Ekta Parishad is a Gandhian organization dedicated to nonviolent action to help poor and marginalized people access natural resources like land, forests and water. It aims to mobilize 1 million people for a global march in 2020 to advocate for equitable and sustainable development, expand ethics in business and governance, and deepen social justice. Ekta Parishad conducts nonviolent training, foot marches, and advocacy campaigns to raise awareness of land rights issues, especially those facing rural farmers, women and tribal communities in India.

2. Ekta Parishad
A people’s organization dedicated
to the Gandhian principle of
nonviolent action with the aim
of assisting poor people to gain
access and control over natural
resources mainly land, forest
and water.

3. INDIA AT A GLANCE
Total population: 1.25 Billion
Land Area: 2.97 million km2
Density: 382 pers./km2
Administrative Divisions:
28 States, 593 districts, 594000 villages
Growth rate: 8 %
Literacy: 74%
SC population: 16.2%
ST Population: 8.2%
People BPL: 27.5% or 338 million
Rural India
 Rural population : 68.8%
 Population depending on agriculture : 70%
 58.2% of total work force engaged in farm sector
 80% of farmers have less than 1 ha of land

4.  90% farmers own 43% land & 10% farmers own 57%
 43% of rural population is either absolutely or nearly
landless (< 0.2 ha)
 260 thousand farmer’s suicide between 1991-2000
 8 million farmers quit cultivation between 1991-2010
 14 million ha agricultural land converted to non-
agricultural purpose in 65 years.
 Nearly 21.3 million people displaced in the name of
development projects, such as dams, Mining etc. and
more than half of them are Tribals.
 At least 75% of them still await rehabilitation
Rural India

5. •11 states
•Districts 95+
•6946 villages with total population
> 5.5 million
•157 Assembly constitutions (out of
1797)
•68 Parliamentarian constitution
(out of 237)
• 650 activists
•170 000 paid membership
•links with 26 countries
Working Area

6. Wings of Ekta Parishad
Women’s wing
Cultural wing
Economic wing
Ekta Mahila
Manch
Ekta Kala
Manch
Ekta Artik
Manch

7. Status of women in India
 Women Population: 48.5% or 596 million
 Sex Ratio: 940 females per 1,000 males
 India stand in 114th position in women equality
 55% women are malnourished
 Only 65% women are literate

8. Present Scenario of Women and Land
 86% of rural women depend on agriculture.
 Less than 10% of privately held land nationwide is in
the name of women.
 Women’s land rights remain largely insecure.
Women also lack equal land rights under marriage
and divorce laws.
 According to legislation, women have the same right
to own land as men.
 A step forward - Forest Rights Act 2006 gives joint
land entitlement.

9. Mission of Ekta Parishad
Helping economic self dependence of women.
Fighting against all sorts of oppression of women in
the society.
Ensuring equitable rights on social, political and
economic empowerment of women in the society.
Leadership Building

10. Challenges in front of Ekta Parishad
Related to Land
 Displacement /acquisition due to Dams, Sanctuaries,
Mining, Industries and absence of compensation.
 Landlessness for agriculture and Alienation of tribal
land.
 Land grabbing by powerful people.
 Harassment by the govt. officials as well as other
powerful people.
 Poor Implementation or Unfavorable attitude of the
officials on land reforms.

11. Objectives
 Awareness creation
 Formation of Village Group
 Build village leadership
 Organize community based organizations
 Initiate people’s actions (Foot March, Public rally,
Sit-in, Public hearing)
 Advocacy, dialogue and Building linkages

12. Mobilization & Capacity Building

13.  Village level meetings to understand the issue
 Formation of Village Group
 Youth Camps for providing leadership
 Foot Marches for highlighting different issues
 Rallies in different levels(State, District)
 Consultation with like minded organizations
 Meeting and Dialogue with People Representatives
and govt. officials at different levels
Activities : Mobilization

14.  Trainings (Leadership, Paralegal, Public Speaking
Practices, Cultural Program or skill based)
 Providing space to raise their voice
 Highlighting the issues of the village through
different actions
Activities : Capacity Building

17. Preparation
Camp Leader 20
Group Leader 200
Section leader 2000
Village leader 10000
Total 12220
For - 100000
5000
500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500
50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50
10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10

19. The Padyatra Map (not accurate)

20. A Vision for Achieving Common Good

21. Three Component Parts:
* Harmonizing Development
* Expanding Ethics
* Deepening Justice

22. Harmonizing Justice

23. This includes:
 Openness to ethical discourse
 Responsive to the voices of the marginalized people.
Scrutinizing unethical behavior of:
 Financial institutions
 Valorizing overconsumption
 War Industry
 Unregulated extractive industries and destruction of
natural resources.
Expanding Ethics

24. Deepening Justice
Adopting values that are a result of social
redistribution
Representation of the marginalized and
implementation of their rights
Uniting actors and organizations that are struggling for
a just world.
Moving to genuine democracy as a way to achieve
more justice and to reduce conflicts.
Training of ‘rights- and peace-based’ ambassadors’

25.  Enlarge scale of mobilization in India and build
alliances
 Expand opportunities for dialogue with actors about
issues of development, ethics and justice
 Use learning from the past actions and adopt new
strategy for future actions
 highlight different socio-economic cases as a way to
advance new development models.
Objectives

26. Methods
 Communicate and network the Jai Jagat 2020
campaign with actors on different levels.
 Organize a series of nonviolent training and exposure
visits to different venues.
 Link advocacy and mobilization groups to act together.
 Identify different sustainable development models as
a way to press for positive (equitable and inclusive)
change.

27.  Connecting and working towards a global social
movement.
 Establish a new generation of youth with faith in
nonviolence and nonviolent action.
 Increase public discourse and practice on
Development, Ethics and Justice.
Expected Impact

28. 2014: International Youth Program
2014- 2015: Meetings for New Millennium Development Goals
2016: International Women’s Program
2017: Cadre Building for 2020 Program
2018: International Conference on Nonviolent Economy
2019: International March for Development, Justice and Ethics
2020: One Million Walk (Global)
Activities and Timeline

29. Organizational Partners
CEPES/IBC/CP/FUNDACARUP
CIPRES
Anti-Torture International
MEALS
Mahatama Gandhi Foundation (Edmonton, Ottawa)
Polaris
People’s Watch
Ekta Parishad
Bandua Mukti Marcha
Jal Biradiri
Asali Azadi Abhiyan
Sarvodaya Ashram Shramadhana Movement
Dalits Land Rights Network
Dalit Ashram Tumkur
Adi Tamil Liberation Front
Bodhi
International Initiative
ESCR-net
Our Land/Our Business
Bank on Human Rights
World Forum for Access to Land
Dignity International
CFS/FAO network
AWAZ
Ekta Europe
Gandhi International
Peuples Solidaires - France
ANGOC -
SAPA
CSRC
HRICON
Ashoka Dharm Path - Thailand
RADI
MOSOP
IMTD Georgia
Commission for Justice and Peace
Poverty Initiatives

30. JAI JAGAT-2020

31. www.ektaparishad.com
Ekta Website
www.ektaeurope.org

32. www.facebook.com/ektaparishad
Ekta Social Media - Facebook
www.facebook.com/pages/International-Initiatives/904597232901254

33. www.youtube.com/user/Ektaparishad
Ekta Social Media - Youtube

35. www.slideshare.net/ektaparishad
Ekta Powerpoint Slides

36. www.mediacenter.ektaparishad.com
Ekta Media Center