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Peoples Control Over Livelihood Resources
Ekta Parishad (Unity Forum), a campaigning umbrella for about
11,000 community based organizations, active in 11 states. Founded in 1990, it has
revitalised Mahatma Gandhi’s message of non-violent action organising
marches, like his famous Salt March, and protests such as public hearings
to support
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Background
Ekta Parishad works to combat the
‘structural violence’ of the current development model which puts
industrialisation before agriculture and rural employment. It supports two main groups:
Ekta Parishad’s strength is built from
the grassroots. It helps young people from villages to understand the
reasons for their poverty and trains them in non-violent action. These local activists, many of
them volunteers, are central to its ability to support communities in
their struggle to retain control of natural resources, (water, forests and
land). Once people are
organised to defend their rights and dignity, Ekta Parishad links them to
other campaigns to put pressure on governments and decision makers.
Taking
action
Since 2000 it has organised state level
marches, which highlight local problems and press the state governments
for action. These have led to
initiatives such as task forces to resolve land disputes and identify land
which can be redistributed to the landless.
In October 2007, it organised its first
national level campaign for land rights, Janadesh 2007; 25,000 people from
all over India walked from Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh to Delhi, over 300
km. Ekta Parishad has now
announced a new campaign up to 2012 to keep the pressure on the government
to implement the promises made in 2007. To learn more about Ekta
Parishad’s campaigns click here
Links to
You can read more about Ekta Parishad on Ekta's own website.
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