A Mother in India

The 'Janadesh' march to Delhi

There was something inspiring reading about twenty five thousand people from the villages of India coming together and walking together to the capital Delhi for water, forest and land. The non-violent march began at Gwalior on 2nd October on the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi.

Many walked barefoot. Some with patched up slippers. Few had shoes. There were men, women and children who took part in this 'Janadesh' march. A few of these simple people were killed by trucks in the highway and some died due to the sheer exhaustion and cold in Delhi after the long walk. At the 'Ramlila' grounds where they had camped they were surrounded by a cordon of police preventing them from marching to parliament the next day and bringing Delhi to a standstill. It was reported that the government of India did take notice and announce a panel on land reforms which would be headed by the Prime Minister.

Many of us were curious and wanted to know more for there was something so moving about these simple people coming all the way from their homes in the jungle and villages of our country. The police cordon did not allow interaction. We wanted to hear the voices of these people but few television channels and newspapers covered this event on the days they were camping in Delhi. The television channels were mostly abuzz on an Indian becoming the richest person in the world and a beautiful actress and her actor husband 'fasting' for each other.

I saw some photographs by the BBC. The link is given below-

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_pictures/7066241.stm

The images of this march have been beautifully captured in this video in YouTube

http://youtube.com/watch?v=C75kxEJStlk

This 'Janadesh' march deserved more coverage and reporting in the Indian media. For these people represented the millions living in the villages of India - who had to come together from different parts of the country all the way to the capital just to be heard.

And to some of us without a voice or support and struggling to take care of a dearly loved one with a severe mental illness in India, watching the 'Janadesh' march gave us courage and strength.

Thank you for your comments Sachin,
Also- for the encouraging words. Peace be with you.

Posted by survivor at November 1, 2007 04:49 PM