Ranjana Saxena
Ranjana Saxena has been engaged with teaching and research at the University of Delhi since 1989. Her doctoral thesis was on ‘Image of Women in Russian and Russian-Soviet Literature’. Russian literature, Russian women’s writing, Russian literature and issues in feminism and gender has been the thrust of her academic pursuit. She conducts Ph.D, Mphil, MA courses at the University of Delhi on contemporary Russian literature. She has served as member of the International Editorial Board of the Journal ‘Russian International Philology’. State University of Perm, Russian Federation and was nominated member, Advisory Board, Gender studies Center at Moscow State University, Russian Federation, 2007. She has supervised a number of MPhil and Ph.D dissertations. She has also been nominated external supervisor by the Abai Kazakh National University, Kazakhastan 2012 and by the Al-Farabi Kazakh National University 2018 for Phd students. She has also been translating Russian literature into Hindi/English. She has been a Laureate of ‘PUSHKIN MEDAL’, the Highest State Award given by the President of the Russian Federation for Excellence in teaching of Russian and promotion of Russian Culture. 2008. Has been awarded the “Bene Merito” award (Republic of Poland) for strengthening the bilateral relationship between Poland and India, 2014. Dr. Saxena was the Laureate (first Round) of the 2nd International Competition ‘Best Teacher of Russian Outside Russia’ organized by the ROSSOTRUDNICHECTVO, Government of the Russian Federation, 2014. She has organized a number of national and international conferences. Edited books include: Window into Russia: Art & Society in the XXI century (jointly ed.); The Russian Discourse in the Contemporary Intercultural Context (ed.) Ranjana Saxena; Revisiting East Central Europe and Russia Society and Culture 20 Years After Edited by Ranjana Saxena She has presented papers in National/International conferences held in India and abroad. Presently, she is heading the Department of Slavonic & Finno-Ugrian Studies at the University of Delhi.
Rashmi Doraiswamy
Rashmi Doraiswamy studied Russian language and literature at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. Her doctoral thesis was on Mikhail Bakhtin, the Russian philosopher. She is Professor at the Academy of International Studies, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi. Her writings on literature and cinema have been published in prestigious Indian and foreign publications. She has participated in national and international seminars on cultural issues and has served on several statutory and non-statutory film festival and critics juries in India (including the national award critic, documentary and feature film juries) and abroad. She was the recipient of the National Award for the Best Film Critic in 1994. She was awarded the MAJLIS research fellowship in 1999 for a project entitled ‘Changing Narrative Strategies of Hindi Cinema’. She has lectured and written extensively on cinema, literature and cultural issues. For many years she was on the Guest Faculty of the Mass Communication and Research Centre at JMI where she taught a course on Film Appreciation. She was Coordinator of the UGC Central Asian Studies Programme at the Academy of International Studies since it was set up in 2007 to 2016. She has organized and been co-organiser of workshops, international and national conferences, many of which have been on Russia, Central Asia, Eurasia and Soviet Union. She was invited by the Japan Foundation to participate in a 15-day group tour of film institutions in Japan in October, 1999. She was invited by the administration of the President of the Russian Federation to attend the Russian Literary Meeting at PFU, Moscow on 21 November 2013. She was also invited by the Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan to the 3rd Issyk Kul Forum, in October, 2018. She was International Observer for the Presidential Elections in Uzbekistan in December 2007 and 2015. She delivered the Presidential Address at the Indian History Congress in the Section ‘Countries Other than India’ in December 2017 at Jadavpur University. She was Honorary Deputy Director of the Academy of Third World Studies from October 2005 to May 2007. She has been Officiating Director of the AIS since August 2015.
Mahavir Singh
Professor Mahavir Singh has been Director/ Counsellor, Indian Cultural Centre, High Commission of India, Suva in the Republic of Fiji Islands.(January 2006-January 2009); Director, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Institute of Asian Studies (Ministry of Culture, Govt.of India) appointed with the approval of the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) headed by the Prime Minister of India. (January 2000- December 2005); Director, Eastern Zonal Culture, Kolkata (Ministry of Culture, Govt.of India -Additional Charge); Professor of History, Centre for Archival Studies, Dept. Of History, Pondicherry (Central) University, Pondicherry, (July 1998 – December 2000); Coordinator of UGC Centre for Nehru Studies, Pondicherry University, Pondicherry, 2000; Reader in History, Centre for Archival Studies, Dept. of History, Pondicherry University, Pondicherry, (July 1990 – June 1998) and Assistant Archivist, National Archives of India, New Delhi, December 1982 – June 1990. Professor Singh retired as Dean, School of Law, Justice and Governance and Dean, School of Biotechnology, Gautam Buddha University, Greater Noida. Professor Mahavir Singh completed his M.A in Modern Indian History from the University of Rajasthan, Jaipur, 1978 and did a Post – Graduate Diploma in Archives- keeping from National Archives of India, 1979. His M.Phil. dissertation was on the topic “Soviet Perceptions of Indian Political Developments : 1947 – 1955” from the School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, 1982 and his Ph. D thesis was on the topic “Soviet View of Indian National Congress” from the School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, 1986. Professor Singh has several publications, both international and national to his credit. Professor Singh has been/is associated with several academic institutions in varied capacity, they include: Secretary-General, Indian Society for Central Asian Studies, New Delhi ; Association of Commonwealth Archives and Records Managers, London; Member of British Scholars Alumni Association, London; Life Member of Indian Association for Canadian Studies, New Delhi, and was local Secretary of XIV International Conference on Canadian Studies ; Member, Indian Historical Records Commission, Govt. of India, New Delhi ; Life Member, Indian History Congress, New Delhi ; Member, Board of Studies, School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi(w.e.f.25.01.2012)
