Ekta Parishad

Ekta Parishad (Hindi for "forum of unity") is an Indian mass movement founded in 1991 that works on land, water and forest rights according to the Gandhian principle of non-violent action. Its founder and president is Rajagopal P. V. It operates both as a mass movement and as an informal federation of 35 organisations, coordinating between salaried workers and members/volunteers at different levels across the country. Since the 1970s the constituent organisations have helped marginalised communities — Dalits (untouchables), tribal peoples and landless peasants — to organise and carry out collective action demanding that the Indian government enforce laws on equitable redistribution of land and natural resources. Ekta Parishad also supports communities in managing their economic and natural resources autonomously and sustainably so that they can regain their dignity. The movement emerged from the practice of the Gandhian philosophy of sarvodaya (the welfare of all), combining satyagraha (the search for truth and the struggle against injustice) and civil disobedience. Although the entity "Ekta Parishad" was born in 1991, the organisations that compose it have worked with Indian rural communities since the 1970s. Its emergence reflects both the despair of marginalised communities at their treatment by the post-independence state and their hope and awareness that only organised struggle will achieve justice. Based on the aspirations of those excluded from society and life itself, Ekta Parishad should not be confused with an NGO; it is a movement for social justice. In 2009 it counted nearly one million sympathisers. Ekta Parishad works in eight Indian states — Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Kerala — in direct contact with 4,000 villages, reaching some five million Indians. Its members concentrate their efforts in remote areas where agriculture is the main means of subsistence. With 150,000 members, it works mainly with Dalit and tribal communities, focusing on community control of natural resources and on constitutional and human rights. In Europe it is supported by a network grouped within Ekta Europe; in France several associations and activist collectives support it, notably in the west of the country with Jan Ouest 2012. Its objectives include distribution of land to the landless (agrarian reform), compensation and rehabilitation of people displaced by state land acquisition for "public interest", inquiries and procedures for the distribution of land titles, conflict resolution, protection of the rights of peasants and common property resources (CPRs), promotion of organic farming, and inclusion of tribal laws in protected-area legislation. To oppose those who abuse power and to fight an unjust system, Ekta Parishad uses various methods of non-violent struggle such as demonstrations, hunger strikes, sit-ins, road blockades and other expressions of civil disobedience. Its major campaigns include the Janadesh 2007 march, in which 25,000 people walked for 26 days from Gwalior to Delhi, joined at the capital by 100,000 participants for a peaceful demonstration — described as the largest advocacy movement for the rights of the landless.

Ekta Parishad (Hindi for "forum of unity") is an Indian mass movement founded in 1991 that acts according to the Gandhian principle of non-violent action, with the aim of helping people to better control the resources that allow them to subsist: land, water and forest. Its founder and president is Rajagopal P. V. It is both a mass movement and an informal federation of 35 organisations operating with a system of coordination between salaried workers and members/volunteers at different levels and across the country. Since the 1970s, this movement has helped many marginalised communities (untouchables, tribal peoples, landless peasants) to organise and carry out collective action to demand that the Indian government enforce laws aimed at equitable redistribution of land and natural resources. Ekta Parishad also supports its communities so that they manage their economic and natural resources autonomously and sustainably in order to regain their full dignity. In order to organise the actions of small farmers, Rajagopal, then a commissioner investigating the problem of bonded labourers, created the movement in 1991. Ekta Parishad stems from the practice of the Gandhian philosophy of sarvodaya (the search for a form of society aiming at the well-being of all), which brings together satyagraha (the search for truth and the struggle against injustice) and civil disobedience. The entity "Ekta Parishad" was born in 1991, but the organisations that compose it have worked with Indian rural communities since the 1970s. The emergence of Ekta Parishad reflects both the despair of marginalised communities at their treatment by the post-independence state and their hope, and the awareness that only an organised struggle will achieve justice. Based on the aspirations of those excluded from society and from life itself, Ekta Parishad should not be confused with an NGO. It is a movement for social justice. In 2009 it counted nearly one million sympathisers. Its president is the alter-globalisation activist Rajagopal. Ekta Parishad works in eight Indian states (Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Kerala), in direct contact with 4,000 villages, or five million Indians. Ekta Parishad members concentrate their efforts in remote areas where agriculture is the main means of subsistence. In Europe, Ekta Parishad is supported by a network grouped within Ekta Europe. In France, several associations and activist collectives support it, notably in the west of the country with Jan Ouest 2012. Previous campaigns conducted by Ekta Parishad at the level of the federal states showed the limits of localised actions. Indeed, they only temporarily reduce the intensity of the problem and find partial solutions to a question that requires radical institutional change. This is why Ekta Parishad launched in 2005 a vast non-violent action campaign: "Janadesh 2007", which would be able to connect local struggles, bring together many people and organisations, and thus give the necessary impetus to land reforms and community control of natural resources. This ultimatum addressed to the government ordered it to resolve land problems or face non-violent direct action. The culmination of the campaign was a march bringing together 25,000 people for 26 days (from 2 October 2007 to 28 October 2007) in northern India, between Gwalior (Madhya Pradesh state) and Delhi (the capital). On arrival in Delhi, many Indian activists as well as 100,000 participants awaited the marchers for a peaceful demonstration. This march was of unprecedented scale: it was the largest advocacy movement for the rights of the landless.

• 2009

  Ekta Parishad counts nearly one million sympathisers.

• 2007

  Janadesh 2007 march: 25,000 people walk 26 days from Gwalior to Delhi (2–28 October 2007), joined by 100,000 participants in Delhi.

• 2005

  Ekta Parishad launches the Janadesh 2007 non-violent action campaign.

• 1991

  Ekta Parishad is founded in India by Rajagopal P. V.

Gandhian grassroots movement for land, water and forest rights; a social justice movement rather than an NGO.

1. 1Ekta Parishad — Wikidatawikidata.org
2. 2Ekta Parishad — Wikipédia (français)fr.wikipedia.org