New Delhi/Ahmedabad: Oct 2nd, 2010: On a day when India and the world marked the 141st birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, hundreds of citizens came together in Ahmedabad to flag off a nation-wide Kisan Swaraj Yatra, for a 71-day trip across 20 states of India, to provide a message of hope to Indian farmers and to promote self-reliant ecological farming. The Yatra, organized by scores of organizations and individuals across the country under the auspices of “Alliance for Sustainable and Holistic Agriculture”, was flagged off by veteran renowned natural farmer Shri Bhaskar bhai Save, acclaimed as the “Living Gandhi of Natural Farming”. The “Kisan Swaraj Yatra” seeks to remind all Indians of our hard-won independence and the insidious ways in which agri-business corporations and others are taking this independence and sovereignty away, especially with regard to our food and farming. This Yatra is a call for joining forces to save Indian farming and farmers mired in deep distress and to forge a sustainable path forward for Indian farming. More...

The Swaraj Yatra bus reached Ahmedabad from Delhi on Sept.30th. On board were farmers and activists from Bihar, Delhi and Bangalore. Appropriately, our first stay together as Yatris is at the venerable Gujarat Vidyapeeth founded by Mahatma Gandhi. On Oct 1st, the Vidyapeeth was teeming with Yatris reaching from various parts of the country. Farmers from Punjab, Bihar, M.P., Maharashtra, Orissa, Chattisgarh, A.P. and Karnataka are around, along with activists from around India. Even as we walked by the Nayi Taleem school, we found ourselves discussing in various languages about how to take the message of ecologically sustainable agriculture across the country.