People have attended the Bihar padyatra meetings, about 3-4 a day, in large numbers. An average of 2-3000 people come daily and express their dissatisfaction with the non-implementation of the land-ceiling act. Hundreds of cases are recorded at each meeting and brought back to Patna, the headquarters of Ekta Parishad, Bihar, for processing. A lawyer’s collective is being set up to process these claims. The meetings are recorded on video and audio. In addition, women are being mobilized wherever possible. Special attention is going to an appeal that has been written by women.

The padyatra is a major breakthrough. Politicians are falling over each other in an effort to out do their adversaries in responding to the issues raised by the padyatra. The ruling party has held a public meeting with the Revenue Minister and the various District Commissioners and Collectors. Congress leader Jaganath Mishra, a two-time Chief Minister of Bihar, has publicly supported the aims of the padyatra. The General Secretary of the Communist Party of India has also come out in support. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) which is powerful at the Centre, has called attention to the land issue and to food security by identifying starvation deaths in one of the districts through which the padyatra is traversing.

The Gandhian movements and their offshoots, which remain strong in Bihar, have mostly come out in support of P.V Rajgopal as an upcoming force embodying the radical Gandhian tradition. The Gandhian groups are particularly interested in finding a leader who will forge together the many disparate elements of the movement.

The extreme left groups that have been operating in Bihar for the last 30 years are still unclear as to whether the padyatra will forward their goals. Although their means of obtaining land for the poor is different, the padyatra organisers are making efforts to develop a common agenda on the land issue with them.

Many non-government organisations (NGOs) and people’s organizations are joining the padyatra at various points. The media coverage on the padyatra is not as extensive as it could be. The incidence of terrorism in the United States has been the centre of media concern. Even so, over 30 articles have appeared in local English and Hindi papers. The padyatra has been promoted in several regional languages including Telegu and Malayalam.

Some major events of the padyatra were:

• Focus on Environment (land-water management), September 23-24.

• Children's event, September 30. The issue focus here was the effect of migration on children due to landlessness and homelessness; the effect of violence on children in these areas as a result of insufficient land redistribution; as well as their overall poverty. Children formulated recommendations on the issue of land, which were presented at the Children’s Parliament at the Bihar State Assembly, in Patna, on

October 13.

• Give Peace a Chance, October 2 - Gandhi's birth anniversary. There were three rallies culminating in mass meetings in Jehanabad district to convey the message of non-violence.

• Women and Land Day, October 7, to promote the importance of women in land entitlement, particularly in areas where new leases are being issued. Women have not traditionally taken a leadership role in the land movements but this was a demonstration of women’s power. The women presented their appeal to a large gathering and then took the lead in the padyatra for the next five days.

• Padyatra finale, October 11 - The padyatra entered Patna city. On reaching Gandhi Maiden in the city centre, the statue of Jayprakash Narayan (a venerated leader of the land movement in India) was garlanded. A human chain was formed with several thousand people. This was followed by large public meeting at a local high school.

...back