George Mathew

"Since its inception in August 1985, George Mathew has been the Founder Director of the Institute of Social Sciences in New Delhi. Additionally, he is a member of several committees of the feredal government of India and on the board of governors of national and international organizations. He has participated and presented in international conferences on political processes, democracy, federalism, human rights, religion, and society.

"Born in Kerala in 1943, Dr. Mathew received his Ph.D in Sociology from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. He was a visiting fellow of the University of Chicago South Asian Studies Center from 1981- 1982 and Visiting Professor at the University of Padova in 1988. He was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship in the summer of 1991 at the University of Chicago. His areas of specialization are grassroots democracy, local government system (Panchayati Raj), decentralization, gender equity, and human rights.

"His numerous studies and articles on state and society appear in national periodicals, journals, and books. His major works include: Communal Road to a Secular Kerala, Panchayati Raj From Legislation to Movement, and the following edited/co-edited works: Shift in Indian Politics, Dignity for All: Essays in Socialism and Democracy, Panchayati Raj in Karnataka Today: Its National Dimensions, Panchayati Raj in Jammu and Kashmir, Status of Panchayati Raj in the States and Union Territories of India 2000, Grassroots Democracy in India and China: The Right to Participate, and Inclusion and Exclusion in Local Governance in Rural India: New Age Panchayats in Transition."

• Steering Committee, World Movement for Democracy
• Director (2006), Hunger Project
• Council, World Federalist Movement