In Pudukkottai, 34-year-old visually impaired Tamil teacher Pon Sakthivel has been quietly transforming access to books for visually impaired readers. Since 2019, the government school teacher at the Government Higher Secondary School in Silattur near Aranthangi has digitised more than 2,000 printed books, converting them into audio-enabled and screen-reader-friendly e-books so that visually impaired students can read independently rather than depend on others.
His work includes prominent Tamil literary titles and academic texts, which were earlier inaccessible to many readers. Through a community-supported book-purchase initiative and a WhatsApp group that crowdsources reading requests, Sakthivel continues expanding the collection while advocating for publishers and institutions to release books in accessible formats as mandated under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act.
Turning Personal Struggles Into Accessible Learning
For Sakthivel, accessibility is not just a social cause it is deeply personal. Born with visual impairment in Shanmuganathapuram near Alangudi in Pudukkottai district, he experienced first-hand the difficulties of accessing textbooks and study material during his academic journey.
Despite these barriers, he pursued higher education, completing his undergraduate studies at American College before pursuing an MPhil focusing on technology for the visually impaired and later enrolling for a PhD at Gandhigram Rural University on journals meant for visually impaired readers. When he began teaching Tamil in 2019, Sakthivel decided to tackle the very challenge that had shaped his own educational experience: the lack of accessible books.
Using a professional duplex scanner purchased with a central government research grant, Sakthivel began converting printed books into digital formats. The process involves scanning each page and using Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software to convert the images into editable text files. These files can then be used with assistive technologies—such as text-to-speech software that reads the text aloud, screen-reader applications that help navigate digital pages, enlarged fonts for readers with low vision, or formats compatible with Braille displays.
Through this meticulous process, Sakthivel has digitised more than 2,000 books over the past few years, including several well-known Tamil works. Among them are the 12-volume Anandarangam’s Diaries and Nenjukku Neethi, the six-volume autobiography of former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi.
He has also converted titles published by the Sahitya Akademi such as Sirpi’s Ilakkiya Varalaru. For many visually impaired readers, these books were previously unavailable in any usable format, making Sakthivel’s efforts a crucial bridge between literature and accessibility.
Sakthivel believes access to books is closely linked with dignity and independence. “When books are not available, visually impaired students are forced to depend on others. This dependence slowly affects their confidence. Education is the only resource that gives dignity to stand tall in society,” he said, emphasising why making reading accessible remains central to his mission.
Community Efforts Expanding The Accessible Library
Beyond digitising books, Sakthivel has also built a community-driven ecosystem that helps visually impaired readers access new titles. One of the biggest challenges in the process is sourcing books. To address this, he travels to major book fairs across Tamil Nadu including those held in Chennai, Madurai, Coimbatore, Erode and Tiruchy often after collecting wishlists from visually impaired readers, students and teachers.
The readers pool money to purchase the requested titles, while Sakthivel personally attends these fairs, buys the books and later digitises them free of cost. “The money is collected only for buying the books. Digitisation is always done without charge,” he explains.
As demand for accessible books grew, Sakthivel launched a WhatsApp-based initiative in 2023 called Viral Mozhiyin Nool Thirattu (roughly translating to “Accessible Language Book Collection”). In this initiative, members contribute a nominal fee of ₹500 and share their book wishlists.
The group then pools around ₹10,000 during each cycle to purchase selected books, which Sakthivel later digitises and distributes among the members in accessible formats. By 2025, the group had completed 16 cycles and expanded to more than 20 members, demonstrating how collaborative efforts can significantly improve access to educational resources.
In addition to academic books used by teachers and students, Sakthivel regularly receives requests from aspirants preparing for competitive examinations many of whom rely entirely on digital and audio formats to study. He also runs a YouTube channel where he reviews Tamil books in a single take without editing. In each session, he introduces around 15 books arranged alphabetically from memory, helping visually impaired readers discover new titles and decide what to read next.
Despite these achievements, Sakthivel says individual efforts alone cannot solve the accessibility gap in publishing. He believes publishers should release books simultaneously in accessible digital formats and that universities and government libraries should invest in assistive technologies and digitisation centres so that such work does not depend solely on volunteers or individuals.
The Logical Indian’s Perspective
Pon Sakthivel’s journey highlights the transformative power of empathy, technology and community participation. His work demonstrates that accessibility is not merely about accommodating disability it is about ensuring equal opportunities to learn, grow and participate in society. By digitising thousands of books and sharing them freely with readers who need them, Sakthivel is not only expanding access to knowledge but also restoring a sense of independence and dignity for visually impaired students.
At the same time, his initiative also sheds light on a deeper systemic gap: accessible publishing is still not standard practice in many parts of the country. If one teacher in a rural district can build a library of over 2,000 accessible books through personal dedication and community support, imagine what could be achieved if publishers, educational institutions and governments actively prioritised inclusive formats from the start.
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