Speakers

Dr Ralph Summy

Dr Ralph Summy is a peace scholar, educator, and activist. He taught at the political science department of The University of Queensland for 32 years and served as Director of the Matsunaga Institute for Peace at the University of Hawai’i. His most recent book (2008) was a co-edited work, Nonviolence: An Alternative for Defeating Global Terror(ism). He has taught Hind Swaraj for many years. Founder Editor of “The Alternatives”.

Dr Anthony Parel

Dr Anthony Parel is Emeritus Professor of Political Science at the University of Calgary, where he taught Political Philosophy from 1966 to 1994. Among his many publications are Gandhi: Hind Swaraj and Other Writings, ed. (Cambridge University Press, 1997), Gandhi, Freedom and Self-Rule, ed. (Lexington Books, USA, 2000), and Gandhi’s Philosophy and the Quest for Harmony (Cambridge University Press, 2006).

Prof Anna Alomes

Prof Anna Alomes is a philosopher with interests in nonviolence, reconciliation, restorative practices, human rights, exceptional leadership, and applied ethics (particularly medicine, pharmacy, nursing and police ethics). She has served as Director of the Centre for Applied Philosophy and Ethics [CAPE] at the University of Tasmania and the World Institute for Nonviolence and Reconciliation, a non-profit, non-governmental organization.

Prof Samdhong Rinpoche

Venerable Prof Samdhong Rinpoche is the elected Kalon Tripa (Chairman of the Tibetan Cabinet) of HH Dalai Lama’s Tibetan Government in Exile. He is a scholar, philosopher and senior Buddhist lama. He speaks and advocates widely for the vision of Hind Swaraj. He has served as Vice Chancellor of the Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies, Varanasi, and as a board member of the Indian Council for Philosophical Research, Asiatic Society of West Bengal, Sikkim Research Institute, Central Institute for Buddhist Studies, and Nav Nalanda Mahavira.

Douglas Allen

Dr Douglas Allen is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Maine, U.S.A. His areas of specialisation are Indian philosophy (especially Hinduism and Buddhism), Mahatma Gandhi, the phenomenology of religion (especially Mircea Eliade), political philosophy (especially Karl Marx), and comparative East-West philosophy. His most recent books are Myth and Religion in Mircea Eliade, Comparative Philosophy and Religion in Times of Terror, and The Philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi for the Twenty-First Century.

Sami Awad

Sami Awad is the Executive Director of Holy Land Trust, a Palestinian not-for-profit organisation established in Bethlehem in 1998.It works to strengthen, encourage and improve the Palestinian community through working with children, families, youth, and the non-governmental organization (NGO) community. He has also worked with the Palestinian Center for the Study of Nonviolence in Jerusalem.

Eilda Zaghmout

Eilda Zaghmout is an executive officer of the Holy Land Trust in Bethlehem, Palestine. She became a member of Holy Land Trust’s Core Group in the year 2003 after taking the first training in nonviolence and later worked with the Trust’s Peace & Reconciliation Department.

Dr Sushil Mittal

Dr Sushil Mittal is the (Founding) Director of the Mahatma Gandhi Center for Global Nonviolence and tenured Associate Professor of Hinduism at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia. His publications include Development and Change in India (1993), Surprising Bedfellows: Hindus and Muslims in Medieval and Early Modern India (2003), The Hindu World (2004), Religions of South Asia: An Introduction (2006), and Studying Hinduism: Key Concepts and Methods (2008).

Nand Kishore Acharya

Nand Kishore Acharya is one of India’s leading Hindi literary figures. He is a poet, playwright, essayist, and critic. His works have extensively explored the thought of Mahatma Gandhi. Currently he is engaged in the creation of an Encyclopedia of Nonviolence.

Farrukh Sohail Goindi

Farrukh Sohail Goindi is Founder and Chairman of the Foundation for Democracy in Lahore, Pakistan. He has participated in and led nonviolent struggles for democracy in Pakistan. Currently he is a senior consultant for PTV and a leading voice in Pakistan for nonviolence. He has translated Hind Swaraj in Urdu, which will be released by his publication house Jumhoori Books, as well as a translation of Mahatma Gandhi’s autobiography, Talaash-e-Haq.

PV Rajagopal

PV Rajagopal is founder-chairman of Ekta Parishad, a movement for tribal justice and land rights, and Vice-Chairman of Gandhi Peace Foundation. In 2008 he organized a Satyagraha for tribal land rights in which 25,000 tribals from central India undertook a month-long march to Delhi.

Dr Partha Nath Mukherji

Dr Partha Nath Mukherji is Professor, S.K. Dey Chair at the Institute of Social Sciences, New Delhi. He has formerly served as Director of the Tata Institute and President of the Indian Sociological Society.

S Kullandaisam

Dr S Kullandaisam is Director, Gandhi Peace Foundation, Chennai. He has developed a programme at the Peace Foundation for youth.

Pandurang Hegde

Pandurang Hegde works to preserve the forests of north Karnataka. In 1983 he began a movement called Appiko (Hug the Trees) to prevent the felling of trees in the Western Ghats Region. The movement has had a significant impact on the preservation of forests. He was previously involved in the Chipko movement and worked with Oxfam in Madhya Pradesh.

DL Seth

Is National Fellow at the Indian Institute of Advanced Studies, Shimla. He is the former Director of the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, Delhi, and a member of the Backward Castes and Classes Commission. As a founder of Lokayan, a centre promoting exchange between social movements and scholars, Prof D L Sheth has done pioneering social science research

Prof Ashis Nandy

Prof Ashis Nandy is Chairperson of the Committee for Cultural Choices and Global Futures. He is a celebrated political psychologist, social theorist, and activist who has served as Director of the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies. His numerous published works explore the social and psychological dimensions of violence, colonialism, nationalism, and secularism.

Fadi Abi Allam

Fadi Abi Allam is the President of the Permanent Peace Movement, a non-profit organization dedicated to peace building in Lebanon and the wider Middle East. He is a trainer in conflict resolution and Regional Coordinator of the Arab Partnership for Conflict Preservation and the Nonviolence Network in Arab countries. He is also a Steering Committee Member of the Arab Network for Tolerance.