An Associate Professor of Philosophy, at Delhi University, India, from 1979 to 2013, Suman Khanna Aggarwal obtained her doctoral degree in Gandhian thought in 1978 and has since translated her theoretical knowledge into practical action by founding the Gandhian NGO – Shanti Sahyog, works in 17 South Delhi slums and in Tughlakabad Village, New Delhi, in the areas of Education, HealthCare, Skill Development, Women Empowerment & Care for the Elderly – in sync with UN SDG’s. She has also extended her understanding of Gandhi’s legacy of Nonviolent Conflict Resolution and vision of a World Beyond War, she founded Shanti Sahyog Centre for Nonviolence, India (CFN) – a Unit of Shanti Sahyog, in 2018.
She has completed 3 Post-Doctoral Research Projects:
1990-91: Brock University, St. Catherine’s, Ontario, Canada
Research Subject: Collaborative Possibilities Between Greenpeace, Canada; Similar Popular Movements, India
1987-88: Transitional Foundation for Peace; Future Research, Lund, Sweden Research Subject: Nordic Peace Movements; Gandhian Paradigm of Power
1984: University Grants Commission, Delhi University, India Research
Subject: Faith & Humility: A Comparative Study in Gandhi; Gabriel Marcel
BOOKS
She has authored three books and published several papers/articles on Gandhian principles. Like her former books, her latest book, The Science of Peace, has received favorable reviews.
THE SCIENCE OF PEACE 2019: Published by Shanti Sahyog Centre for Peace & Conflict Resolution, India
GANDHIAN VISION –Status Growth & Development: 50 Years of Independence:1947-97
1999:(edited) Published by B R Publishing Corporation, New Delhi, India
GANDHIAN AND THE GOOD LIFE 1985: 1st Edition, Published by Gandhian Peace Foundation, New Delhi, India
1996: 2nd Edition, Published by B R Publishing Corporation, New Delhi, India
As a Gandhian Scholar, she has lectured extensively in India and abroad and taught courses on Gandhian Philosophy in foreign Universities, like in North America, Europe, Middle East and Asia, for instance:
John Hopkins University-USA
McMaster University-Canada
Al Quds University-Palestine/Israel
Scandinavian/Nordic Universities, amongst others.
MEMBERSHIP IN PROFESSIONAL BODIES
Indian Philosophical Congress
International Peace Research Association (IPRA)
Indian Association for Canadian Studies
Indian Peace Research Association
South Asian Fraternity Gandhi Foundation, UK
On Advisory Board of: Fields of Peace, Oregon, USA
STATUS IN NON-PROFESSIONAL BODIES
She is an External Member of the Internal Complaints Committee (Sexual Harassment at Workplace) at the following Organisations:
2023 to Date: Medeor Hospital, B 33-34 Qutub Institutional Area, New Delhi
2022 to Date: Directorate of International Customs, Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs, India, Dept. of Revenue, Ministry of Finance, Govt. of India
2021 to Date: Directorate General of Analytics & Risk Management (DGARM) Ministry of Finance, Govt. of India, U.P.
2021 to Date: Trycon Technologies, NOIDA, U.P.
2018 to Date: Founder President, Shanti Sahyog Centre for Nonviolence, India (CFN) (a Unit of Shanti Sahyog)
1992 to Date: Founder President, Shanti Sahyog – Gandhian NGO
2013 to Date: NGO Representatives on the Advisory Committee on Prohibition of Sex Selection, Directorate of Family Welfare, Govt. of NCT of Delhi
2013 to Date: Engineers India ltd. (EIL) New Delhi
2013 to Date: NGO Representative on School Management Committee Govt. Girls Sr. Sec. School No.3, Kalkaji, New Delhi
1990 to 1992: Member, Coordinating Committee, Global Awareness Interaction, Sewden
1981 to 1983: Program Officer, National Service Scheme, Mata Sundari College, Delhi University
She regularly conducts Trainings & Workshops on Gandhian Philosophy / Nonviolent Conflict Resolution and teaches on ONLINE COURSE ON:
Understanding & Applying Gandhi Today
A plenary speaker at International conferences, she strongly believes that individual social responsibility, dictated by one’s conscience, has the power to bring about social and political transformation.
She is a recipient of the following Awards for her Community Service of the Underprivileged & her Advocacy of Nonviolent Conflict Resolution:
2023- The Women Empowerment, Honouring the Trailblazers of Change Award by Rotary Club of Delhi, Cama Place, Year 2022-2023
2023- Dr. Nirmala Deshpande Smriti Nari Shakti Samman
2023- Women Resilience Award by Akhil Bharat Rachnatmak Samaj
2022- Brahma Kumaris Social Service Award
2021- 5th Dr. Sarojini Naidu International Award
2021- SATYA Micro Capital Ltd. International Women’s Day Award
2020- The Rotary Vocational Award
2020- National IHRO Women Empowerment Award
2019- Delhi NGO’s in Healthcare, ZEE business Leadership Award
2019- Gandhi Smriti Chinh Award
2019- 51 Most Impactful Social Innovators award (A Global Listing) by World CSR Congress
2018- Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram Award for Exemplary Social Service
2017- Bharat Nirman Literary Excellence Award for contribution to Gandhian Philosophy
2016- All Ladies League (ALL) Iconic Leader Contributing to Better World Award
2014- International Women Excellence Award
2013- Karamveer Puruskar (Global Citizen Award)
2012- Rajiv Gandhi Global Vision Award
E-mail: president@shantisahyog.org
Gita Dharampal was appointed Dean of Research at the Gandhi Research
Foundation (GRF), Jalgaon, in November 2018. As a retired Professor and Head,
Department of History, South Asia Institute, Heidelberg University, she
acquired an interdisciplinary academic training in literature, philosophy
(Manchester, England and Leipzig, East Germany, 1970-74), social
anthropology (Cambridge, England, 1975-76) and Indian cultural history (1976-
1980, SOAS, London and Sorbonne, Paris, Doctorate), with a dissertation on
early modern French proto-ethnography of South India, and completed her
Habilitation (German professorial dissertation) in early modern history
(Freiburg, Germany, 1992). Her publications and research focus on topics
ranging from pre-modern transcultural interactions between Europe and India,
the maritime cultural history of the Indian Ocean region (1400-1800), medical
history, religious-ritual transformations (1500-2000), the socio-cultural and
political history of the colonial period, in general, with a special emphasis on
Mahatma Gandhi’s movement of political and cultural resurgence. Besides
participating actively in international conferences and giving invited keynote
talks, she has held visiting fellowships and professorships at various
international institutions, among others, at Stanford University, USA, as well as
at Indian universities (Delhi, Kolkata and Hyderabad). From 2023-2026, she has
been appointed a non-ex-officio member of the ICSSR Governing Council. Her
language competencies include English, German, French, Latin and basic Hindi.
At the GRF, she intends to strengthen the research wing, not only by pursuing
intensive Gandhian studies, but also by continuing the historical work of her
late father Shri Dharampal (1922-2016), a historian and political philosopher,
whose publications have led to a radical reappraisal of conventional views of
the cultural, scientific and technological state of Indian society on the eve of
the British conquest.
E-mail: prof.dharampal.gita@gandhifoundation
Dr. Christian Bartolf is an eminent German Gandhian scholar, author and curator with a doctorate from the Free University, Berlin (2021). He also has two university diplomat a in Educational and Political Sciences (Free University Berlin, 1987). Since 1993, he has been active as President of the Gandhi Information Centre (with a focus on research and education for nonviolence). Moreover, since 2021, he has held about 100 invited talks at colleges and universities in India, with a highlight being his 25-day lecture tour in September/October 2022, during which he was hosted as guest speaker by a myriad spectrum of academic institutions across 9 states. For details of his Gandhian publications in English, please consult: https://www.bartolf.info/english/publications.html
E-mail: mkgandhi@snafu.de
Purushottama Bilimoria works in Indian & Cross-Cultural Philosophy, Critical Philosophies of Religion, and Diaspora. He is a Principal Fellow of University of Melbourne; Lecturer with University of California (Merced and Berkeley), and Visiting Professor/Lecturer University of San Francisco and San Francisco State University. Until recently Professor of Law and International Philosophy in Jindal Global University, India He is an Editor-in-Chief of Sophia (journal of philosophy & traditions, Springer), and Sophia Series in Cross-cultural Philosophy Cultures). Recent publications include Routledge History of Indian Philosophy (with A. Rayner, 2019); Contemplative Studies and Hinduism (with Rita D. Sherma, C. Bohenac, 2021); Handbook of Indian Ethics; Gender Justice Bioethics & Ecology (with A. Rayner, 2023); Mind, Self and Body (Springer Sophia, 2023); Engaging Philosophies of Religion: Across Global Boundaries (with G Kopf and N Loewen, 2024).
E-mail: pbilimoria@sfsu.edu; pbilimoria@outlook.com
Prof. John Chathanatt, SJ is a Jesuit priest belonging to the Delhi Province of the Society of Jesus and is Professor (Emeritus) and former Principal of Vidyajyoti College of Theology, Delhi. He is now the Vice-President of the Jesuit Research and Development Society, Indian Social Institute, New Delhi. He has degrees in Mathematics, Economics, Philosophy, and Theology. He has a Masters’s in Economics from Rajasthan University and in Theology from Woodstock Theological Centre, Boston, USA. he has his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago, USA. He was an International Visiting Fellow at the Woodstock Theological Centre, Georgetown University, Washington DC, in 2001-2002 and was also a Research Fellow cum Visiting Faculty at Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University at Berkeley, California, USA, 2013-2014. He was the Chairman of the Governing Board of Jesus and Mary College, New Delhi, from 2016 to Nov 2019. He is a member of the Ethical Committee of Holy Family Hospital, New Delhi. He is also a Visiting professor to many Faculties. He has nine books to his credit and has over 100 published articles in India and abroad. At present he is involved in Research and Publications and editing the Christianity volume in the series, Encyclopedia of Indian Religions published by Springer.
E-mail: jchatvj@gmail.com
Elisabetta Colagrossi, PhD in Philosophy, is a Research Fellow with Tenure-track as Associate Professor. She teaches History of Religion, with a focus on the History of religions in the classical world, and Philosophy of interreligious dialogue at the University of Genoa (DAFIST). Her areas of interest intersect themes of history of religions, philosophical hermeneutics, and the philosophy of interreligious dialogue. Research topics include religious violence in monotheisms, pluralism, translatability between traditions, and the role of religions in promoting peace and dialogue. Moreover, she explores the Indian tolerant and pluralistic tradition, emphasizing figures such as Ashoka, the Mughals, and Gandhi, assessing their relevance amidst contemporary global religious challenges.
E-mail: elisabetta.colagrossi@unige.it
Jacob Copeman is Oportunius Research Professor and Distinguished Researcher at the University of Santiago de Compostela, Galicia, Spain. He is co-editor and author of numerous books including Gurus and Media: Sound, Image, Machine, Text and the Digital (UCL Press, 2023), The Guru in South Asia: New interdisciplinary perspectives (Routledge, 2012), Global Sceptical Publics: From non-religious print media to ‘digital atheism’ (UCL Press, 2022), An Anthropology of Intellectual Exchange: Interactions, transactions and ethics in Asia and beyond (Berghahn, 2023) and Hematologies: The political life of blood in India (Cornell University Press, 2019). He is Principal Investigator of the ERC-funded project ‘Religion and its others in South Asia and the world: Communities, debates, freedoms’.
E-mail: jacobcopeman@hotmail.com
Prof Bulbul Dhar-James Head, is Department of Political Science, Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI). A Post Doctoral Fulbright Fellow on Global Political Economy and Governance, Prof. Bulbul Dhar-James has done her PhD, on ‘Politics of Economic Liberalization in Urban Tanzania’, from the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London as a Commonwealth Scholar. With an M. Phil and MA is from the Centre for Political Studies, JNU and she has a B.A. Honors from the Lady Sri Ram College, University of Delhi. Her area of research includes Human Rights, Political Economy of Globalization and Governance, African Studies and Gender and Empowerment. The areas in which she has been Keynote speaker and Resource Expert include, Globalization and Good Governance, Conceptual framework of Human Rights, Gender & Empowerment, Public Administration, Public Policy and Management, Human Rights Implications of Science and Technology, Global Political Economy, Basic Structure of the Constitution amongst others. Beyond the Academic Expertise, Prof Bulbul is a Resource Person and trainer for Capacity Building Initiatives, Leadership, Personal and Professional Roles (Work-Life Balance) and Gender Sensitization Programs for Universities, Various Ministries, and Institutions of the Govt of India (amongst others Haryana Institute for Public Administration, VV Giri National Labour Institute), British Council, American Center, Corporates and NGO’s. Dr. Bulbul Dhar-James has extensive experience in the field of Political Science and Economic Research. She has held various roles, including coordinator at JMI, consultant at the National Council for Applied Economic Research, and teaching positions at JNU, LSR, and Delhi University. Additionally, she has participated in UN Human Rights Council events and serves on editorial boards and advisory panels for several international journals, conferences, NGOs, and government committees. She is also a Resource Person and Content Writer for the Ministry of Human Resource Development Program of Post Graduate E-Pathshala in Women’s Studies.
E-mail: bulbuldhar@yahoo.com
Hari Bansh Jha (70) who was born in Janakpur (Nepal) has been the Executive Director of a research organization, the Centre for Economic and Technical Studies, in Kathmandu, Nepal since 1989. He is also a Visiting Fellow at a Delhi-based noted think tank, Observer Research Foundation (ORF). Jha was Vice Chairman of the Policy Commission of Madhesh Province in Nepal in 2018-19. Before that in 2016-17, he was a Visiting Scholar at the Indian Council of World Affairs, Sapru House, New Delhi. In 2013, he was a Visiting Professor at Fairleigh Dickinson University, New Jersey, in the USA and taught business courses to graduate students at Chengdu American Center for Study Abroad, Sichuan University in China. Also, he was a senior ICCR Fellow at the Institute for Defense Studies and Analyses, New Delhi (2011-12) and a Visiting Scholar at the Institute of Asian Studies, German Institute for Global and Area Studies (GIGA), Hamburg, Germany (2011). Between 1976 and 1998, he was a Professor of Economics at Nepal’s Tribhuvan University. Jha’s areas of interest include planning and policymaking, and regional affairs, such as Nepal, China, India, and South Asian affairs. He has worked on more than 60 research projects on issues related to Madhesh/Terai, Dalit and indigenous (Janajati) communities, apart from strategic affairs and on border management, conflict and peace, international migration, child labor, human trafficking, agriculture, international trade, micro-financing, environmental health, and sanitation. He organized dozens of workshops and seminars and authored/edited 33 books on national and international affairs. His recently published books are – India’s Economic Miracle and Nepal, Janajati in Nepal, and Nepal’s Madhesh in Turmoil. Being a prolific writer, he has been contributing articles on topical issues regularly both within and outside the country.
E-mail: dr.hbjha@gmail.com
Dr Satish K Jha is Associate Professor in Department of Political Science at Aryabhata college, University of Delhi. He did his MA and MPhil from Delhi University and PhD from CPS/SSS, JNU. His area of interest is Comparative Political Theory, Modern Indian Intellectual Tradition, and Indian Politics. He has published papers in national and international journals and has contributed chapters in many edited books. He is also secretary of Scientists and Technologists for Non-violent world order.
E-mail: satish@aryabhattacollege.ac.in
Dr. A. K. Merchant is a prominent figure with extensive involvement in various fields. He serves as the General Secretary of the Temple of Understanding India Foundation, as well as holding positions in other organizations such as the Sarvodaya International Trust and Mintra Foundation. Dr. Merchant is an expert in interfaith education and Indian culture and has authored three monographs and numerous articles and research papers on various topics. He has represented the Baha’i Faith Community of India and the Temple of Understanding at international and national conferences and has been an active participant in the Parliament of the World’s Religions. Additionally, he is known for advocating gender justice, environmental issues, world peace, and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Dr. A. K. Merchant is an alumnus of the United States’ State Department International Exchange Program in 2005, focusing on “religious diversity in America post 9/11”. He was invited by H. H. Pope Benedict XVI to a global interfaith conference celebrating the 25th Anniversary of Assisi and the World Prayer Day for Justice and Peace at the Vatican and Assisi in October 2011. Dr. Merchant actively participated in the Parliament of the World’s Religions held in various cities from 1993 to 2021, and he has been invited by H. H. the Dalai Lama to address interfaith conferences and assist with international conferences and seminars in India. He is known for promoting gender justice and has advocated for the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action and written about Gender Equality, the Environment and Ecology, World Peace, and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Dr. Merchant has also served as a Resource Person for promoting discourses on science, religion, and development.
E-mail: merchant.ak@gmail.com
Associate Professor, Department of Economics, Daulat Ram College, University of Delhi. An alumnus of Miranda House, University of Delhi, she completed her master’s in economics from Delhi School of Economics, MPhil, and Ph.D. from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). An avid Gandhian, her contribution varies in the field of Energy security, Energy transition, Renewable energy, Human Capital, and Gandhian perspective on energy transition. Also engaged in CEC UGC live lecture series on Environmental Economics, Climate change, and Sustainability. She has published papers in reputed journals. She has contributed two books on Gandhian thoughts, “Through the Lens of Mahatma: Journey of a Migrant” and “Living in Truth: The Gandhian Paradigm.”
E-mail: pooja_cos@yahoo.com
Dr. Savita Singh is a distinguished feminist poet and social theorist who writes in Hindi and English. She has four collections of poetry in Hindi: Apne Jaisa Jeevan (Radhakrishna Prakashan, 2001), Neend Thi Aur Raat Thi (2005), Swapna Samay (2013), and Khoyi Cheezon Ka Shoke (2021). Her work has been translated into many world languages including Frsnch, German, Spanish, and Portugese. She has two collections of poems inn French, Je suis la Maison de etoiles (Bilingual. Hindi and French, First published by Daastan, 2008; again by Editions Phloeme, Paris, 2022 with Medha Singh’s Ecdysis and Divya Singh’s Paintings). She has also published two collections in Odia translation: Jeur more Rasta nijra (2011), and has co-eited a colledction of peoms of women from different parts of the world, Seven Leaves, One Autumn (2011). She also has a collection of representative fifty poems published, Pachas kavitayen: Nayi Sadi Ke Liye (2010). She has many awards for poetry including Hindi Academy Award, Raza Foundation Award, Mahadevi Verma Kavya Samman, Enuce De Souza Award, and recently, Prestigious Kedar Samman. She recieved a post-doctoral fellowship from Foundation Maison des Sciences de I’homme, Paris to work on Krishna SObtu’s two novels, Mitro Marjani and Ai Ladki. The research paper, walking on Dew: A Feminist Reading of Krishna Sobti’s Listen Girl! in edited book Krishna Sobti: A Conversation Between Savita Singh and Roy Bhaskar (Springer, 2021).
Savita Singh is the Foundation Director and Professor at the School of Gender and Development Studies, IGNOU. She is on the Board of Directors of the International Herbert Marcuse Society, USA.
E-mail: savita.singh6@gmail.com
Manindra Nath Thakur teaches Indian Intellectual Traditions in India at the Centre for Political Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University. He completed his PhD at Delhi University and dedicated nearly two decades to teaching at the same institution. Dr Thakur was honoured with a Fellowship for Innovative Research at the Developing Countries Research Centre, The University of Delhi. During his tenure as a Fellow at the Nehru Museum and Library, he focused on researching New Religious Movements in India. Beyond his academic achievements, he played a significant role in establishing the Creative Theory Group, which endeavors to shift the centre of intellectual activities from the West to the East. This group annually organises colloquia in collaboration with the India International Centre and RAZA Foundation. Moreover, Dr Thakur is the founder and Trustee of the Foundation for Creative Social Research. This foundation aims to provide a fresh direction to research by addressing issues that impact people’s lives while incorporating innovative perspectives rooted in Indian Intellectual traditions. His also co-founded the Social Healing, which promotes conflict resolution and the inter-community dialogue. Among his notable works, an edited volume titled ‘Wounded History: Religion, Conflict, Psyche, and Social Healing,’ presnts compelling arguments for secularism from an Indian perspective. Another edited volume explores the limits and democratic potential of Anna Hazare’s anti-corruption movement. Recently, Dr Thakur published a book in Hindi entitled ‘Gyan ki Rainiti: Bharteey Chintan aur Samaj Adhyayan,’ proposing a paradigm shift in social science by disentangling Western philosophy from social science. Instead, it advocates for a new paradigm that engages in a meaningful dialogue between social sciences and Indian philosophy.
E-mail: manindrat@gmail.com