The Sangam Vihar community responded with interest stopping to listen and request leaflets. We then marched down the street into the depths of one of Asia’s largest unauthorised colonies with local people’s elected candidate Lokesh Kumar periodically stopping to relate to the struggles of the community and request support for joint-action to ensure that their rights are met including the right to education, water and sanitation. Standing by his manifesto Lokesh pledged to fight for the community’s right to recall if he is elected.
Sharing my experience…It was heartening to see people take an interest in the campaign. Apart from people willingly taking leaflets, many requested them and a number of residents approached comrades at the end to find out more about what was being said. The dedication, energy and belief of the member and comrades of Lok Raj Sangathan is inspiring. Their generosity is humbling – one of them had cooked a big lunch – a huge effort to feed so many – they served it with such a big smile their hospitality was heart-warming and a reminder of the goodness in people. The down-side was to witness an environment – the colony – which should better serve as a home for people but lacking in so many facilities that are a basic human right. It raises so many questions – Delhi – the capital of India – but this was a visual representation of huge inequality and dichotomy – the home of the workers that sustain the big city having to struggle on a daily basis and at the same time a city that houses impressive monuments, hotels and malls.
