As a method of satyagraha or Gandhian-style, non-violent direct action, the padyatra has been used in India many times in the past. Gandhi initiated the salt satyagraha in India, in the 1930s, when he undertook a padyatra through Western India, rallying people to break the British Salt Law, boycott salt produced by the British, and make their own rock salt. Gandhi couched the padyatra in cultural and religious terms that made sense to the common people. Many other examples can be cited in post-independent India to show the effective use of the padyatra as a method of "fighting non-violently" for justice, for and with people who are otherwise powerless.

A padyatra consists typically of a group of activists walking from village to village or town to town, holding meetings about an issue, inviting people to join in and take up solidarity and protest actions, devising ways of working together to advocate for progressive social change.

A padyatra thus helps to directly mobilize millions at the grassroots and brings together like-minded civil society organizations (CSOs), non-government organizations (NGOs), community groups and networks. It produces some concrete images and hard facts on the condition of disempowered people, while simultaneously mobilizing and working with them. The "evidence" gathered can then be used for advocacy, for e.g., to lobby the government to change policy or implement an already existing policy. A padyatra helps to harness media attention and create public awareness and discussion about an issue. It takes the work already done forward and produces many ripple effects.

In 1999-2000, the Ekta Parishad, effectively employed the padyatra method in Madhya Pradesh (MP), to bring attention to the plight of the poor and landless dalits and tribals in this state. Following the MP padyatra, the state government set up land commissions in approximately 40 districts of the state, to review land claims.

Some Links on Gandhi:

web.mahatma.org.in

www.gandhiinstitue.org


...back