Lalit Kumar ‘Samyak Lalit’ Gets Henry Viscardi Achievement Award

Lalit Kumar, who is also known by his pen name ‘Samyak Lalit’, has been awarded the prestigious Henry Viscardi Achievement Award for the year 2021. These awards honor the advocates, role models, and innovators in the global disability community who are shifting societal perceptions, significantly improving opportunities, and enhancing the quality of life for people with disabilities.

Lalit Kumar is the founder and Chairperson of Evara Foundation — a prominent NGO working in the field of disability rights and the empowerment of persons with disabilities. Mr. Kumar is also the founder of web resources like Dashamlav YouTube channel and WeCapable.com which disseminates disability related information. Dashamlav is the largest Indian channel that focuses solely on disability issues and WeCapable.com is India’s largest website on disability information.

Speaking with the press, Mr. Animesh Mukharjee, Head of Public Relations, Evara Foundation, said, “This Henry Viscardi Award for Shri Lalit Kumar is the recognition of India’s rising profile in the field of disability rights. Lalit ji is a truly inspiring figure whose work deserves even more accolades. Today, every Evaraite is feeling joyous on this achievement. It will serve as a great encouragement for all of us and we will further pursue our mission of securing equal rights and opportunities for persons with disabilities in India.”

Notably, Lalit Kumar is India’s only third recipient of this honor (the other two previous recipients being . Dr. Satendra Singh and Ms. Abha Khetarpal). The Viscardi Center, the American organization that bestows these awards has written in the citation, “Lalit is a writer, software developer, and activist who was awarded the 2018 National Award for Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities by the Vice President of India. He created his country’s first Braille Code generator and manages several popular blogs and resource websites that cover topics like assistive technology, parasports, and policy. At the start of the pandemic, Lalit used his skills and network to develop a technology-based procedure and deploy volunteers to help more than 4,000 migrant workers safely reach their homes. He is the chairperson of the Evara Foundation, a disability rights organization, and recently published a memoir, entitled Vitamin Zindagi, about his experience as a polio survivor.”

Henry Viscardi Acheivement Awards were instituted 2013 to honor the legacy of the founder of the Viscardi Center, Dr. Henry Viscardi, Jr., a leading disability rights advocate who wore prosthetic limbs. These honors are given “to recognize exemplary leaders within the global disability community and their extraordinary societal contributions.”