Dr. Madan M. Vasishta

Dr. Madan Vashishta is a legendary figure for the deaf in India. He pioneered research work in Indian Sign Language (ISL) in 1978, at a time when no-one had any idea that ISL even existed. His research proved that despite all the oppression, stigma and challenges -  Indian Sign Language reverberated in hostels, dining halls, playgrounds and deaf schools in India. He published the first ISL Dictionary in 1981. He is well known in the deaf community for his two beautiful memoirs:  "Deaf in Delhi" and "Deaf in DC".  With all these credentials, you may think of him as a serious academician, but on the contrary he surprises you with his amazing sense of humour, an outstanding memory, and an ability to charm in a single meeting. Dr. Madan is an admirer of poetry and can read Hindi as well as Urdu. 

Dr. Madan M. Vasishta was born in 1941 in northern India, in a village called Gagret, Himachal Pradesh. He became deaf at age 11 from a bout of mumps and typhoid. He was a brilliant student, and though his parents, teachers and society were ill-equipped to teach him, he was unstoppable. He taught himself reading, while he worked on  a farm for 10 years since the school couldn't offer him much. 

At 20 years of age, he received a scholarship to a photography school for the deaf, in Delhi, where he discovered the deaf community and learned Indian Sign Language. 


"This is where I met other deaf people for the first time and saw them using signs. I could not believe two people could communicate by moving their hands around. ... Within a week, I was signing fairly well. A whole new world opened up for me."

He met a deaf American woman and learned about the Gallaudet University ("The Mecca of the Deaf World"), to which he applied and, against numerous odds, found scholarship money, a college education, and eventually life as an American professor. He earned his B.A. in History and Psychology, M.A. in Deaf Education and Ph.D. in Special Education Administration from Gallaudet and later worked as a teacher, program evaluator, principal, researcher and administrator in various schools for the deaf.  He has authored six books, scores of articles and book chapters and has made over 50 presentations at  national and international conferences.  He is currently involved in various deafness-related projects in India and is working on his new books. 

There's an anecdote from his own life, a piece from 'Deaf in Delhi', that he finds particularly inspiring:

"I was encouraged to apply for a government job by my brother. At first, I said no, as there would so many hearing people competing for the job. But apply, I did. I was asked to come for interview and there I found 80 people competing for the same job. I was the only deaf person. Long story short. I got that job. I learned that I am better than those 80 hearing people. This changed my attitude toward deafness. You can compete with hearing people if you work hard and have confidence in yourself. "