Augustine Lakra

Ayushman Devraj is an Assistant Professor of English and Assistant Dean of Student Affairs at Royal Global University, Guwahati. He is also reading for a PhD in Russian American Literature from Gauhati University. He is also a recipient of the Sahapedia-UNESCO Fellowship for the year 2020.

Bhaskar Jyoti Ojah a celebrated musician and composer of Assam, is a devotee of the fourth generation of Sattriya Biyohiya Oja Pali tradition of Barpeta Satra. Ojah holds expertise in myriad instruments as well as Sattriya dance and Gayan. For the past 25 years he has been relentlessly working for creating Sattriya pieces. While preserving the authenticity, Ojah experiments with his craft. Bhaskar is also associated with a project launched by Sangeet Natak Akademi titled, A Project for the music of Sattriya dance and theatre tradition of Assam, under the guidance of Guru Prabhat Sharma.

CM Khambu

Deuri Rongpi is a Karbi folk artist, lyricist, and vocalist known for his contributions to Karbi music and culture. A graduate by qualification, he has won multiple awards, including the Best Singer award (KAAC, 2009) and the Rangsina Sarpo Film Award (2021) for Best Scriptwriting. He has authored Khei Atirim (2017) and Khon Amekri (2020) in the Karbi language. A former General Secretary of the Karbi Students' Association, he currently serves as President of the Karbi Bhaktitom Trust and is a vocalist for the Arak Folk Fusion Band.

Dhiraj Rabha is a visual artist from Assam whose work explores identity, communal memory, and social narratives of loss and violence. Raised in an ex-ULFA detention camp, he holds an MFA in Painting from Kala Bhavana, Visva Bharati University, Santiniketan. His practice, rooted in community engagement, focuses on site-specific installations and research-based projects.

He is a recipient of the Prince Claus Seed Award (2023-24), the Toto Award for Photography (2024), and the IFA Art Practice Grant (2022). He has been part of the Khoj Peers Residency (2024), the Next-Step Residency by SSAF (2023), and the Generator Cooperative Production Fund by Experimenter (2023). His work has been showcased at the Bengal Biennale (2024) and the Serendipity Festival.

Diana Mickevičienė is the Ambassador of Lithuania to India and a career diplomat with 30 years of experience in Lithuania's diplomatic service. She previously served as Ambassador to China (2020-2022) and held key positions at Lithuania's Permanent Representation to the Council of Europe and Embassy in India. She holds degrees in Philosophy, Cultural History, and International Relations from Vilnius University and has lectured on South Asian history. An expert in India-Lithuania historical relations, she has published extensively, including the book All of My Indias (2011, updated 2024). She is fluent in English, French, Russian, and has studied Hindi, Spanish, Sanskrit, and Mandarin. Her interests include reading, travel, and Asian and Lithuanian history.

Dik Bir Kulung

Gilson Carvalho is a journalist at the Fluminense Federal University (UFF) in Niterói, RJ, Brazil, with a master's degree in Letters and specializations in Translation and Francophone Literatures from the same university. His main interests are art and culture, including cinema, literature and fine arts. Currently, he supervises the journalism sector of Unitevê - University TV, responsible for the production of reports and other audio-visual products.

Jahumroy Singpho is an Innovative Sustainability Specialist and CEO of One India Organic Tea Factory, based in Changlang, India. She has extensive experience in organic tea production, including green tea, CTC, and Bamboo Smoke Tea (Singpho Phalap). With expertise in environmental impact assessment, waste reduction, water conservation and biodiversity conservation. She has successfully led sustainability initiatives, improved operational efficiency, and fostered partnerships for sustainable development. Jahumroy is skilled in conservation planning, pollution prevention, and corporate social responsibility. She holds a B.A. in History Honors from Indira Gandhi College, Tezu, Arunachal Pradesh and is dedicated to integrating eco-friendly practices in business operations.

Josiah Medin is a historical linguist specializing in the phonology of Meiteilon and Trans-Himalayan (Sino-Tibetan) languages. A PhD student at Trinity College Dublin, he is conducting research on Old Meitei grammar, supported by the Trinity Research Doctorate Award. He holds a Research Master’s in Linguistics (cum laude) from Leiden University and a BA in Anthropology and Linguistics (cum laude) from the University of British Columbia. His expertise spans historical linguistics, philology, linguistic anthropology, and digital linguistic corpora. He is a multilingual, with proficiency in English, French, Dutch, and Persian. Medin has published on Middle Persian phonology, East African linguistic history, and Chadic language classification, with forthcoming works in Brill and the Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies. His experience includes teaching, academic lecturing, archival research, and fieldwork, along with volunteering in education and humanitarian projects.

Kellen Parker Van Dam, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor at the Universität Passau, specializing in multilingual computational linguistics. He is also the Associate Academic Director at the Training and Resources for Indigenous Community Linguists (TRICL) and an Adjunct Research Fellow at La Trobe University.His research focuses on language documentation, computational linguistics, historical linguistics, and Indo-European and Tibeto-Burman languages, with expertise in Bayesian phylogenetics and computational methods for linguistic analysis. He has presented at numerous international conferences and has led workshops on linguistic tone, language documentation, and dictionary development.

Parker Van Dam has published extensively on phonetics, morphology, language contact, and linguistic typology, contributing to journals, edited volumes, and conference proceedings. His teaching spans historical linguistics, fieldwork methods, and computational linguistics. He has also been involved in community-driven language resource development and preservation.

Manisha Xalxo is a Kurukh activist and Educational Secretary of the All Kurukh Students Union (AKSU). She holds an M.A. in Psychology and is currently pursuing an M.A. in Sociology. Dedicated to the preservation, protection, and promotion of the Kurukh/Oraon tribe’s rich heritage, she actively works to safeguard its culture, language, and religious traditions.

Milda Varnauskaitė is an international storyteller, storytelling coach, curator, and producer based in Vilnius, Lithuania. Her performances blend Baltic folklore with personal experiences, often infused with comedy. She has performed at major events, including The Oerol Festival (Netherlands), Amsterdam International Storytelling Festival, MIX UP Festival (Paris), and Fortellerfestivalen (Oslo). A graduate of Mezrab Storytelling School (2017), she also studied at Oslo Metropolitan University and Berlin Summer University of the Arts (2020). Milda teaches storytelling at Vilnius University, coaches at the National Museum of Lithuania, and founded the Baltic Storytelling Centre.

Pompi Basumatary, Ph.D., is an academician, writer, and translator, currently an Assistant Professor of English at Royal Global University, Assam. She holds a PhD in Translation Studies from EFL University, Hyderabad, and has previously taught at Christ University, Delhi NCR.Her research and translations focus on Bodo literature and folklore, with publications in Routledge, Palgrave Macmillan, Sahitya Akademi, and Zubaan Books. She has also contributed to IGNOU’s MA in Folk and Cultural Studies and has upcoming folktale translations with Rupa Publications

Prabodh Toppo

Preeti Gill is an independent literary agent with over 20 years of experience in publishing as a commissioning editor and rights director. She has extensively explored India’s Northeast, writing on conflict and women’s issues. She has edited several anthologies, including The Peripheral Centre: Voices from India’s Northeast, Insider/Outsider (2019), and But I Am One of You (2023), co-edited with Samrat Choudhury. Her documentary Rambuai: Mizoram’s ‘Trouble’ Years (2016) examines Mizoram’s conflict history. She divides her time between Delhi and Amritsar, where she founded Majha House, a literary and cultural hub. Her forthcoming work is a volume of non-fiction essays on Punjab.

Ramu Kashyap

Rishi Barua is a sculptor and academic, formerly a faculty member in the Department of Sculpture, Kala Bhavana, Visva-Bharati. He earned his B.F.A. (1985) and M.F.A. (1987) from the same institution, both with first-class honors. His career spans decades of participation in national and international exhibitions, workshops, and camps, including collaborations with institutions in Thailand, China, Bangladesh, and Germany. With extensive experience in bronze casting, stone carving, and experimental etching, he has contributed significantly to contemporary Indian sculpture and interdisciplinary artistic exchange. His accolades include the Governor’s Gold Medal (1986) and the Pride of Bengal Award (2024). With a career spanning over three decades, Rishi Barua remains a prominent figure in Indian sculpture and fine arts.

Sattyakee D'com Bhuyan is a multifaceted artist, actor, director, playwright, and columnist dedicated to the art of storytelling. He is the founder of D’Passion Collective, through which he has directed over 25 theatre productions. A TEDx speaker and former member of the IFC World Bank Group’s South Asia Communications Team, he also conducts workshops on creative writing and communication. Recognized as India Today's Youth Icon (2010), Bhuyan holds a Master’s in Linguistics and has served as Assistant Scientist (Languages) at IIT Guwahati. He currently mentors at Royal Global School, serves as Deputy Dean (DSW) at Royal Global University, and lectures at TISS, NID, and NIFT. His contributions continue to shape theatre, academia, and communication studies in Northeast India.

Sanjoy Hazarika is a renowned author, journalist, filmmaker, and human rights advocate with over 40 years of experience, including 16 years reporting for The New York Times. He founded the Centre for North East Studies and Policy Research and pioneered the boat clinics on the Brahmaputra, delivering healthcare to lakhs. A former international director of Common Wealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI), he has worked extensively on police reforms and Right to Information. Hazarika is also a respected scholar on Northeast India and has held fellowships at Harvard, Tufts, and the Rockefeller Centre. He is a columnist and author of five books including the acclaimed Strangers of the Mist on conflict in the North East of India and its neighborhood and its successor, 25 years later, Strangers No More. He has also made over a dozen documentary films and co-edited several books including Hope Behind Bars & on Japan’s engagement with the North east of India. His essays have appeared in peer reviewed journals, collections and anthologies including the Routledge Companion to the North East.

Shobhana Lakshmi Chelliah Ph.D., is an Asian American linguist specializing in language documentation. She recently joined Indiana University Bloomington (IUB) from the University of North Texas. Her work focuses on recording, transcribing, and annotating endangered languages, contributing to Computational Resource for South Asian Languages (CoRSAL), a digital archive preserving linguistic and cultural heritage. Through CoRSAL, she facilitates language maintenance, dictionary creation, and linguistic analysis, supporting both communities and researchers.

Soumya Chakravarti is a physicist, educator, and folk music enthusiast. He studied Physics at Presidency College (Calcutta University) and the University of Delhi, earning a PhD from the University of Chicago, USA. He has taught at Jadavpur University, Visva-Bharati, and Presidency University, Kolkata, and is an Emeritus Professor of Physics at California State University, Pomona.Deeply engaged in Bengal’s folk music, he was introduced to the tradition at 15 by Khaled Choudhury, Nihar Barua, and Mrinal Barua. He learned Bhawaiyadotara from Mrinal Barua and Khaled Choudhury and studied Nagara and flute under Ram Dayal Munda. He is a singer and collector of Gowalpara music, Baul and Fakir songs of Bengal, and Munda music of Jharkhand

Stephen Morey, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor in the Department of Languages and Linguistics, La Trobe University. Since the 1990s, he has been researching languages in North East India, including Tai, Singpho, Tangsa and Wancho, languages of Tai-Kadai and Tibeto-Burman families. He is the author of two books (and multiple articles) on tribal languages in Assam. His research work has been on language documentation with a particular focus on traditional songs and ritual language. He has long been one of the organisers of the North East Indian Linguistics Society and has been co-editor for all 8 volumes of the series North East Indian Linguistics and subsequent issues of Languages and Peoples of the Eastern Himalayan Region. He also researches and has written on the Aboriginal languages of Victoria, Australia, work that involves research into libraries and archives of 19^th century language records.

Stuti Goswami, Ph.D., is a bilingual author, translator, and editor with editing credits in publications from Gauhati University Press, National Book Trust of India, Red River, and Asam Sahitya Sabha. Her work has appeared in Harper Collins, Routledge, Ratna Books, Muse India, Silhouette, and English Language Notes. She is currently translating ThangjamIbopishak’s poetry (via Robin Ngangom’s English translation) into Assamese and adapting children’s tales from Marathi. She has subtitled two Assamese documentaries and digitized Jonaki (1901–1903). Her research interests include Translation Studies, British Assam, Plant Studies, Traditional Knowledge Systems, and North East India Studies.

Takhellambam Shyamkanhai Singh is a Waree Leeba artist, director, and cultural activist from Manipur. As the Prerogative Director of the Repertory of Waree Leeba, Manipur, he has played a key role in preserving and promoting this traditional narrative art form. He has been recognized with prestigious honors, including the Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar (2009) by Sangeet Natak Akademi and multiple state and national awards. Trained under legendary Waree Leeba Gurus, he has performed across India and internationally, including at the Kathakar International Storytelling Festival (IGNCA, New Delhi), Natyanjali (Mumbai), and Sangai Festival (Manipur). As an organizer, he has curated festivals and workshops under Sangeet Natak Akademi, Manipur State Kala Akademi, and National School of Drama.

A senior approved artist of AIR & Doordarshan Imphal, his performances have been archived and broadcast extensively. With over 18 years of experience in news reporting and anchoring, he also contributes as Secretary General of the Manipur Cultural Council and has served as a cultural advisor and committee member in various government initiatives. He holds a Master’s degree from Manipur University.