Authors

Insiyah Vahanvaty is a senior journalist, columnist and podcaster. She writes on human rights, hate politics, democracy and foreign affairs. She is currently a scholar at King's College London.

Deepak is an artist, storyteller and design educator. Over the last 16 years, he has been actively involved in social design, drawing from artistic practice, community media, urban activism & creative pedagogy. His projects revolve around gender, ecology, education design, public-space engagement and knowledge system practices.

Rajeev Bhattacharya is a seasoned journalist based in Assam, in the northeastern part of India. His extensive career includes stints with leading Indian publications such as The Telegraph, The Indian Express, The Times of India, and Times Now, and he has also served as the managing editor of Seven Sisters Post. A Chevening Fellow, Bhattacharya is the author of notable works including “Rendezvous With Rebels: Journey to Meet India’s Most Wanted Men” and “Lens & The Guerrilla: Insurgency in India’s Northeast.” His reporting primarily focuses on the northeastern regions of India and its border areas with Myanmar, Bhutan, China, and Bangladesh.

Srini Janarthanam is a PhD in Artificial Intelligence & Natural Language Processing from the University of Edinburgh. He served as a Postdoctoral researcher at Heriot-Watt University, UK, working on several EU-funded projects that focus on Conversational AI research. He authored a book titled ‘Hands On Chatbots and Conversational UI development’ published in 2017 when chatbots and conversational assistants became a rage.

Dr Aqsa Shaikh (She/Her) is an out and proud trans woman. She is one of India’s first transgender doctors. She is an Associate Professor of Community Medicine, Nodal Officer for Covid Vaccination Centre, Hamdard Institute of Medical Sciences and Research, Jamia Hamdard, Delhi. Aqsa is an academician and researcher and is a vocal advocate for rights-based gender justice for transgender persons.

Rasheed Kappan is a senior journalist based in Bengaluru with nearly three decades of experience. In the past, he has worked in the Deccan Herald, The Hindu and The Times of India, covering issues related to urban mobility, sustainibility, environment and the interface between policy, planning and activation on the ground. A graphic cartoonist, he is the founder of Kappansky and explores the linkages of art, media and innovation through multiple creative platforms.

Prasad Kunduri is a Delhi-based journalist who writes on foreign policy, strategic affairs and Parliament. He worked in the U.S. Congress as a Fulbright-American Political Science Association Fellow. He has served as the Chairman of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha Press and Media Advisory Committees.

Anitha Rangan is an economist at Equirus Group. She has over 16 years of experience in the financial services industry spanning local and global capital markets. In her previous stints, she has worked with HSBC Asset Management, CRISIL Reasearch, Lehman Brothers and Nomura. Her areas of interest are macro-economic trends and analysing their impact on capital markets across asset classes.

Anil Swarup is a former 1981 batch Uttar Pradesh cadre IAS officer and was awarded Director’s gold medal for “best officer trainee” at the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA). He served the Government of India in various capacities for 38 years and went on to become Secretary, Department of School Education and Literacy and the Coal Secretary of India. He is the author of several books like ‘No More a Civil Servant,’ ‘Ethical dilemmas of a civil servant’ and ‘Not just a civil servant’.

Bharat Bhushan is the Associate Editor and South Asia Editor at 360info. He is a senior journalist and columnist who used to host a Foreign Affairs TV show on RajyaSabha TV. In his career, Bharat has worked as the Editor of Catch News, the founding Editor of Mail Today, the Executive Editor of Hindustan Times, and the Editor of The Telegraph in Delhi. He has also been the Editor of the Express-News Service, the Washington Correspondent for The Indian Express, and an Assistant Editor with The Times of India.