Social worker by training, Nandini Oza was a full-time activist of the Narmada Bachao Andolan, a mass resistance movement against the mega dam, the Sardar Sarovar Project on the River Narmada. She was the President of Oral History Association of India (2020-22). She is a writer, chronicler and an archivist and has been documenting and disseminating the oral histories of the Narmada struggle. Her books have been published in Marathi, Hindi and English. Since 2005 she has been associated with the Zindabad Trust, which supports work related to environment and social change.

Shipra Deo leads Landesa’s work to strengthen women’s land rights in India. She is a development practitioner with more than 20 years of experience in managing multidisciplinary programs addressing women’s empowerment, women’s land rights, violence against women, agriculture, collective action, livelihoods and institution building. She has experience working with international agencies such as UNDP, USAID, and BMGF, and has also worked with state governments and national as well as grassroots organizations.  She has worked closely with development projects in South Asia, Africa, and Central Europe with the focus on gender mainstreaming.

Manish Kunjam’s life and work embody the continuing struggle for dignity, justice, and self-determination among India’s indigenous peoples. As a leader who bridges traditional values with contemporary democratic aspirations, he stands as one of the most influential figures in the landscape of tribal politics and rights movements in India today.
Manish Kunjam is a prominent tribal leader, social activist, and politician from Chhattisgarh, known for his unwavering advocacy for Adivasi (tribal) rights, land reform, and self-determination of indigenous communities. Over the past three decades, he has emerged as one of the most respected voices representing tribal concerns in central India, especially in the Bastar region.
Manish Kunjam serves as the President of the All India Adivasi Mahasabha (AIAM) — one of the largest national platforms advocating for the constitutional, political, and land rights of tribal people.
Under his leadership, the Mahasabha has:
•Organized mass movements against the forcible acquisition of tribal lands for mining and industrial projects.
•Advocated for the implementation of the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act (PESA), 1996, and the Forest Rights Act (FRA), 2006.
•Mobilized thousands of Adivasis in peaceful demonstrations demanding protection of natural resources, recognition of traditional governance, and inclusive development.
Manish Kunjam has also been an outspoken critic of policies that, in his view, threaten the ecological and cultural integrity of tribal regions — particularly in Bastar, where issues of militarization, resource exploitation, and displacement remain acute.

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Ramesh Sharma serves as the National Coordinator of Ekta Parishad, a mass-based people’s movement for land rights with an active membership of over 250,000 landless poor. Ekta Parishad is widely regarded as one of the largest and most influential people’s movements in India, with an iconic status globally.
As a leading campaigner, Ramesh has been instrumental in planning large-scale mass struggles, campaign strategies, and advocacy initiatives. Over the past 26 years, he has played a pivotal role in strengthening and expanding Ekta Parishad into one of the most significant people’s struggles for land rights in India. He is an active member of several national alliances working on issues related to land reform, farmers’ rights, tribal and Dalit rights, and women’s land rights.
Ramesh has also contributed to public policy through his participation in various land reform committees of the Government of India and state governments. In 2008, he was appointed as a member of the National Committee on Agrarian Crisis and Land Reforms, and in 2012, he was nominated to the National Task Force on Land Reforms (Government of India). In these roles, he has been involved in drafting the National Homestead Rights Act and the National Land Reforms Policy, as well as designing institutional mechanisms for Land Tribunals and other pro-poor legal and institutional reforms.
In addition, Ramesh has collaborated with several international and academic institutions, including the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Cambridge University (UK), Heidelberg University (Germany), Rutgers University (USA), and the LBS National Academy of Administration (India). He has authored numerous research papers and policy documents on land rights, peacebuilding, gender justice, agriculture, and environmental issues.
Ramesh Sharma is also an active member of several global alliances working on land rights and related development concerns.