National Association for Blind secretary-general K Ramkrishna addresses the felicitation programme on Thursday. Picture by Nagendra Kumar Singh

Indian Institute of Business Management and Dr Zakir Hussain Institute felicitated K. Ramkrishna, the honorary secretary-general of the National Association for Blind, Mumbai, on Thursday.

Ramkrishna said: “My blindness has never been an impediment to my progress. It was a minor hurdle that I overcame easily.”

Born on January 7, 1950, Ramkrishna had congenital cataract in both eyes . At nine, he had lost vision in his left eye because of glaucoma and by 22, his right eye, too, had become dysfunctional.

Ramkrishna, however, continued in his gritty fight towards success. “I continued to get first class marks. I completed my MBA from SP Jain Institute of Management, Mumbai, in 1984, with a first class and had a normal professional life,” he said.

Rakesh Kumar, officer-on-special duty and director of Indian Institute of Bioinformatics and Biotechnology, who was present at the programme at IIBM Hall on Thursday, said: “Ramkrishna is an example for others. All of us should take lessons from his determination. He should train children with visual impairment to achieve their dreams.”

Ramkrishna received a number of prizes and scholarships, including an award of excellence from National Institute of Visually Handicapped, Dehradun, for academic excellence and was recognised as an outstanding young person in 1986 by Jaycees, Mumbai.