K. S. Rajanna
A Karnataka social worker who lost his hands and feet as a child and became the state's disabilities commissioner, honoured with the Padma Shri in 2024.
K. S. Rajanna is a social worker who has spent his life working for people with disabilities, having lost both his hands and feet in childhood. He was named for the Padma Shri in 2024 in the field of social work, from Karnataka [1].
Beyond limits
He was born on 6 December 1959 in Koppa, Mandya district, and studied up to SSLC and a diploma in mechanical engineering [2]. He writes, walks, runs, swims, drives a car and rides a motorcycle [2]. As a boy he won first prize in a Karnataka state painting competition [2].
Work and sport
In 1980 he set up Shine Disabled Industries, which employed about 500 people, most of them with disabilities, and has trained thousands of poor and disabled people in skills [2]. He has helped many of them claim government support to start their own businesses [2].
Representing India at an international para-sports meet in Kuala Lumpur in 2002, he won gold in the discus and silver in swimming [2].
Commissioner
Rajanna became Karnataka’s state commissioner for persons with disabilities, the first person with a disability to hold the post [2]. In that role he helped shape and carry out policies to make the state more accessible [2].
He received a National Award for the welfare of persons with disabilities in 2003 and the Kannada Rajyotsava award in 2020 [2].
Sources
- [1] Padma Awards 2024: list of awardees — Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. Accessed 15 October 2026.
- [2] Padma Awards 2024: citation for K. S. Rajanna — Padma Awards, Government of India. Accessed 15 October 2026.
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