Ekta Parishad (from ektaparishad.com) new website!

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Ekta Parishad is the only non-violent social movement in India working on land and forest rights at a national level. It has been built up over twenty years growing from the local, to the state, to the national and increasingly, to the international level. The purpose of ‘a-massing’ a larger and larger grouping of poor people into a movement, has been to put pressure directly on the central government which is resisting reform and structural change. The structural change that Ekta Parishad is calling for is a complete land redistribution to enable the marginalized and downtrodden, to get out of poverty.

Land reform—giving the poor access to land--is a  ‘game changer’, that could bring 40% of the populace out of absolute poverty and reduce substantially the violence that is gripping Indian society.
One of the successes of Ekta Parishad’s history is that people have found a social space in which to come together, and demand their rights. In normal society, it is not easy or possible for a marginalized person, like a single impoverished woman, or a bonded labourer, to stand up for their rights (even though they have them). Ekta Parishad is guarding democratic space by bringing groups together in a mass organization. By doing this it is constantly reminding the government that, in case they have forgotten, it is their role as given by the Independence Declaration and the Constitution, to provide that all people basic human rights and freedoms.



Rajagopal PV, President of Ekta Parishad

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A Gandhian activist since his youth, Rajagopal has spent the last thirty years training young people as village mobilizers and leaders. Working in villages throughout central India, he has held thousands of youth camps. As the movement for land rights began to emerge out of this grassroots training work, Rajagopal naturally took on the role of leadership. From the year 2000, he led several large foot marches (padayatras) and other actions which paved the way for Janadesh in 2007, when 25,000 people marched for twenty-eight days from Gwalior to Delhi. Significant political and social gains were achieved as a result of this march.
'Rajaji' as he is affectionately known, is a truly grassroots leader, who continues to spend his time listening to and walking with the poor of India, providing moral leadership in the tradition of Gandhi to motivate a truly historic movement of nonviolent activism. His style of dedicated, other-centred activism continues to be a source of inspiration for all activists who have been empowered by the work of Ekta Parishad.

From Janadesh to Jansatyagraha 2012

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Janadesh, The People's Verdict
On October 2nd, 2007, Mahatma Gandhi's birthday, 25,000 people gathered in Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh to begin what proved to be the largest non-violent movement for land reform in India's history. Janadesh, the People's Verdict, presented an ultimatum to the government to resolve land-issues or face non-violent direct action by the people.
The following two videos are about the Janadesh March.


Jansatyagraha 2012

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From October 2011 to October 2012, Ekta Parishad will be conducting its next action in India, Jansatyagraha 2012. During that period, there will be a broad mobilization throughout the country, consisting of foot marches and over 60 training camps for activists in nonviolent mobilization. There are many opportunities to be a part of this unique event and share in the struggle for justice while learning to see the world from the perspective of the poor. Several of our tours over the next two years will be aimed at integration with this mobilization and the educational-training process involved it. This will be an opportunity to be involved in history in the making and learn about a social movement from the inside.