Around 25,000 landless rural poor will be marching from Gwalior to Delhi on October 2, Gandhi’s 149th birth anniversary, to protest against unfair distribution of land and against allotment of their land to corporates.
Under the banner of Ekta Parishad, an organisation that works for the marginalised communities in rural India, landless poor from 17 states across the country will march as part of ‘Jan Andolan 2018’.
More than 56% of rural households in India remain landless and 30% of these households face extreme poverty and deprivation. Women and Dalits routinely face discrimination and violence while trying to access land.
Congress president Rahul Gandhi will also be addressing the protestors’ concerns in Madhya Pradesh on October 6.
The protestors are demanding that the Modi government introduce the National Right To Homestead Bill in the parliament. The bill was developed by the government of India as an outcome of the ‘Jan Satyagrah 2012.’ It ensures 10 decimals (about 4000 sq ft) of homestead land to a rural homeless family which is ideally needed in the rural context for a home, a kitchen garden, storage of produce and maintenance of cattle.
They also want the Women Farmer Entitlement Bill, introduced by Swaminathan Commission, that ensures the recognition of women in agriculture as farmers, to be passed in the parliament.
Other demands of the protestors include:
- Land Tribunals and Fast-track courts be set-up at various levels for expediting the redressal of pending land disputes.
- Setting up new ‘execution and monitoring’ structures for better implementation of Panchayats (Extension To Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 and Forest Rights Act, 2006.
- Implementation of National Land Reforms Council & Task Force On Land Reforms.
Land entitlement is directly correlated to issues of gender equality, gender violence and migration. Ekta Parishad has been fighting for land rights of Dalits and Adivasis for over three decades now, raising these issues at various levels.
Our marchers have begun arriving in their hundreds from all over the country for #JanAndolan2018! For many, the foot march has already started from their home districts to Gwalior! #LandlessMarchToDelhi @timesofindia @YouthKiAwaaz @htTweets @scroll_in @thewire_in @mkssindia pic.twitter.com/u8KLL8iRBh
— Ekta Parishad (@Ekta_Parishad) October 1, 2018
As per the organisation, one aim of Jan Andolan 2018 is to sensitise urban India towards the issues of Land acquisition and Land Rights. To connect urban Indians to the march, Ekta Parishad has launched an online crowdfunding campaign.