The National Urban Struggles Forum / Shehri Rashtriya Andolankari Manch (SHRAM)

The National Urban Struggles Forum / Shehri Rashtriya Andolankari Manch (SHRAM) is an initiative of the National Alliance of People’s Movement (NAPM) aimed at ending bulldozer and builder rule, upholding the rights of urban working communities, and reimagining people-centric, ecologically, and socially just urban development.

SHRAM is a collaboration of various groups, movements, and initiatives in cities and towns across India addressing the issues of aggressive capitalist development, rising evictions, homelessness, environmental degradation, and pollution over the years. We advocate for democratic urban planning, better conditions and access to urban livelihoods, fair rehabilitation, equity in basic amenities, entitlements, and social security. We emphasize the climate impacts on the working poor. We are also witnessing new forms of caste, communal, and gender discrimination and violence in urban areas. We challenge the top-down approach of socio-ecologically unjust ‘smart cities’ and resist the narrative of world-class city-making through evictions and exclusions.

We must assert the democratic vision of cities based on inclusivity, sustainability, dignity, and equity as core principles. SHRAM has published a comprehensive manifesto titled “For Just and Equitable Cities”, which advocates for the rights of Basti dwellers, the houseless, waste pickers, sanitation workers, street vendors, labour and construction workers, domestic workers, sex workers, gig workers, and platform workers, emphasizing the need for accountability and transparency in urban governance. SHRAM was initiated through a three-day national meeting in Mumbai held from January 6 to 8, 2024 joined by various organisations from all over the country working on justice and equity in cities and towns. Its second national meeting took place in Hyderabad from March 1 to 4, 2025, as a part of the NAPM National Convention.