Lok Manch (People’s Forum) is a national platform that promotes the dignity and well-being of poor and marginalized people in India by advocating for and with them to access their  legal rights.

A CJI partner, Lok Manch is made up of approximately 100 Jesuit and civil society organizations in 15 Indian states.

Many of India’s rural and urban poor – especially Dalits (scheduled castes) and Adivasis (scheduled tribes) – lack access to education, adequate housing, and health services, and suffer from food insecurity.

Lok Manch programs include awareness-raising, training, and capacity-building of community leaders to promote full and meaningful participation of people in governance and building climate-resilient communities. The process is guided by thousands of community leaders, half of whom are women.

Involvement with Lok Manch is “a real formation process to help people become aware of their rights and to work at a community level to effect change,” said CJI Executive Director Jenny Cafiso, who had the opportunity to visit Lok Manch in 2023. She met local leaders, most of them women, who have won major victories to make their communities better places to live.

Here are some highlights of  Lok Manch's impact for fiscal year 2023-2024: