More than 130 volunteers: AI tool helps stranded protesters find home in Indian capital

A difficult journey home

A 19-year-old woman was detained during youth-led antigovernment protests in New Delhi over the weekend. Police took her and other demonstrators by bus to a place about 50km from the protest site.

Without cash and with her phone battery drained, she wandered for nearly an hour along a dark road. She told Al Jazeera, “I was frightened and completely lost,” and said the volunteers’ help felt like a miracle.

She recognised one volunteer from videos he had posted asking detained protesters if they needed assistance. Seeing a familiar face reassured her that she could trust the people offering her a ride.

A network built to coordinate help

The Detainee Gharwapsi Yojana was developed by 25-year-old Rajiv Choudhary to help protesters get home after police detain them and leave them far from the city. Its private digital dashboard uses AI-assisted data processing, live mapping and information from volunteers on the ground.

Volunteers send details such as police bus numbers and locations through WhatsApp, allowing the team to organise rides and other support. Choudhary and his associate, journalist Meghnad, first worked with a small volunteer group to connect detainees with transport, legal assistance and medical support.

The network has since grown to more than 130 volunteers, who contribute their time and resources. The initiative began with a simple spreadsheet when renewed protests started on October 2.

From protest supplies to wider support

As demonstrations continued, he saw a need for more organised assistance, particularly for protesters detained and left to manage alone far from city limits. A woman’s distress call from the outskirts, near a railway station, highlighted the problem: metro services were shut and she did not know how to get home.

Support beyond a ride

The woman said the volunteers arranged her return and provided reassurance and emotional support. She described the initiative as “a lifeline for protesters.” The name Gharwapsi means “to return home” in Hindi, while Yojana means “a plan.” Gharwapsi is also used in the name of a campaign by right-wing Hindu groups seeking to bring Muslims and Christians into the Hindu fold, claiming their ancestors converted from Hinduism to religions they describe as foreign.