Summary: It’s been a week of debate over the Indian governments newly drawn poverty line, with activists calling it an attempt to cut costs and hide India’s poor. More of the world’s poor live in India than in sub-Saharan Africa. So it’s fitting that last Sunday 2 October, the anniversary of Gandhi’s birthday and the UN international day of non-violence, representatives of Christian Aid partner Ekta Parishad began a 13-month long journey across India to transform the lives of hundreds of millions of Indians living in poverty. Its climax will see 100,000 landless people, some barefoot, march for a month from Gwalior to Delhi in October and November 2012, in one of the biggest non-violent campaigns the world has ever witnessed. Returning from a weekend of lobbying the UK government in Manchester at Christian Aid’s Bearing Witness event, communications officer Sarah Filbey reflects on the synergy between the weekend’s events here in the UK and those taking place in India and elsewhere. Ekta Parishad’s director Rajaghopal is amongst the group undertaking the more than year-long journey across 25 Indian states to mobilize and prepare people in advance of next year’s pinnacle March for Justice. Earlier this year we met Rajagopal ahead of his epic journey and in this podcast he helps us understand the motivation behind this ambitious and potentially historic venture. Links: More on Ekta Parishad’s epic march for justice across India on our corporate website: http://www.christianaid.org.uk/whatwedo/in-focus/india-march-for-justice/index.aspx and check out the photo stream on Flickr here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/christianaidimages/sets/72157627759508299/
