Marching for their right to land and livelihood
Under the banner of Janadesh (People’s Verdict), farmers, landless agricultural workers and indigenous groups reached Delhi after walking 200-odd miles for a month to expose the plight of India’s marginalised people. Walking in neat lines, men, women and
children waved green and white flags or carried photographs of venerated Dalit leader Bhimarao Ramji Ambedkar.
Though worn out and footsore, 25,000 marchers including partner organisations and communities
ActionAid works with in Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan and Delhi made sure their voices were heard. Setting off on Gandhi’s birthday on October 2 from the city of Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh state their aim was to highlight the injustice of the country’s land ownership and the urgent need for implementation of
land reforms.
Land grab
The government plan to launch special economic zones across thousands of acres of agricultural land for big corporations was also severely criticised, reinforcing protests
in at least two states – West Bengal and Orissa. The crackdown from state authorities has often been brutal. Nandigram in West Bengal is a case in hand (hyperlink).
March organiser Puthan Vithal Rajgopal, who heads a group called Ekta Parishad (Unity Forum) said in media interviews, “For millions in this country India’s ‘economic miracle’ is meaningless.”
“As much as 40 percent of Indians are now landless and 23 per cent of them are in living a life of abject deprivation,” he added.
“Such conditions have contributed to a Maoist uprising in 172 of India’s 600 districts and farmers are committing suicide in 100 other districts. So we want to ask the government, ‘Where is the economic boom in these districts?”
With no property deeds, thousands have lost land despite having lived on their traditional forests and villages for generations. Poor rural communities want the government to bring in strong laws on holdings, deeds and tenancy rights in place of the current system where
ownership can easily be captured by the rich and powerful.
Demonstrators called for the government to identify land available for redistribution.
Solidarity of the marginalised
As the march neared Delhi, it was joined by 1200 campaigners of Punjab-based Dalit Dasta Virodhi Abhiyan (DDVA) and 200 members of community organisations in Delhi including Delhi Kabari Mazdoor Sangh, Kamgar Mahila Ekta
Samooh, Nirmana Mazdoor Panchayat Sangam and Nirmala Niketan as well as ActionAid campaigners.
An ActionAid campaigner at the rally said, “Marginalised people securing their right to land is one of the most critical steps to end hunger. Women who have marched for weeks are here in Delhi saying that, for them, land ownership is the
key to a life of dignity. They want the government to hear them.”
In Punjab DDVA is working towards eradicating bonded and child labour and educating Dalits and other marginalised communities about laws and the entitlements guaranteed to them in the Constitution. Participation in the national march helped strengthen their local campaign
for the rights of poor people to land and livelihood.
The Delhi-based community organisations that took part in the march raised their voice for the rights of unorganised labourers and homeless migrants in the capital, many of whom come from desperately poor rural areas.
A step forward
In what campaigners say is a significant step forward, the government announced it would set up a national council headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to oversee land reforms across the country.
The outcome of the march was positive, says Aditya Nath Jha of ActionAid. “This was one of the biggest mobilisations in recent years. A combination of Gandhi’s philosophy of peaceful protest and Ambedkar’s beliefs on Dalit upliftment made the march forceful,” he said.
