Organisational Structure

This is a proposed structure, still under discussion. It has not yet been formally adopted by the Trust. Roles, bodies and membership categories described here may change before the structure is finalised. If you have questions or feedback on this proposal, write to us.

Institutional Ethos & Design Principle

The institution is organised around the idea that poetry and literary culture in India are sustained through languages, translation, dialogue and public participation. It is non-partisan and independent of political parties, religious institutions, commercial interests and narrow ideological affiliations. It is not value-neutral: all activities must remain consistent with constitutional values, democratic principles, human dignity, creative freedom and mutual respect.

A key organisational principle is that Kavita India should be structured by language rather than by territory, since language communities may extend across state boundaries. Local clusters may organise events where practical, but the primary cultural unit is the language community.

Organisational Structure

The proposed structure may be understood as seven interlinked layers. They are not equal in authority, but each has a distinct function in keeping the institution both accountable and alive:

1. The Trust; the Council of Trustees
2. The Editorial Team — three founding members in rotation, along with invitee editors from the language(s) in focus for the journal under process
3. The National Poetry Council — three founding members in rotation, along with invitee members from the language(s) in focus for events and readings during the quarter or half-year
4. Language Collectives
5. Working Groups and Forums
6. The Members' Collective
7. Fellow / Associate bodies, such as the Council of Elders or Senior Fellows

At the apex is the Trust, which provides the legal and constitutional foundation. The Council of Trustees / Editorial Collective functions as the governing and editorial centre. Beneath this, the National Poetry Council operates as a representative and deliberative forum, while Language Collectives carry the institution's literary life into different languages. Working Groups undertake specific functions such as publications, translation, the website, archives, festivals, education and outreach. Members participate through programmes, assemblies and collectives. Associate bodies provide intellectual counsel without executive power.

The diagram indicates functional relationships, not a strict command hierarchy. Constitutional and final decision-making authority rests with the Trust and the Council of Trustees / Editorial Collective; other bodies exercise advisory, representative, cultural, operational or participatory autonomy within defined mandates.

Trust and Council of Trustees / Editorial Collective

The Trust is the legal body responsible for holding the institution, its assets, obligations and long-term continuity. The Council of Trustees, functioning also as the Editorial Collective, is the highest authority within Kavita India. This dual identity is important: the institution is administrative, literary and editorial in character. The same body that safeguards legal responsibility also protects the literary vision, editorial independence and ethical commitments of the collective.

Its responsibilities include defining institutional vision; approving editorial policy; overseeing the journal, website, publications and archives; appointing editors, conveners and coordinators; approving national programmes; accepting or declining grants, donations and partnerships; ensuring financial oversight and compliance; approving institutional policies; and deciding constitutional or structural changes. All major decisions — especially those involving finance, public representation, long-term commitments or institutional partnerships — remain with this body.

The preferred mode of decision-making is consensus. Where consensus is not possible, a defined supermajority — such as two-thirds of the Trustees — may be required for major decisions. Editorial independence must not be compromised by financial pressure, donor preference, political influence or external institutional interest.

National Poetry Council

The National Poetry Council is proposed as a representative deliberative body. It may include one representative from each recognised Language Collective, representatives from translation or cross-language forums, and members nominated by the Trustees from language communities. Its purpose is to ensure that the institution's national life is shaped by a plurality of languages and literary traditions.

The Council may advise the Trustees, propose themes for national programmes, recommend journal or publication themes, initiate inter-language collaborations, identify emerging writers and literary trends, recommend recognition of new Language Collectives, and help plan the Annual Poetry Meet. Its recommendations should receive serious consideration, but they do not bind the Trustees constitutionally — preserving participation without blurring accountability.

The Council is chaired by one of the Trustees, with a minimum of two Trustees (including the Chair) part of the Council at all times.

Language Collectives

Language Collectives are the recognised literary forums of individual languages within Kavita India — nodal cultural spaces through which poets, translators, critics, readers and organisers belonging to a language community can gather, create programmes and participate in the national collective.

Each Language Collective may have a Convener, a small Coordinating Group and volunteers. Its responsibilities may include organising readings, conversations, workshops, local or regional literary events, translation exchanges, membership development, identifying emerging writers, recommending contributors to the journal or website, proposing delegates to national gatherings, and participating in collaborative projects with other language communities.

Language Collectives should enjoy substantial cultural autonomy within the framework of the Collective's vision and values. They should not need prior approval for routine literary programmes, discussions, readings or informal collaborations consistent with the institution's objectives — though they should keep the Trustees / Editorial Committee informed. Activities involving financial commitments, institutional partnerships, public policy positions, external funding, formal representation in the name of Kavita India, or matters affecting the institution's reputation should require approval from the Council of Trustees / Editorial Collective.

Working Groups, Forums and Functional Bodies

Working Groups are flexible bodies created by the Trustees for specific institutional functions. They may be permanent, time-bound or project-based, enabling members from different languages to work together around shared tasks without creating unnecessary bureaucracy. Examples include groups for the journal, publications, the website and digital commons, archives, translation, programmes and festivals, education, outreach, membership, finance support, and international collaboration.

A Translation Forum may be given special importance as a cross-language body, including translators nominated by Language Collectives, coordinating translation exchanges, translator residencies, multilingual anthologies, translation workshops and collaborative editorial projects.

Working Groups should have operational autonomy within their mandate — they may plan, coordinate and execute approved tasks, but do not have independent constitutional, financial or public authority unless specifically delegated. Their composition, term, reporting requirements and budgets should be approved by the Trustees.

Members' Collective and Annual Poetry Meet

The Members' Collective constitutes the wider literary community of Kavita India. Membership is based on invitation from the Trust, to poets who subscribe to the institution's objectives and values. Members may belong to the national collective and, ordinarily, to one Language Collective, while also participating in cross-language forums and working groups.

Membership is participatory, not governing. Members may take part in readings, workshops, assemblies, editorial collaborations, translation initiatives, volunteer programmes and consultations, and may be invited or nominated to working groups. Governance, however, remains with the Trustees.

The Annual Poetry Meet is proposed as the cultural heart of the institution — including the presentation of annual, editorial and financial reports; meetings of councils and working groups; multilingual readings; translation sessions; lectures; workshops; literary festivals; open forums for members; and consultations on future programmes. It is the space where the dispersed national collective gathers as one community of poets.

Advisory / Associate Bodies: Council of Elders / Senior Fellows

Kavita India may establish a Council of Elders or a group of Senior Fellows as an independent advisory body, drawing on distinguished poets, writers, translators, critics, scholars, editors and cultural figures whose association brings intellectual and moral strength to the institution. The body's purpose is stewardship, counsel and mentorship.

Senior Fellows may advise on long-term direction, offer guidance on complex literary or ethical questions, mentor younger writers, deliver lectures, support national and international visibility, and act as ambassadors of goodwill. The body has no executive, financial or editorial authority and does not interfere in day-to-day decision-making.

Types of Membership and Membership Contributions

Membership in Kavita India is proposed to be based on invitation by the founding trustees, to keep the initial membership base aligned with the institution's literary purpose, ethical commitments and organisational vision. Over time, the Trustees may frame more detailed membership procedures, including eligibility, renewal, rights, responsibilities and contributions.

Membership contributions may differ across categories and are to be determined by the Trustees from time to time. Contributions are intended to support the Collective's literary, editorial, translational, educational, archival and public functions, while ensuring that participation remains inclusive and not limited only by financial capacity.

In addition to formal membership, Kavita India may maintain an outer, loose layer of well-wishers, funders, collaborators and other associates — individuals, institutions, publishers, donors, sponsors, and occasional collaborators who support the aims of Kavita India without becoming formal members. This layer may support programmes, publications, events, archives, outreach or fundraising, but does not carry membership rights, voting rights, governance authority or editorial authority unless separately invited into a formal role by the Trustees.

Membership Rights and Privileges

Membership carries participatory, cultural and institutional privileges, subject to the rules, policies and decisions of the Trustees. Membership does not automatically confer governance authority, voting rights, financial authority, editorial authority, or the right to represent the institution publicly, unless specifically delegated by the Trustees.

• Participation in programmes — readings, workshops, lectures, translation sessions, literary festivals, consultations and other programmes organised by Kavita India.
• Association with a Language Collective — ordinarily one, while also participating in cross-language forums, translation initiatives and collaborative activities.
• Access to information and communications — institutional communications, programme announcements, calls for participation, publication updates and notices of assemblies or consultations.
• Contribution to literary activity — proposals for readings, translations, discussions, workshops, publications, archives or outreach, subject to review and approval.
• Eligibility for nomination or invitation — to working groups, forums, editorial assignments, programme committees or representative roles, depending on need, suitability and approval by the Trustees.
• Participation in the Annual Poetry Meet — open forums, consultations and programme sessions, subject to the format decided by the Trustees.
• Publication and platform opportunities — consideration for publication, translation, readings, interviews or archival documentation, without automatic entitlement to publication or selection.
• Recognition and affiliation — members may identify themselves as members of Kavita India in appropriate literary and cultural contexts, provided they do not claim to speak on behalf of the institution unless formally authorised.

The specific rights and privileges attached to each membership category may be further defined by the Trustees through a membership policy. All members, across categories, are expected to be bound by the values, code of conduct, editorial principles and institutional policies of Kavita India.

Authority, Autonomy and Accountability

The organisation maintains a clear distinction between authority, autonomy and participation. Constitutional authority rests with the Trust and Council of Trustees. Editorial authority rests with the Editorial Collective. Representative deliberation rests with the National Poetry Council. Cultural and programme autonomy rests with the Language Collectives. Operational responsibility rests with Working Groups. Participation rests with members and volunteers. Advisory wisdom rests with the Council of Elders or Senior Fellows.

This layered model allows freedom at the level of literary life while retaining clarity at the level of institutional responsibility. Routine cultural activity is intended to be decentralised; financial, legal, editorial, policy and reputational decisions remain centralised.

Accountability is proposed to be maintained through annual reporting, transparent policies, conflict-of-interest declarations, editorial guidelines, financial procedures, minutes of major decisions, periodic review of working groups, and renewal of conveners and representatives. Institutional policies under consideration include editorial policy, membership policy, funding and resource policy, code of conduct, anti-harassment policy, conflict of interest policy, diversity and inclusion policy, data and privacy policy, publication ethics policy, translation policy and digital archive policy.

Nature of Functions

The functions of Kavita India may be grouped into literary, editorial, translational, educational, archival, public and institutional functions.

• Literary — readings, dialogues, festivals, workshops, residencies and mentorship.
• Editorial — the journal, website, publications, anthologies, reviews and digital editions.
• Translation — exchanges between languages, translator networks, multilingual publication and translation workshops.
• Educational — programmes for young writers, students, schools, colleges and public audiences.
• Archival — a digital archive, documentation of readings, preservation of recordings, bibliographies and resource materials.
• Public — lectures, cultural conversations, partnerships and outreach.
• Institutional — governance, finance, compliance, membership, policy development, fundraising and reporting.

"This structure gives Kavita India a distinctive institutional form: editorially independent, nationally connected, linguistically plural and culturally decentralised. It protects the authority of the Trustees where authority is necessary, while giving meaningful autonomy to Language Collectives and functional bodies where literary energy must flourish."

Source: Kavita India — Organisational Structure, Roles and Institutional Functions (draft for discussion, 13 July 2026). If you have thoughts on this proposal, please get in touch.