Akbar Khan is a recipient of India's National Award for The Welfare of Persons with Disability in 1989 and the

Limca Book of Records The ''Limca Book of Records'' is an annual reference book published in India documenting world records held by Indians. The records are further categorised into education, literature, agriculture, medical science, business, sports, nature, adve ...

People of the Year People of the Year is one of the most prominent awards in India. Constituted by Coca-Cola India, to honor people who have consistently contributed to 'Indian excellence'. Prominent recipients of award include Anand Mahindra, Amitabh Bachchan, Nase ...

2016.

Early life and education

Akbar Khan was born on 16 August 1962 in a

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

family to Kistoor Khan, a farmer and Rahmat Begum, a housewife, at Bangasar, located in the Indian state of

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; Literal translation, lit. 'Land of Kings') is a States and union territories of India, state in northwestern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the List of states and union territories of ...

with

Leber's congenital amaurosis Leber congenital amaurosis (LCA) is a rare inherited eye disease that appears at birth or in the first few months of life. It affects about 1 in 40,000 newborns. LCA was first described by Theodor Leber in the 19th century. It should not be ...

, a rare inherited

eye disease This is a partial list of human eye diseases and disorders. The World Health Organization (WHO) publishes a classification of known diseases and injuries, the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, or ...

that appears at birth or in the first few months of life, and occurs in 2 to 3 per 100,000 newborns of the population. He has one brother and one brother died at early childhood, who both inherited the same eye condition. Khan secondary education was at Govt. Blind School,

Ajmer Ajmer () is a city in the north-western States and union territories of India, Indian state of Rajasthan. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Ajmer district and Ajmer division. It lies at the centre of Rajasthan, earning it the ...

and DAV School,

. In 1978, at the age of 16, Khan was selected by

Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

under the National Scholarship Scheme for securing high position in the list of meritorious candidates qualifying for award in Rajasthan state. He attended Sanatan Dharm Govt. College,

Beawar Beawar () is a city in Beawar district of Rajasthan, India. Beawar was the financial capital of Merwara state of Rajputana. As of 2011, the population of Beawar city is 151152 (1 lakh fifty one thousand one hundred fifty two). It is located ...

and Savitri Girls College,

. He graduated in 1982, with

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

Sociology Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...

and Indian vocal music.

Career

Khan was the first visually impaired candidate in India to qualify in the Staff Selection Commission (SSC) of India and the first blind person to join

Punjab National Bank Punjab National Bank alias PNB is an Public sector banks in India, Indian government bank based in New Delhi. It was founded in May 1894 and is the List of banks in India, second-largest public sector bank in India in terms of its business volum ...

as steno-typist in Punjab region. In 1989, at the age of 27,

awarded him the

National Award The National Film Awards are awards for artistic and technical merit given for "Excellence within the Indian film industry". Established in 1954, it has been administered, along with the International Film Festival of India and the Indian P ...

, the highest civilian honour for persons with disabilities in India, for being the most efficient handicapped employee. Khan is a singer, musician, and composer. He has been honored multiple times in various musical competitions and has also served as a judge. Khan served as the chair of the National Federation of the Blind (NFB), Bikaner division from 1993 to 1998, working as an activist for the welfare of visually challenged people.

Awards and honors

* 1988 – Best Employee Award by Governor of Punjab,

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

, India. * 1989 –

by the

Vigyan Bhawan Vigyan Bhawan ("science home") is a premier convention centre, conference centre of the Government of India in New Delhi. Built in 1956, over the years it has been the venue of conferences of national and international stature, seminars and awar ...

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

, India. * 1999 –

Gold Medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have b ...

by the

Governor of Gujarat The governor of Gujarat is the nominal head of the Indian state of Gujarat. The governor is appointed by the president of India and resides in Raj Bhavan, Gandhinagar, Raj Bhavan in Gandhinagar. Acharya Devvrat took charge as the 24th governo ...

Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...

, India * 2012 – Pride of Rajasthan by the Education Minister of the

Government of Rajasthan The Government of Rajasthan is the supreme governing authority of the Indian state of Rajasthan and its districts of Rajasthan, 41 districts. It consists of an executive branch, led by the governor of Rajasthan, as well as judiciary and legis ...

, Rajasthan, India. * 2016 –

India Habitat Centre The India Habitat Centre is a multipurpose building in the city of New Delhi, India. It was the brain child of the Housing and Urban Development Corporation (HUDCO) Chairman, Santosh Sharma. The India Habitat Centre is one of India's most compr ...

, India.

Family and personal life

Khan married Dr. Rana Ruknuddin, who did her

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

from

Aligarh Muslim University Aligarh Muslim University is a Collegiate university, collegiate, Central university (India), central, and Research university, research university located in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India, which was originally established by Sir Syed Ahmad Kh ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Khan, Akbar 1962 births Indian disability rights activists Indian blind singers Living people People from Hanumangarh district People from Bikaner district Rajasthani people Indian Sunni Muslims Activists from Rajasthan Blind activists Indian activists with disabilities