History

In the early 1970s, a group of middle class citizens concerned with the deteriorating democratic and civil rights situation in India came together to seek the root causes of poverty, and articulate the inequalities of the Indian justice system. Then in 1976, during India’s Emergency, a slum clearance program uprooted 700,000 slum dwellers, and moved them to “resettlement colonies” on the outskirts of Delhi. We began by providing basic services to these “squatter colonies,” paying particular attention to the needs of women. Our facilitators then brought together collectives of women to develop indigenous leadership, and these early discussion and awareness forums quickly blossomed into a full-fledged activist organization.

Action India has always been, and still is, a catalyst. We facilitate and enable the poor and marginalized to organize themselves, to demand a rightful share of social and economic resources, and to be a political voice in all spheres of development.

Early in our history, we were advised to “go and work with the people. Don’t construct a building and become an institution.” We took this advice to heart. For twelve years, Action India did not have a formal office. Today, even as we operate out of our Delhi-based administrative office and training centre, ninety-five percent of our full-time staff members are from the communities we work in.

Today, Action India is based in four resettlement colonies: Jehangipuri, Nandnagri-Sundernagri, New Seemapuri, and Dakshinpuri. In recent years, we have also reached out to surrounding areas, and to rural villages in the Hapur Block in Uttar Pradesh.