Anees Salim is t he author of numerous books, including The Odd Book of Baby Names

Subhashini Kaligotla is an associate professor of Indian and South Asian Art History at Columbia University, New York. Her debut poetry collection is Bird of the Indian Subcontinent

Akhil Katyal is the author of Like Blood on the Bitten Tongue: Delhi Poems and co-editor of The World That Belongs To Us: An Anthology of Queer Poetry from South Asia

Priya Sarukkai Chabria is a poet, translator, speculative fiction writer and Founding Editor of Poetry at Sangam

Priyatej Kotipalli is an associate professor with the Center for Indian Family Business, Coimbatore

Dolkun Isa is president of the World Uyghur Congress

Manoj Sinha is Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir

Ashwath Narayan CN is minister for Higher Education; IT & BT, Science & Technology; Skill Development, Entrepreneurship & Livelihood, government of Karnataka

Vikram Singh Mehta is chairman and distinguished fellow at the Centre for Social and Economic Progress

Frank Dikötter is a historian who specialises in modern China and is the author of, among other titles, Mao’s Great Famine

Atri Bhattacharya is an IAS officer who is currently Additional Chief Secretary in West Bengal. As Principal Secretary Tourism, he led the team that put Durga Puja on the world map, now tagged by UNESCO as an Intangible Heritage Property. He is also an enthusiastic quizzer who has been the Bournvita Quiz (radio) and Quiz Time (TV) champion as well as a finalist on BBC MASTERMIND. He is a writer, speaker, avid traveller, actor, photographer and a chef who wants to travel the world with camera and keyboard

Jessica Hines is author of Looking for the Big B: Bollywood, Bachchan and Me

Ranjani Mazumdar is professor of Cinema Studies at the School of Arts and Aesthetics, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi

Prasad was APJ Abdul Kalam’s private secretary

Bhartruhari Mahtab is a BJD MP and chairperson of the parliamentary standing committee on labour, textiles and skill development

Ashish Kumar is Senior Fellow at NITI Aayog and former director general, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation. Views are personal

Anirudha Taparia is Co-Founder and Joint CEO of the wealth management business at IIFL Wealth