- President – SM Vijayanand
SM Vijayanand is the former Chief Secretary of Kerala, Secretary of Rural Development, Government of India. A crusader of democratic decentralisation and local self-government, he pioneered the People’s Plan movement in Kerala and was also the Chairman of KILA (Kerala Institute of Local Administration). He also conceptualised and operationalised ‘Kudumbashree’, the women’s self-help group movement in Kerala.
- Vice-President – Susheela Devi
Susheela Devi is a grassroots activist working on a range of issues including health, women’s rights, labour rights. She was the one who coined the famous slogan of the RTI movement – Our Money, Our Accounts, based on an interaction she had with a journalist who asked her why the RTI was important to her.
- Secretary – Lal Singh
Lal Singh is a social activist and one of the founding members of the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangatan (MKSS). He played a pivotal role in the struggles for the Right to Information (RTI) and the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA). His astute political understanding and sound knowledge about the rural economy make him a right choice for a ‘political trainer’.
Members:
- Aruna Roy
Aruna Roy is a social and political activist. She is one of the founding members of the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangatan (MKSS) and played a key role in the campaigns for the right to information (RTI) and the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA). She was the member of the National Advisory Council during 2004-06, and 2010-13. She is a prominent member of many campaigns, and currently the President of the National Federation of Indian Women (NFIW). She was awarded the Ramon Magsaysay Award in 2000, the Nani Palkiwala Award and the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Award for Excellence in Public Administration, Academia and Management in 2010. She is also a member of the advisory board to the Comptroller and Auditor General, India.
- Martin Macwan
Martin Macwan is a Dalit and human rights activist and the founder of Navsarjan Trust, Dalit Shakti Kendra and Dalit Foundation. Navsarjan was established with the intent to pursue and intensify the fight to eradicate caste discrimination. He has worked with the Dalit movement at all levels, founding the Indian Institute of Dalit Studies to improve upon the quantity and quality of research on Dalits and has actively facilitated cooperation between Dalit groups across India and South Asia, training activists and leaders in this fight. Winner of the 2000 Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award and recipient of the Gleitsman Foundation’s Activist of the Year Award, Martin has also been honoured for his work by the Human Rights Watch.
- Vipul Mudgal
Dr Vipul Mudgal has been a journalist and academic in India, the UK, and South East Asia for over 30 years. He has held senior editorial positions at various media houses in Asia. He headed operations in print, electronic and Internet media in India and abroad. As an activist and a media scholar, he writes and works on the intersections of media, democracy and political violence.
- Satish Deshpande
Satish Deshpande serves as Professor, Department of Sociology, at the Delhi School of Economics. He is a prolific writer and speaker on issues of caste inequalities and its manifestations in contemporary Indian society. He has served as a Member of the Expert Group on Equal Opportunity Commission, Government of India, during 2007-08. He also held editorial positions in a number of national and international bulletins and was an adviser for the sociology text books of the NCERT.
- Shakil Ahmed
Shakil Ahmed is a retired Rajasthan Administrative Service (RAS) officer. He served as the Additional Registrar in the Co-operative Department and is an expert on co-operative laws, administration, and training. He is well-respected for his honesty, work integrity, and knowledge. Additionally, he served as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), known as “Nazim,” of Dargah Sharif in Ajmer.
- Paras Banjara
Paras Banjara is a social and cultural activist belonging to the “Banjara” nomadic community, in Rajasthan. He has a unique understanding of the cultural history and diversity of nomadic communities and their social and cultural life in Rajasthan. He had worked with the Government of Rajasthan as a Programme Officer of MGNREGA and had been associated with the Social Audit Unit of the State of Andhra Pradesh, the National Campaign for Protection of Child Rights and the Centre for Policy Research, in the past. He has been associated with the Soochna Evum Rozgar Adhikar Abhiyan of Rajasthan and has contributed to developing institutionalized platforms for citizen-centric accountability in public governance. Currently, he is the Managing Trustee of Olakhaan Trust.
- Vineet Bhambhu
Vineet Bhambhu is a social activist associated with the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS) and Soochna Evum Rozgar Adhikar Abhiyan (SR Abhiyan) in Rajasthan. He is a software engineer by training and worked in the United States for almost a decade before joining the MKSS. Vineet has worked extensively on addressing public grievances at the grassroots, particularly related to ration, pension, and NREGA, along with other government welfare programs. He has played a pivotal role in organizing numerous public hearings and social audits in recent years and has been an active member of the campaign for an Accountability Act. Additionally, he has contributed to civil society’s engagement with the government of Rajasthan, which has led to the development of digital platforms for information sharing (Jansoochna Portal) and various grievance redressal mechanisms.