How this PR entrepreneur with cerebral palsy is helping others by building ‘human connections’

Sumit Agarwal remembers not having many friends growing up. Born prematurely at seven months, he was diagnosed with cerebral palsy, which significantly impacted his motor ability. 

He would watch his classmates play during recess knowing he could never join them. Saying he was ‘absurdly lonely’, he adds that that isolation led to a love for books and learning, encouraged by his father, and he would discuss various subjects at great length with the young boy. 

His mother was determined that Sumit would compete confidently with his peers and fought to convince one of the best schools in Kolkata to give him admission. He remembers being mocked and isolated by both his teachers and classmates, who would either taunt him or doubt his abilities to progress academically. But his mother refused to let him give up. 

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“She quit her job as a successful lawyer to fight to keep me alive. I had four surgeries as a child and every time I went into the operation theatre, the doctor would tell her that I might not make it. She single-handedly braved every odd coming her way with very little support. She was determined to have me educated in the best schools that would fortify me emotionally and instil a confidence that would enable me to make the difference,” says 29-year-old Sumit. 

Qualified but unemployed

After graduating with a bachelor of business administration degree from Techno India Saltlake, Sumit joined ICFAI Business School in Kolkata for a Post Graduate Programme in Management where he got a 9.05 GPA. This was followed by a post-graduate diploma in mass communication from Jadavpur University where he graduated amongst the top of his class. His love for learning also led him to achieve several certifications and degrees. 

Despite all his achievements, Sumit says that he was unable to find a job and that no employer in Kolkata wanted to hire him because of his disability.  

“During interviews, people cared less about how good I was at the job, or the ideas I had, or my qualifications. From the moment they laid eyes on me, their perception about me was already created even before I could say a single word. It’s not entirely their fault; the corporate world needs more inclusion and role models to look up to with respect to the differently abled community,” says Sumit. 

Rather than wait for employment, Sumit decided to start his own company and founded PR Signal, a public relations firm. 

“I had to prove that I could do what anyone else could do, and my condition wasn’t a disability, so that someone else out there, facing the same, could hold on to hope. That they could do what I do, today, tomorrow, and just because you don’t fit into people’s definition of ‘normal’ doesn’t mean you’re bad at your job or less than someone else society would consider “normal”. Looking back, it’s one of the best decisions I’ve taken,” he says.

Helping others succeed

Today, Sumit is a well-known public relations entrepreneur, motivational speaker, and inclusion rights activist.

His agency has handled the publicity of various events including Digi-Ability 2018, TiECON 2018, Siege Art & Wine Carnival, Elite Conclave Launch Party, Inclov Social Spaces, Hair Pro Product Launch. He has also formulated advisory PR planning for NGOs such as Kalyani Life Institute, Shishur Sevay, and Artemis Fountain Foundation.

“Shishur Sevay, opened by  Dr Michelle Harrison, was one of my first clients. At the care home, I met Ganga — a lively child. Because of the severity of her disability, she had been rejected by everyone except Dr Harrison.  I helped the organisation to raise funds through an art and craft exhibition spanning over a length of three days. Today, Ganga and other girls at Shishur Sevay can communicate their thoughts and needs to their carers using the Tobii Eye Tracker, a device that tracks eye movements across words on a screen,” says Sumit.

His determination to give everyone equal opportunities in life has seen him take on the role of advisor to several organisations such as Rotary International, Newspapers Association of India (NAI), Public Relations Society of India (PRSI), International Human Rights Organisation (IHRO), and the Rotary Means Business (RMB), among many others. 

“My obsession with helping people, building relationships, and discovering what drives human beings began during the many months I spent in hospital as a child. With death looming over my head every time I entered the operating table, I found comfort in the hospital staff and other patients around me and their company. With social interaction limited, I had to work hard to move, to be, and become ‘normal’,” he says.

According to Sumit, once he realised that people are just striving to achieve their own individual definitions of fitting in, PR became a natural course for his life. 

“I define PR as dealing with the crucial dynamics of deeper connectivity with people across all sections of society. That’s what I did then — surrounded by people fighting death, struggling to outrun my loneliness and isolation. And that’s what I do now. I understand human beings behind a brand, create narratives, and then use my network to help them share why they do what they do, their struggle to find their definition of “normal”, and how they’re striving to make this world a better place through this struggle,” he says.

Sumit quotes from Dan D’s Candies by Shane E. Bryan: “I do not have a disability; I have a gift! Others may see it as a disability, but I see it as a challenge. This challenge is a gift because I have to become stronger to get around it, and smarter to figure out how to use it; others should be so lucky.”