Elections2014/ProfilesAtAGlance


 * Q&A With Candidates

Dr. Abhiraj Suryawanshi
(Proposer: Yohann Thomas, Seconded by: Sanket Oswal)

Short Profile (including past involvment in Wikimedia activities in not more than 100 words):

Myself, Abhiraj Suryawanshi, Doctor by education and profession,interested in well being of society & mankind and willing to contribute to make this world a better place.

Position Statement/Letter of intent (in not more than 200 words):

I would like to promote Indian languages as well as Indian culture & history in particular through Wikimedia activities.

I would prefer myself to indulge in bridging gap between illiterate India and metropolitan Indian society which has accessibility to everything which rural India hasn't.

I wish to connect each & every Indian in Wikimedia Movement.

Dr. Ekbal Bappukunju
(Proposer: Sreejith Koiloth, Seconded by: Manoj K)

Short Profile (including past involvment in Wikimedia activities in not more than 100 words):

Consultant Neurosurgeon and former Vice Chancellor University of Kerala. Currently the Kerala State President of Democratic Alliance for Knowledge Freedom. Involved in free software, open knowledge and Internet freedom concepts through talks, writing and participation in seminars etc for the last ten years. Involved with Wikimedia activities for the as five years especially Wiki Malayalam projects. More info at the English Wikipedia article about self.

Position Statement/Letter of intent (in not more than 200 words):

If elected to the post of EC member shall devote my time and energy for the further dissemination of the concept of Wikimedia in the various states of India. Shall try to motivate the Wiki community for more productive and creative activities.

Dr. Mahesh Mangalat
(Proposer: Dr.Ranjit kumar.P, Seconded by: Hrishikesh K B)

Short Profile (including past involvment in Wikimedia activities in not more than 100 words):


 * Age: 54 years
 * Eduction:Post Graduation and Research in Drama.
 * Profession: Associate Professor of Malayalam in a Government College, affiliated to Pondicherry university. Member of Board of Studies in universities such as Pondichery University, Aligarh Muslim University, University of Calicut and Kannur University and Faculties of Language and Fine Arts in University of calicut and Kannur University. Worked as Research Associate under Prof. Paul Bouissac, Toronto University in the project Ethno-Semiotic Study of Performances. Founder member of Indian society for theatre research (ISTR) which is the Indian Chapter of The International Federation for Theatre Research (IFTR)


 * As an educator and cultural activist my interest spreads across topics ranging from theatre, folklore, cultural studies, literature, Indian language computing etc . I am serving as the coordinating Editor of chintha.com the first Unicode encoded Malayalam web portal (under CC-BY-SA License) since 2006. . I joined in Malayalam and English wikipedia in 2007, I have been actively engaged in propagating the message of Free Knowledge, Open Educational resources and Wikipedia in curriculum. My work as an educator has been acknowledged and included as a SUCCESS STORY on Microsoft's Bhashaindia website

Position Statement/Letter of intent (in not more than 200 words):


 * As an educator I have been fortunate enough to introduce new course content in language Curriculum at University education. As a Member of Board of Studies and Faculties of Language and Fine Arts of various universities I have been to able to promote it further and propagate the idea of Free Knowlege. As a Wikipedian I have volunteered to edit language and set a benchmark for Malayalam content in Wikipedia. Need for quality content and style of articles was always emphasized. I look forward to further my contributions in the field of education and culture through wikipedia in all Indian Languages.I hope a WMIN EC position will help further to build programs and strategies to push English and Indian language wikimedia projects into education and curriculum as an open education resource

Hiran Venugopalan
(Proposer: Nandaja Varma, Seconded by: Sebin Abraham Jacob)

Short Profile* (including past involvement in Wikimedia activities in not more than 100 words):

I am a 26 year old developer, designer & entrepreneur based in Kerala, India, with four years of experience in the Advertising and Branding industry. I co-founded Saltmangotree, Indian digital media company, which got acquired by a French Advertising group during its third year. I am an ardent supporter of Free culture and have contributed to various free software & free knowledge projects in various capacities such as designer, artist, trainer and developer since 2005. To add to that, I have conducted numerous sessions and workshops and public talks in these domains. I started my journey with wiki projects by initiating Electronics wikia on my college days and became an active registered user in english wikipedia from June 2008.(User:Hiran). As a font developer and developer, I have contributed to various Wikipedia related events and projects( eg. Design and Brand Artworks for Malayalam Wikipedia offline CD V.1.0 Wikisource Offline CD V. 2.0 ) too, over the years.

Position Statement/Letter of intent* (in not more than 200 words):

If I have the privilege of being elected to the post, I will work along with the Executive Committee and the community to take WMIN to its next level. With the significant amount of experience that I have as a technologist, manager, designer and advertiser, I can creatively contribute towards the WMIN institution building process by taking an active role in designing and executing campaigns, marketing as well as different growth strategies. Ultimately with a clear focus of knowledge growth in wikipedia by focusing on campaigns for contributor growth, content donations and increasing reach.

Karthik Nadar
(Proposer: Viswanathan Prabhakaran, Seconded by: Srikanth Ramakrishnan)

Short Profile* (including past involvement in Wikimedia activities in not more than 100 words):

I started by contribution to English Wikipedia in June 2010 and have been active since them with more than 21,000+ edits. Have also contributed to hundreds of photos for Wikimedia Commons. Joining the Executive Committee of Wikimedia India in 2012, I have served as Secretary for 2 years. I, along with one oe our former Secretary Naveen Francis was responsible for Organising "Wiki Loves Monuments in India" in 2012 and then again in 2013 (where we got our first official national partner; INTACH) which gave the community more than 25,000 photos; the contest which is a Guinness World Record for largest photography contest. Was also part of the international team for Wiki Loves Monuments 2013, wherein I also lead the Asia contest for Wiki Loves Monuments. For Wiki Loves Monuments, I have closely worked with both Wikimedia Nepal in 2013 and Wikimedia Pakistan in 2014. I have also assisted for various workshops and photothons in Mumbai.

Position Statement/Letter of intent* (in not more than 200 words):

I intend to serve for Wikimedia India for next two years if I have been elected with full dedication and passion as always towards the Wikimedia global community. My major focus will be on proper knowledge transition in the early phase and then to build a "community based community" in India; the best module that needs to be replicated will be the Tamil Wikipedia community which grew on its own. In next two years, I also intent to take Wikimedia India to a self sustainable organisation with least international support and with more national support including from the government.

12A and 80G tax exemptions will always be top priority which can only help the organisation to grow further. Coordination with the Wikimedia Foundation will also be in more priority as it will help to grow good will among the much global community.

Netha Hussain
(Proposer: Viswanathan Prabhakaran, Seconded by: Prasobh G Sreedhar)

Short Profile* (including past involvement in Wikimedia activities in not more than 100 words):

I am Netha Hussain (User: Netha Hussain on all Wikimedia projects), a final year undergraduate student of medicine and surgery at Government Medical College, Kozhikode. I am active on en-wiki, ml-wiki, commons and meta wiki. I am a past member of the Individual Engagement Grants (IEG) committee and the Wikimania jury committee. Presently, I am the board member of Fossbox, outreach volunteer at Mozilla and language manager for ml at TED translate.

Position Statement/Letter of intent* (in not more than 200 words):

I believe that my experience in the Wikimedia movement will help me to effectively carry out the duties of the Executive Committee. If elected, I will strive my best to fulfill my duties as the EC member throughout my tenure.

Nikhil Kawale
(Proposer: Yohann Thomas, Seconded by: Priyanka Tiwari)

Short Profile* (including past involvement in Wikimedia activities in not more than 100 words):

I am a Computer engineer pursuing MBA from Welingkar, Bangalore. I have been a part of Wikipedia since 2011. I have attended Wikipedia workshops and events like Wikipedia Takes Pune. I was a part of Wikipedia Summit Pune 2013, organized Wikipedia Workshop Pune 2014, was one of participant of "Train The Trainer" workshop organized in October 2013 in Bangalore. I am a TED translator.

Position Statement/Letter of intent* (in not more than 200 words):

I want Wikipedia to grow better.The want individuals and community to get better support by bringing them next generation leadership along with previous generation experience.I want to start outreach to educational institutes. I want to start deliberately cultivating new volunteers to do outreach and represent the community.

Priyanka Tiwari
(Proposer: Sandra Thomas, Seconded by: Ninad Tarambale)

Short Profile* (including past involvement in Wikimedia activities in not more than 100 words):

I am a software engineer currently working in a software company in Pune. I have been a part of Wikipedia since 2012. We both impart the same motto of 'Free Knowledge sharing'. It has been a learning experience in an original manner. I have been to various Wikipedia workshops and events. I was a part of Wikipedia Summit Pune 2013, organized Wikipedia Workshop Pune 2014.

Position Statement/Letter of intent* (in not more than 200 words):

Learning is a treasure and sharing it increases its worth. I want Wikimedia to increase and develop its treasure in India. Mounting the open source knowledge contribution through various participants, including all age groups, by organizing workshops and giving online tutorials can help us achieve the goal. I want to build a transparent, simple approach to help contributors understand the procedures. Everyone wants to contribute, they just need the right platform. Facilitating the platform for all the volunteers to join and represent our Indian community will contribute to overall global knowledge.

Sanket Oswal
(Proposer: Yohann Thomas, Seconded by: Nikhil Kawale)

Short Profile (including past involvment in Wikimedia activities in not more than 100 words):

I'm Sanket Oswal (21) from Jodhpur, currently pursuing masters from University of Pune. Also studying CA Final from the Institute of Chartered Accounts of India, New Delhi. I'm an active Wikimedian since Feb 2013.

Position Statement/Letter of intent (in not more than 200 words):

I want to connect online and offline world.

Sibi Kanagaraj
(Proposer: Karthik Nadar, Seconded by: Balasundara Raman Lakshmanan)

Short Profile (including past involvment in Wikimedia activities in not more than 100 words):


 * Currently Secretary, Free Software Foundation Tamil Nadu (FSFTN).
 * Nearly 7 years of activist life as free knowledge, free culture grassroots activist, Has delivered nearly 70 lectures on Free Software Philosophy , Tools and Culture in colleges across Tamil Nadu and interacted with hundreds of students
 * Was involved in organising workshops on free software, organising Software Freedom Day celebrations and Education Freedom Day, focussing on free culture and the role of education in Chennai and adjacent districts.
 * Has helped in setting up of GNU/Linux Users' Groups across the State and in training, motivating volunteers to work towards spreading Free Software
 * Has participated in Community Computing Centre initiatives for children from economically backward backgrounds in Bangalore and Chennai.
 * Part of 2 Gender Gap Wikipedia Outreach events
 * Organised and handled one Gender Gap Session in CEG
 * Active member in Tamil Wikipedia community with over 1900 edits and English wiki with over 800 edits
 * Translated around 100 representational images in various formats into Tamil under a specific Project in Tamil Wikipedia
 * I hold a Bachelor of Engineering in Computer Science Engineering  . I also hold a P.G Diploma in Patent law from Nalsar University.As on October 2014, I am pursuing a Masters in Computer Science .  I have nearly 2 years of IT industry experience in the software firm Robert Bosch as ABAP programmer .I am also an Indian Administrative Service aspirant, having written Civil Services Examination mains examinations in the years 2011 and 2012

Position Statement/Letter of intent (in not more than 200 words):

If elected would strive for
 * Bridging Gender Gap
 * Helping in creating an eco system for development of Wikipedia's Free Knowledge
 * Taking Wikipedia to the masses
 * A Free knowledge community in India
 * Talking with government officials and newspapers and getting archives in CC compliant license
 * Taking lead for Outreach Programs

Viswanathan Prabhakaran
(Proposer: Netha Hussain, Seconded by: Kalyan Sarkar)

Short Profile (including past involvment in Wikimedia activities in not more than 100 words):


 * Age: 50 years; Education: Degree in Electrical Engineering; Professional experience: Engineer/Project Manager/Consultant (Healthcare, IT, Logistics, Automation and Energy). Belongs to Thrissur(Kerala);
 * Languages: Malayalam(ml-n), English(en-n), Hindi/Urdu(hi-n),Tamil(ta-2), Arabic(ar-2), Sanskrit(sa-2);
 * Wikipedia user since 2004; Currently Treasurer and Board Member of Wikimedia India Chapter, Former Member, Grants Advisory Committee for Wikimedia Global Foundation.
 * Very active in Malayalam Wikipedia and sister projects of the ml community both as an editor and off-line/on-line outreach agent; Active in .en /.sa / commons etc.; Outreach evangelist, new user mentor and community integrator, GLAM initiator; Represented ml community atWikiConference India 2011, Represented ml and other India communities at Wikimania 2012 (DC) and Wikimania 2014 at London; Heavily engaged in the planning and organization of various innovative models and pilot projects related to Wikimedia, particularly in Kerala and ml community.

Position Statement/Letter of intent (in not more than 200 words):


 * As a current member of the Executive Committee for the last two years, I am fully aware of the huge tasks and responsibilities that lay ahead of a prospective Board member. Having accumulated significant learning and experience about the governance, legal and financial affairs attached to the chapter.


 * Heeding to many a members demand, I am willing to stand for a second term so as to ensure a smooth and continuous governance. This will also help me continue some of the reformations the current EC has been trying to implement.


 * If elected, I shall endeavour to upkeep the positive team spirits of the chapter deriving sustained growth and institutional strength. My care and attention will be imparted towards all Wikimedia communities of India with no particular regard to any race, gender, region or language.

Yohann Varun Thomas
(Proposer: Nikhil Kawale, Seconded by: Sanket Oswal)

Short Profile* (including past involvement in Wikimedia activities in not more than 100 words):

I am a 24 year old, Mechanical Engineer,currently pursuing my MBA from Symbiosis,Pune.I have been a part of the Wikipedia movement since 2008.Being a part of it for 6 years, I have learnt so much.I have attended many Wikipedia workshops & events conducted in & around Pune. I was also part of the Organizing team for the Wikipedia Summit Pune held in January 2013.Also I organized the Wikipedia Workshop Pune 2014.Currently I am working on 'Wiki Loves Food ' Project.'Wiki Loves food' is on similar grounds to 'Wiki loves Monuments', wherein pictures of food of different Cuisines will be showcased.

Position Statement/Letter of intent* (in not more than 200 words):

I want Wikimedia India to Grow in a Sustainable way.First of all I want to increase Volunteer base by conducting more awareness workshops.Then, once a sizable volunteer team is made, we should have more workshops conducted on a national level. This will create publicity, which will make our work easier during Donation drives.In this activity, the help of the whole Indian Community is required.Only when the whole community stands united,will Wikimedia India grow.This is where i want to be a facilitator. For India to create a Name for itself on the world stage, the Indian community should be Strong and United. That is my aim.

Yogesh Khandke
(Proposer: Karthik Nadar, Seconded by: Srikanth Ramakrishnan)

Short Profile* (including past involvement in Wikimedia activities in not more than 100 words):
 * 1) Was mentioned by Sue Gardner, CEO WMF  with respect to the Ganga/ Ganges debate.
 * 2) English Wikipedia contribution: 10000 edits,, articles created 129.
 * 3) Created article: Racism in the work of Charles Dickens
 * 4) Conducted Marathi Wikipedia workshop at
 * 5) TISS, Chembur for doctoral students.
 * 6) Ahmednagar College, Ahmednagar for UG students.
 * 7) Conducted English Wikipedia workshop at NMIMS, Shirpur Campus.
 * 8) Delegate at Wiki Conference India, 2011.
 * 9) Participant of local meetups.

Position Statement/Letter of intent* (in not more than 200 words):
 * 1) In response to the Ganga/ Ganges debate, Sue Gardner CEO, WMF said, "There are two Indian guys arguing one side, and then there's a bunch of casual editors from the United States and Europe arguing the other... And it's interesting because there's this tiny number of Indians who care a lot and are correct and have all kinds of citations and evidence to support their view, and then there's this group who just are rebuffing them because the numbers are on their side...", India has adequate English language skills, I wish to tap this reservoir escalate outreach activities, aggressively take Wikipedia editing to students, so as to widen the contributing base from India, thus attempt to correct the lacunae as mentioned by Gardner.
 * 2) Arrange workshops for experienced editors for skill enhancement.
 * 3) Lobby with the Marathi Vishvakosh Mandal to make the encyclopaedia available on Attribution CC BY license  so as to strengthen the free knowledge movement.