Prachi Sukhwani, with 80% vision loss, makes it to IIM-A!
21-year-old Prachi Sukhwani of Vadodara, who suffers 80% vision loss, is making headlines for her inspiring achievement: she has cracked the Common Admission Test for 2016 and made it to the premier Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad! In fact, she got calls for interviews from three top institutes, including IIM-Kolkata and IIM-Bangalore, but she chose Ahmedabad.
Sukhwani leaves behind physical setbacks
When Sukhwani was in Class III, she was diagnosed with macular dystrophy, or 'retinal degradation'. There is no treatment. For 15 years, her family took her to Chennai, where doctors would advise her to wear special reading glasses. "But she (was) so engrossed in studies that she (found) those glasses an obstacle," her father Suresh Sukhwani said. Over the years, she lost 80% vision.
Prachi achieves dream, helped by family
Suresh Sukhwani, Prachi's father, owns a garment business, while her mother Kanchan, a homemaker, works as an LIC agent. Her elder sister Nishita, a former student of MSU, is doing an MBA from a Mumbai college.
Social media flooded with wishes
The BBA student at Maharaja Sayajirao University's Faculty of Commerce (MSU) scored 98.55 percentile in the CAT. "Compliments to Ms.Prachi Sukhwani for making it to IIM-A, inspite of being visually impaired with 80% vision loss. Inspiring.#BetiPadhao," tweeted I&B Minister Venkaiah Naidu. "Kudos to #PrachiSukhwani -Indian girl with 80% vision loss makes it to top management school IIM Ahmedabad," posted former BBC journalist Tufail Ahmed.
What next for Prachi?
"My short-term goal is to join a company, preferably a multinational. Once I get some experience, I will have my own start-up. But my long term goal is to open an NGO for the blind," Prachi told Times of India.
