Baela Raza Jamil
Baela Raza Jamil is a public policy specialist and CEO of Idara-e-Taleem-o-Aagahi (ITA). She founded the Children’s and Teachers’ Literature Festivals and advocates for the right to education, early childhood education, girls’ empowerment, and public-private partnerships. Baela leads ASER Pakistan, focusing on education accountability, and the Chalo Parho Barho program for foundational learning. She advises governments on education reforms and serves on various international advisory platforms, including UNESCO’s Global Alliance to Monitor Learning and the Education Commission led by Gordon Brown.
Irfan Mufti
Irfan Mufti holds a Master’s degree in Social and Cultural Anthropology and an M.Phil. in American History. He has been actively involved in social movements, human rights initiatives, and peace coalitions across Asia for over three decades. He is a founding member and Deputy Director of South Asia Partnership-Pakistan (SAP-PK), a six-country development and advocacy consortium. His work spans community development, humanitarian assistance, advocacy campaigns, and research on civil society and governance. He has co-authored two books on global civil society, social movements, and governance.
Jatin Desai
Jatin Desai is a journalist, peace activist, and former Secretary-General of the Pakistan-India People’s Forum for Peace and Democracy (PIPFPD). A Mumbai-based journalist, he has been a leading advocate for the welfare of fishermen detained across the India-Pakistan border. His work has been instrumental in humanitarian diplomacy, fostering dialogue, and securing the release of prisoners of conscience.
Kavita Srivastava
Kavita Srivastava is a human rights activist associated with the People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), India. Based in Jaipur, Rajasthan, she has been at the forefront of civil liberties, women’s rights, and legal advocacy. A founding member of Sapan, she is deeply invested in music and cultural initiatives that promote regional cooperation.
Lalita Ramdas
Lalita Ramdas is an educator, activist, and lifelong advocate for peace and justice. Along with her late husband Admiral ‘Ramu’ Ramdas, she is a Sapan founder member. She believes in building a world where peace is possible and dedicates her efforts to education, dialogue, and cultural initiatives. A strong proponent of Dharma Chakra, the wheel of righteousness and justice, she is committed to regional cooperation and reconciliation.
Dr. Martha Chen
Martha (Marty) Chen is an Associate at the Mittal South Asia Institute at Harvard University,
where she taught for 35 years, and Co-Founder, Emeritus International Coordinator and board
member of the global network Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing and Organizing
(WIEGO). An experienced development practitioner and scholar, her areas of specialisation are
employment, gender, and poverty, with a focus on the working poor in the informal economy.
Dr. Saeed Ahmed Rid
Dr. Saeed Ahmed Rid is an Assistant Professor at the National Institute of Pakistan Studies, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad. He holds a PhD in Peace Studies from the University of Bradford, UK and was a Commonwealth Academic Scholar at Oxford University. His research focuses on peace and conflict studies, human rights, and political transitions in South Asia. He has published five books and numerous research papers on governance, security, and regional diplomacy.
Salima Hashmi
Salima Hashmi is an artist, curator, and contemporary art historian. She taught at the National College of Arts (NCA), Lahore, where she also served as Principal and Professor of Fine Arts. She later became the founding Dean of the Mariam Dawood School of Visual Arts and Design at Beaconhouse National University. Her books include Unveiling the Visible and Memories, Myths, Mutations. She has curated numerous exhibitions globally and received several lifetime achievement awards for her contributions to art and education.
dr.Syeda Hameed
Dr. Syeda Hameed is a social activist, writer, and former Planning Commission member of India. She has been Chancellor of Maulana Azad National Urdu University and is a founding member of the Muslim Women’s Forum and Women’s Initiative for Peace in South Asia. She is an advocate for legal literacy among Muslim women and cross-border dialogue. In 2007, she received India’s Padma Shri, the country’s fourth-highest civilian honor.
Urvashi Butalia
Urvashi Butalia is a renowned publisher, writer, and feminist activist. She co-founded Kali for Women, India’s first feminist publishing house, and is now the director of Zubaan. She authored The Other Side of Silence: Voices from the Partition of India, a landmark book on the human stories of Partition.
Dr. Vinod Mubayi
Dr. Vinod Mubayi is a physicist and social commentator. Born in Lahore before Partition, he holds a PhD from Brandeis University and has taught at Cornell University. He worked at Brookhaven National Laboratory, New York, and served as a UN consultant on energy issues. A co-editor of Insaf Bulletin, he has been closely associated with progressive movements advocating human rights and social justice.
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