Locating the Processes of Non-State Relief Work During the Covid-19 Lockdown in Delhi, A Study Report

Abstract

The initial phases of Covid-19 proved to be devastating for many people in India. The national lockdown announced by the central government led to a panic situation particularly in urban slums with a high density of population, where a large majority of people lived with poor access to public infrastructure, and engaged in low-paid precarious forms of work, with little or no social security or social protection against loss of incomes and jobs. While the state failed on various counts to protect such vulnerable populations, local communities and civil society responded with alacrity to assuage the situation and provide relief. This study, ‘Locating the Processes of Non-state Relief Work during the Covid-19 Lockdown in Delhi’, highlights the critical role played by communities and civil society to reduce human suffering during the Covid-19 lockdown, and is an effort to understand the various vulnerabilities that came to the fore, the mechanisms of relief work and care that were undertaken through local collective action, as well as the collaborations and networks that were locally built to respond to the crisis situation