How is the struggle for the right to housing different from other ongoing struggles in India?
Housing’, which is a familiar word to all those in struggle, is an age-old arena of struggle for all labouring and working people, both in urban and rural areas, all over India and in all countries of the world. Although what we call ‘housing’ is normally thought of in terms of buildings, in reality ‘housing’ is actually about something far deeper and far more fundamental : It is a place to live in with security and with dignity, for every woman, man, and child. As such, it is also recognised, and even in bourgeois society, as being a fundamental need. But it is also an area of great profit and power, for owners, landlords, and developers. And as a result of all this, and of how central what is called ‘housing’ is to our lives and to our struggles, the subject of ‘housing’ has been in intense struggle and debate for decades.