Gyanendra Purohit is an advocate and activist in India and the co-founder of Anand Service Society, an organization for the deaf and mute in India.
Wiki/Biography
Gyanendra Purohit was born on 25 July in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India. His star sign is Leo. He did his Masters in Social Work, Bachelor of Laws and Master of Laws from the School of Social Work, Indore, affiliated to the Indian Institute of Social Work, from 1997 to 1999. He also studied for Chartered Accountancy before pursuing a career as a lawyer.
appearance
Height (approximate): 5′ 10″
Eye color: Black
Hair color: Black
Family and caste
Parents and siblings
His father’s name was Babulal Purohit.
Gyanendra Purohit’s father
He had a brother named Anand who was hearing-impaired and speech-impaired; Anand died in a train accident in 1997.
Gyanendra Purohit with his brothers as a child
Wife and children
On May 18, 2001, he married Monica Sharma Purohit, a special educator, activist and philanthropist.
Gyanendra Purohit and his wife
They have two sons named Sarthak Purohit and Chinmay Purohit.
Gyanendra Purohit and his family
Profession
Gyanendra originally wanted to be a chartered accountant, but gave up his dream of devoting his life to people with disabilities after his elder brother Anand, who was deaf and mute, died in a train accident. He began advocating for people with disabilities, especially the deaf and speech-impaired. In 1997, he and his wife Monica Purohit founded the Anand Service Society, an organization for the deaf and disabled.
Anand Service Society logo
The organization provides education, training and employment assistance to deaf and mute children and has residential centers in Indore and tribal and rural areas of Madhya Pradesh such as Dhar and Alirajpur (districts with the highest illiteracy rate in India). Through his organization, he advocated for admission of deaf and mute children into regular schools, reservation of teaching posts for the deaf and speech-impaired by the state government, reservation of seats for deaf and mute persons in government ITI colleges and admission of them, making BERA test mandatory for government jobs, etc.
Awards and Honors
- 2012 Alex Memorial Award
Gyanendra Purohit receives Alex Memorial Award
- On January 14, 2016, Jindal Steel Foundation awarded the title of Rashtriya Swayam Siddh Samman
Gyanendra Purohit and his wife hosted the Rashtriya Swayam Siddh Samman of Jindal Steel Foundation
- 2016 Rotary Award for Outstanding Service to Deaf Children and Women
Gyanendra Purohit receives Rotary Award
- 2017 Rotary Nation Builder Award for outstanding service to deaf and speech-impaired children and women
- Registered as a Rehabilitation Social Worker with the Rehabilitation Centre of India (RCI) in 2017
Favorite things
Facts/Trivia
- When he needed land to support his NGO for the deaf, the government refused to give him any help. Later, Gyanendra’s father, the late Babulal Purohit, donated his pension to help him buy a piece of land for charity.
- Gyanendra and Monica Purohit composed the national anthem in sign language in 2003, which was approved by then Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
- In 2005, Gyanendra and his wife translated Bollywood blockbusters Sholey (1975), Gandhi (1982), Munna Bhai MBBS (2003) and Taare Zameen Par (2007) into sign language.
- The Gyanendras have also worked with the Madhya Pradesh police to set up India’s first deaf and speech-impaired friendly police station at the Tukoganj police station in Indore, where deaf and speech-impaired people can file complaints in sign language.
- In 2015, Gyanendra and his wife appeared in the BBC produced talk show Aaj Ki Raat Hai Zindagi, a talk show hosted by Amitabh Bachchan and aired on Star Plus.
Gyanendra and Monica Purohit in Aaj Ki Raat Hai Zindagi
- In 2017, he appeared along with his wife on the talk show ‘DSC Show’ aired on Zee Entertainment, hosted by Dr. Subhash Chandra. In the show, Gyanendra spoke about the work of Anand Service Society and his contribution to helping people with disabilities.
- During the COVID-19 lockdown, Anand Service saved more than 500 deaf-mute people through a sign language video call helpline (available nationwide). The most notable case was when they saved a deaf-mute girl who wanted to commit suicide through a 14-hour online video call consultation.
- In February 2020, the initiatives of Anand Service Society became a part of ‘Stories of Indian Social Responsibility Network (ISRN) – Volume 4’ presented by Pt. Deendayal Upadhaya, Ministry of Culture, Government of India.
- The couple also trained the staff of the Narmada Jhabua Rural Bank in sign language, making it the first bank in India to be open to the deaf.
- The Gyanendras also helped Sudeep Shukla, a deaf-mute, to contest the 2018 Madhya Pradesh Satna state assembly elections. The couple helped Shukla deliver his speeches. He is the first deaf-mute MLA candidate.
Sudeep Shukla
- In 2020, he appeared in the Karamveer Special of the game show Kaun Banega Crorepati hosted by Amitabh Bachchan.
Gyanendra and Monica Purohit in Kaun Banega Crorepati
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education