Year long global Jai Jagat march set to start from Delhi on Oct 2     

A global one-year march is being organised by Gandhian through Ekta Parishad on the 150th anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi’s birth. The 14,000 km walk, called Jai Jagat 2020, will start from New Delhi on October 2, 2019, and head to Geneva by October 2020 after winding through 10 countries.

“It is about time we started to see globalisation through the lens of Jai Jagat (victory to the world) – All for the planet, Planet for all. Everyone should think about the poor. An eye for an eye will not solve any problem. This march is to initiate conversation and urge implementation of policies which will keep the poorest in the mind,” explains Rajagopal PV, a Gandhian and founding member of Ekta Parishad.

The march in India will head to Joura in Madhya Pradesh from New Delhi, then to Maharashtra nd then to Sevagram in Gujarat. From here they will go onto to Shiraz in Iran. “We will walk through Iran in 35 days, cross to Armenia, Georgia, Bulgaria, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Italy and then Switzerland. We will walk through Switzerland for 25 days and reach Geneva by September 25, 2020,” said Ramesh Sharma, one of the Ekta Parishad leaders.

The march has four core pillars of advocacy. “We want to ask for eradication of poverty, social inclusion, climate justice and nonviolent resolution of conflicts. While these might seem broad, we have specific demands which we will raise as we embark on the walk,” said Jill Carr-Harris, on of the lead organisers of the march.

Remembering Kasturba Gandhi, who is also celebrating her 150th birth anniversary this year, Jill Carr-Harris, said the strength of women in the everyday acts of courage that happen in the family and community level are often overlooked.

The march requires ₹ 4 crore, but they have been able to raise only ₹1.5 crore as of now. “We hope to raise the rest soon. We hope many more will be encouraged to contribute. There are four more months before the year ends. Several countries have promised us help. Some will help with accommodation, some others with visas. We hope to raise the money,” added Rajagopal.

There will be several other marches from around the world which will join the Jai Jagat Yatra in Geneva. “In turbulent times like this, we need to have people engage in actions locally and globally, only then is positive and non-violent change possible. Conversations and action should begin. One march will not change everything, but we must start somewhere. Some of our agrarian crises have their roots in global decisions,” explains Rajagopal.