Rajagopal P. V.

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Rajagopal P. V.
Rajagopal in Delhi Oct 2007.jpg
Rajagopal October 2007
Born
Rajagopalan Puthan Veetil

1948 (age 76–77)
Thillenkery, Madras Province, Dominion of India
(present-day Kerala, India)
NationalityIndian
EducationDiploma in Engineering
Occupation(s)Activist, president of Ekta Parishad
PartnerJill Carr-Harris

Rajagopal P. V. (born 1948) is an Indian Gandhian activist, former Vice Chairman of the Gandhi Peace Foundation in New Delhi, and the president and founding member of Ekta Parishad, a movement advocating for land and resource rights for landless communities. [1] [2]

Contents

In 1972, Rajagopal joined an initiative alongside J.P. Narayan and Subba Rao to facilitate the surrender and rehabilitation of around 500 dacoits in the Chambal region of central India. [3]

In 2012, he led a march of approximately 100,000 supporters to New Delhi, demanding land and resource rights for the landless. The movement ended with the signing of an agreement with the Government of India. [3]

In recognition of his work, Rajagopal was awarded the Niwano Peace Prize in 2023. [4]

Biography

Rajagopal was born in 1948 in Thillenkery, Kerala, as the fourth of five children. His full name is Rajagopal Puthan Veetil. He attended Seva Mandir school and completed his education in agricultural engineering at Sevagram, Gandhi's Ashram in Maharashtra, where he also learned English. [5]

In the early 1970s, he worked in the Chambal region of Madhya Pradesh to work in the rehabilitation of individuals involved in dacoits (banditry). [6]

Since 2001, Rajagopal has been married to Canadian social activist Jill Carr-Harris. [7]

Activism

Rajagopal speaking to the crowd in Janadesh 2007 Rajagopal speaking to 25,000 people, Janadesh 2007, India.jpg
Rajagopal speaking to the crowd in Janadesh 2007

Janadesh 2007

Ekta Parishad, led by Rajagopal, organized a membership of 200,000 people, primarily women, across six states. Employing Gandhian methods such as foot-marches (padayatra), he led a 340-kilometer march from Gwalior to Delhi to pressure the government to address land reforms and forest rights. [8]

Jan Satyagraha 2012

The Jan Satyagraha 2012 march (Yatra) began in Gwalior on 2 October, with the aim of reaching Delhi by 28 October if no agreement was reached with the government. The march was joined by approximately 35,000 participants. [9]

Rajgopal addressing in Jan Satyagraha 2012 Rajagopal, Gwalior, Jan Satyagraha.jpg
Rajgopal addressing in Jan Satyagraha 2012

Jan Andolan 2018

In October 2018, Rajagopal led a march from Gwalior to Morena with around 25,000 people demanding land rights and tribal rights. The march was initially planned from Haryana to New Delhi. [10] The march occurred in the context of the 2018 Madhya Pradesh Legislative election and some months ahead of the 2019 national elections. Political leaders such as Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan addressed the marchers in Gwalior before their departure, promising to create a committee to address land rights issues. [11] According to Ekta Parishad, the marchers were not satisfied with the proposals and decided to proceed with the march. [12] In Morena, leaders from the Indian National Congress, the main opposition party, addressed the marchers and promised to satisfy their demands if elected. [13] [14] Ekta Parishad indicated that they were satisfied with these commitments and decided to halt the march rather than continue to New Delhi as initially planned. [12]

Jai Jagat 2020

In 2015, Rajagopal and Ekta Parishad launched the Jai Jagat 2020 campaign as an international movement for justice and peace, aiming to involve civil society organizations and grassroots communities beyond India and Europe.

The 2019-2020 Global Peace March (Delhi-Geneva) connected with individuals and organizations beyond Ekta Parishad's usual networks and generated activity in several countries.

The March was suspended halfway in Armenia in March 2020 due to COVID-19. A few marches to Geneva at the end of September 2020 marked the last significant mobilization under the umbrella of Jai Jagat, outside India. Since then, local and regional groups have undertaken initiatives such as organizing marches or cartoon exhibitions.

Advocacy

Rajagopal's leadership of Ekta Parishad, including the mobilization of tribal peoples, women, and youth, and its advocacy for land reform, has been described as a peaceful alternative to violent movements like Naxalism in central rural India.

New land reforms, 2014 and conflicts

The Modi government has proposed two major changes to the Land Acquisition Act:

  1. It seeks to dilute provisions such as the mandatory consent of 70 percent of those affected in the case of public-private partnership (PPP) projects.
  2. It removes the provision requiring a time-bound Social Impact Assessment for land acquisitions.

Rajagopal has stated that Modi is pro-corporate and that these changes will further aggravate the difference between the rich and the poor in the country. [15]

Selected works

Articles

Audio-Visual

Awards

In 2014, he received the Indira Gandhi Award for National Integration, an award granted annually by the Indian National Congress party. [16] [17] [18]

YearAwardPresenter
2008Friend of the Poor awardOrissa Culture & Youth organization
K. Janardhanan Pillai Endowment awardGandhi Bhawan, Trivadrum, Kerala
2010Swaraj Millenium AwardSwadeshi, Kerala
2011Shri. Kumarapilla Velayudhan Master Award for achievements in the social fieldPurnodaya Trust in Trissur, Kerala
2012Krishi Gaurav AwardPatanjali Pratishthan, Uttarakhand
Gareeb Bandhu AwardOrissa Culture & Youth organization
Human Rights AwardHuman Rights Chapter of Geneva, Switzerland
2013Professor N.A. Karim Award for outstanding Public Service – 2012Vakkom Moulavi Foundation Trust, Trivandrum, Kerala
2014Anuvrat Ahimsa Award for International Peace for the year 2013Anuvrat Global (ANUVIBHA), New Delhi
2015Spirit of Assisi National AwardAssisi Shanti Kendra, Angamally, Kerala
Indira Gandhi Award for National Integration Indian National Congress
2016Honored Jeewan Rakshak Award for his life in service of humanityJeewan Rakshak Trust, Rajasthan
2017Krishi Yoddha AwardIndian Students Parliament
2023 Niwano Peace Prize Niwano Peace Foundation

References

  1. ↑ Bablu, J. S. (20 November 2007). "Waging a battle for the landless". The Hindu . Archived from the original on 1 December 2007. Retrieved 18 January 2008.
  2. ↑ "Ekta Parishad: Discourse on Land and the Landless". ARCADE. Retrieved 2 December 2018.
  3. 1 2 Jagat, Jai. "Rajagopal PV, India – Jai Jagat International" . Retrieved 29 October 2023.
  4. ↑ "2023 Niwano Peace Prize awarded to Indian activist Rajagopal P.V. - Vatican News". Vatican News. 16 February 2023. Retrieved 1 July 2025.
  5. ↑ "BACHELOR IN AGRICULTURAL ENGINEERING (BSC) - Szechenyi Istvan University". Study in Hungary. 22 May 2024. Retrieved 7 April 2025.
  6. ↑ Subramaniam Vincent (December 2001). "Interview". India Together. Civil Society Information Exchange Pvt. Ltd. Retrieved 18 January 2008.
  7. ↑ "Rose | Le webzine du Féminin Sacré". rosewebzine.com (in French). Retrieved 10 November 2018.
  8. ↑ Bouver, Emeline (2013). Ekta Parishad, the landless people's movement in India, In A Planet for Life 2013. New Delhi : Teri Press. pp. 250–254.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link)
  9. ↑ Awais, Muhammad (3 January 2023). "Rajagopal P V – Walk of Hope 2015-16 Flag off and Jan satyagraha 2012". Ghazi Empire. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
  10. ↑ "Ahead of Jana Andolan movement, a documentary on padayatra for land reforms - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 10 November 2018.
  11. ↑ Dutta, Anup (5 October 2018). "27,000-strong march heads for Delhi from Gwalior". The Hindu. ISSN   0971-751X . Retrieved 10 November 2018.
  12. 1 2 "CPR Land Rights on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 10 November 2018.
  13. ↑ "BJP disempowering the tribals & farmers, says Rahul Gandhi at Morena rally" . Retrieved 10 November 2018.
  14. ↑ "BJP works for the interest of a few rich people, alleges Rahul Gandhi". The Hindu. PTI. 6 October 2018. ISSN   0971-751X . Retrieved 10 November 2018.
  15. ↑ "Land Acquisition Act: Activists say Modi govt's proposals are pro-corporate". Firstpost. 16 July 2014. Retrieved 18 September 2016.
  16. ↑ Vinod Kumar (15 October 2015). ""Indira Gandhi Award for National Integration" to Shri. Rajagopal P.V. "Founder of Ekta Parishad"". Ektaparishad.com. Archived from the original on 19 October 2017. Retrieved 18 September 2016.
  17. ↑ "Indira Gandhi Award for National Integration for p v rajagopal പി.വി. രാജഗോപാലിന് ഇന്ദിരാഗാന്ധി ദേശീയോദ്ഗ്രഥന പുരസ്‌കാരം". Mathrubhumi.com. Archived from the original on 7 August 2016. Retrieved 18 September 2016.
  18. ↑ "padayathra gandhi, p.v rajagopal പദയാത്രാഗാന്ധി". Mathrubhumi.com. Archived from the original on 7 August 2016. Retrieved 18 September 2016.
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