Who are the 3 interlocutors appointed for Kashmir?

The Indian government on Wednesday, Oct 13 appointed 3 peace negotiators for Kashmir - Journalist Dilip Padgaonkar, Information Commissioner MM Ansari and noted academician Radha Kumar.

They are expected to hold talks with all political parties, separatist group, youth and students in Jammu Kashmir as part of efforts to solve the ongoing crisis in the valley.

The decision to appoint a set of interlocutors was taken at the Cabinet Committee on Security meeting chaired by Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh on Sep 25.

Following are the profiles of the three Jammu Kashmir peace negotiators appointed by the government:

Journalist Dilip Padgaonkar

Dilip Padgaonkar is currently consulting editor and columnist in The Times of India, one of India"s leading English newspaper.

Padgaonkar is India"s well-known political journalists, known for his sharp political analysis and reports. He has 30-year experience in the field of journalism.

Recently, Padgaonkar was part of Kashmir committee led by eminent lawyer Ram Jethmalani.

Birth place: Pune (Maharashtra), India

Passion: Journalism, which he describes as "history's exhilarating mistress"

Favourite news beat: Crime

Education: Degree in Political Science and German, Diploma in Cinematography, Doctorate in humanities from the University of Paris

Career:

• Former editor of "The Gulf Today"

• Appointed editor of 'The Times of India' in Dec 1988

• Covered Europe for The Times of India for five years

• Served UNESCO in senior capacities from 1978 to 1986

• In 1994, Padgaonkar, with 3 of his senior colleagues, set up Asia- Pacific Communication Associates (APCA), India's first multi-media organisation run exclusively by media professionals. He is the chairperson of APCA

• One of the founder- editors of Biblio, a monthly journal devoted to books and ideas

• He has held positions with UNESCO at Bangkok and Paris

Information Commissioner, MM Ansari

Designation: Information Commissioner of CIC

Education: PhD in Economics, PG Diploma in Public Finance, MA Economics

M M Ansari is the Information Commissioner of the Central Information Commission (CIC), which takes a strong vigil for effective implementation of the Right to Information Act 2005 in India.

RTI stands for Right To Information, which under Article 19(1) (a) of the Constitution, empoweres its citizens with freedom of speech and expression and it also provide the right to know how the government works, what role does it play, what are its functions.

As the Information Commissioner, Ansari investigates complaints from people who believe they have been denied rights under the Act.

He is also responsible for enforcing the provisions of the Act as well as educating the people about the Act, mainly to the information seekers and providers.

Recently, Ansari raised his voice to curb the frivolous and vexatious RTI applications by imposing penalty on the applicant.

He has made significant contributions to growth of knowledge, particularly in the areas of Human Resources Development.

He was an active member of international teams for accomplishment of Education Sector Reform Project, Government of Mauritius, supported by the World Bank.

He also served as Senior Economist, the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and the Director of Research Division in Association of Indian Universities (AIU).

Professor Radha Kumar

Honorary Position:
Professor Radha Kumar is at present, the Director of the Mandela Centre for Peace and Conflict Resolution at Jamia Millia

University, and trustee of the Delhi Policy Group. She is an expertist in areas of ethnic conflicts and peace processes.

Dr Kumar has also been Executive Director of the Helsinki Citizen"s Assembly in Prague and an Associate Fellow at the Institute for War and Peace Studies at Columbia University.

Apart from her specialisation in bringing resolution in the conflict situations, she has also penned number of books on topics of war, peace and the movement of women rights in India.

Some of her books are:

• Making Peace with Partition (Penguin: 2005)

• Divide and Fall? Bosnia in the Annals of Partition (Verso: 1997)

• Movements for Women"s Rights and Feminism in India, 1900-1990

• Ed, with Josep Palau, Bosnia: Between War and Peace (Municipalida Valencia: 1993)

She has edited and authored various authentic reports which include - "Frameworks For A Kashmir Settlement" (2007 and 2006).

Awards:
Some of the awards she has received for her tremendous and selfless service to the humanity include

• Warren Weaver Fellow, Rockefeller Foundation, 1996-97

• SSRC-Macarthur Post Doctoral Fellowship, Columbia University, 1994-96

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