Victorious march of Indian landless peasants

The 25,000 landless men and women peasants participating in the Janadesh march, who left Gwalior on October 2, reached Delhi on Sunday, October 28. The next day, the Indian government announced the setting-up of a national land commission chaired by the Indian prime minister. This had been the main demand of the Ekta Parishad organization, which instigated this unprecedented mobilization.

This is a major victory for Indian landless peasants and for Ekta Parishad‘s non violent action!

The marchers’ determination was obvious on their arrival in Delhi: « Jail or land! » the 25,000 marchers were chanting on the morning of October 29, as they were surrounded in their encampment by police troops who prevented them from reaching the Parliament, goal of their non-violent, Gandhi-inspired march. But on the same day, Rajagopal, the leader of the Ekta Parishad movement, signed a political agreement with the minister of rural development announcing the setting-up of the national land commission. It was the successful outcome of a long process of political talks held throughout the mobilization. The decision brought Janadesh to an end and the marchers started piling back into their trains last night, singing and dancing with joy.

For more than a year, Peuples Solidaires, Frères des Hommes and the Confédération Paysanne, as well as other organizations in France and in Europe, lent their support to the Janadesh march, and mobilized in France, in an appeal for solidarity with the Indian landless and to raise awareness of the issue of land access, here in the North, and there, in the South. Representatives of these organizations joined the march, with North American and European NGOs, as well as representatives of the Brazilian movement MST, of the Kenya Land Alliance and of the European Farmers Co-ordination.
This victorious march thus represents great hope for all peasant movements and their partners all around the world!