to make public spaces more inclusive and usable for people with multiple disabilities

- SUBASHINI VIJAYAKUMAR @ Chennai

December 29, a Sunday morning in 2013. Miranda Tomkinson, a person with hearing and visual disabilities, enters the UGC NET examination hall at MGR Janaki College in Chennai, with his head held high. With a tense face, he receives the question paper, but in Braille, marking a victorious end to his legal battle. Thanks to a Madras High Court directive, his months-long struggle has ultimately earned him a place in history as the first visually-challenged candidate to receive a question paper in Braille for the UGC NET exam.

Miranda, a deaf-blind lecturer employed on a contract basis at the National Institute for Empowerment of Persons with Multiple Disabilities (NIEPMD), is on a mission to improve the society's understanding of people with disabilities. With two books in the pipeline and dreams of making a film flying high, Miranda's focus revolves around a single goal — raising awareness about individuals with multiple disabilities, particularly deaf-blind persons, to make their lives more inclusive and accessible.