NEW DELHI: He is no minister, but has visited more foreign countries than Prime Minister
Narendra Modi and has spoken at several world organisations, including the
United Nations (UN).
Meet Kolkata's
Shaktiman Ghosh
, the leader of the National Hawker Federation.
From his student politics days when he agitated against police torture of street hawkers, to addressing UN summits on climate change and carbon emission control, Ghosh has come a long way.
In 1981, he was at the forefront of an agitation against hawker eviction at Sealdah flyover in Kolkata. During the 90s, he stood up against 'Operation Sunshine' - the Kolkata Police's hawker eviction drive.
He stresses that he did not stop his fight, even at a time when hawkery was illegal in many countries.
And now, he leads 1,192 hawkers unions.
Ghosh is responsible for the creation of the
hawker union
'
International Federation of Hawker and Urban Poor
' in several countries, including Brazil, Japan, Laos, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Kenya, Thailand, and Sri Lanka.
Spread across 28 states, four Union Territories, and several countries, his organisation is currently based out of his small office at Kolkata's College Street.
Perhaps what is most important is that when Ghosh speaks, people listen. His speech at the UN summit for climate change was attended by the likes of PM Modi and former US President Barack Obama.
Recently, he was one of the invitees to the annual general meeting of the Asian Development Bank in Japan.
About hawkers in India, Ghosh has this to say: "Most hawkers here are indisciplined. But in places like Europe and Thailand, hawkers are conducting business in a very disciplined manner. They do not grab the footpaths or roads. We should learn from them."
Read this story in Bengali