Click to play videoNew Delhi: It is a marathon of the dispossessed. The other India de-linked from the 9 per cent growth rate that the country boasts of nearly 25,000 Dalits and Adivasis who can carry all they possess on their heads streaming towards Delhi demanding rights to land, livelihood, and dignity.
“We don't have food, land or water. We are going to Delhi get this,” says Rasi Ram from Madhya Pradesh.
They have been called satyagrahis and were tested when three of them died when a truck hit them.
What followed was not slogan shouting, truck burning or lynching. Instead, it was a subdued prayer session.
In this long, long journey, four more have died due to ill health and some have gone missing.
When the night deepens, they sleep on these polythene sheets, some have umbrellas for a roof and the road is also their bedroom.
“We want a land policy,” says P V Rajgopal, who is also a part of the rally.
This non-party non-violent political movement has attracted politicians from many parties. Shivraj Chauhan and Raghuvansh Prasad have come and gone.
Villagers have walked through five states with a focused demand that is now under threat from SEZ, industrial hubs and the agenda of development.
The question is how this Government of the aam aadmi responds to this show of despair, deprivation and discontent on National Highway 2.
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