Lt Col C Dwarakesh, who lost his eyesight following an accident during a basketball game at a military station in 2014, has been honoured with the National Award for Persons with Disabilities. The 36-year-old officer was presented the award by President Droupadi Murmu on Wednesday in recognition of his continued service in the Indian Army despite total blindness, as well as his achievements in para shooting.
As per a report in TOI, Lt Col Dwarakesh is the first officer in the Indian armed forces to remain in active duty after becoming completely blind. After spending eight months in hospital recovering and adapting to his condition, he pursued academics and utilized assistive technology to overcome challenges. He has cleared multiple competitive exams and now conducts research in para sports, focusing on individuals with visual impairments.
With the support of AI tools and other assistive devices, Dwarakesh carries out his military duties with the same level of skill as his peers. In addition to his Army career, he is a national champion in swimming and shooting within paralympic sports and holds the world No. 3 ranking in the 10m air rifle event. In October, he set a world record score of 624.6 at the Shooting World Cup held in the UAE. He trains at the Army Marksmanship Unit in Mahou as part of the Indian para shooting team.
Dwarakesh, who joined the Army in 2009, described receiving the national award as a “full-circle moment,” recalling his commissioning by the President 16 years ago. Originally from Tamil Nadu, he has also qualified for the UGC NET, making him one of the few visually impaired scholars specializing in management, human resources, labour law, and sports research.
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