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India
ACORN India is a grassroots organization empowering informal workers across multiple sectors, with chapters in Mumbai, Delhi, and Bengaluru. Through its initiatives—including the Dharavi Project for waste pickers, the Hawkers Joint Action Committee (HJAC) for street vendors facing harassment and displacement, and the Janpahal Initiative for gig workers seeking social security—ACORN India fights for dignified working conditions, fair policies, and environmental justice in one of the world’s largest informal economies.
The organization’s philosophy centers on collective power: bringing together hawkers, waste pickers, gig workers, and their communities to advocate for themselves through unity and coordinated action rather than individual struggles. Working directly with affected communities while simultaneously engaging government stakeholders like the Ministry of Labour Resources, ACORN India is building a nationwide movement that recognizes that real change comes when ordinary people act together to secure their rights, entitlements, and dignity.
Affiliates
Cities
- Bengaluru
- Delhi
- Mumbai
Latest Updates from ACORN India
- ACORN India Secures Landmark Meeting with Dharavi Redevelopment CEO to Voice Community Demands
As a direct result of mounting international pressure and local organizing, ACORN India secured a major breakthrough: a formal meeting with the Chief Executive Officer of the Dharavi Redevelopment Project, the first time a top redevelopment official has met to address community concerns. The delegation hand-delivered a list of demands outlining concerns and demands from the public, ensuring that the… Read more: ACORN India Secures Landmark Meeting with Dharavi Redevelopment CEO to Voice Community Demands - ACORN India continued fighting for housing rights in Dharavi
In response to the Dharavi Redevelopment Project, a government initiative aimed at transforming Asia’s largest slum. Building on momentum from last month, the Hawker’s Joint Action Committee organized a regional meeting of street vendors to demand trade licenses and social protections. - ACORN India Advocates for Dharavi Residents Amid Major Redevelopment Plans
ACORN India spent April amplifying the voices of the residents of the Dharavi housing camp, home of over one million people. As the government and businesses negotiates major re-development plans for the camp, ACORN Dharavi has been advocating for clarity and accountability in the project to ensure the people are heard. The Green Warrior Women continue their waste-picking… Read more: ACORN India Advocates for Dharavi Residents Amid Major Redevelopment Plans - ACORN India’s Green Warriors, salvaged over three tons of plastic waste from streets
ACORN India’s Green Warriors, (the women’s waste pickers of Dharavi) salvaged over three tons of plastic waste from streets, and participated in an ACORN workshop focused on their mental and physical health, hosted by Dr Shreya Agrawal. - ACORN India and SOSVA are making a difference in Dharavi by educating and providing resources.
ACORN India and SOSVA continued their important program to provide education and resources about menstruation to teen girls in Dharavi. Since the program began, they have worked with over 600 adolescents, providing three months worth of free sanitary products. - ACORN India has been hard at work with many events and campaigns to empower women and children
The Empowering Women in WPC Conference held at the YMCA in Mumbai, which addressed the various concerns of women in leadership, and ACORN India and SOSVA held a women waste picker collectives training meeting. Important campaigns in Dharavi continued for youth, including hygiene programs for menstruating young people, art education, and healthy nutrition programs. - ACORN India: People’s Commission and Public Enquiry Committee Collaborate with Hawkers Joint Action Committee
Peoples Commission and Public Enquiry committee and Hawkers Joint Action Committee jointly organized the third public hearing in Delhi. Today’s People’s Commission: Jyoti Laxmi (of Satat Sampad, many years of work with hawkers), Arun Mohan (film maker associated with Media Collective), Dr Seema Mathur (Ambedkarvadi Lekhak Sangh and professor at DU), Dr. Avinash Kumar (former… Read more: ACORN India: People’s Commission and Public Enquiry Committee Collaborate with Hawkers Joint Action Committee - ACORN India : Updates from July 2023
ACORN India representatives spoke at a convention in New Delhi on Contemporary Popular Movements in India. In Dharavi, ACORN India hosted a Women’s Group Discussion Meeting among waste collectors, homemakers, and small unit workers. They also conducted a free Food Safety Training & Certification (FOSTAC) training session in Noida for street food vendors.
ACORN Affiliates
Updates from the Field
- Adani Fraud Case Remains Stuck in Legal LimboA major New York Times report has revealed that the U.S. fraud case against Indian billionaire Gautam Adani, long accused of corruption, land grabs, and political favoritism, has stalled with no progress for a full year. Despite being indicted by the U.S. Department of Justice on wire fraud, securities fraud, and bribery charges, Adani’s case… Read more: Adani Fraud Case Remains Stuck in Legal Limbo
- Adani & DharaviWhat’s at Stake in Dharavi For nearly two decades, ACORN International has supported organizers working in Dharavi, a vibrant community in the heart of Mumbai home to hundreds of thousands of working families. Now, this community faces the largest mass displacement in India’s modern history. The Adani Redevelopment Plan In 2022, a special purpose vehicle… Read more: Adani & Dharavi
- 2025 ACORN International Organizers ConferenceFrom November 7–10, organizers representing more than a dozen affiliates gathered in Brussels for the 2025 ACORN International Organizers Conference; an inspiring weekend of strategy, solidarity, and shared commitment to building working-class power across continents. Delegates attended from ACORN Canada, ACORN Union (England & Wales), OnEstEnsemble Cameroon, ACORN France, ACORN Sicily (Justice Ensemble), Solidarjetà Belgium,… Read more: 2025 ACORN International Organizers Conference
- Living Rent historic victory!After years of tireless organizing, their government has officially passed the Housing Bill, securing rent controls for tenants across Scotland. This landmark bill introduces caps on rent increases between tenancies, clamps down on disrepair, and strengthens joint tenancy rights. All these new measures would not exist without the persistence of Living Rent members. This is… Read more: Living Rent historic victory!
- ACORN Union UK Launches National Campaign to Protect TenantsACORN Union UK held its first-ever national convention in Bristol, bringing together over 200 members from across England and Wales for a day of workshops, strategy sessions, and action planning. The convention marked the launch of their new national campaign, Bailiffs Out of Britain, which calls for an end to the use of private bailiffs… Read more: ACORN Union UK Launches National Campaign to Protect Tenants
- Living Rent Hits the Streets for Tenant VoicesIn July, Living Rent took to the Barras to engage with supporters of strong rent control and collect signatures for their petition. While the government consulted landlords on rent controls, tenants were left out of the conversation—Living Rent is stepping in to ensure the voices of working people are heard.
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