Born into a family steeped in social justice, Aruna Roy joined the Indian Administrative Service in 1968 with the hope of serving the country from within the system, but it was her departure from the bureaucracy that marked the beginning of a lifelong commitment to transformative grassroots activism. Her early work at Barefoot College supporting an underserved community in the heart of rural Rajasthan cemented her commitment to public service. As co-founder of the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS), Roy played a pivotal role in the Right to Information (RTI) movement, which evolved from rural laborers fighting wage-related injustices. The movement helped millions of citizens across India demand accountability from the government through the RTI Act, which granted citizens the legal right to access information from public authorities. Later, her advocacy for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) gave Indians not just a mandatory minimum wage but a legal right to work. 

Roy’s memoir, The Personal is Political: An Activist’s Memoir (Harper Collins, 2024) draws its title from a famous phrase created by women's liberation movement activists in the 1960s. This chronicle of Roy’s experiences explores how activism and family life are often viewed as competing obligations for women who must juggle care responsibilities with political commitment. She writes candidly about the guilt of stepping away from home during protests and the emotional toll of carrying that outrage back into domestic spaces. At the heart of her story is a dual identity: a confident social activist willing to confront injustice, and a “questioning woman who asks as many questions of herself as others.” Her life’s work exemplifies how one individual’s empathy and commitment can ripple outward, shifting the national conversation on civic engagement, governance, and social impact. Recognised globally, having been awarded the Ramon Magsaysay award and included on the BBC 100 Women list in 2024, Aruna Roy has challenged the status quo from both within and beyond the system as a defining voice in post-independence India’s democratic evolution.  

In this program, Roy will be in conversation with entrepreneur and philanthropist Paula Mariwala, founding partner at Aureolis Ventures. A fierce advocate for women’s empowerment and inclusive growth, Mariwala has worked across sectors to support education, healthcare, and sustainability through purpose-driven investment, mentoring women both personally and professionally. Together, they bring distinct yet complementary perspectives to answer the questions: How do we cultivate empathy and understanding in service of marginalised communities? In a world marked by deep divisions, what is the power of the individual—the sphere of influence one can have, and the steps we can take to move society forward in our lifetimes?  They will also reflect on the many pathways to impact, from grassroots advocacy to institutional reform, and from mentoring the next generation to reshaping systems through entrepreneurship and philanthropy. 

SPEAKERS

Aruna Roy is a sociopolitical activist and co-founder and working member of the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS) since 1990, and of the School for Democracy since 2003.  She previously worked with the SWRC Barefoot College (1975-83), and prior to that, was in the Indian Administrative Service from 1968 to 1975, before resigning to work with the marginalised and underprivileged in rural Rajasthan. 

She is a prominent member of many campaigns, including the National Federation for Indian Women (NFIW), NCPRI, Pension Parishad, PUCL, and NAPM. She was a part of the campaigns for the Right to Information, National Rural Employment Guarantee, and other basic rights for the vulnerable. She is President Emeritus of the NFIW.  As a member of the National Advisory Council in both its terms, she along with others, enabled strong citizen entitlements. She represented the MKSS in the steering committee of the Open Government Partnership from its inception in 2011 till September 2014. 

She and the MKSS have been the recipient of many awards including the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership in 2000 and the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Award for Excellence in Public Administration, Academia and Management in 2010. She and the MKSS Collective amongst many other recognitions have received the Nani Palkhiwala Award and the Rule of Law Award in the World Justice Forum held in Barcelona, Spain in June 2011. She was listed as one of the 100 most influential people in the world by TIME Magazine for 2011, and named among BBC’s 100 Women of the year 2024. 

She has authored 'The RTI Story: Power to the People' with the MKSS in 2018,  and she edited the book 'We The People: Establishing Rights and Deepening Democracy' with Nikhil Dey and Rakshita Swami in 2020. Her memoir, 'The Personal is Political: An Activist's Memoir' was published in 2024. 
 

An alumnus of Stanford University, Paula Mariwala is a well-known venture capitalist, who has been part of building the startup ecosystem in India since 2006. One of the first women venture capitalists in India, she is the founding partner at Aureolis Ventures, which invests in innovative companies focused on social or environmental impact. She is the Founder andPresident of Stanford Angels and Entrepreneurs India, and Director of the Hinditron Group. As an engaged philanthropist, she is deeply committed to the causes of education, environment, gender equality, human rights and the arts. Paula is a founding member of the Board of Management of Krea University, and sits on the management and advisory boards of companies and foundations.

Paula holds an MS in Applied Physics from Stanford University and a BSc (Hons) in Physics from St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai. She lives in Mumbai with her family and enjoys painting, writing poetry, trekking, birding, supporting the arts and engaging with community and social issues.

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