Kolkata Blind School

Calcutta Blind School is a coeducational institution for students who are blind or have low vision. Located on Diamond Harbour Road in Behala, Kolkata, the school provides specialized education designed to support literacy, independence, and participation in daily life.

The school was founded in 1894 by Reverend Lal Behari Shah. More than a century later, it remains an important part of the history of education for people with visual impairments in eastern India. A commemorative postage stamp was issued in 1994 to mark the school’s centenary.

Braille is central to many forms of education for students who are blind. It is a tactile writing system rather than a language, allowing letters, numbers, punctuation, and other symbols to be read through patterns of raised dots. Bharati Braille provides coordinated Braille codes for several Indian languages.

Photographs taken at the school in 2011 document students reading embossed Braille pages, using tactile writing materials, participating in classroom instruction and physical exercise, and interacting with teachers and classmates. Together, the images record both specialized learning methods and the wider social environment of the school.