Pranjal Patil took over as Sub-Collector of Thiruvanthapuram in 2019, becoming the country’s first blind woman IAS officer. 25-year-old Beno Zephine from Chennai was the first blind person to be inducted into the Indian Foreign Service. Over the years, persons with vision impairment have actively served and made a mark in the civil services.

Tinku Singh from Delhi is a young IAS aspirant who planned to appear for the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) exam in 2020. Despite losing his eye sight due to retinal damage, Tinku finished school education via distance learning. Focused on aiming high and achieving the best, he topped his class in college.

In February 2020, Tinku filed his UPSC application, along with a request to allow for a scribe. His elder sister volunteered to assist him with the test scheduled in May 2020. But the sudden outbreak of coronavirus pushed the exams to October and Tinku’s sister was advised bed rest following an unplanned pregnancy.

When he approached the examination body with an application for change in scribe, the officials simply turned him down. Eyeway’s advocacy team immediately took up the matter, citing guidelines issued by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, which mandate flexibility in cases of emergency.

Both Tinku and Eyeway pursued the authorities, highlighting the impact of such outright denial of rights on a 21-year-old’s future. The request was finally accommodated and another scribe was provided by the examination office. Tinku successfully appeared for the prelims and is now awaiting his result.

It’s unfortunate that several officials exhibit a total lack of awareness of the existing provisions put in place by the government they swear to serve. Thousands of visually impaired people fall prey to the system, failing to find an agency to advocate on their behalf.  Eyeway works hard to bridge the gap between the written word and its implementation on ground.