A day on the road …
Indian farmers and political activists came by train, bus, or even on foot to join in with Janadesh Act II. Act I had taken place exactly one year ago, when 400 protestors travelled the same route [3]. This second march had, in fact, been planned and supported for almost two years by the Indian NGO Ekta Parishad, FdH, and various other organisations. An event of this size can not be organised in a day: thousands of people had to be brought together, two lanes of National Motorway 3 blocked, lorries equipped with food and medical supplies… Luc, a supporter of FdH and participant in the march, observed: “marchers were all provided with a flag in green and white, the colours of Ekta Parishad, and a badge displaying their personal details”. He was equally struck by the calm and organisation displayed by the seemingly endless line of walking farmers. This discipline shown on the road reflects the philosophy of the marchers, who fight, according to K.N.Subbha Rao, president of the national youth project, “with nothing except their will, driven by the force of Gandhi’s Satyâgraha." [4]
This force and enthusiasm was also evident in the protestor’s singing and dancing. The air was filled with energy and hope: for many marchers, of whom between 40 and 50% were women and children, “Janadesh” according to Ana [5], member of MST in Brazil, “is the last chance for an escape from extreme poverty”. For food, one meal a day, delivered by a series of lorries, was all there was. Water was distributed from 48 containers, one for every 500 marchers. As Jonathan Weedon, a Scottish volunteer with Ekta Parishad, informed us, “these containers were filled up two or three times a day, without payment: farmers and villagers along the whole route have showed their support for Janadesh by allowing free use of their wells.”
“Land or jail!”
“Land or jail!” sang the 25 000 participants of the 29th October who had arrived in Delhi to find themselves encircled by police in their camp at Ram Lila Maidan, thus prevented from reaching the Parliament building. Rajagopal, leader of Ekta Parishad, had that same day sealed victory for the marchers by signing a political agreement with the Minister for Rural Development announcing the creation of a national commission for land ownership. Singing and dancing, the marchers began loading the convoys for the return journey… They went back, however, filled with the desire and will to continue this work, which, according to Ana, is one the of march’s greatest achievements and one that India needs, because the struggle is not over. Act III? The agrarian reforms demanded for the last 60 years are still to be obtained. Until that time, Rajagopal’s call remains as relevant as ever: Fight and win!
| Manu, Fdh member, on the night of the 29th October, after the signing of the agreement: “in the evening we stayed with the marchers, everyone was celebrating, it was amazing. Some people asked us to film them, and thirty seconds later there was thirty of them and we were producing a choreographic masterpiece, no-one could believe what they were seeing. There was an incredible party going on everywhere, it was one of the most of the most intense moments we had experienced in our brief existence’. |
Also read: Resonances Asia N°18 - November 2007
