SPARROW Trustees

Dr. Neera Desai

Dr. Neera Desai, a pioneer in the field of Women's Studies and a nationally and internationally known scholar, was one of the founder trustees of SPARROW along with Dr. Maithreyi Krishna Raj and Dr. C S Lakshmi. She was also a politically active person and had been a part of the struggle for the nation's freedom and an inspiring presence in the Women's Movement. She set up the first Research Centre for Women's Studies in S N D T Women's University and was its first Director and served in that capacity for many years. Her much-acclaimed research works have been recognised in Gujarati and English. Until her demise in June 2009, she was an important guiding force in SPARROW.

The current trustees of SPARROW are:

C S Lakshmi is a Tamil writer who writes under the pseudonym Ambai. Her translated stories have been published in a collection entitled A Purple Sea. She is also an independent researcher in Women's Studies for the past thirty years and has several publications to her credit. She is the founder trustee of SPARROW and currently the Director of SPARROW.

Dr. Maithreyi Krishna Raj

Maithreyi Krishna Raj was former Professor and Director, Research Centre for Women's Studies at S N D T Women's University. Her major publications have been on Women and Science and on Gender and Development. Her area of work has been women's issues, women and development issues, Women's Studies Methodology, concepts, theory and pedagogy. She has also been part of the Women's Movement since 1975.

Dr. Divya Pandey

Divya Pandey has thirty years of academic experience in Demography, Women's Studies, and Community Development. Her major area of research has been Population Studies, Women's Health, and Development and Empowerment. At present she is associated with SPARROW and the Research Centre for Women's Studies, S N D T. Women's University.

Dr. Roshan G Shahani

Roshan G Shahani retired as the head of the Department of English at Jai Hind College where she taught since 1965. Her areas of interest include contemporary Indian and British literature as well as Women's Studies which she taught  at both under-graduate and post-graduate levels. She was the editor of BEAM, (Bombay English Association Magazine) and has done research on Canadian women's writing. Her publications include The Canadian Family in Fiction and a memoir on her mother, published by SPARROW entitled, Allan: Her Infinite Variety.

Dr. Usha Thakkar

Dr. Usha Thakkar is a former Professor and Head of Department of Political Science at the S N D T Women's University. She is currently the Director of the Institute of Gandhian Thought and Rural Development, a program that is run from Mani Bhavan and also the Honorary Secretary of Mani Bhavan, Gandhi Sangrahalaya. She is also the Chairperson of Public Lectures and Cultural Events Committee of The Asiatic Society of Mumbai.

Dr. Shoba Venkatesh Ghosh

Shoba Venkatesh Ghosh is a professor in the Department of English in the University of Mumbai, and has been part of many of the activities of SPARROW for several years now.

Mr. Mihir Desai

Mihir Desai is a Mumbai-based advocate practising in the Bombay High Court and Supreme Court. He appears regularly on behalf of labour and is co-founder of the Indian People’s Tribunal on Environment and Human Rights. He is also co-founder of India Centre for Human Rights and Law and former editor of Combat Law (a law and human rights magazine)..

Advisory Committee

External Advisors from Outside Mumbai

External Advisors from Outside India