A Conversation With a ‘Revolutionary’ From Chicago Who Became a Guardian Angel to Children of Mumbai’s Red Light District

I sometimes wonder, what’s my ikigai (a reason to live)? Am I living it or is there more? There will always be more to do in a world full of inequality and inequities. So many marginalized communities trying to catch up with the privileged. Racing against the stigmas and stereotypes. Many surrender to their surroundings, and many fight to live a life of basic human dignity denied to them by society. 

I recently had a conversation with Robin Chaurasiya, a fierce young woman, and an emphatic warrior for social justice. A graduate of Illinois Institute of Technology, she is the cofounder of Kranti, a nonprofit organization in Mumbai, India. Kranti which means revolution’ in Hindi empowers marginalized girls in Mumbai’s red-light district to become agents of social change.

Robin’s students, the Krantikaries, or revolutionaries, are aged around 12-20 and include victims of trafficking and daughters of sex workers. Robin told me she never wanted to settle in India like any U.S.-born Indian kid. But it was her calling to open a safe haven for these young marginalized girls who were told often that ‘a whore’s daughter will always be a whore.’ 

Kranti’s curriculum is unique. It includes social justice, workshops, travel, therapy, and spirituality. The workshops are on issues like child sexual abuse, sex workers’ rights, and gender equality. Kranti students have led workshops for more than 100,000 participants and delivered 11 TEDx talks around the world.

The students were evicted eight times from tiny rentals due to the stigma attached to them. Robin came from a home where her father was bipolar and her mother a schizophrenic. There was domestic abuse in the house she grew up in. 

Robin, who has faced harassment from police and society alike, has learned a lot from these girls, especially resilience and strength in the face of desperation.

According to her academic advisor Margaret Huyck as quoted in Illinois Tech Magazine, Chaurasiya’s mission was “fueled in part by outrage she felt from domestic abuse she suffered as a child and the treatment she received from the government when it learned she was a lesbian.” It shaped her thinking, she knew earlier on that a big house and good cars did not bring true happiness. She did not feel a high-paying job was her path. 

After being forced to leave her position as an Air Force officer because of her sexuality under the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy, she helped organize a successful campaign to change the U.S. armed forces policy. It was when she went to India and started working with a nonprofit that helped sex workers in Mumbai, she decided to form Kranti and do more. 

She said it took her time and therapy to heal and stabilize herself to connect with these girls who were coming from horrific backgrounds. Every single girl in the house has faced sexual abuse and rape. Most of the students at Kranti are now living successful lives. Some have gotten into universities in the U.S. 

Robin, who has faced harassment from police and society alike, has learned a lot from these girls, especially resilience and strength in the face of desperation. She also draws strength from spirituality and meditation. 

She moved to a mud hut in the Himalayas in 2020. There was no water or electricity there. She was completely disconnected from the world. She did not speak or read. She did start work briefly in 2021 and came back to Mumbai in 2022. Spirituality helps you look within and strips you of your worldly persona according to Robin. 

With renewed resolve and clarity she decided to look for a permanent home for Kranti students and decided to buy an unused half-constructed hotel in Dharmshala. She hopes this will be an ideal place for 50 or 60 girls to call home for decades to come. 

She has to raise $500,000 by June 2024. Asking for support to Kranti, she say’s “Where the world sees lost causes, I see revolutionary leaders.” She chose compassion over anger. She chose to live a life of purpose not possessions. Please join in to make a better place for these admirably resilient girls. 

Donate here: https://acmdhmjy.donorsupport.co/page/Kranti 

Know more about Kranti www.kranti-India.Org

(Top photo, Robin Chaurasiya/Facebook)

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Namrita Yuhanna is a poet and San Francisco Bay Area-based host of the radio talk show “Off the Cuff with Namrita” on Bolly 92.3fm. Her recent book, “Bolti Tanhaiyan,” is available on Amazon. She believes everyone has a story to tell and the potential to enrich others through their actions.