Aadrita Das

Aadrita is a lawyer by training and had been involved with the ICTY and ICJ in The Hague as well as the UNHCR in India prior to shifting her focus to public policy research and political strategy. In the last eight years, she has worked with policy makers and political leaders from across party lines on legislative research, policy analysis and election campaign design in multiple states as well as in Delhi. She has worked with multiple NGOs, CSOs, academics, journalists, activists and artists from across the country to curate common minimum programmes and policy agendas and facilitated their engagement with elected representatives at the Parliament and different state Assemblies.

She also designed and executed India's first UGC recognized course on Election Campaign Management with Gauhati University and organized multiple seminars, academic discussions, round tables and panel discussions on emerging political trends and analysis which involved political leaders from different parties from the NE states engaging with students, faculty and journalists. She has worked closely with the Speaker's office for designing a legislative research program for the elected representatives. She was also associated with the Centre for South East Asian Studies and is currently designing the 'Brahmaputra Dialogues' in line with the Raisina Dialogue that is hosted annually in Delhi.

Aadrita currently runs her own political consulting firm and works with political parties on election strategies.

Shantana Saikia

Shantana Saikia is a retired Associate Professor of English and an ethnographic researcher. She taught at Bahona College, Jorhat, Assam. Before her retirement, she held the posts of Head of the Department, the Principal in charge and was an invited researcher at the Dept. of Estonian and Comparative Folklore, University of Tartu, Estonia.

During her service, Saikia was associated with several government and non-government organizations and programmes like State Council for Education, Research and Training (SCERT), Samagra Siksha Abhiyan Mission, Women’s Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry among others. She is also a published author and translator and has been invited to speak on platforms such as Jaipur Literature Festival, Sahitya Akademi, Womens’ Economic Forum etc.

Her special area of interest is the endangered oral literature of ethnic communities and tribes which she has documented and extensively presented. She also looks at the gender representation and subversive voices inherent in the cultural and oral narratives of different tribes and communities in Assam. In her capacity as translator from Assamese to English, she has strived to record in English many of the dying performing art forms, especially the storytelling of tradition bearers.

For her work on employability of rural youth and women, she has been conferred the award of International Iconic Woman for Positive Change by Woman of Excellence by All Ladies League (2019).

Lakhimi Baruah

Lakhimi Baruah is the founder and Managing Director of Konoklata Mahila Urban Co-operative Bank Ltd, the only Mahila bank in the entire Northeast region. She has worked extensively in the fields of co-operative banking, employability, financial literacy, especially among women.

For her contribution to issues of social justice, she has received multiple awards, most notably the Padmashree by the Govt. of India in 2021. Her other awards and recognitions include the Nari Shakti Purashkar (AhilyaBai Holkar Award) conferred by the Ministry of Women and Child Welfare, Govt. of India in 2016, Women of Worth by Outlook Business Group in 2019 and Exceptional Women of Excellence WEF awarded by the Women Economic Forum.

Kumar Sanjay Krishna

Kumar Sanjay Krishna is the Chairperson of the Assam Electricity Regulatory Commission. He was the Chief Secretary, Assam during 2019-20 and belonged to IAS of 1985 batch of Assam-Meghalaya Cadre.

He held various posts such as Addl. Chief Secretary Home & Political, Revenue & Disaster Management, Public Health Engineering, Information and Public Relations, Food and Civil Supplies and as Principal Secretary, Planning and Development, Forest and Environment, Cultural Affairs departments, as Managing Director, Assam Tea Corporation Ltd., DC Kamrup & Sonitpur in the state. He was also the Additional Secretary, Agriculture and Farmer’s Welfare Ministry; Joint Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance and Director, PMO in the Central government. He was also posted as Director, Tea Board in New York during 2001-2004.

Dhrubajyoti Borah

Dhrubajyoti Borah: Professor (Dr.) Borah is a Sahitya Akademi award-winning writer, novelist and presently the Vice Chancellor of Srimanta Sankardev University of Health Sciences, Guwahati, Assam. In a literary career spanning around three decades, he has published many critically acclaimed works of fiction and non-fiction, establishing him as one of the foremost voices in contemporary Assamese literature.

His work on fiction include Kalantadarar Gadya, Kotha Ratnakar, Loha and Bhok among others. His major non-fiction works include a monograph on the medieval peasant struggle (Maomoria rebellion) of Assam and a study of the development of the Assamese language. He has also written extensively on history and social issues. His books on the World War II, the French Revolution and a two-volume set on the Russian Revolution are first such books in the Assamese language.

Borah was also the President of the Asom Sahitya Sabha from 2015-2017.

Kishalay Bhattacharjee

Kishalay Bhattacharjee: Kishalay Bhattacharjee is currently a Professor and Dean, Jindal School of Journalism and Communication and Director, New Imaginations. He is a journalist and former Resident Editor, New Delhi Television Ltd. (NDTV) who has reported widely from India’s conflict zones for over two decades.

He was Chair, Internal Security and a Senior Fellow at India’s biggest think tank, the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA), 2011, a Panos Fellow for HIV/AIDS (2007) and an Edward Murrow Fellow in Journalism (2006). He is also the founder and curator of ArtEast—a festival of art and livelihood held annually at the India International Centre, New Delhi.

His books include Che in Paona Bazaar: Tales of Exile and Belonging from India’s Northeast (Pan Macmillan India, 2013), Blood on My Hands: Confessions of Staged Encounters (Harper Collins India, 2015), An Unfinished Revolution: A Hostage Crisis, Adivasi Resistance and the Naxal Movement (Pan Macmillan India, 2017) and Where the Madness Lies: Citizen Accounts of Identity and Nationalism (Orient Blackswan 2023).

He has received several awards including the Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Award (2006-07). He was the first recipient of the Penguin Random House Writers Residency Award (2016).

Anil Goenka

Anil Goenka: Mr. Anil Goenka is a prominent entrepreneur and philanthropist based in Assam. He is the Managing Director of Hotel Kuber International and is associated with multiple charities including Goenka Charitable Trust, Kuber Charitable Trust and Purvanchal Lok Kalyan Parishad.

Tirtha Prasad Saikia

Tirtha Prasad Saikia: Tirtha Prasad Saikia is a frontline development activist, deeply rooted in the civil society landscape with a strong foundation in grassroots experience, passion and visionary leadership. He serves as the Director of North-East Affected Area Development Society (NEADS), a locally-driven organisation based in Assam in the north-eastern region of India, working with vulnerable communities.

Over the past 15 years, Tirtha has led and contributed to a wide spectrum of initiatives, including humanitarian assistance and emergency relief, disaster risk reduction and resilience building, environment and climate action, livelihood promotion, governance, people’s economy, participatory research and rights-based advocacy. Tirtha is also actively engaged with various networks and coalitions at local, national, and international levels, and plays a vital role in working with governments to influence policy development processes that reflect the needs and aspirations of marginalized communities in the region.

Prakash Bora

Prakash Bora: Prakash Chandra Bora retired as the Joint Director, Department of Agriculture, Government of Assam and had been directly associated with the implementation of various national and state level flagship programmes during his service period from 1984 to 2022. He had served the department in different levels as Soil Chemist, Chemical Assistant of Agmark , Instructor of Extension Training centre, Deputy Director of Assam State Seed Certification Agency etc. He had been involved as master trainer for imparting training on capacity building of officials of the department, nutrient management of soil, various programmes of ATMA and APART, seed production, supervision and monitoring of breeder seed of AAU. He had also organized various trainings for farmers and officers in different sectors like Integrated pest management, technology mission, Integrated nutrient management as well as popularized numerous concept related to Agriculture through broadcast media. At present he is actively associated with different Social Organizations meant for vulnerable groups of society, theatre activities, different stage performances, celebration of various national and local occasions .

Madhuryya Bora

Madhuryya Bora: Madhuryya Bora is a reputed social activist and community organizer, engaged with several social and philanthropic organizations. His engagement at the grassroots is considerable and he has headed many social and community welfare drives. He is currently the secretary of the Jorhat chapter of Karunadhara, a charitable organization working toward assistance of the poor and people with special needs in the state. He is also the secretary of the village development society, Kathaniarkuri, vice president of the All Assam Koch-Rajbanshi Sanmilani, Charigaon and the founder-secretary of the Eureka club. He is also the former vice president of the East Jorhat Regional Students Union (AASU). Madhuryya Bora retired as the Head Assistant of Bahona College, Jorhat.

Prabir Saikia

Prabir Saikia: Prabir Saikia is a reputed businessman and social entrepreneur of Jorhat. He is a property developer and the proprietor of Hotel President and other business concerns. Prabir Saikia works for several social causes such as sponsorship of needy students and employment generation in his firm. He is the donor member of Mahatma Gandhi Senior Secondary School, former treasurer and current member of Jorhat Lions Club, member of Jorhat Gymkhana Club. He is associated with several cultural committees in Jorhat. A sports afficionado, Prabir Saikia is the President of Jorhat Town Club that owns its own football team.