Access to land is one of the vital issues taken up by peasant organisations and particularly by protest movements of the landless. In India, Ekta Parishad, a working-class organisation experienced in field action in the non-violent Gandhian tradition, has programmed an unprecedented protest for October 2007. Preparation is already underway and is entering its public phase. A march, of the kind which Ekta Parishad is accustomed to organising, is being prepared for October 2006 as a prelude to that of October 2007. It will be a kind of general rehearsal for militants and leaders, and especially a solemn warning addressed to the Indian authorities, for them finally to take the claims of the landless peasants seriously.

For the past 15 years since it was founded, and under the impulse of its leader, Rajagopal P.V. (c.f. page 2 for more details), Ekta Parishad, the Gandhi-inspired protest movement has been working in 8 different Indian states. Its action covers 4,000 villages, and an estimated 10 million people are touched by its activity. The organisation, which works particularly closely with small farmers, the Dalits, and tribal communities, has two lines of action. On the one hand, it supports community and local development projects enabling local self-sufficiency and seeks to make up for the insufficiency of government programmes. On the other hand, it organises protests demanding access to rights and particularly access to land and basic resources.

For example, in Orissa, Ekta Parishad militants are primarily active in Banpur where tribal populations in the Barbara forest are harassed by the Central Reserve Police Force and the administration. In Kalahandi, they support the local populations that have been expelled to allow mining companies in. Elsewhere, in the newly developing country that is India, peasants are being evicted from their lands for the construction of hydroelectric dams, the setting up of new irrigation zones for the agricultural industry or the development of tourist parks, without receiving any material or financial compensation whatsoever. We must help them see to land and water conservation and the improvement of crops.

In every project it runs, the non-violent movement promotes bottom-up development which has economic dimensions, supports the craft industry and promotes peasant agriculture. However, in India, small landowners, landless peasants, Dalits and Adivasis (India’s original inhabitants), do not earn enough to support their families. By law they have no rights and have such unbearable financial burdens that some end up committing suicide. So once it has been established that talks are not enough and all recourses to negotiation have been exhausted, Ekta Parishad wields its non-violent power to promote their cause.

The right to live and work

For many months now the new Indian government had been promising to redistribute land within the scope of an agrarian reform. However, peasant movements are still waiting to no avail. In 2006, a law recognising the indigenous people’s rights was to be submitted to the Parliament, but it is yet to be examined. This is why Ekta Parishad has decided to take unprecedented action: the “Janadesh 2007” protest. In October 2007, a march, gathering 20 to 25 thousand people will cover the 300 kilometres separating Gwalior, a symbolic place of Gandhian non-violent action [1], from Delhi, the capital of the Federal State. At the end of the march, the protest hopes to gather 100,000 people in front of the Parliament. Ekta Parishad is firmly decided to remain in front of this high place of debate and political decision as long the leaders have not made formal promises concerning land reform and redistribution.

This is not Ekta Parishad’s first attempt at such a protest and it has already shown its capacity to organise this kind of initiative, both in logistical and political terms. Since 1991 and almost every year, Rajagopal P.V. and his movement have coordinated such marches, making sure they are grounded within a strong local mobilisation, but also backed up by solidarity campaigns carried out at an international level [2]. Each time, concrete results were obtained and Ekta Parishad never hesitated to get involved with their application [3] .

The stakes are high, and preparation for this demonstration has already started a year in advance. We have already reached the visible phase of the mobilisation and it is now that international solidarity comes into play, on the occasion of a first march constituting a kind of warm-up round for the forces at play.

Chetawni Yatra: an important first step

The march, which is due to take place from 2nd to 22nd October 2006, will sound a warning bell to the Indian authorities. The Chetawni Yatra will take the same route as the great march programmed for next year (Janadesh 2007). All along the route, leaders of the march will galvanise support by organising public meetings and debates. At the end of the march in Dehli, a great symbolic gathering will demonstrate the commitment of all parties involved in the action and a memorandum will be submitted to the Indian Prime Minister urging him to proceed to land reforms.

October 2006 will thus mark, for our Indian friends, and for us as well, the start of an action that will take different forms at an international, national and local level, and culminate in October 2007.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Solidarity in Europe: For several years now, European organisations (German, British, French, Italian, Swiss) have been conferring to offer better support to Ekta Parishad and more generally to landless Indian peasants. Each brings its competences to support the initiatives taken by our Indian partner.

In France, 4 associations are mobilising for the success of "Janadesh 2007":
- Peuples Solidaires / Réseau-Solidarité - Solidarity Network
- Frères des Hommes (www.fdh.org)
- Solidarité (www.solidarite.asso.fr)
- le CRIDEV 35 (www.ritimo.org)

On the internet:
Ekta Parishad’s website can be found at: www.ektaparishad.org

In the press:
In its 1st June 2006 edition, La Vie magazine published a portrait of the founder and chief coordinator of the Ekta Parishad movement, entitled "Rajagopal P.V. The new Gandhi".

TO WRITE...
Via the internet: fill in the online form on http://pmindia.nic.in/write.htm
By letter: you can copy the standard letter below or download it (attachment at bottom of page). Don’t forget to date and sign your letter and to add your name and address. Postage fee: 0.90€
By fax: 00 91 11 2301 9545

Important:
Message of solidarity: send Ekta Parishad a message of solidarity to let them know of your support.
Reaction time: on reception, and until 20th October 2006.

PROTEST LETTER

Mr Manmohan Singh
Prime Minister of India
South Block, Raisina Hill
New Delhi - 110 011
INDIA

Respected Manmohan Singh,

I am writing this letter in solidarity to the Padyatris (foot marchers) who are walking from Gwalior to Delhi during October 02 - 20, 2006. These Padyatris are planning to meet you and press for their demands for a new vision for land reform after arrival in Delhi.

I also came to know that Ekta Parishad is engaged in dialogue with your government for launching land reforms that would facilitate to contain rural distress and increasing poverty ensuring socio-economic equity, livelihood and dignity of the marginalised communities in India. I support this action and hope that you will expedite a course of action for land reforms policies.

Yours sincerely,

SOLIDARITY MESSAGE FOR EKTA PARISHAD (You may use your own style and wording)

Ekta Parishad
Gandhi Bhawana, Shyamla Hills
Bhopal - 2
Madhya Pradesh
INDIA

Name and family name: ........................................................................ ..........................................................................................................

Dear friends of Ekta Parishad,

I have been informed of the Chetawni Yatra organised by Ekta Parishad which is taking place between 2 and 22 October 2006.

I support your action and have sent a letter to the Prime Minister of India, requesting that his government take strong and swift measures to implement land reforms.

With warm regards,

[1] In Gwalior in 1972, 500 peasants handed in their weapons to Rajagopal P.V. in exchange for land for their families and education for their children.

[2] Appeal N°218 India: 300,0 kilometres for the right to land (February 2000), Appeal N°238 India: Solidarity per kilometre (August 2001), Appeal N°256 India: Outlaws on their own land (January 2003) and Appeal N°267 India: Land first (January 2004)

[3] These initiatives resulted in the creation of local joint commissions for the redistribution of land in Madhya Pradesh