India’s largest people’s movement, Ekta Parishad, endorses the World March

News has reached the World March of the endorsement by India's largest people's movement.  Ekta Parishad has been developing a nonviolent struggle for social change since 1991.

On October 2nd, 2007, twenty-five thousand people representing communities from all over India gathered in Gwalior to begin what proved to be the largest non-violent movement for land reform in the country's history.

The principles that guide Ekta Parishad's actions are;

• Working within the framework of truth and non-violence at all levels of action.
• Ensuring that women and traditional tribal and Dalit leaders head the campaign for land reform.
• Inspiring equitable social, economic and political changes for the benefit of the masses.
• Supporting and strengthening traditional and local leadership.
• Promoting peaceful mass mobilization at the grass roots level.
• Promoting community based governance, local self reliance and responsible governance at the local, state and central levels.
• Promoting the integration of land, water and forest rights and equitable natural resource management in the regional, national and international development agendas.

Their spokesperson said, "Ekta Parishad is convinced that only through nonviolent methods can world problems be solved.  Ekta Parishad is happy to endorse the March and will actively collaborate in making it a success."