Kranti - A refuge, a maverick and a vision

-Viplove Singh, 1978viplove@gmail.com

“There are few options for a teenager to deal with these things like abuse, so I started
volunteering for NGOs when I was very young” recalled Robin Chaurasia, when she sat down
for an on-call interview with one of our correspondents. Robin, 33, and one of the 4 founding
members of Kranti, was born and raised in the US. She has a physiology degree, and has served
in the US Air Force as well. Everything may sound ordinary until one hears what really
happened.

Early life and Events

“Everyone has decided that life here in America is so wonderful and perfect but I struggled with
a lot of things.” - She said explaining what a fiasco it can be for a teenager to experience
domestic violence, abuse, etc, a schizophrenic mother and not to mention the battles with her
own sexuality. She started volunteering at the age of 14 and ultimately joined the air force,
though the sole cause was to get a scholarship. However, she was later expelled due to the
infamous “Don’t ask, Don’t tell” policy when she came out as a lesbian.

From east Africa to the Middle East she volunteered in various parts of the world from the age
of 18 to 21, after which she came to Mumbai, India to work for an NGO. She met the other co-
founders of Kranti, the future NGO that will help children of sex workers or girls rescued from
brothels and red light areas to have the life and career they deserve. Where many saw vice, she
saw potential.

The Kranti Begins

One problem that Robin noted was that most NGOs focused on providing the girls with skills of
silai, khadai, or pappad making etc. Nobody seemed to notice their full potential or took into
consideration what the girls might enjoy doing. It became the essence for which they started
discussing the possibility of a new NGO. “Then eventually we decided we wanted to start our
own organization where every girl could find her passion and see what she really enjoys and
how to turn that into a career.”- She added.

Finally, Kranti began in a small place in Kamatipura, with 5 or 6 girls which eventually came up
to currently 18 girls from ages 12 to 21. All, either daughters of sex workers or girls born or
trafficked in the red light areas.
Challenges, ordeals and solutions

Out of the plethora of problems that came in the way, the biggest one was that of education.
From harassment in mainstream schools to aimless education in different NGOs, nothing really
seemed to work. It takes no time for people to judge and stereotype these girls once they hear
where they come from. However, it seemed severe mental health issues and post traumatic
issues were too much to deal with for an ordinary classroom.

She emphasized, “Eventually I came to realize that physiological health is probably the most
important thing we should be working on, education is secondary.” So, they focused more on
different types of therapies and their aim was mental health and stability. Another issue was
that although there were 18 girls but they spoke 12 different languages. Not to mention the
different levels of literacy among them. To all these problems the panacea was the Kranti
School. Its non-conformist syllabus, which included critical thinking, reasoning, problem solving,
yoga and meditation, workshop visits, cleaning projects et-cetera, made it unique. Everyone
here could learn at her own pace.

The Future of Krantikaris

Kranti has come a long way and still has a long way to go. From owning their own property to
having a school with cafes and bookstores, the goals and ambition in the eyes of these young
women is incomparable. Having been through myriad problems, these intrepid women learned
to find their happiness and are building a great future ahead. So, when we look at Robin and
the girls, may it remind us that no matter where you are from and whatever is your
background, your dreams are always valid.

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