S Sankara Raman is an Indian disability activist and social entrepreneur. He serves as the honorary secretary of Amar Seva Sangam, a disability management Non-government organization based in Tamil Nadu.[1][2] Sankara Raman was also an elected fellow at Ashoka in 2006.[3][4] He also got into noticed during 2017 Mumbai Marathon when he didn't run the shorter 2.4 km category for disabled people but ran the 6 km run with everyone else.[5][6]
S Sankara Raman | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | Indian |
| Occupation(s) | Disability activist and social entrepreneur |
Early life and work
editRaman was diagnosed with muscular dystrophy at the age of three. He studied to become a Chartered Accountant. His activism and efforts started with his father when he faced discrimination by Chartered Accountant firms by turning down his requests for internships. They wrote to Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and requested for a unique position for his situation. As a response, ICAI created positions for all disabled people in the CA firms of the country.[7]
Raman started his own practice fearing discrimination at corporates. He also joined the Tamil Nadu Welfare Association for Physically Handicapped and worked on disability rights in parallel of his CA practice. In 1991 S. Ramakrishnan and decided to join Amar Seva Sangam to continue his work for disability rights.[8] He also wrote for Frontline and commented on Government Bills on disability.[9]
When Sankara Raman was refused by Marathon organizers for fundraisers, he actively took it to media highlight that they were Differently abled and not disabled. This led to fundraising marathons with disabled citizens also participating.[10]
Awards/recognition
editSankara is the recipient of Helen Keller Award by National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People[11] Director Arin Paul made a movie on his life titled as S. Sankara Raman - The Man, The Myth, The Legend.[12]
References
edit- ^ "Sankara Raman" (PDF). Inspiring Stories of Successful Indians Worldwide.
- ^ Singh, Digvijay (2019-10-04). Every Life Counts: The Noble Work of Amar Seva Sangam. Notion Press. ISBN 978-1-64650-982-9.
- ^ "S. Sankara Raman | Ashoka | Everyone a Changemaker". www.ashoka.org. Retrieved 2021-06-14.
- ^ Sharma, Shubha (2017-04-07). "They run to improve lives". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2021-06-14.
- ^ Sharma, Shubha (2017-04-07). "They run to improve lives". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2021-06-14.
- ^ "Sri S Sankara Raman" (PDF). Infinithoughts. 2018.
- ^ https://www.amarseva.org/uploads/default/files/articles/Cofeetable%20book%20CA%20Institute.pdf [bare URL PDF]
- ^ Chandrasekaran, N. "Incredible Champions" (PDF).
- ^ "Enabling Change" (PDF).
- ^ Rao, Sandhya. "A profile in courage" (PDF).
- ^ "7th Hellen Keller Award" (PDF). NCPEDP.
- ^ "Rare Disease Filmfestival 2021 | Participants". Centogene. Retrieved 2021-06-14.