Aqil Chinoy

Aqil was born and brought up in a deaf family in Mumbai, India. Indian Sign Language (ISL) was his first language, as his parents, his younger brother and many other members in his family were deaf. His grandparents were hearing and strong supporters of oralism. The awareness related to sign language was extremely limited during those years, and most deaf schools in India followed the oral method. He was put in one such oral school in Mumbai, where his teachers warned his parents not to use sign language with him, since there is a common misconception that sign language diminishes speech and lip reading skills (despite the research proving otherwise, sadly the misconception continues to prevail). Aqil was a little bewildered by the extreme focus on the speech, and objection to something that came so naturally to him i.e. Sign Language. He used those years to build a strong foundation in English language. His books became his closest friends. He was often found engrossed in reading, when all others would be busy talking around him especially at family dinners.

After finishing third standard in the deaf school, he was shifted to a mainstream school on his Principal's recommendation . He was the only deaf, struggling to communicate with his peers and exhausted by the daily ordeal to read lips. He found lip-reading quite difficult especially because of constant change in teachers, and mustaches and beard in male teachers. He somehow managed till eighth standard, but then the heavy syllabus and expansive vocabulary took a toll on him. He had to depend on tuition classes after school, to cope up with the rest of the class. He hardly had time to enjoy his teenage years. But all his efforts paid off well, he passed his board examinations with 82 %. His grandfather gifted him a big computer (Do you know, computers used to be huge and hefty those days!).  Aqil was always interested in art, but he became fascinated with technology. He had joined B.Com. under family pressure, but he soon lost all motivation in pursuing the course. He felt disconnected from the course, the professors and started bunking college regularly.

His family consulted some friends, and found out about Gallaudet University, Washington DC, USA. (Gallaudet University is world's only bilingual, diverse, multicultural institution of higher education that ensures the intellectual and professional advancement of deaf and hard of hearing individuals through American Sign Language and English). His family gathered some funds and managed to send Aqil to Gallaudet. Aqil felt inspired, inquisitive and independent, and this empowering experience literally turned his world upside down. He started doing part-time jobs, and was soon able to support himself. He recognized that computer science is his passion, and enrolled in a two year long internship to gain more exposure. When he came back to India after graduating, he joined a shipping company at a very lower level, in the Billing Department. His boss was doubtful of his work, and Aqil himself wasn't sure if this was what he wanted to do and desired to quit. But his father advised him to remain patient and deliver honest and better quality work. He followed his advice diligently, and today he is the Head of the IT department in the same company, and he has two people working under him - one deaf and one hearing.

At the same time, he became involved in the deaf community and he decided to utilize his potential on improving the standards of accessibility for the deaf, with the help of technology. He played different roles in several NGOs. With National Association of the Deaf (NAD), Aqil developed the website (www.nadindia.org) which is a powerful tool of accessibility for the deaf since the information and even the navigation menu items, are portrayed in Indian Sign Language (ISL). Furthermore, working with Mook Badhir Mandal (MBM), Aqil programmed the ISL Dictionary (www.indiandeaf.org) where the entered vocabulary word is translated into ISL video. The credit for ISL videos goes to MBM. In 2015, he along with his brother, Bilal Chinoy, who is a deaf role model himself, established “inspiralive” to give opportunities to deaf professionals/ freelancers. Aqil was elected the Vice-President of NAD and unanimously nominated the Vice-Chairman of Yuva Association of the Deaf, in recognition for his contributions.

Aqil Chinoy is a firm believer in life-long learning, and has a strong message for the deaf community, especially the young minds : "There is so much in this world, that we don't know. I want all the deaf people to keep their minds open to learning. And never give up! With focus and determination, we can overcome all the barriers. Impossible itself says - I'm possible."