What is happening on the ground is stunning. Walking a distance of 3,570 kilometres from Kanniyakumari to Kashmir over 150 (might be more like 200) days is an event that should cause ripples across the globe. The Bharat Jodo Yatra will cross 12 States and two Union Territories. Hundreds of meetings will be held on the way; the swell, now in the crowd, now in the middle of the road, now with small children, the next moment with old men and women, always surrounded by the youth, now in schools, the next moment in colleges and institutions of higher learning.
Rahul Gandhi with young supporters when the yatra was in Washim district, Maharasjtra, on November 16. Hundreds of meetings will be held on the way; the swell, now in the crowd, now in the middle of the road, now with small children, the next moment with old men and women, always surrounded by the youth, now in schools, the next moment in colleges and institutions of higher learning. | Photo Credit: PTI
Six hours a day
By November 15, the caravan had already covered over 1,681 km in 69 days of walking, clocking at least six hours a day. That the media and social media coverage is completely disproportionate to the event and its possible consequences should not surprise anyone, although, as P. Chidambaram (The Indian Express, September 25) points out, the restlessness inside the opposition is noticeable. In fact, had there been greater excitement and coverage, one would have been surprised given the kind of state we live in.
The character of the walk has significantly changed in the last 50 days or so: from leaders constantly facing the cameras to the cameras now hunting for the leaders in the crowd. We trivialise the yatra at our own peril; the phenomenon may not be repeated. It has already covered six States and 29 districts, touching millions of people. Perhaps there is a possibility that it will set in motion new perspectives on critically understanding the nature and causes of the rise and multiplication of authoritarian forces across the world and the need to connect with people.
Most earlier discussions of civilisation contrast the primitive and the savage with the urban and the cultured; the illiterate and the ignorant with the educated and the wise. But all past descriptions of violence and cruelty pale into insignificance compared with the savagery of modern times. Be it Russia or the US or their satellites, Europe or the global south. There is an intensification of insensitive hegemonic forces; the proverbial Greek games would pale into insignificance compared with the savagery played out on the streets and in the institutions of the modern “developed” world.
One hopes that the bickering and anxieties within political parties at home and abroad will soon disappear and that people will begin to see that the threats to the country and its democracy are not from different shades of the political spectrum or from linguistic, religious, and cultural diversity but from the authoritarian powers consolidating themselves in the name of “a race, a religion, a flag, a language, a caste”, and so on. One also hopes that people will see that Kanniyakumari and Kashmir are just two symbolic points on a globe that is being increasingly threatened by centralisation of hegemonic powers and nearly irreparable loss to individual dignity, freedom of speech, and right to assembly.
In fact, from an ethical perspective that is grounded in equality, equity, and justice, the expectations from the yatra are indeed huge. As Peter deSouza says (The Indian Express, September 8), the yatra needs to learn a great deal from past yatras and not be just a journey but also a discovery, a pilgrimage, and a signal for change. None of these readings of the yatra is limited by arbitrary geographical points on the surface of the earth, itself “a pale blue dot” or “a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam” (Carl Sagan) in the scheme of things in the universe. Yet, it is only on this planet that life is possible, and the least we can do is to make sure that we do not let it slip through our fingers because of the follies of ruthless hegemonic powers across the world.
Mohandas and Kasturba Gandhi during the satyagraha campaign 1913/14. “Satyagraha,” Gandhi said, “is made of sterner stuff. There is nothing reserved and nothing secret in it.” | Photo Credit: Gandhi Research Foundation, Jalgaon
The yatra must, therefore, be absolutely non-violent. That there may be attempts, planned or otherwise, to disrupt its movement must have already been anticipated. It will be a test of the yatra that it maintains non-violence even in the face of the worst of potential threats to its peaceful progress. It is also important that non-violence becomes a performative not only in behaviour and movement but also in speech. The yatra should demonstrate that its value is not in the journey or the destination reached but in the people who are walking it and in the people who it listens to on the way, the people who effortlessly start walking with it as far as they can. The yatra will hopefully reinvent the art of listening that we have completely abandoned. We are constantly told to do things. What is worse is that we wallow in being told to do or say what others want us to. The yatra will hopefully give people their voice. Every yatri should walk in pursuit of truth without fear. “Satyagraha,” Gandhi said, “is made of sterner stuff. There is nothing reserved and nothing secret in it.”
Looking for alternatives
Will the yatra produce a counter meta-narrative? A meta-narrative that is located in the ethical matrix of justice, liberty, equality, and fraternity; a meta-narrative that will be predicated in such a minimal programme of action that all other parties, including the rational sections of those in power, will feel compelled to join hands, and will the narrative travel across continents fast? Will humanity start looking for alternatives to the ruthless free market corporate economy, intensification in the accumulation of arms and ammunition, and the destruction of the environment? Current political systems have resulted in a couple of countries assuming the responsibility of “running” the sociopolitical systems of other countries, resulting in intensifying inequalities, increasing unemployment, and privatisation of even those institutions to which citizens should have free access.
Shall we at least begin thinking of erasing arbitrary national boundaries and think more in terms of communes? Shall we try to get rid of the concept of nation state? Shall we listen to millions who still survive at starvation levels? Shall we listen to the farmers and workers, to rickshaw pullers and delivery boys, to scared girls who rush home before it gets dark, to the aged and the sick, to the Dalit and the disabled across our planet? Shall we make one sincere attempt to educate the children of this world since if true education is in place, the rest is likely to follow? Shall we put an end to the vulgar instrumentalisation of education and understand that education has no instrumental aim? As John Dewey said: “The educational process has no end beyond itself.”
Here is wishing the yatra our best, with a hope that it soon graduates to duniya jodo yatra.
Rama Kant Agnihotri retired from Delhi University and is currently professor emeritus, Vidya Bhawan Society, Udaipur, Rajasthan.
The Crux
- The Bharat Jodo Yatra, which is to cover a distance of 3,570 kilometres from Kanniyakumari to Kashmir over 150 (more likely 200) days is an event that should cause ripples across the globe.
- It is to cross 12 States and two Union Territories. Hundreds of meetings will be held on the way.
- The character of the walk has changed since it started and we trivialise it at our own peril.
- From an ethical perspective that is grounded in equality, equity, and justice, the expectations from the yatra are huge.
- It will hopefully reinvent the art of listening that we have completely abandoned and will hopefully give people their voice.
- Here is wishing the yatra our best, with a hope that it soon graduates to duniya jodo yatra.
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