THE MARCH OF THE DESPISED

The liberating force of non-violence

A film by Louis Campana and Francois Verlet

2^nd October 2007.
25,000 landless farmers come from all over India to gather at Gwalior for a march across the country. Their aim: the Parliament in New Delhi.

Their objective: to get government land to live with dignity.

This film relates their story.

Gandhi helped push India’s original colonisers out the door, but they’ve come back in through an open window… Globalisation has created a world in which Indian peasants are burdened by debt, land expropriations and the cruel logic of the market. Rural Indians are leaving their villages by the millions to seek work as street cleaners or to be exploited in factories in the slums of large, polluted cities.

But there is still hope for the poor of India. 25,000 of these downtrodden people have risen up and found a voice through the grassroots political movement Ekta Parishad. Men, women, children, indigenous peoples, untouchables, the poor and their international supporters have joined together in resistance to economic colonisation of rural areas.

Refusing to be bound by the strict laws of caste and karma, refusing to accept the proscribed roles for women, these people are all equal in their search for a new destiny. They will march down one of the main Indian highways, crossing five states to vindicate their right to land and their right to live in dignity.

We followed this march, the excitement and anticipation of the first days, the festivals, the music, the tragedies, the exhaustion and the final climactic confrontation with the Indian authorities. It was a deeply moving experience, which demonstrated to us the sheer force of people power and human agency.

There cannot be peace without justice.  In a country that is often the site of violent conflicts and terrorism, the marchers chose a path of non-violent struggle, walking in the footsteps of Gandhi. In this march we witnessed the awesome power of non-violent resistance, clear proof that non-violence can liberate our societies from injustice.

Duration : 52 mn
Language : English