A panel discussion to mark the completion of 100 monthly issues of Varta webzine in April this year. Dr. Kaustav Bakshi, Associate Professor, Department of English, Jadavpur University, Kolkata, himself a contributor to the webzine, will be in conversation with six other frequent contributors to the webzine. Attend the panel and participate in the discussion over Zoom on May 28, 2022 from 4.00 pm to 5.00 pm.

Joining Dr. Kaustav Bakshi in the panel discussion will be:

Debjyoti Ghosh, human rights lawyer originally from Kolkata and now a postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Sociology, University of Pretoria, South Africa – Debjyoti writes on the socio-legal and economic inclusion issues that concern queer communities in the Global South for Varta.

Jia Mata, Kolkata-based queer freelance writer-translator, part-time soft skills trainer, and part-time activist – Jia writes about the mental health concerns of queer people, cinema, food and queer community related developments for Varta.

Santa Khurai, Imphal-based queer activist and champion of transgender rights associated with civil society organizations All Manipur Nupi Maanbi Association (AMaNA) and SAATHII – Santa contributes reports and analyses on transgender lives in Manipur and North-East India to Varta.

Shampa Sengupta, Kolkata-based disability and gender rights activist, founder of non-funded advocacy group Sruti Disability Rights Centre, and elected to serve as the Joint Secretary of National Platform for the Rights of the Disabled – Shampa elaborates on disability, mental health, gender and sexuality issues (and their inherent links) for Varta.

Sudipa Chakraborty, Kolkata-based transgender social worker focused on the sexual health and social justice concerns of queer people in West Bengal – Sudipa is one of the Varta Community Reporters and reports on the ground level socio-economic realities of transgender and queer people, including their struggles around the COVID-19 pandemic.

Pawan Dhall, Kolkata-based queer activist, archivist and writer, Founding Trustee of Varta Trust, and editor of Varta webzine – Pawan often writes the editorial column (Vartanama), news reports on queer happenings, and queer archival research and oral history articles for Varta.

The panel will conclude with a Q&A session, and information about other events planned by Varta Trust to mark 100 issues of the webzine.

For reasons of video clarity, only the speaker’s camera will be on during the webinar. The event may be recorded for sharing over our YouTube channel.

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