The Founder
Dfend has been the brainchild of Anya Sanghvi, currently studying in Grade 12th in Indore, India.
Anya has been pursuing Karate since she was 10 years old, and decided to ‘share her experiences’ after completing her Black Belt in 2024.
Anya also loves to read, write and is a good public speaker. She has written most of the content of this website, and authors all blog-posts at Dfend.org
The Volunteers
Dfend has been fortunate to get many people who have come forward to support this noble cause.
The ones who are active and involved on a daily-basis include:
- Priya Sanghvi, an early-childhood education expert, and Anya’s mother
- Karali Patil, BE (CS), working as a Business Analyst
- Paragi Shukla, BCom, pursuing MBA, managing front office for a tech firm
The Supporters
Directly or indirectly, many people have come forward to help, guide, open doors and support time and again. Some of the more active ones include:
- Mr. Siddharth Jain, CEO of Zila Panchayat
- Mr. Pankaj Kataria, prominent entrepreneur in Indore, coordinator for the Civil Defence community in Indore
- Ms. Mohde, teacher at the Daly College who’s rallying a broader support for Dfend activities
- Mr. Vijay Mahnaut, a very prominent corporate leader, consultant and mentor
The Sponsors
The following companies have come forward to help / support Dfend:
- Ecosystem Ventures (early-stage fund)
- Synapse LLC (Boston based tech company)
The Trainers
Funakoshi Shotokan Karate Association (FSKAI) – the most prominent Shotokan Karate professional association, has extended support by making their trainers available for Dfend, including:
- Ms. Pooja
- Mr. Mahendra
The Institutes
The following schools have been actively collaborating with Dfend:
- Sharda Kanya Mahavidyalaya
- Bal Vinay Mandir