Purple Think Tank

George Abraham is a social entrepreneur, inspirational speaker and a disability activist. He launched Cricket for the Blind in India in 1990. He founded the World Blind Cricket Council and was chosen in 1996 to serve as its Founding Chairman. In 1998 at New Delhi, he came up with the idea and staged the first World Cup of Cricket for the Blind. George established the Score Foundation and introduced Project Eyeway, a one-stop knowledge resource on living a life with blindness. Eyeway helps people find resources, exchange information, and fight discrimination. In 2013, he conceived and produced a 13 part TV serial-“Nazar Ya Nazariya” featuring Naseeruddin Shah and Harsh Chhaya as anchors. The serial which had over 39 case stories was about possibilities and potential of persons with visual impairments. George is an Ashoka fellow. He carried the Olympic Torch at Atlanta 1996. He was honored as one of the Limca Book of Records People of the year in 2007. He was awarded the Sanskriti Award in 1995 and was given the C F Andrews Distinguished Alumnus Award in 2015 by St Stephen’s College.

Dr. Charudatta Jadhav is the first Indian Blind Chess player to be awarded an international rating in the game of Chess and the first Indian chess player to win a tournament in Ireland in October 1988. Jadhav established the All India Chess Federation for the Blind (AICFB) in 1997. He has also started Radio Chess, a new internet radio that talks about chess for the blind. Currently, he heads the Accessibility and Inclusive Design Research & Innovation at TCS. He has over 30 years of extensive experience and has been a key architect and lead consultant in establishing the accessibility practice within TCS.

Padma Shri, Khel Ratna and Arjuna Award Winner Dr. Deepa Malik is India's first female para-athlete to win a medal at the Paralympics (Rio, 2016). She currently serves as the President of the Paralympic Committee of India and Disability Affairs Advisory Committee Member of the Government of Uttar Pradesh. She is a winner of 5 President of India awards, 4 Limca world records, 3 International Awards, 68 national & state medals and 23 international medals. Dr. Deepa Malik is India’s first paraplegic woman biker, swimmer and rallyist. She is a member of PM Modi's High Level Committee for celebrating 75 years of India's independence. She has been recognised as 'Woman of the Year' 2019 by the International Paralympic Committee. She has been appointed as a member of the Government's All India Council of Sports. The Indian team has won the highest number of medals in history at Tokyo Paralympics, under her leadership, for this historic feat Dr. Deepa Malik has been conferred the ASIAN ORDER 2022, the highest honor among all Asian countries participating in para-sports.

David Absalom was instrumental in starting Five a side football for the visually impaired in India. In the year 2006, Indian Blind Sports Association (IBSA) got 50 footballs from the Govt. of Brazil and David was entrusted with the responsibility to introduce the game in India. Thereafter, he also conducted nine National Football Tournaments for the Blind in Delhi. He was the first Indian Blind Football Coach to travel overseas with the Indian team to Thailand. In 2016, he was elected as Honorary General Secretary of Indian Blind Sports Association. He has successfully organized many championships for the visually impaired in India. He was instrumental in introducing new sports like Goalball, Lawn tennis etc. in India. He represents India in international forums.