John Dayal

B Sc (Physics) - St. Stephens College, Delhi University
Diploma in Journalism

Dr John Dayal is one of India's foremost voices on human rights, and particularly the situation of religious minorities, having been a writer and activist for the past four decades. He is or has been a member of several governmental bodies, including the National Integration Council, and holds senior roles in numerous non-governmental organisations and networks, including as co-founder and Secretary General of the All India Christian Council, 1999-2014, National president of the 1919-founded all India Catholic Union between 2004-2008, and a member of Justice and Peace Commission of the Catholic Bishops Conference. He has had a long and distinguished career in the media and in academia.He has a long record of investigating and producing substantive and influential documentation on communal violence in India, including Hindu-Muslim rioting and violence against Sikhs, Muslims and Christians. He is one of India's leading experts on the situation in Orissa state, following the communal violence in 2008. He has authored and contributed to several books, and regularly writes articles on human rights issues in India. Major books he has authored / co-authored or edited include For Reasons of State Delhi Under the Emergency [1977], republished by Penguin in June 2018,Gujarat 2002 Told and untold Stories [ 2002], A Matter of Equity [2007], Reconciliations - A journey Through Wounded India [with Harsh Mander and Natasha Badhwar, Amazon, 2018]. He has contributed to several books published in India and Europe.