By IANS
New Delhi : On World Indigenous People’s Day Thursday, leaders of various civil society groups announced here that a march will be undertaken by 25,000 ‘adivasis’ or indigenous people from Gwalior to Delhi this October to press their demands upon the government.
Ashok Chowdhary of the National Forum for Forest People and Forest Workers said that adivasis and their leaders along with scores of other civil society group members and international activists will start this march on Mahatma Gandhi’s birth anniversary.
“25,000 people from more than 200 groups and across 17 states will take part in this ‘Pad Yatra’ (march on foot). We have especially chosen Oct 2 as the day when the march begins because it is also the international day of non-violence.
“We will reach Delhi Oct 28 and will remain on the roads of Delhi until our demands are heard,” Amitabh Behar of the National Centre for Advocacy Studies said.
Among the demands is full implementation of The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006.
This will ensure them a life free of the threats of evictions and displacement and the release of human rights defenders, the march organisers said.
They will also demand a national land authority which will ensure that all the injustice related to land meted out to them will be corrected.
“Besides these, we will also demand that land disputes be sorted out immediately,” Behar said.
After struggling for 25 years for their voices to be heard, the people from places like Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Bihar and Tamil Nadu are adamant that they will not go back empty handed this time.
“The people have decided that they would rather die on the roads here than go back home empty handed. We need a dialogue with the government,” said Chowdhary.
“We have also submitted a memorandum to the President regarding our demands where we have also said that all evictions should be stopped and false charges against human rights defenders be withdrawn,” he added.
Members of other organisations such as Judav, Amnesty International India, Ekta Parishad, Lok Shakti Abhiyan and Indian Social Institute were also present at the gathering.