Ruby Hembrom

Ruby Hembrom is the founder and director of adivaani (first voices), an archiving and publishing outfit of and by Adivasi (the indigenous peoples of India). She is an Adivasi cultural practitioner, documentarian, writer, and publisher, based in Kolkata. A trained instructional designer, editor and book designer, her documentation initiative grew out of a need to claim Adivasi stake in historical and contemporary social, cultural, and literary spaces. Ruby has written three books for children, including two on the Santal creation story, as well as the prize-winning Disaibon Hul (Let’s remember the rebellion), on the Santal uprising of 1855 against the oppressive forces of Indian landlords and the British empire. Ruby holds a law degree from Calcutta University, and an MSc in Inequalities and Social Science (Sociology) from the London School of Economics and Political Science, earned during her 2021-22 fellowship year as an Atlantic Fellow for Social and Economic Equity.