Prez confers honorary doctorate on visually impaired educationist Bijay Rath
Even though visually impaired, Bijay Kumar Rath has been a guiding light for blind students in Odisha. Defying all odds, he emerged as a remarkable personality, inspired by the ideals of his father, Brundaban Rath, who was himself a freedom fighter. His unwavering commitment and sense of duty since his student days have earned him immense respect in society.
During his childhood, there were no schools for the blind in Odisha. Determined to study, Bijay enrolled himself in Behala Blind School, Kolkata, in 1957-58 with his father's permission. After a few years, he returned to Odisha. On September 1, 1960, a school for the blind was established in Bhubaneswar on nearly 10 acres of land through the efforts of then Governor Yeshwantrao Narayan Sukthankar, with Dr N Ratna of Mysore as its first head. Initially, it had classes only up to the 5th standard, leaving students without opportunities for higher studies.
When the government decided to close the school due to various reasons, Bijay personally met the then President V V Giri and then Union Social Welfare Minister R Jagannath Rao at Berhampur Circuit House, urging them to reopen the school. Taking note of his plea, the President directed the Odisha government to keep the school functional. Eventually, classes were extended up to the 11th standard, and the first batch of six students successfully passed their examinations.
Later, under Bijay's leadership, blind students petitioned the Governor to allow them to pursue higher education in colleges. Acting upon this request, Governor's advisor K T Satarawala issued orders permitting blind students to study in four colleges —Khallikote, Ravenshaw, BJB and Kendrapara.
After completing higher education at BJB and Khallikote College, Bijay played a pivotal role in the establishment of a Blind School in Berhampur, where he initially served as the only teacher. He travelled to England and other countries to study global education systems for the visually impaired and introduced similar frameworks in Odisha.
He played a key role in establishing a school for the deaf and mute at Ambapua, alongside the blind school. His lifelong mission was to ensure that blind individuals did not resort to begging but instead became part of mainstream society. At Ambapua in Berhampur, he also set up a vocational training centre where visually impaired persons learned to make chairs, ropes, candles and other handicrafts.
Due to his relentless efforts, Odisha's first Braille Press was established in Berhampur on November 19, 1986. It supplies books to 35 schools and institutions across Odisha and also prints Braille calendars, science magazine Bigyana Diganta and dummy ballot papers for blind voters during Assembly and Lok Sabha elections.
Bijay founded the Odisha Blind Foundation and the Odia Blind Association (OBA) in Bhubaneswar to further the welfare of the visually impaired. His brothers, senior journalist Rabi Rath and Braille Press Director Prakash Narayan Rath, have been his perennial associates in this mission. Under his guidance, many blind students from Odisha now hold significant positions across India.
For his lifelong dedication and humanitarian service, Ravenshaw University, at its 13th Convocation, honoured Bijay Kumar Rath with an Honorary Doctorate, conferred by President Droupadi Murmu. The visually impaired community of Odisha, along with various institutions and intellectual circles, have congratulated Bijay.
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