"Dr Anil Kumar Aneja, Associate Professor at varsity's Department of English has been chosen for a national award for his contribution for the empowerment of persons with disabilities. The university felicitates him on his achievement," DU authorities said.
Aneja, along with other awardees, will be conferred the award by President Pranab Mukherjee in a ceremony at Vigyan Bhavan on December 3. He has been chosen for the award in the 'Rolemodel' category.
He is currently posted as the Officer on Special Duty in the varsity's Equal Opportunity Cell (EOC) and as Nodal Officer, PWD.
"When I was a kid, my parents told me that I can't go to school unlike my brother because I can't see. I was dejected to know that but I decided that being blind cannot deter me from studying and achieving something in life," Aneja said.
"After I could gain education myself, I realised the challenges faced by visually impaired and disabled people and decided to work in the area to make their life easy," he added.
He has been Vice-President of All India Confederation of the Blind (AICB), and has chaired Asian Blind Union and the World Blind Union for eight years.
Latest initiatives taken by Aneja at DU for facilitating the visually challenged students include installation of a technology in all libraries that can scan text and convert it into audio format.
He has also penned a book titled "Combating Discrimination: Some Path-Breaking Advocacy Initiatives for the Visually Impaired".