AFD Board

The AFD Board of Directors comprises a diverse group of passionate individuals dedicated to advancing French language and culture within their community. Comprised of experienced professionals, educators, and cultural enthusiasts, the board oversees strategic planning, program development, and organizational governance. Drawing on their collective expertise and networks, they work collaboratively to promote linguistic and cultural exchange, foster educational initiatives, and support local and international partnerships. With a shared commitment to excellence, innovation, and inclusivity, the Board members of AFD play a pivotal role in shaping the organization’s direction and impact, ensuring its continued success in promoting French language and cultural understanding.

Mr. J.L. Sarin did his BA (Hons.) in English, LLB and MA Political Science from Punjab University, Chandigarh. He has done a Diploma of the International Institute of Public Administration, Paris under a French government scholarship. Mr. J.L. Sarin joined the Indian Administrative Service in 1967, and worked in various capacities in Punjab and in the Central Government. The last posting in India was as Director of Ocean Development, Govt. of India (1981-85). He then joined the African Development Bank, Côte d’Ivoire in 1986 where he worked in various capacities, including Chief of Recruitment, Deputy Director Language Services, and Director Human Resource Management till Oct. 1997.

Prof. Iftikhar-Mulk Chishti teaches the Theory of Design at the School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi from where he had graduated in 1975. His activities include a practice in architecture/interior design, exhibition/product design, and installation/scenography, and extend to theatre and film making, a subject which he studied in Paris during a four year period in the late seventies.

Amita Mishra is the Principal of Delhi Public School International, Saket, the only school offering IGCSE & A Levels Cambridge Assessment in Delhi.
Over her 30 years of experience, she has been Vice-Principal, DPS R.K.P, H.M. DPS East of Kailash, Ideator- CBSEi, Supervisor – ISC Board, Examiner for CBSE Board. As a core-resource person of the DPS Society, she has trained over 5000 teachers. She is a facilitator of various CIE projects in India.<br>DPS International was identified as one of the top 50 schools in India by Future 50. All India N°1 for Value for Money by Educational World with world-class university admissions. Daughter of a diplomat Mrs. Mishra is proficient in french which she has taught at DPS R.K. Puram, New Delhi

Mr. Surya Bhatia is a Chartered Accountant qualified in May’98. During his two year stint in a CA firm where he worked in the capacity as a partner, he developed a passion for personal finance and started developing experience and expertise in the same. He did certification in AMFI Mutual Fund Testing Program – 2001. Subsequently, when CFP (Certified Financial Planner) was launched in India, he did his CFP via the challenge status. In the year 2003, he started his own wealth boutique firm “Asset Managers” – a financial advisory concern advising on money management principles and over the last 9 years, he has been helping individuals and Small & Medium Enterprise (SME) to create, manage and grow their assets. He has also been doing TV shows more popularly “Let’s talk Money” on NDTV Profit and contributing towards financial literacy through print media by writing articles and columns and is currently writing a weekly column for HT-MINT.

Harpreet Singh obtained his B.Com degree from Bhagat Singh College, New Delhi. He studied French at Alliance Française de Delhi up to the 6th semester (Diplome level). He also runs a business of interior designing and execution of interiors projects. He undertakes turnkey projects from Government, Semi-Government and multinational companies, etc. all over India, mostly in Delhi & Mumbai. He is also a member of the poetry society and has composed around a hundred poems in English and some in French. His articles and poems have been published in many leading national newspapers and magazines like Indian Express, The Hindustan Times, etc. He has served as a member of Governing Body, AFD for around ten years, and first became its member at the age of 18.

Vaishali Gupta is an Author and Educationist, as well as the founder of an award winning brand called One Teacher One Scientist. It is an initiative to empower teachers and parents to impart experiential learning and drive Innovation and 21st Century skills in children to build Global Citizenship. Under this banner, several programmes have been created for different learners. One recently designed programme called S.L.A.T.E. (Simple Learning Activities to Think and Empower) was especially curated to help disadvantaged community children take their basic step towards structured learning. This has helped her brand get recognised as one of the top 10 institutes providing services towards STEM education in India. Her professional experience in the field of education of more than two decades has seen her author more than fifty school textbooks and activity books, published by international publishers like Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press, Encyclopaedia Britannica India and Scholastic.

Mr. Sandeep Sapra is an Income Tax Consultant predominantly handling corporate appeals before the Supreme Court of India, various High Courts, and Income Tax Appellate Tribunals. Several judgments have been published in various Law Journals. Some of the major clients are: Hyundai Heavy Industries Ltd., Asahi Glass, ONGC, Essel/ZEE TV Group, Jamna Auto Industries Ltd., etc. He has been a member of the executive committee of the Income Tax Bar Association, Meerut and Income-tax Appellate Tribunal Bar Association, Delhi.

An eminent commercial and travel photographer, Aditya Arya began professional photography in 1980 after graduating in History from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi University. In addition to his wide-ranging Commercial and Travel portfolio, his work has been published widely in books and travel magazines around the world. He is known for his expertise in the field of advertising and corporate photography, specializing in Products, Interiors, and Food. Over the last few years, he has been completely immersed in the subject and practice of photographic conservation. He has honed his skills and knowledge on preservation, restoration, and archiving particularly through the documentation of historic photographic works from the famous Kulwant Roy Collection of the pre and post-independence era. He has played a pivotal role in the establishment of the India Photo Archive Foundation and the Neel Dongre Awards/Grants for Excellence in Photography. At present, while also actively pursuing his professional advertising and commercial assignments, he divides his time between his photography archive and Museo Camera – the only Photography and Camera Museum in India.

Ambassador Dr. Mohan Kumar is the Chairman of Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS) since June 2018. RIS is a leading Delhi-based think tank which engages in policy research relating to trade, technology, investment, development, connectivity and south-south cooperation.Ambassador Kumar has had an outstanding career in the Indian Foreign Service lasting 36 years which culminated in his posting as India’s Ambassador to France based in Paris. Ambassador Kumar is a francophone and a francophile. He is Dean, Office of the International Affairs and Global Initiatives, O.P. Jindal Global University, Sonipat, India. He is also Professor of Diplomatic Practice at the School of International Affairs at the above University. Ambassador Kumar is author of a book entitled “Negotiation Dynamics of the WTO: An Insider’s Account”, published by Palgrave Macmillan (2018). Ambassador Kumar is fluent, apart from English, in French, Hindi and Tamil.

Dr. Aruna Vasudev has a Ph.D. from the University of Paris II for her thesis on “The Legal, Political and Sociological aspects of Censorship in Indian Cinema”. She is the Founder-Director of CINEFAN, the annual Cinemaya Festival of Asian Cinema (now Osian’s Cinefan Film Festival), New Delhi, the Founder-Editor, and publisher of Cinemaya, the Asian Film Quarterly (1988-2004) and the Founder-President of NETPAC (Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema). She is the author of “The New Indian Cinema” (1987) – A Book published by Macmillan India, and “Liberty and License in Indian Cinema” (1979) – A Book published by Vikas Publishing House. She is Co-editor of many books, among them: “The World of Kenji Mizoguchi” by Tadao Sato published by Berg, UK; “When Strangers Meet: Vision of Asia & Europe in Film” a book published by Asia-Europe Foundation & Netpac, in Singapore; “Modernity & Identity in Vietnamese Cinema” a book published in Indonesia in 2003, and many more. She has been involved in many other cinema-related activities and has been president or member of juries in film festivals around the world. Apart from her pioneering work in Asian cinema, she has received many awards, some of them are: Chevalier de I’Ordre des Arts et Lettres by the French Govt., the Korea Prize from Pusan International Film Festival, the Star of Italian Solidarity, Kalpana Chawla Award for Excellence for women in India and many more

Dr. Manisha Sondhi is a life-long advocate of promoting the French language and culture in the country. A Ph.D. in French from the Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi, she has been invited to France on several occasions at the invitation of the French government to strengthen cross-cultural and academic exchanges including the feasibility of integrating the DELF in the Indian education system. Dr. Sondhi has been actively involved with the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) in various capacities for teaching and evaluation of French at the secondary level.She was responsible for coordinating the DELF examination for French learners over three years and has undergone the BELC teachers training in France as well as in India.As Vice Principal at DPS Greater Noida and previously as Head of Department of Foreign Languages at DPS Vasant Kunj, she has organized cultural events, academic workshops, student and teacher trainings and career counselling sessions for senior students in liaison with French Universities.She has had a 35-year relationship with Alliance Française de Delhi, which started as a college student and graduated to herself teaching at Alliance Française in the initial years of her career.

Aude Priya Wacziarg is a French citizen born in India, holding an Overseas Citizen of India card, and permanently settled in India. She has been a teacher of ancient languages at the University in France and, more recently, at the Ashoka University. She has also been an opera singer for over ten years, and now manages the Neemrana Music Foundation since 2013. This foundation is a non-profit organisation dedicated to promoting music, both through productions and through education. In 2018, she set up the Neemrana Voice Academy, a structure especially curated for bringing young opera singers to an international level. Aude Priya is also actively involved as a director both in the Francis Wacziarg Group of export agencies and in the Neemrana Hotels.

Stéphane comes from Brittany, where he grew up. A cultural region in the west of France, which is famous for the wanderlust felt by its inhabitants: many were drawn by oceans and foreign lands long before the ‘invention’ of tourism. He has completed most of his education in France and brings with him vast and interesting experience ranging from working with NGOs and the Alliance Française de Port Elizabeth in South Africa and AF de Bengale. He has also served for five years as Director of the French Research Centre in the city of Nha Trang. Prior to joining AFD, he was working with an NGO, as director of social accommodation, where his principal function was to find accommodation for homeless people and families in difficulties. Apart from France, Vietnam is where he has spent a considerable amount of time professionally.

Frédéric comes from the North of France (Amiens) and grew up in the region of Fontainebleau in Ile de France (Fontainebleau, 70km far from Paris is usually known as it was at royal residence and is famous for huge natural royal forest).After completing his studies in FLE, Frederic taught for nearly 20 years in different organizations (private schools, associations, companies / corporates) and also supervised teams as an educational coordinator in France and abroad for more than 10 years.He developed curriculum in FOS (French on specific purposes) for professionals, e.g OECD, L’Oréal and international law firms and worked as a trainer of trainers for the two references in FLE: FEI (ex. CIEP) and the CCIP. After completing his double Master’s degree (M2) in Educational Sciences, his 1st mission to India was in 2008 in New Delhi, where he developed a training system for the initial training of teachers of Alliance Française Network in India. As his last position, he worked as the Academic Director at the French Institute of Cambodia.

Ragini Mehta did her MA in French literature and got a scholarship to go to France for a specialized course called ” Professorat”. After returning to India She joined AFD in 1989 and ever since working for the institution where she attended many “stages” and training and even went to France from time to time through AFD to learn new and interesting ways of teaching the French language taking the help of new technologies. The books ” Le Nouvel Horizon (1, 2, and 3 volumes) have been co-written by her and published by Goyal Publications and are being used in many schools in India and the Middle East. She has also written a book by the name of “Collaboration” for management students.

Mr. Jawahar Lal Sarin

Prof. Iftikhar-Mulk Chishti

Ms. Amita Mishra

Mr. Surya Bhatia

Mr. Harpreet Singh

Vaishali Gupta

Mr. Sandeep Sapra

Mr. Aditya Arya

Dr Mohan Kumar

Dr. Aruna Vasudev

Dr. Manisha Sondhi

Ms. Aude Priya Wagziarg

Mr. Stephane Amalir

Mr. Frédéric Wolska

Ms. Ragini Mehta