Six persons with disabilities from across the country, who challenged societal norms and drove change, were honoured for their achievements at the 23rd CavinKare Ability Awards, organised by CavinKare, in collaboration with Ability Foundation.
This year’s award recipients were selected by a panel of jurors, including lyricist and screenwriter Madhan Karky, MS Swaminathan Research Foundation chairperson Soumya Swaminathan, former Madras High Court judge Justice Prabha Sridevan, Krea University co-founder and IFMR president Kapil Viswanathan and chartered accountant S Sethuraman. The CavinKare Ability Awards is divided into three categories: the CavinKare Ability Award for Eminence, the CavinKare Ability Mastery Awards and CavinKare Ability Special Recognition Award.
The CavinKare Ability Special Recognition Award was given to Sarah Sunny from Bengaluru, India’s first lawyer with hearing impairment to argue before the Supreme Court. Overcoming barriers like the lack of legal sign language interpreters, she continues to advocate for judicial accessibility. The CavinKare Ability Award for Eminence was awarded to Poonam Shroti from Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh, a disability rights advocate born with osteogenesis imperfecta, a condition that causes fragile bones. Defying societal expectations, she thrived in the corporate world and founded Uddip Social Welfare Society, empowering individuals with disabilities through education and employment.
The CavinKare Ability Mastery Awards were given to Mohammad Shams Aalam Shaikh, Miranda Tomkinson, Jilumol Mariet Thomas, from Thodupuzha, Kerala, and Arshad Pandit. Shaikh, from Gujarat, is a para swimmer and disability rights advocate with 31 national medals and a world record for the longest open-sea swim by a paraplegic.
Tomkinson, from Chennai, is India’s first individual with visual and hearing impairment to major in Special Education. A lecturer at NIEPMD, she holds three postgraduate degrees and has cleared UGC NET in Sociology and Education. Pandit, from Srinagar, became paraplegic after a terrorist attack in 1995 and is now an Associate Professor at Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS). A researcher in medical genetics, he has secured Rs 12 crore in research funding and developed a hand-controlled driving system.
Jilumol Mariet Thomas, born with thalidomide syndrome, is a self-employed graphic designer and foot painter. A Mouth and Foot Painting Artists Association member, she won Best Painter of the Year 2021 and became Asia’s first woman with disability to receive a four-wheeler license in 2023.
CK Ranganathan, chairman and managing director of CavinKare Pvt. Ltd., emphasised that the awards honour their resilience and inspire inclusivity. Jayshree Raveendran, founder and executive director of Ability Foundation, stated that the awards amplify the voices of people with disability.
Dignitaries including AR Rahman, Vinod Surana, and Mariazeena Johnson expressed their support for the cause. The event also featured a Mohiniyattam performance by Kalaimamani Gopika Varma and her troupe.