On 10 May 2000, 70 people from different regions of Madhya Pradesh came to Bhopal under the banner of Ekta Parishad to draw the government’s attention to issues being raised by Rajagopal’s (EP’s national convenor) padyatra (protest march) across the state. 

The padyatra had brought the issue of land rights to the Chief Minister, Digvijay Singh’s attention.  But to change minds, the padyatra needed to pass through the state capital Bhopal and show the middle classes the true depth of feeling on the issue.  But that was not possible, so, Ekta Parishad activists decided to develop a “road show” to attract the attention of those who make or influence policies and help them understand the land issue.  In this age, the protest too needs packaging!

Around 60 tribal villagers came to Bhopal and got permission to sit in dharna (vigil) at a busy thoroughfare to provide maximum impact.  But how to make a sit-in hot enough for the media?  With the daily temperature at 43°, it was decided to walk to the protest site with black umbrellas with slogans and issues written on them.  All day, under the scorching sun, men and women in their earthy attire marched and sat with umbrellas over their heads whilst the city’s photographers went on the rampage!  The next day, all the local dailies featured the rally, calling it umbrella-rally and sit in.  With the number of newspapers covering the story and the amount of space devoted to it the protest was a big success.

The next day, the protesters took their umbrellas to lay siege to the Chief Minister’s residence.  Police and officials, though surprised, stopped them at barricades about 100 metres short of the house.  They stood there for about an hour, chanting and singing songs and told the police that the Chief Minister, being the people’s representative, should meet them here and now.  The pressure worked, radios crackled and a delegation of 5 people was invited to meet the Chief Minister.  At that meeting, the Chief Minister finally announced the formation of a Task Force on land issues.

The demonstration was then called off.  But, was that the right decision? With hindsight, Rahul writes, we think we took a wrong step in meeting the Chief Minister. It would have been a bigger story if we had stood there for a whole day under the umbrellas, and asked the Chief Minister to meet not just the delegation but all 70 members who would have told him village by village how they had been cheated out of their land, or denied access to the forests”.

Postscript

Once the six-month padyatra was over, the Chief Minister, Digvijay Singh, did meet Rajagopal, promised to take action and made him a member of the Task Force which will look into four land issues:

the distribution of surplus land to dalits and adivasis (tribals); government land given by mistake to rich people, to be taken back and given to the poor; land for which the poor have title, but has been taken by force by rich people, to be returned to the rightful owners; and re-surveying forest land so that it can be given to those occupying it before 1980.   Whilst walking across the state, Ekta Parishad activists passed through many villages where the Chief Minister had descended from his helicopter and promised the villagers the moon.  But now, by walking rather than flying, the government may have been forced to deliver.

The padyatra received strong support from groups in France and now Rajagopal has asked for our moral and political support for this campaign to restore land to its rightful owners.