FROM ANYAY TO NYAY: RAHUL GANDHI’S BHARAT JODO NYAY YATRA

FROM ANYAY TO NYAY: RAHUL GANDHI’S BHARAT JODO NYAY YATRA

Bharat Jodo Nyaya Yatra is the second edition of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's nationwide Bharat Jodo Yatra. The word Nyay (justice) has been added to Bharat Jodo Yatra which is based on 5 pillars – Justice for Youth, Justice for Farmers, Justice for Women, Justice for Workers, and Participatory Justice. Rahul Gandhi is traversing from east to west through this yatra, complementing his south-north yatra last year. This journey will cover a distance of more than 6700 kilometres passing through 15 states. This journey, which started from Manipur, will end in Mumbai.

Even though the official government handles claims of long-lasting peace in the Northeast, no BJP leader has visited Manipur to date. This is depictive of Rahul Gandhi’s resolve and commitment to nation-building. The main idea of the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra is to bring people’s attention to the pressing problems today. We have witnessed 10 years of Anyay Kaal (Injustice Era) where all sections of the society are distressed. 

The Modi government's tenure is marked by high rates of unemployment, and economic catastrophes, such as demonetization and flawed GST implementation, which have only made the divide between the rich & the poor more pronounced and devastated the lives of millions of farmers and daily wage workers. According to a report by Oxfam, the bottom 50% of people spend 6.7% of their income on taxes for select food and non-food items. Middle 40% spend half of that at 3.3% of their income on food and non-food items. However, the top 10% wealth group spends a mere 0.4% of their income on these items. In other words, the cost of essentials is disproportionately high for the poor because of the way GST is applied.

The Anyay Kaal has witnessed the highest unemployment rate in 45 years. Total unemployment rose from 1 crore in 2012 to 4 crore in just 10 years. 10 lakh central government jobs remained unfilled. The unemployment rate for graduates and postgraduates is about 33% - one in three are looking unsuccessfully for a job. Two unemployed persons die by suicide every hour. This serves the BJP’s agenda to create more violence and social disharmony. 

In Anyay Kaal, farmers were promised a doubling of their income. Instead, they received negligible MSP increases and the three farm laws were forced through the Parliament without careful consideration of their ramifications. The agenda has always been to benefit Modiji’s corporate friends.

India’s workers have experienced a lost decade with stagnant growth. Wage growth has been less than 1% per year for all rural workers. Workers have been pushed into contractualization or 'self-employment.' to avoid accountability. There have been negligible increments in the benefits of MGNREGA schemes in the last 10 years. Economic blunders were the highlight of this Anyay Kaal even before COVID-19, but a nationwide lockdown with 4 hours’ notice triggered a humanitarian crisis and disrupted the livelihood of 4 crore migrant workers who have had to return to their respective states with no support from the government. 

Impact of Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra -

The Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra has successfully raised relevant important issues like the Caste Census. Adivasis are being uprooted from their lands to make room for Modi’s corporate friends. The Forest Rights Act which came into force in 2006 under the Congress government has seen misimplementation and wrongful implementation under the recent government. The Forest Conservation Amendment Act 2023 tabled by Bhupender Yadav received widespread criticism from citizens, scientists, non-profits, and even legislators. The FCAA weakens protections for natural forests by potentially facilitating commercial exploitation through exemptions for infrastructure projects under the prerogative of ease of doing business and relaxed environmental scrutiny. For the ruling party, the power of forest-dwelling communities is in direct conflict with the agenda of making room for corporate friends. 

The Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra has been able to gain traction bringing light to key regional issues. They have been able to bring out the increased discrimination against Adivasis and BJP’s crony capitalism in Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh.

Rahul Gandhi in his yatra has promised to give farmers the redemption that the ruling party has been unable to provide on account of either ill will or incompetence. Gandhi has promised a legal guarantee on MSP that will bring 3 big changes in the lives of farmers. By getting the right price for the crop, the farmer will get rid of the debt problem. No farmer will be forced to commit suicide. Farming will be a profitable business and farmers will become prosperous. And a prosperous farmer will change the destiny of the country. 

The yatra is scheduled to pass through Uttar Pradesh from 16 February onwards. As more and more people become a part of the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, our confidence in citizen participation and Congress’ attainment of social and economic goals of inclusivity and equity seeks fruition. The BJNY anthem says “Ham pahunchenge har ghar tak, Nyay ka haque milne tak (we will reach every house, till the right to justice is achieved)”. Achieving this needs fundamental transformations in politics towards true people-based swaraj, economics that centre life in all its forms, and a society where everyone can flourish without discrimination.

Mohammad Ahwar