A soft-spoken person who spends his leisure time listening to various Ragas in Hindustani Classical Music, Taha Idrees Haaziq, the current secretary at the office of the State Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities in the Goa government, wears many hats.
A first ‘Group ‘A’ Gazetted Officer’ in the Goa Civil Services Cadre with 100 per cent visual impairment, Taha is the Goa State Election Icon for Persons with Disabilities (PwDs), too. A nationally certified DAISY master trainer with expertise in accessibility and access technology for PwDs, he is ‘Parangat’ (well-versed) in Hindustani Classical Music.
He recently bagged the National Award for PwDs (Sarvashrestha Divyangjan) in India at the hands of the President of India, Droupadi Murmu, on December 3, 2023. This award recognizes individuals and organizations for their achievements in empowerment and inclusivity. Taha also received the ‘Best Bureaucrat’ award at the hands of the Governor of Goa on January 26, 2024.
Though Retinitis Pigmentosa (an incurable disease that deteriorates eyesight with age) took away his 100% vision when Taha was in college, it was detected when he was just two years old. As he grew up, he began losing vision gradually, but that did not stop him from exploring adventurous activities, riding a cycle, bike, or even a four-wheeler. His friends helped with recorded notes, audio cassettes which he listened to on a walkman. He took a writer for answering exams but traveled alone on buses.
“My mother supported me wholeheartedly, saying we have to accept that you will lose vision completely at some time, but till then why stop from exploring life? Boosted by such encouraging words in my formative years, I did not leave any stone unturned. Hence, even today at 40, I am ever-willing to try something new and give my 100% to whatever I do,” says Taha who conceptualized the ‘Purple Fest: Celebrating Diversity’ – India’s first-of-its-kind inclusive fest that celebrated PwDs in 2023.
The festival turned into an international event the following year, in 2024, with the participation of national and international celebrities.
Taha had organized a first-of-its-kind inclusive education workshop covering more than 1,400 schools, HSCs, and colleges in Goa. On a mission, he holds awareness and sensitization workshops on disability for government departments and educational institutions. Before he joined as secretary at the office of the State Commissioner for PwDs, he was deputy director, admin/in-charge at the special cell for empowerment at the Directorate of Social Welfare.
His awards include Louis Braille Award-2022 and 2023 and the Best Employee award by the Goa State government. In an initiative, Assistance to Disabled Persons for Purchase/Fitting of Aids and Appliances camp (ADIP) in 2021, Taha held 15 camps in Goa, identifying more than 2,500 beneficiaries under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.
Taha served as Officer on Special Duty at the Directorate of Social Welfare till 2020 after his term as State Nodal Officer for Persons with Disabilities at the Chief Electoral Office of Goa for Lok Sabha Elections in 2019. Taha has also worked to improve the physical infrastructure and other documentation to make the 2019 Lok Sabha elections in Goa accessible to people with various disabilities.
As in-charge of Resource Centre for across disability at Goa Central Library, Taha established a complete section equipped with facilities to impart knowledge for persons with visual impairments. He conceptualized SHABDULI – the first accessible navigable audiobook of poems and short stories of internationally recognized Konkani authors of Goa which made Konkani language one among 50 languages from across the globe, whose text is now readable using eSpeak text-to-speech engines used by screen readers (NVDA, JAWS, Narrator on Windows platform, and Google Talkback on android phones) enabling the blind to use various devices with vernacular languages.
Equally expert in computers and Hindustani Classical vocals, Taha taught these at the National Association for the Blind (NAB), Goa. He served as a trainer for ‘Reading without seeing’ workshops in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, Delhi, and Goa. Taha spearheaded the inclusion of the Accessible Movie Screening segment in the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) with the aid of Saksham Trust, Delhi.
Way back in 2000, Taha was the first student to complete SSC with Hindustani Classical (Vocal). He was also the first student in Goa to complete SSC with Hindustani Classical (Vocal) as one of the subjects.
Taha’s education has always been under an inclusive framework under pioneer institutes in Mumbai and Goa. He studied at Saraswat Vidyalaya and St Britto’s High School, St Xavier’s Higher Secondary School, and did his Bachelor’s in Music at Goa College of Music in 2005. He enjoys listening to music, traveling, playing sports, and reading books during his past time.
