He slept beside homeless people to understand poverty. Years later, his work helped shape India’s fight against hunger. Belgian-born economist Jean Drèze didn’t just study poverty through statistics and research papers. In 1980s London, he lived alongside homeless people, cooked meals with squatters in an abandoned hospital and helped organise a movement to open empty buildings to those with nowhere to live. Born in 1959, he moved to India in 1979 and spent years studying rural life, listening to villagers and understanding the realities behind hunger and inequality. In 2002, he became an Indian citizen, making India the home of both his life and his work. Drèze went on to play a key role in the Right to Food Campaign and helped shape landmark social policies, including MGNREGA, which guarantees rural households paid work, and the National Food Security Act. His research also explored child nutrition, education and healthcare. For Drèze, economics has always been about more than numbers. It is about understanding people’s struggles and helping build systems that protect their right to live with dignity. #JeanDreze #RightToFood #MGNREGA [Jean Drèze economist, Jean Drèze contribution to India, poverty in India, hunger and malnutrition in India, Right to Food Campaign India, MGNREGA rural employment scheme]