People on the Jan Adesh march in 2007. Photo: Gerald Conyngham.
‘The idea emerged of an international campaign.’
Making a move: Gerald Conyngham walks with Jai Jagat 2020 UK
In 2007 I marched alongside 25,000 landless people, from Gwalior to New Delhi on the Jan Adesh march, to protest about them being turned off their land. Negotiations took place, but little progress was made and so there was another march in 2012 [the Jan Satyagraha march] to consolidate the gains. It was organised by Ekta Parishad, which works along Gandhian principles to campaign for social justice in India, and has strong links with Quakers. Some marchers came from other countries, such as Kenya and Brazil, where there are similar issues.
In 2015 the idea emerged of an international campaign to bring together groups concerned about the environmental crisis, and Jai Jagat 2020 was born. As Rajagopal PV, the founder of Ekta Parishad put it: ‘We want to give back courage to the excluded, and voiceless, to all deprived of rights, resources, freedom and peace.’
The campaign focuses around four pillars: the eradication of poverty, social inclusion, climate justice and the nonviolent resolution of conflicts. Activities include walking, training, movement building, dialogue and outreach. The key element is a walk from New Delhi to Geneva, which started on 2 October 2019 – the 150th anniversary of Mohandas Gandhi’s birthday.
The walkers will travel through ten countries before reaching Switzerland (political restrictions along the route have resulted in the need for some coach, ferry and air travel). They will meet local peace groups and hold seminars on peace and nonviolence, as well as collecting case studies to take to Geneva. A welcome festival will be held on arrival, which will include dance, theatre and other events. This will be followed by a week-long forum that will allow the voices of people affected by poverty, social exclusion, direct and structural violence to be heard. Case studies on themes such as land rights and women’s rights, and environmental and climate justice, will serve as inspirations for civil society actions and a grassroots nonviolent campaign. It will conclude with an advocacy agenda and action plan for 2020/30.
Related activity and walks are taking place throughout Europe. Jai Jagat 2020 UK, which includes many Quakers, plans a range of activities. Three Local Meetings have already held a collection and there are walks and pilgrimages in Dumfries and St David’s. A peace conference is being held in May in Birmingham and there will be a special interest group at Yearly Meeting Gathering in Bath. We intend to join other walkers in Lyon, France, and head to Geneva to meet those arriving from India.
Our overall aim is to provide support and raise awareness of peacebuilding and the choices that we must take to avert the climate crisis. This includes eating more plant-based food and helping people understand why this is important. Please join us.
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For more details of the walks, route and other logistics, see www.jaijagat2020.org, where you can also find information, photographs and film about the main walk.
