The Governing Board

Major HPS Ahluwalia

Late Major HPS Ahluwalia was a war hero from the 1965 India-Pakistan war in which he sustained a spinal cord injury. A few months earlier he had scaled Mount Everest. Subsequently, he founded Indian Spinal Injuries Centre in the late 1990s, and was a leading advocate for the SCI community. He was the Patron-in-Chief of The Spinal Foundation and served as its first President until his sad demise on January 14, 2022 (New Delhi).

Dr. Naseema Hurzuk

Dr. Naseema Hurzuk took over as the President, TSF, with effect from February 21, 2022. She became a paraplegic at the tender age of 16 years. Dr Hurzuk has received more than 80 local, state, and national level awards for her contribution to the rehabilitation of PwDs. She penned her autobiography called “Chakachi Khurchi” (The Wheelchair) in Marathi in 1999 that was translated in English (Naseema – The Incredible Story), Gujarati, Telugu, Kannada, Hindi, and Urdu.
She founded “Helpers of the Handicapped, Kolhapur” (HoH) in 1984 and led it as President for more than 36 years; HOH helped more than 13,000 Persons with Disabilities (PwD) with education, vocational training, medical aid, appliances, and employment. Dr Hurzuk resigned as President, HoH in July 2020 and formed a new organization, “Saahas Disability Research and Care Foundation, Kolhapur” (Saahas); it strives for comprehensive rehabilitation of PwDs. Saahas has collaborated with Shirol Taluka of Kolhapur District and started a residential vocational training cum rehabilitation center (Kolhapur).

Chandra Rama Rao

Chandra Rama Raofaced a spinal cord injury at a very early age and its attendant challenges, but it did not deter her from pursuing her education and career. A Chartered Accountant by profession, she rose to top-notch positions in her banking job. She has led a vibrant life associating herself with NGOs and is a disability activist. (Uttar Pradesh).

S Vaidynathan (Late)

S Vaidyanathan was the co-founder of The Ganga Trust, which supports rehabilitation of physically challenged,Spinal Care India and Running For Ability. He was a Peer Counselor at the Mary Verghese Institute of Rehabilitation, a part of Christian Medical College (CMC), Vellore. Dr Suranjan Bhattacharji, a Gandhian and former Director, CMC, Vellore was his inspiration(Vellore)

Dilip Patro

Dilip Patro is Founder and President of The Ability People operating out of Andhra Pradesh.His organisation is a robust support for several hundreds of physically challenged persons, especially on the mobility front. Dilip is working on establishing a rehabilitation centre for persons with spinal cord injury and is well connected in government (Andhra Pradesh)

Javed Ahmed Tak

Javed Ahmad Tak has moved on after a bullet injury. He has been active in working for the welfare of needy children as well as persons with spinal cord injury. He also coordinates with local facilities to try and help persons with spinal cord injury go ahead. Javed is also the Founder & Chairman of Humanity Welfare Organization HELPline NGO. A major focus for Javed is advocacy. (Jammu & Kashmir).

Ketna Mehta

Ketna Mehta is the founder trustee of Nina Foundation, one of the more active organisations working for SCI community. She has established Spinal Injury Awareness Day, publishes One World and focuses on advocacy. She has authored over 50 research papers in the field of Disability Studies and is Editor and Associate Dean, Research at a Management Institute. (Maharashtra).

Komal Kamra

DrKomal Kamra retired in September 2019 from the post of an Associate Professor of Zoology at the SGTB Khalsa College, University of Delhi. She is also a Peer Counsellor at the Indian Spinal Cord Injury as a volunteer. Komal has been at the forefront of working with the government and regulators. Her clarity of thought and communication skills have helped shape several initiatives. (Delhi, 59)

Preethi Srinivasan

Preethi Srinivasan should have been captain of the Indian girls cricket team till a cervical level injury cut short her career. Denied admission in colleges, she studied at home. She speaks and writes immaculate English. She works using a voice-operated software. She is founder of Soulfree to especially support women SCI. (Tiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu).

Parvinder Singh

Parvinder Singh has been instrumental in networking for Persons with SCI in Punjab. He is the President of The Spinal Cord Injury Association in Punjab. The ground level work is considered to be an example for others to follow. Home visits by his team have helped identify and rehabilitate SCI. Parvinder will be a key part of networking initiatives. (Punjab).

Salil Chaturvedi

Salil Chaturvedi runs a corporate consultancy outfit. He is active in sports, culture, writing, media work, creative assignments, accessibility and advocacy. A multi-faceted personality, Salil brings wide-ranging skills and experience to the table. He is also associated with a couple of NGOs. Salil believes in leading by example and has embarked on initiatives to inspire the physically challenged. (Goa).

Sashank Vaibhav Allu

Sashank Vaibhav Allu is a tetraplegic who is very independent and all set to do his Master’s in Mechanical Engineering from Purdue University. He writes an outstanding blog, quadriplegichronicles, is a thinker and possesses great communication skills. He is involved in supporting newly injured SCI persons. (Andhra Pradesh)

Shivjeet Singh Raghav

Shivjeet Singh Raghav is a Peer Counselor and Patient Educator at Indian Spinal Injuries Centre and President of the Consumer Committee of the Spinal Cord Society. He leads by example through his extremely active life despite severely challenging circumstances. He is widely travelled and brings networking skills with global peer groups. (Haryana)

Sruti Mohapatra

Sruti Mohapatra’s budding civil services
aspirations were ended by a hostile attitude and
environment in the late 1980s. She went on to
do a PhD. She spearheads Swabhiman, an
advocacy group for physically challenged. She devotes much time to empowering youngsters for the civil services, an opportunity denied to her. (Orissa)

P.Suresh Krishna

P.Suresh Krishna has pushed back the twin challenges of a brain injury and spinal cord injury sustained soon after he reached the U.S and started working. Over the past six years, he has been working extensively at the grassroots level. Through plegia.org, he has enabled rehabilitation of many a spinal cord injured person. (Chennai, Tamil Nadu)