Homiyar Mobedji - Diversity Mag May 2026

Dr. Homiyar Mobedji

Architect of India’s Digital Sksharatha and Accessible Reading

Diversity Editorial Team

In a recent photo, he is addressing the trainees at Amritha Viswa Vidhya Peedam

Dr. Homiyar Mobedji is a widely respected disability rights advocate, digital literacy activist, and assistive technology pioneer. He is best known for his transformative work as the Director of Programmes for Benetech in Asia and Africa, where he leads Bookshare India—the world’s largest online library of accessible ebooks for individuals with print disabilities.

While Dr. Homiyar is a close partner, advisor, and key mentor of Chakshumathi and helps us to convert all inaccessible educational content to accessible books and took us along Benetech’s Digital Sksharatha program as partner and included many of the Chakshumathi supported schools.

Early Life and Education

Dr. Homiyar was born with Retinitis Pigmentosa, a progressive, degenerative eye condition that eventually causes severe visual impairment. Despite the gradual loss of his sight, he pursued mainstream education and refused to let his condition dictate his boundaries.

Driven by a desire to help others heal and adapt, he trained extensively in medicine and rehabilitation, qualifying as a professional clinical physiotherapist.

Career Milestones & Shift to Tech Advocacy

Dr. Homiyar career seamlessly bridges medical rehabilitation, institutional leadership, and technological empowerment.

• Pioneering Physiotherapy Education: Recognizing the immense potential for visually impaired individuals in the medical field, Dr. Mobedji went on to head India’s first-ever Physiotherapy College for the Blind, breaking traditional career stereotypes for the visually impaired.
• The Transition to Digital Literacy: An early adopter of screen readers and adaptive hardware, he realized that while physical therapy helped the body, digital access liberated the mind. He shifted his focus from clinical therapy to NGO management, becoming a core strategist for assistive tech implementation in the Global South.
• Leading Bookshare India: Today, under the umbrella of Benetech, Dr. Mobedji manages Bookshare across Asia and Africa. He works directly with governments, schools, and institutional publishers to convert standard textbooks and literature into accessible digital formats (such as DAISY, audio, and refreshable braille) for millions of students facing visual impairments, dyslexia, and cerebral palsy.

Dr. Homiyar Mobedji talking to a delegate at the Bookshare Asia, Africa Exhibition.

Key Strategic Pillars of Advocacy

"Inclusion is not a destination; it's a holistic approach that must begin in the home and be supported by mainstream technology."

Dr. Homiyar advocacy framework focuses on three essential prongs:

• The Shift to Digital Media: Moving beyond traditional, bulky paper Braille into digital tablets equipped with keyboards, allowing blind students as young as grade five to sit in mainstream classrooms, take tests, and complete homework in real-time alongside sighted peers.
• Global Policy Advocacy: Representing the Global South at premier international platforms, such as the UN's Summit of the Future, to ensure global tech frameworks account for the millions currently locked out of standard printed content.
• Ecosystem Mentorship: Collaborating heavily with homegrown tech hardware companies—including innovators like Torchit—to help guide the user experience, testing, and distribution of smart, affordable sensory products.

Through his unique journey from a clinician to a digital literacy revolutionary, Dr. Mobedji remains a central figure in ensuring that technology serves as the ultimate equalizer for people with disabilities.

To hear Dr. Homiyar discuss the massive gap in printed book accessibility and how technology can bridge it globally, listen to the Eye Way Conversation with him. Click the link below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8rJd8m_55g