Suchandra Pal
Suchandra Pal completed her postgraduate studies in Political Science at Presidency University, Kolkata. She is keen to continue her academic venture in the field of Gender studies. Writing has been the best medium of self expression and communication for her, and she is deeply interested to explore and write about issues related to Gender, Feminism specifically with regard to Postcolonial feminism and wishes to conduct studies on lives of women and other marginalized communities specifically in the context of South Asia. Apart from her academic endeavors, she is a trained classical Bharatnatyam dancer. She has been a volunteer in National Service Scheme under the Government of India and she has represented in the National Integration Programme as West Bengal contingent organised by National Service Scheme, Ministry of Youth and Affairs, Government of India.
Tunir Ghosal
Tunir Ghosal is a final year post graduate student from the Department of Political Science, University of Calcutta. He completed his graduation from Regional Institute of Education (NCERT), Bhubaneswar and served as school teacher for a brief period of time. He is currently working in a project to assess socio economic impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic in North Bengal region. His areas of interest are Community development, Urban studies, Globalization, Rural-urban dichotomy etc.
Yash Vira
Yash Vira is a 2nd year undergraduate student pursuing Economics at Presidency University, Kolkata. He is interested in the fields of welfare economics and public policy, particularly in reference to South Asian politics and society. He aspires to work on the feasibility of microcredit and microfinance, in context of the countries of the global South. He is also an avid debater, having participated in a number of competitions throughout the country.
Akanksha Tiwari
Akanksha Tiwari is a first-year Political Science student at Loreto College, Kolkata. She is passionate about International Relations and Diplomacy and has authored a research paper on the 'The Quad: A Pragmatic Path Towards A Strategic Security Co-operation' that has been published on the website of the Centre for Studies in International Relations and Development (CSIRD). She has also served as the Dialogue Facilitator for Reflections Research Advocacy, a network of South and Southeast Asian Women working in the community space in their respective contexts who have come together to craft a new narrative of cultural empowerment of women by deliberating, researching, and advocating for the cultural agency of women in their respective communities. The Network operates virtually through calls (online dialogues, workshops, webinars), producing publications that are crowdsourced and creative online advocacy campaigns. Besides actively engaging herself in public speaking, and research activities, Akanksha has regularly participated in co-curricular activities such as dance, music, sports, debated, headed her drama team for three consecutive years, and has also received an award in Sanskrit from the former Minister of Human Resource Development, Government of India, Smt. Smriti Irani. Akanksha is a trained Bharatnatyam dancer and classical singer. She has represented her school in various Zonal and National level athletic competitions. She has also held several leadership positions in her school including the Vice-Head Girl, Vice-Captain, Prefect for two consecutive years, and Secretary of The Change Makers Club. Apart from this, she has volunteered in several community services as a member of the Interact Club, Eco Club, the Euphrates Institute, and as the Student Coordinator of the Online Circle of Compassion, the first of its kind online platform for connecting youth from Asia and Africa to people from all over the world. It is a diverse group with facilitators from over 15 countries. This platform is a safe space to practice compassionate listening where young people can come forward and share their challenges, emotional issues, mental health issues, and everything that they are unable to share with their families. This initiative guarantees confidentiality and the opportunity to share in different languages because it connects with facilitators who know English, French, Arabic, Tamil, Hindi, Urdu, Pashto, Bengali, Spanish.
