Born in 1926, Ajita Chakraborty specialized in psychiatry, retiring as professor of the Department of Neurology and later director of the Institute of Post Graduate Medical Education and Research (IPGMER), Calcutta. She was president of the Indian Psychiatric Society and is fellow, Royal College of Psychiatrists, Edinburgh and London.
Ghassan Hage is professor of anthropology and social theory at the university of Melbourne, Australia. He has held many visiting professorships around the world including at the American University