The Great Indian Tamasha

Continuing with my endeavor to share the experiences of my journey while leading the pilot program for the National Program for the Urban Homeless; I would like to share the wonderful experience when the UID chairman; Mr. Nandan Nilenkani; who is also a cabinet minister rank official, visited  the enrollment site and personally endorsed the effort to bring identity, financial inclusion, insurance and pension to the most deprived sections of the urban poor. This as a first to build inclusive cities as India aspires towards becoming a developed nation. The concept: While many government schemes exist to provide free medical care, subsidized food grains, pensions and medical insurance to the poor; access to these schemes is limited due to lack of identity. Introducer based identity is a first of its kind endeavor where based on a trusted introducer who has worked with the homeless and urban poor communities (in this case myself); Identity is provided without documentation. ...

Dear Friends; This is Shashank Shukla and I am tasked with a wnderful opportunity to work on a Supreme Court of India mandated National Resource Team for the Urban Homeless which will act as a laboratory to test shelters as a hub of entitlements enabling the residents to climb out of destitution. The work will seek to implement the vision outlined in the National Policy for the Homeless (attached) and will help define its guidelines when it is taken up for pan India implementation by the Ministry for Housing and Urban Poverty. The Need and the Vision The population growth of India’s cities – which, in 2009, contributed over 55% to the country’s 8% GDP - currently, outpaces that of the entire population.  Yet, while India’s economic growth is closely linked to the productivity of its teeming city dwellers, such growth has not been inclusive: the decline of urban poverty has not accelerated with GDP growth (UNDP) and today more than 80 million poor people live in I...

Today, I am writing after a long time as today was a very special day for me...my best Independence day ever. Today for the first time I can proudly say that I did not miss being in the armed forces of India as while standing at Urdu Park in front of Jama Masjid and at Yamuna Pushta next to a crematorium, when I saw the tricolor flying high on a flimsy bamboo pole surrounded by citizens who did not even have citizen rights yet they all knew "Jan Gana Man"; I had a deep sense of pride and an even deeper sense of mission...a call to arms as I never felt even while in the services. @ Yamuna Pushta Yamuna Pushta in Delhi happens to be the largest concentration of drug addicts in Delhi in a single area and maybe in India and  the world. Here the homeless and the destitute who have been evicted from their communities due to their addiction to hard drugs spend their lives and take drugs till the time they succumb to their addictions and then they are deposed off in the Yamuna w...