Masoom, a school for children with special needs was instituted by Mr. Sanjay Dalmia, under the umbrella of Organisation of Understanding and Fraternity in the year 2001. Mental deficiency is a condition characterized by intellectual retardation, social inadequacy, and persistent social dependency. The condition is evidence of arrested development that is apparent from birth or at an early age. Masoom’s chief aim is to train the child to communicate with his world and express himself.

Situated in Timarpur, Delhi, India Masoom started with fifty mentally challenged under privileged children. They lived under conditions where they had no access to norms of civilized behaviour. Mostly they lived in cell like houses devoid of light and air, left alone to fend for themselves. With low or no levels of literacy or awareness, parents had no idea how to take care of their differently abled wards. Deprived of nurturing and caring, of security and concern, these children lived in extreme poverty and degradation. Stunted by hunger and fear and anxiety these children did not know how to smile. Each one was seen as a burden even to their own parents. When Masoom first opened its doors children had to be fetched from their homes. They arrived carrying tiny tiffin boxes – one had a roti and green chilli. Another raw jamuns, just water. They were hungry, often unhygienic and had no experience of social interaction.