DR MEENA DHANDA
LEADING ACADEMIC, DIASPORA DALIT STUDIES
Dr Meena Dhanda was the Principal Investigator of the UK Equality and Human Rights Commission project ‘Caste in Britain’ in 2013-14. As part of the project, she led a consortium of academic experts and produced two reports on the inclusion of “caste” in the Equality Act 2010. She is widely recognised as the leading academic in diaspora Dalit studies and has written about caste discrimination in the UK for a number of prominent journals.
Satpal Muman is the Co-Founder and Chairman of Caste Watch UK, one of the leading charities fighting caste discrimination in the UK. He has been at the forefront of the campaign to bring caste legislation into British law, organising protests, petitions and events around the issue. Satpal has also been the Secretary of the Ambedkar International Mission in London and has spoken at a number of events about caste discrimination.
SATISH SHARMA
GENERAL SECRETARY, NATIONAL COUNCIL OF HINDU TEMPLES (UK)
Satish Sharma is the General Secretary of the National Council of Hindu Temples (UK), working to empower British Hindus to participate more actively in British cultural, social and political spheres. NCHTUK has done extensive work on caste legislation in Britain, having recently released a report on why the legislation would be damaging. Satish Sharma has appeared on prominent media outlets, such as the BBC Asian Network, to speak about the issue.
SAUNVEDAN APARANTI
ACTIVIST & ACTOR
Saunvedan Aparanti is an anti-caste activist in London. He has a Masters in Human Rights from UCL and is currently studying Law. He draws inspiration from the life and work of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, a founding father of the Indian Republic and a relentless crusader against the caste system. Dr. Ambedkar famously quit Hinduism alongside half a million of his followers in 1956 and embraced Buddhism to exit the caste system. Saunvedan’s grandfather was one of them.
MEENA VARMA
DIRECTOR, DALIT SOLIDARITY NETWORK UK
Meena has been Director of Dalit Solidarity Network UK since 2007. DSN-UK campaigns against the atrocities, humiliation and poverty that over 260 million Dalits or ‘untouchables’ suffer due to caste discrimination – in South Asia and also with the Diaspora Dalit population in the UK. Meena is the Chair of the Board of the International Dalit Solidarity Network and Vice Chair of the Council of Minority Rights Group International. She is also Coordinator of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Dalits - a cross party group with members from both Houses.
REENA JAISIAH
CREATIVE DIRECTOR, CASTE AWAY ARTS
Reena Jaisiah is the Co-Founder of Caste Away Arts, a theatre and production company that tackles taboo issues and works towards eliminating discrimination. She is the Director of ‘The Fifth Cup’, a play that tackled the issue of caste discrimination. She has been the victim of caste-based prejudice and is one of the first young people in Britain to speak out about her experiences.
Dr Annapurna Waughray is the author of ‘Capturing Caste in Law: The Legal Regulation of Caste and Caste Discrimination’. She has done significant work on caste law both in the UK and India, and has written about the subject for a number of prominent journals. She teaches Human Rights Law, International Law, International Criminal Law and European Union Law at Manchester Metropolitan University.
KEITH PORTEOUUS WOOD
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, NATIONAL SECULAR SOCIETY
Keith Porteous Wood is the Executive Director of the National Secular Society, an organisation he has been involved with since 1996. He has written for a number of publications, including the New Humanist, Politics.co.uk, The Huffington Post, and others and has been featured in the BBC for his views on caste legislation in the UK.
ANIL BHANOT OBE
DIRECTOR OF INTERFAITH RELATIONS, HINDU COUNCIL UK
Anil Bhanot has been active in infaith relations in the UK and currently serves as the Director of Interfaith Relations for the Hindu Council UK. He is also a trustee of the Ethnic Minority Foundation, a patron of the Inter Faith Youth Trust, and runs his own charity called the Rita Trust. He received an OBE during the Queen’s Birthday Honours in 2010 for his interfaith work.
DR ANNAPURNA WAUGHRAY
AUTHOR, 'CAPTURING CASTE IN LAW'
SATPAL MUMAN
CHAIRMAN, CASTE WATCH UK