Nagababu Jannu: Refused college, now runs engineering teams

Andhra Pradesh: 40 years ago, doctors told a couple in Andhra Pradesh their newborn son Nagababu Jannu was blind. “He will end up begging,” people said. His mother’s reply shaped his life: “My son will not beg. He will walk with dignity.”

As reported by The Better India, Nagababu, born in Vuyyuru, faced rejection when he applied for a polytechnic diploma after Class 10 because of his disability. He fought back using the Persons with Disabilities Act and later the High Court. In 2005, a government order was passed allowing blind students to pursue engineering.

He became what he says is India’s first blind person to complete both a Polytechnic diploma and BTech in Computer Science. Today, he is Vice President and Lead Software Engineer at a global financial institution.

Even in 2026, he says barriers remain — from banks refusing loans to inaccessible websites. In 2023, during treatment for thyroid cancer, he finished his memoir The Unseen Path, now released as a free audiobook on YouTube.“Vision and eyesight are not the same,” he says. “Vision is the decision to keep moving forward.”