*AA.* Bharat Jodo! A few snippets of/from the Yatra A (real) foot march--following in the footsteps of Gandhi--covering a distance of over 3,500 kms., meandering through 12 states and two union territories, in about five months braving both still-lingering monsoon and possible political hostilities from at least some of the state governments and sections of local public is, by any standard, a hugely audacious move.
The Yatra is, apart from raising mass awareness as regards the terrible threat we are faced with, also very much an opportunity to radically remould the Congress from a "natural party of governance" to a fighting machine to effectively confront the profoundly evil force out to devour "India" and wipe out its foundational values brewed in the cauldron of our epic freedom struggle--admittedly rather patchily honoured under the previous Congress regimes. It's potentially--only potentially--a turning point for "India"--from near-death towards a life rejuvenated--and a transformative moment for the Congress. While the odds are, no doubt, too high, the cost of failure would be utterly horrifying. For one and all, almost. I/V. <<...Mr. Gandhi said the march was an effort to unite all Indians behind the values of the national flag, the core of which is diversity. The Congress leader said those values were now under threat from Hindutva, the ideology of the current regime. Mr. Gandhi, a strident and consistent critic of Hindutva, and a votary of diversity, federalism and liberalism, has not been able to mobilise sufficient public support behind his thinking so far to revive the Congress. Meanwhile, Hindutva remains popular enough to win power in Delhi, though its geographical spread is still patchy. Mr. Gandhi has faced criticism of being a sporadic political actor with limited capacity for sustained action. By venturing into such a long and challenging enterprise, he is possibly testing his own endurance. Such political journeys have historically and in the recent past rewritten the fortunes of leaders and ideas — from M.K. Gandhi to L.K. Advani. Mr. Gandhi will therefore be closely followed every step of the way by his admirers, critics and, more importantly, open-minded sceptics.>> (Excerpted from: < https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/discovery-of-congress-the-hindu-editorial-on-bharat-jodo-yatra/article65866600.ece >.) II/V. <<The more the BJP talks about it, the more evident it is that the party is rattled, Ramesh told PTI after the morning session of the yatra. ”I am 100 per cent sure this Bharat Jodo Yatra is the ‘sanjivani’ for the Congress, it is a life saver, it is going to revive the Congress, it is going to refresh the Congress, it will renew the Congress, it will be a Congress in a new avatar,” Ramesh said. ... "It will be a more aggressive Congress, it will be a more active Congress, it will be an ‘on-the-street’ Congress and… a Congress that cannot be taken for granted anymore, either by friends or by its political adversaries.” ”We have been taken for granted even by our friends and allies, not just by our political opponents and adversaries,” Ramesh added.>> (Excerpted from: < https://newsd.in/congress-will-emerge-in-aggressive-avatar-with-bharat-jodo-yatra-will-not-be-taken-for-granted-jairam-ramesh/ >.) III/V. <<Farmers walked barefoot on concrete roads, women waited with garlands, bystanders offered water and hundreds joined the designated padayatris as the Bharat Jodo Yatra got off the ground and headed towards Kerala at 7am. The Yatra attracted spirited response from the people on the first day, encouraging Congress strategists who had faced criticism for relying on what was belittled as a primitive method of political mobilisation. Congress veterans, party functionaries, MPs and local workers accompanied Rahul Gandhi in the walk, which looked more like a moving carnival than an arduous struggle. ... After the completion of the second leg, the Yatra halted for the night at Nagercoil where around 60 containers mounted on trucks were parked. While Rahul and some senior leaders like Digvijaya Singh and Jairam Ramesh stayed in the containers on Wednesday night too, the Yatris will sleep in these cramped spaces from Thursday night. While some containers have two beds, others have four. The containers have been supplied by a company from Mumbai. For night halt and arranging food for over 200 people, the party had to scout for a two-acre space at 150 places on the way, which was the most difficult aspect of planning the tour. Campuses of schools and colleges came to their rescue as finding such a big open space for the night halt was difficult. The state units of the Congress have been tasked with providing food to the participants. Life is going to be tough as the day starts quite early with breakfast being served at 5.30am sharp.>> (Excerpted from: < https://www.telegraphindia.com/india/bharat-jodo-yatra-attracts-spirited-response-from-people-on-first-day/cid/1885491 >.) IV/V. 'Rahul priority should be Congress jodo, not Bharat todo' at < https://m.timesofindia.com/india/what-about-congress-jodo/amp_articleshow/94079948.cms >. Just mark the caption. Don't think that the author provided it. VI. Finally, a visual glimpse < https://twitter.com/i/broadcasts/1ypKddRWpaoKW?t=Gorgc1fBBgS5Vxjius79pg&s=09 >. [10 09 2022] *BB.* Bharat Jodo Yatra: A Report from the Ground Zero on Day 1 For the report: < https://indianexpress.com/article/political-pulse/rahul-begins-the-yatra-rich-in-symbolism-and-high-in-energy/ >. *Bharat Jodo!* Tamil Nadu is a friendly territory; the Congress is still very much a force and is the second largest constituent in the state government. The BJP still is not a very major presence. It's only inevitable that in a Kanyakumari to Kashmir Yatra the very starting segment will pass through this state. But, it has definitely helped. Given the obtaining atmosphere and the nature of the beast one is grappling with, "security" is a big issue. The state government concerned has a big role to play and, of course, the local people. Any untoward incident--even of a less serious nature--would have an impact on the mood. A hostile state government can create problems even by denying, or withholding, various necessary permissions. While Kerala may not pose any major problem, it'd probably be too naive not to expect any nasty trick played by the state governments ruled by the BJP--apart from the various outfits affiliated with the ruling party. And, then, the rains. Good that the spirit is high among the Yatris. But it has got to be radiated far and wide. A tall order--given the unfriendliness of the mainstream media--the electronic in particular. The social media, apart from actual physical mobilisation on the ground, will have to play a big role. The project--a foot march, emulating Gandhi, covering 3572 kms. and meandering through 12 states--by any standard is, undoubtedly, a huge and extremely audacious one. Most likely, quite unprecedented--anywhere, ever. The message is, no doubt, uplifting. A job well begun is half done. Let's see and do our bits. Also look up: < https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/bharat-jodo-yatris-to-sleep-eat-on-the-road-for-5-months/article65853997.ece >. [09 09 2022] *CC.* Bharat Jodo Yatra Launched Yesterday Bharat Jodo! Todo Nahin, Jodo! Let's make it! No time to be squeamish. < https://twitter.com/bharatjodo/status/1567796327245037570?t=ea-9U0snbDRP3IX3ZnJYyA&s=19 > Also look up: <https://twitter.com/INC_Television/status/1567722411843325955 >. Also relevant: <<Congress leader Jairam Ramesh had said the march is a “transformational moment” for Indian politics and a “decisive moment” for the Congress’ rejuvenation. “The first reason for the division is economic disparity, the second is social polarisation and the third is political centralisation as states’ rights are being snatched away,” he added. “So, it is important to unite the country. If not now, then when?”>> (Excerpted from a neat writeup at < https://scroll.in/latest/1032298/bharat-jodo-yatra-rahul-gandhi-launches-congress-march-from-kanyakumari >.) [08 09 2022] *DD.* *[25 08 2022]* *Just to refresh our memory, this is what Yadav had pronounced in a messianic tone just over three years back: * *<<The Congress must die.* *If it could not stop the BJP in this election to save the idea of India, this party has no positive role in Indian history. Today it represents the single biggest obstacle to creation of an alternative.>>* *(Ref.: <https://mobile.twitter.com/_YogendraYadav/status/1130159481084506112 <https://mobile.twitter.com/_YogendraYadav/status/1130159481084506112>>.)* *Over the last three years, he has walked quite a distance, as it looks.* *Better late than never.* *Indian democracy and "India" itself is today faced with a grave and fast deepening existential threat.* *All those keenly wanting to avert that looming disaster must, first of all, clearly acknowledge the magnitude of that threat and, at the very minimum, try to coordinate and mutually reinforce their resistances on diverse planes and in spaces.* *We had a sort of (successful) pilot run in case of the recent farmers' protests.* *<<Recently, some of the leading grassroots movement groups, which have had a history of keeping away from political parties, decided to engage with one major political campaign – the Bharat Jodo Yatra initiated by the Congress party. The challenge to the very existence of our country has forced these groups to connect with mainstream opposition parties and make a political intervention. At the same time, this intervention is non-partisan in that it is not tied to promoting any one political party and refuses to participate in the competition amongst and within opposition parties. We could call it non-partisan politics of resistance.* *Unsurprisingly, the novelty of the form did not grab headlines. Media reports were all about Rahul Gandhi interacting with ‘civil society’. Fake news about him having conceded defeat in the 2024 elections made some rounds, till the TV channel withdrew this baseless insinuation. There were some speculations about some “andolanjivis” joining the Congress. No one had the patience to find out who these organisations were and the nature of support they had offered to this yatra.* *...* *The interaction between people’s movements and Congress leadership held at Delhi’s Constitution Club on 22 August must be seen in this context. About 150 well-known representatives of people’s movements (from 20 states, cutting across ideological and sectoral divide) gathered in a conclave on invitation by a group comprising Aruna Roy, Bezwada Wilson, Devanoora Mahadeva, Ganesh Devy, P.V. Rajgopal, Sharad Behar and myself. The main agenda was whether and how peoples’ movements could associate with the Bharat Jodo Yatra. After extended discussion, a presentation by Digvijaya Singh and frank interaction with Rahul Gandhi, the group unanimously decided to welcome and “expressed their willingness to engage” with this yatra.* *This represents a significant moment in the history of party-movement relationships in India. To be sure, all the participants have not signed on to joining the yatra; each movement and group will explore its own ways of engaging with this initiative. The participants freely aired their apprehensions and reservations about the readiness of political parties to take up principled resistance to the politics of hate. And these grassroots movements have by no means tied themselves to the Congress party. They might be open to extending support to similar initiatives by any other opposition party, provided it promises an effective democratic resistance to the assault on democratic institutions and constitutional values.* *...* *That is why we need a special purpose vehicle that is neither a political party nor a movement organisation. It must involve shaping policies and perspectives, but not as a think tank. It must launch campaigns, but must not remain merely a campaign organisation. It must intervene in politics, including the big Lok Sabha election of 2024, but not become a political party. An extraordinary challenge that we face today requires an extraordinary instrument. We need not just a new vehicle, but a new kind of vehicle, a special purpose vehicle as it were, curated for public action at a very special moment in history. Such a bridge could shape our future.>>* *(Excerpted from: <https://theprint.in/opinion/sansad-to-sadak-why-grassroots-movements-are-joining-congress-bharat-jodo-yatra/1097427/ <https://theprint.in/opinion/sansad-to-sadak-why-grassroots-movements-are-joining-congress-bharat-jodo-yatra/1097427/>>.)* *Also:* *<<Last week, [Jairam] Ramesh told reporters the "padayatra" (foot march) will cover 12 states and two Union territories. It will be about 3,500-km long and will be completed in about 150 days.* *Later [Yogendra] Yadav said there's a consensus on welcoming this ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’. "This is the need of the hour that we've agreed to engage with. Engagement can take many forms... Forms will vary but we've agreed to engage with this yatra..," Yadav was quoted as sayin[g] by news agency ANI.>>* *(Excerpted from: <https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/congress-invites-civil-society-members-join-bharat-jodo-yatra-rahul-holds-talks-101661161149917.html <https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/congress-invites-civil-society-members-join-bharat-jodo-yatra-rahul-holds-talks-101661161149917.html>>.)* *Also look up:* *I. <https://twitter.com/RahulGandhi/status/1561967014473650176 <https://twitter.com/RahulGandhi/status/1561967014473650176>>.* *II. <https://twitter.com/Quality_Polity/status/1561980721623093250 <https://twitter.com/Quality_Polity/status/1561980721623093250>>.* -- Peace Is Doable -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. 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