Ajay Kumar has decades of experience in the land rights struggle and in-depth knowledge of laws and policies that the landless can use to obtain land and / or to obtain rights to the land they have been cultivating.
More broadly his work ensures that democracy reaches the last mile, be that in the interior forests, hilltop villages, undocumented villages, internally-displaced peoples' settlements etc and that people living in these neglected / exploited areas know how to assert their rights and gain their entitlements as provided by law.
Among many, he has worked on the use of RTI, implementation of the Forest Rights Act, Panchayat (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act and the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act.
Links:

• Empowerment of Laborers
  
• STATE OF INDIA -- Keynote address by Ajay Kumar, APVVU.
  
• Gram Sabha in Vanabarangipadu

Dr. Bharatkumar Kachrabhai Patel has been working on fisheries and coastal protection issues in Gujarat since 2002. He began his work in Kutch district of Gujarat as part of the earthquake relief efforts. Since then his work has ranged from strengthening fisheries livelihoods through organising a fisheries cooperative, and working with the community to counter the threats of industrial and infrastructure expansion in the area.

Bharat not only works with the communities but has also done research on the communities and their lives. He has been awarded a doctoral degree for his research on “Socio Economic changes in Fisher people due to new technologies in fishing and fish harvesting.” by Gujarat Vidyapith in 2012.

He is currently the General Secretary of Machhimar Adhikar Sangarsh Sangathan (MASS, Association for the Struggle for Fishworkers’ Rights), previously was a coordinator at Setu Program of Kutch Navnirman Abhiyan. MASS is a trade union which was established in 2008. While, at MASS he was involved in many activities. Some of the career highlights are listed below

He has been invited to attend and speak at many international conferences related to fishing communities, coast zone regulations and climate change impacts on fishing industry. His work has been recognized in several of these forums. He was also awarded CNN-IBN Real Hero of India Award in 2011 and Mahadevbhai Desai Social Work Award, by Gujarat Vidyapith in 2012.

He will be speaking at the AID conference and during the follow up tour across AID chapters on a wide range topics from Land Rights, Sustainable development, The stories of the marginalized fisherfolk in Kutch region, impacts of large infrastructure projects near the coast line are among few topics.

Ravishankar Arunachalam has worn many hats in his years as an AID volunteer. He was the co-editor of AID News, Executive Board projects coordinator, founder of the water cell at AID Austin, coordinator of post-earthquake efforts in Gujarat, and Hundred Block Plan coordinator. On his return to India in 2002, Ravishankar became the joint secretary at AID India. At AID India, he has worked on the secondary school science education program, on the equitech program on low-cost solutions for data collection, in tsunami relief and rehabilitation efforts, with Tamil Nadu Science Foundation. Dr. Ravi is a full time volunteer and worker for the Eureka Child Program.

Sources

• http://www.eurekachildusa.org/people/about_Ravishankar.html
  

Srinivasan C started his journey in environmental efforts as the only participating Indian corps member of King County World Conservation Corps, Seattle, USA in the year 1997. He is currently Tamil Nadu State Planning Commission Steering Committee Member for Solid and Liquid Resource Management. Srinivasan C has coined the term Solid and Liquid Resource management to process several by-products which otherwise if untreated is called a waste. Through his pioneering work and vision, Srinivasan is responsible for initiating SLRM projects in Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Tamil Nadu, Meghalaya, among several other states of India. Srinivasan C’s association with Association for India’s Development dates back to his pioneering work in Vellore Hill Restoration project. This project was later adopted with his help in Payvihir Eco Village which won United Nations Development Program award in 2014. Srinivasan’s work was highlighted in popular TV series Satyamev Jayate and his work in Jodhpur was inaugurated by Mr. Aamir Khan on August 15, 2014. He coordinated the efforts with Khoj in Melghat to construct Maharashtra’s biggest community biogas plant with total 70 bio-digesters. Alongside, with his work in Coimbatore SLRM his next venture is SLRM centers in Ambikapur, Chattisgarh as part of Swach Ambikapur Mission.