LEGENDARY TISSians 
 
 
 Break’in Mumbai​ - “​Awards for Excellence 10th IDPA 2012”

[About IDPA: It is the Indian Documentary Producers Association. It is a non-profit 

organisation that came into being in 1956. It is registered as a public trust under the 
Bombay Public Trust Act 1950. It is currently India ’s single largest association of producers 
of documentaries, animation films, advertising films and TV programmes.] 
Bharatmata ki jai​ - ​“Awards for Excellence 10th IDPA 2012
&
Best script(non-fiction) - 1st National Students’
Film Festival FTII,Pune.”
Samata

Samata is a non-governmental organization initiative 

taken by Ms. Bhanumathi Kalluri & Mr. Ravi 
Rebbapragada that focus on the issues faced by tribal 
communities in Eastern Ghats. Ms Bhanumathi is a 
post graduate from Tata Institute of Social Sciences 
(TISS). 
 
Samata helps tribal groups and address problems of 
land alienation, displacement, and political 
disempowerment. Its mission is to uphold the traditional, constitutional, and human rights 
of the tribal or adivasi people. 
Samata focuses primarily on projects in the tribal villages of East Godavari and Vizag 
districts in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India.  
 
Samata Judgment 
During an organizing session on tribal land alienation in January 1993, villagers informed 
Samata of mining companies acquiring tribal land specifically protected by the Fifth 
Schedule of the ​Indian Constitution​ referring to ​Scheduled Tribes​. Samata mobilized a 
grassroots movement among villagers in the affected areas and began a legal battle that 
same year. 
They filed a case in the local court and again in the High Court against the Government of 
A.P for leasing tribal lands to private mining companies in the scheduled areas. The High 
Court dismissed the case after which Samata filed a Special Leave Petition in the Supreme 
Court of India. In July 1997 by a three judge-bench. In its final verdict the Supreme Court of 
India declared that the term ‘person’ would include both natural persons as well as juristic 
persons, including constitutional governments, and that all lands leased by the government 
or its agencies to private mining companies in the scheduled areas were null and void. 
In addition it also held that transfer of land to the government or its instrumentalities is an 
entrustment of public property. Since public corporations function in public interest,such 
transfers were upheld. 
The 1997 SC ruling in Ravi and Bhanu’s favour, called the Samata Judgement, is now being 
used all over the country to fight encroachments on tribal lands by mining companies.
Dr. Santrupt Misra 

Dr. Santrupt B. Misra, Master of Arts (M.A.) from Tata 

Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Personnel Mgmt & 
I.R., 1st in Institute, Gold Medal 
 
Dr. Santrupt Misra is CEO, Carbon Black Business and 
Director, Group Human Resources of the Aditya Birla 
Group. He is a Director on the Aditya Birla 
Management Corporation Private Limited Board, the 
apex decision making body of the US $40 billion Aditya Birla Group. He has over 25 years 
of experience in Education, Training, Consulting, and Executive Development. He also 
worked at the J.K. Group, the Tata Institute of Social Sciences and Unilever, India. He has 
won four gold medals in his educational career and has two PhDs, one from India and from 
the Aston Business School in UK in Public Administration and IR. 
 
Under his leadership as the Director HR, the Group has developed a strong employer brand. 
When he took over as CEO of the Group's Carbon Black business, it was the fourth largest 
in the world. In less than two years, he grew the business to be the largest in the world. 
 
Awards & recognition: 
 
1990: Won a Commonwealth Scholarship in 1990 for three years 
2000: Conferred with the Eisenhower Fellowship in the year 2000 
2000: The HRD Excellence Award from the National HRD Network (NHRDN) 
2007: The All India Management Association (AIMA) admitted Dr. Misra as an AIMA Fellow 
2007: The National Institute of Personnel Management - “Ratna Award' 
2010: 'Role Model & Exemplary Leader Award' at Asia's Best Employer Brand Awards 
2011: 'Ravi J Mathai National Fellow Award' by the Association of Indian Management 
Schools 
2012: 'The Manufacturing Leadership Award' in the category of 'Strategy and Management', 
instituted by 9.9 Media's Industry 2.0 magazine 
2012: 'Odisha Living Legend Award' (Excellence in Business Leadership) 
2014: 'Global Leader of the Year' at the CEO India Awards 
 
He was the President of the National HRD Network during 2002 to 2005. 
Suchismita Burman

Ms.  Burman  pursued  her  post  graduation  in  MA,  PM&IR  (1997  - 
1999) from Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS). 
She  currently  serves  as  a  Director  HR  at  Cognizant  Technology 
Solutions.  She  has over 15 years of experience in Human Resource. 
She started as a management trainee in Larsen & Toubro in 1999 as 
a  management  trainee  and  thereafter  climbed  up  the  ladder.  She 
has served in Mercer, AOL and currently in Cognizant.  
 

Rukmani Riar 

A  bright  student  from  TISS  Social  Entrepreneur  Course 

(2008-2010)  who  has  scored  2nd  rank  in  civil  services  exam 2011. 
She  was  also  a  gold  medalist  and  a  dual  honours  in Sociology and 
Political  Science.  For  someone  who  was  unable  to  cope  with  the 
pressure  of  moving  to  a  boarding  school  and  failed  in  Class  VI 
while  studying  at  the  Sacred  Heart  School  in  Dalhousie,  this 
success  is  a  testimony  to  the  adage  that  failures  are  the  stepping 
stones to success, only if we are perseverant in our efforts.