Bharat Jodo Yatra (
lit.'Unite India March') was a mass movement[1][2] which was held by the
Indian National Congress ("the Congress" or INC as short form).[3] Senior Congress leader
Rahul Gandhi orchestrated the movement by encouraging the
party cadre and the public to
walk from
Kanyakumari at the southern tip of India to the union territory of
Jammu and Kashmir, a journey of 4,080 kilometres (2,540 miles) over almost 150 days.[4][5]
The
Indian National Congress launched the logo, tagline, and website for Bharat Jodo Yatra at
AICC headquarters on 23 August 2022. The march started from
Kanyakumari on 7 September.[9] It was planned as a 3,570-kilometre (2,220-mile)-long, 150-day "non-stop" march that would pass through 12 states and two Union Territories. During the march, Congress Member of Parliament (MP)
Rahul Gandhi would meet people during the day and would sleep in makeshift accommodation at night.[10] These makeshift accommodations were mobile containers specially built by
Tata Corporation.[11] The march started from
Kanyakumari and was to end in
Srinagar, and would be accomplished entirely on foot.[3][12] Marchers were scheduled to cover approximately 23 km (14 mi) each day in two shifts.[13]
By December 2022[update], the march had covered more than 3,000 km (1,900 mi).[14] The Bharat Jodo Yatra has similarities to ex-prime minister of India
Chandra Shekhar's nearly 4,260-kilometre (2,650 mi)-long
Bharat Yatra march of 1983.[15][16][17]
The Bharat Jodo Yatra used a variety of slogans, poetry, and songs, such as Mile Kadam, Jude Vatan (walk together, unite the country), Mehengai Se Nata Todo, Mil Kar Bharat Jodo (break ties with inflation, unite India), Berozagari Ka Jaal Todo, Bharat Jodo (break the web of unemployment, unite India), Nafrat Chhodo, Bharat Jodo (quit hate, unite the country) and Samvidhan Bachao (save the constitution) among others.[18][19] Marchers, who were termed padayatris, would speak with members of civil society every day during the break.[20][21] Public rallies were also held during the march. On October 15, Rahul Gandhi's public gathering in
Ballari amid heavy rainfall got widespread media coverage.[22][23][24]
Participants
Throughout the five-month long yatra, there were three types of Padyatris. Bharat Yatris, who will walk the yatra throughout its whole journey.[25] Atithi Yatris, guest marchers from states through which Bharat Jodo Yatra is not travelling, will be the second group. The third group to finish the march will be the Pradesh Yatris, a group of 100 yatris from states the march is travelling through and they will be a part of the yatra in that state. Three hundred padyatris will be marching at any moment. Few prominent people joining the yatra are
Many grassroots movements have been joining or endorsing the Bharat Jodo Yatra. The INC appealed to individuals, organizations, and movements to join the yatra.[32] More than 200 civil society members have appealed people to support Congress' Bharat Jodo Yatra.[33] The Congress invited Bihar chief minister
Nitish Kumar and deputy chief minister
Tejashwi Yadav to join the yatra respectively. Nitish Kumar declined to join the Bharat Jodo Yatra[34][35]
In late September, as the march was set to enter Karnataka, at least 89 organizations based in the state announced their support for and participation in the protest march. Prominent participants in the Karnataka phase of the march include author
Devanur Mahadeva and literary critic
G. N. Devy.[36]
Rahul Gandhi launched the yatra on 7 September 2022 at
Kanyakumari after paying tributes to his late father
Rajiv Gandhi,
Swami Vivekananda, and the Tamil poet
Thiruvalluvar. The Congress said the yatra was "India's biggest mass contact program", during which the concerns of the people will reach Delhi.[40]
Week 2 (14-20 September)
The yatra reached
Kollam on 14 September, as Rahul Gandhi paid his respects to Sri
Narayana Guru.[41] He met local cashew workers and promised to bring up their grievances in the upcoming parliamentary session.[42] The yatra entered cities such as
Kollam,
Alappuzha, and
Kochi during this week.[43][44][45]
The last day of the yatra in Kerala was 28 September before it moved into Tamil Nadu and then
Karnataka.[50] It reached
Nilgiris in Tamil Nadu the day after. On 30 September, it entered Karnataka, attracting huge crowds.[51] Police started cracking down on the
PayCM campaign.[52] Rahul Gandhi paid floral tributes to Mahatma Gandhi on the occasion of
Gandhi Jayanthi.[53] He also targeted the BJP on its handling of the
COVID-19 pandemic in Karnataka.[54] Yatra took a break at
Mandya on 4 October.[55]
Week 5 (5-11 October)
Sonia Gandhi joined the yatra on 6 October, despite being unwell.[56] Late journalist
Gauri Lankesh's family joined Bharat Jodo Yatra as it completed 30 days on the road.[57] The yatra received an impressive response from the local public in
Tumakuru district.[58] It reached
Chitradurga district on 11 October.[59]
The yatra re-entered Andhra Pradesh via
Kurnool district on October 18, before returning to Karnataka on 21 October.[64] The yatra entered
Telangana on 23 October, followed by a three-day
Diwali break.
On 1 November 2022, Late Dalit scholar
Rohith Vemula's mother joined the Bharat Jodo Yatra to walk alongside Rahul Gandhi, en route to
Hyderabad.[72] Rahul Gandhi unfurled the
national flag in front of the
Charminar, over 32 years after his father, then-party-chief
Rajiv Gandhi had started the
Sadbhavna Yatra from the same spot on 19 October 1990.[73][74][75]
On 2 November 2022, actor and filmmaker
Pooja Bhatt joined Bharat Jodo Yatra in Hyderabad on the 56th day of the protest march.[76][77] On the evening of 7 November 2022, the 61st day of the march, Bharat Jodo Yatra entered
Maharashtra.[78] The yatra crossed from Menuru village in
Madnoor Mandal district of Telangana to
Nanded district in Maharashtra.[79]
On 11 November 2022,
Shiv Sena, leader and former Maharashtra Minister
Aaditya Thackeray joined the Bharat Jodo Yatra in
Hingoli district. The march entered its 65th day, and its fifth day in Maharashtra.[83]
On 24 November 2022,
Priyanka Gandhi and her husband
Robert Vadra joined Bharat Jodo Yatra in Madhya Pradesh.[92][93] In
Burhanpur, Rahul Gandhi said the yatra was a march against the hatred, violence, and fear that is being spread in India. During a meeting with banana-plantation and powerloom workers from Burhanpur region, Gandhi talked about unemployment and farm issues. Former CM of Madhya Pradesh
Digvijaya Singh underplayed the electoral impact of the yatra.[94]
Congress communication chief
Jairam Ramesh stated Bharat Jodo yatra is a way for the party to connect with the people. The response to the protest march has given Congress confidence to undertake similar marches from west to east in 2023.[95] Rahul Gandhi described both
Ashok Gehlot and
Sachin Pilot as assets to the party.[96] Bharat Jodo Yatra was now in the seventh state. Rahul Gandhi stated the yatra had moved beyond Congress and had started "echoing the voice of India".[96]
Week 13 (29 November-5 December)
Bharat Jodo Yatra entered
Rajasthan on 4 December 2022, a Congress-ruled state for the first time.[97] Rahul Gandhi said Bharat Jodo Yatra had taught him things that cannot be learnt while travelling in any other mode of transport. Gandhi and his fellow travellers were given a warm welcome at Chanwli Chauraha, about 40 km (25 mi) from
Jhalawar city; he and Madhya Pradesh Congress president
Kamal Nath danced with tribal dancers.[98]
Week 14 (6-12 December)
On 9 December 2022, Congress General Secretary (Communications)
Jairam Ramesh said Bharat Jodo Yatra would take a nine-day break on December 25 and resume on January 3, 2023.[99][100] The yatra was expected to reach Delhi by December 24 and maintenance work on the 60 containers would be done in Noida. On 11 December 2022, actor
Digangana Suryavanshi joined Bharat Jodo Yatra in
Bundi district.[101]
Bharat Jodo Yatra completed 100 days on 16 December 2022.
Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister
Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu,
Mukesh Agnihotri deputy CM, and the state's Congress chief
Pratibha Singh walked alongside Rahul Gandhi.[103] Singer
Sunidhi Chauhan performed at a concert marking the completion of 100 days of the protest at
Albert Hall Museum in Jaipur on 16 December.[104] On 19 December, while addressing a rally in
Alwar, Rajasthan, Rahul Gandhi highlighted the importance of English and said around 1,700 English-medium schools had been opened in Rajasthan.[105] He said BJP leaders do not want English to be taught in schools but children of BJP leaders go to English-medium schools.
On 16 December 2022, Yatra was passing through
Jaipur when some supporters of
BJP raised some slogans from the roof of some nearby buildings.
Rahul Gandhi responded them with "Jai Siya Ram" (Victory to Lord Rama and Goddess Sita). He also invited them to join the Yatra.
On 24 December, Bharat Jodo Yatra entered Delhi at Badarpur after resuming from
NHPC Chowk metro station.[110][111]Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) president
Kamal Haasan, who is an actor-turned politician, joined the march in
New Delhi. During his speech at
Red Fort, Hassan stated he joined the foot march as an Indian and when it comes to country, all party lines have to blur.[112] Rahul Gandhi said he had not seen any hatred or violence among people while walking 2,800 km (1,700 mi).[113][114] At that point, the protest march had covered 3,122 km (1,940 mi) from Gandhi Mandapam in Kanyakumari.[115][116][117]
Week 17 (3-9 January 2023)
After a nine-day year-end break, Bharat Jodo Yatra resumed its second leg from Hanuman Mandir at
Kashmir gate on January 3, 2023. According to The Hindu, senior Congress leader Jaiprakash Agarwal said the protest was "echoing the voice of the citizens".[118] Bharat Jodo Yatra entered
Uttar Pradesh from Loni in
Ghaziabad district.[119] Former
Research and Analysis Wing chief
A. S. Dulat, and former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister
Farooq Abdullah joined Bharat Jodo Yatra.[120] On 5 January 2023, Bollywood actor
Ritu Shivpuri joined the march in
Shamli, Uttar Pradesh.[121][122] On 7 January in Karnal, Haryana,
Lenin Raghuvanshi, an eminent Dalits Rights activist; and Dr. V. Ponraj, advisor to former President Dr. Kalam joined for a better world.[123]
On 18 January 2023, Bharat Jodo Yatra entered
Himachal Pradesh and travelled 24 km (15 mi) in the state.[130][131] The following evening, the protest march entered
Jammu and Kashmir at
Pathankot with a flag-handover ceremony at
Lakhanpur in Kathua district.[132][133] National Conference President and MP
Farooq Abdullah stated he joined the yatra to highlight the need to strengthen the idea of unity in diversity, and said Rahul Gandhi was "doing the job of joining the hearts of people".[134]Farooq Abdullah also compared Rahul Gandhi To
Adi Shankaracharya and stated that Shankaracharya was the first person who conducted a digvijaya yatra from Kanyakumari to Kashmir and similarly, Rahul Gandhi is doing that yet again.[135][136] On 20 January 2023, Param Vir Chakra recipient Captain
Bana Singh joined Bharat Jodo Yatra in Jammu and Kashmir.[137]
Week 20 (24-30 January 2023)
On 24 January 2023, Actor-politician
Urmila Matondkar and prominent author
Perumal Murugan joined the Bharat Jodo Yatra in Jammu's garrison town of
Nagrota.[138][139][140][141] After unfurling the tricolour flag at the Srinagar's historic Lal Chowk, which marked the end of 137-day-long foot march from Kannyiakumari to Kashmir, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said that the Bharat Jodo Yatra has given an alternative vision of the politics to the country. Rahul Gandhi unfurled that national flag at the historic clock tower and sang the national anthem to send a strong message of nationalism.[142]
Reactions
National
The
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) criticized the rally and called it "Parivar Bachao Rally" (Save Family March).[143] At that time, the Congress was preparing to hold
its presidential election.[144] On 18 September, BJP Tamil Nadu president
C.T. Ravi posted a picture of Rahul Gandhi and his niece on
Twitter; Ravi deleted the tweet after public outrage and a case was filed against him.[145] The Congress replied, saying the BJP was "rattled" by the yatra and its immense public support.[146]
The
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam supported the Yatra; M.K. Stalin was present to launch the Yatra at Kanyakumari on 7 September 2022.[147]
The
Shiv Sena (UBT) (SS (UBT)) through its publication Saamana supported the yatra and accused the BJP of being scared of the protest march.[151] SS (UBT) leader
Sanjay Raut stated Rahul Gandhi keeps friendship and affection alive despite political differences. Raut attributed the tremendous response to the march to love and compassion.[152]
The
Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M))initially criticized the Congress in a Twitter post that read; "18 days in Kerala...2 days in UP. Strange way to fight BJP-RSS". The Congress said Kerala is a long south-to-north state; "It takes 370 kilometres from Kanyakumari to go through Kerala and reach Karnataka. If it took two days of rest days, it would take 18 days to cover that distance."[154][155] The CPI(M)'s general secretary Sitaram Yechury said; "Every party has the legitimate right to interact with the populace. Going to people is good". He also said that the CPI(M) would join efforts to unite the opposition parties to defend the constitution.[156][157]
The
People's Democratic Party supported the yatra, with party chief
Mehbooba Mufti accepting the Congress's invitation to join it (in Jammu & Kashmir) and praised Rahul Gandhi for his "efforts to unite India".[158]
The Hindu-nationalist organisation
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh's chief
Mohan Bhagwat appealed to minorities in the country, shortly after the start of the yatra. The INC saw this sudden outreach as an effect of the yatra's success.[161]
Senior Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader and the Ram Temple trust's general secretary,
Champat Rai acknowledged Rahul Gandhi and stated: "A 50-year-old 'young' man is walking in this chilling weather to know India. What else we can do if not appreciate his efforts.”[162]
International
In September 2022, Hollywood actor
John Cusack extended his support to Bharat Jodo Yatra and said he stands in solidarity with "anti-fascists everywhere".[163]
Controversies
The Bharat Jodo Yatra was criticized for not passing through the poll-bound states of
Gujarat and
Himachal Pradesh. Congress leader
Jairam Ramesh defended the decision, stating this was because it would take 90–95 days to reach Gujarat, starting from Kanyakumari; according to Ramesh, "It would be impossible to reach before the elections, same with Himachal Pradesh". He also said in the states where the yatra would not be able to go, he and another senior Congress leader
Digvijaya Singh, along with many others, would visit them.[155]
In
Kollam, three Congress workers demanded a donation of ₹2,000 from a street vendor, who gave ₹500. The workers then damaged the vendor's weighing machine and vegetables. The workers were immediately suspended from the Congress party.[164] Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee chief
K. Sudhakaran expressed regret over the incident, calling it "unacceptable" and "inexcusable".[165]
Fake news
Many
fake news items have been spread about the yatra,[166] some of them are listed below:
On 23 September 2022, the Congress paused the yatra at
Thrissur for a rest day, which was apparently the day when the
Popular Front of India (PFI), an Islamist organisation, gave a "bandh" call in
Kerala in response to the
National Investigation Agency (NIA)'s raids on it the day before. BJP leader
Kapil Mishra linked this pause of the yatra to the bandh and said the Congress was in solidarity with the PFI. The Congress refuted Mishra's comments, saying the pause was scheduled and completely unrelated to the PFI.[167] Rahul Gandhi also said there should be no tolerance towards all forms of communalism in response to a journalist's question on the PFI raid.[168]
BJP leaders circulated a factually incorrect tweet on around 23 September; the tweet said a girl who hugged Rahul Gandhi in a picture taken at the yatra had used the slogan "Pakistan Zindabad" at an anti-
CAA rally led by
AIMIM in
Bengaluru; the contents of the tweet were found to be false.[169] On 25 September, the Indian National Congress initiated legal action against BJP leader Priti Gandhi for allegedly spreading "fake and divisive news" on the yatra.[170]
On 7 December, Congress Twitter accounts started circulating images of a crowd organised at Jai Gurudev Ashram in
Mathura, saying they were taken at Bharat Jodo Yatra.[171]
Resistance
The Congress and the BJP got into an argument after hoardings in Gundlupet, Karnataka, welcoming Bharat Jodo Yatra were ripped down on September 29, 2022.[172] One poster depicted Savarkar. Congress attributed the problem to "miscreants". Savarkar's image was previously seen on a Bharat Jodo Yatra poster in Kerala.[173]
Protests
During the Karnataka leg of the yatra, the Congress experienced a few problems. Following the appearance of Rahul Gandhi's image on the Karnataka flag, pro-Kannada people protested against the image and warned the Congress not to use Gandhi's image on the flag.[174][175]
Farmers protested during the Rajasthan leg of the yatra, protesting against the failure of the state's Congress-led government to deliver on Rahul Gandhi's election promise of a farm-loan waiver. They also complained about water scarcity.[176]
Petitions in High Court
Division Bench of the
Kerala High Court dismissed a public-interest lawsuit that sought to control Bharat Jodo Yatra, which the petitioner said was impeding both vehicular and pedestrian traffic on public streets.[177][178]
Impact
On the fourth day of the Bharat Jodo Yatra, Rahul Gandhi reopened a road that had been closed in 1993 due to caste-based violence. In Badanavalu, a route called "Bharat Jodo Road" connects Lingayat settlements with Dalit dwellings.[179] According to officials, on 7 October 2022, Rajasthan's Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot officially opened a 2.8-kilometre (1.7 mi) elevated road in
Jaipur. According to them, the chief minister renamed the route, which was formerly known as Sodala elevated road, to "Bharat Jodo Setu".[180]
Other planned yatras
The Indian National Congress, inspired by the success of Bharat Jodo Yatra, started or planned separate-but-related yatras in other states.[181]
On November 1, the Congress started a yatra in
Assam that went from
Dhubri to
Sadiya, covering around 850 km (530 mi) across the state.[182] In
Odisha, a yatra covered 2,400 km (1,500 mi) and lasted for 100 days,[182] starting on 31 October as a show of strength for the Congress. The rally started from
Bhubaneswar and transited cities
Cuttack,
Jajpur,
Balasore, and others. Many Congress party state units also started mass-contact programs.[183]
The then former chief minister of Karnataka
Siddaramaiah, and the then
KPCC president
D. K. Shivakumar organised a new yatra beginning in early December that visited all 224 assembly constituencies to maintain the momentum started by Bharat Jodo Yatra until the
2023 Assembly election.[184]
Responses
Basavaraj Bommai, the chief minister of Karnataka, and BJP politician
BS Yediyurappa launched a countermarch named "Jana Sankalpa Yatra" on 11 October 2022; this yatra would visit 52 assembly constituencies as a political response to the Congress' Bharat Jodo Yatra.[185][186]
The BJP started a march called "Jan Aakrosh Yatra" in Rajasthan on December 1 as a protest against the
Ashok Gehlot government in the state. Turnout for the event was poor, it received low public support, and the BJP leaders expressed displeasure with the issue.[187][188]
Though having received invitations from the Congress Party, Bahujan Samaj party leader
Mayawati and Samajwadi party leader
Akhilesh Yadav did not participate in Bharat Jodo Yatra.[189]
Aftermath
According to a November 2022 survey by
CVoter, Rahul Gandhi's approval ratings rose drastically after the Bharat Jodo Yatra, although they were still a bit low compared to January 2019 ratings.[190]
Many political analysts have determined that the yatra has resulted in a resurgent public image of Gandhi, which had been long damaged by the BJP.[191][192]
In the subsequent
elections in Karnataka and Telangana in 2023, Congress registered a landslide victory with an increase in both the party's vote share and the number of seats, compared to the previous elections, in the constituencies through which the march had passed.[193] The Congress Party attributes its success in the Karnataka elections at least in part to the success of the Bharat Jodo Yatra: "The Congress party has attributed its success in the 2023 Karnataka election to the Bharat Jodo Yatra, declaring it the "clear winner" in the clash of narratives between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the nationwide foot march."[194] After the yatra Congress won Karnataka and Telangana but it suffered crushing defeats in Madhya Pradesh , Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh by the
Bhartiya Janata Party.[195]
Other yatras
In September 2022, the Congress Party said it planned to hold a second phase of the yatra from west-to-east in 2023, from
Gujarat to
Arunachal Pradesh.[196][197][198]
On 26 February 2023, Congress General Secretary in-charge Communications Jairam Ramesh informed that Congress is considering a
Pasighat-to-
Porbandar yatra.[199][200][201][202]
On 14 Aug 2023, the New Indian Express reported about the planned Bharat Jodo Yatra 2.0: "A team of top Congress leaders, including K C Venugopal and Jairam Ramesh, is finalising the route in consultation with Rahul Gandhi and leaders of the states the Yatra will pass through."[203]
On 27 December 2023, the Congress Party announced Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra ("India Unity and Justice March").[204] The march will start on 14 January 2024 from
Manipur and end on 20 March in
Mumbai. It will cover 6,200 kilometres across 14 states. Unlike the Bharat Jodo Yatra, which focused on campaigning against
communalism and divisive politics, the
Bharat Nyay Yatra will focus on livelihood issues such as inflation and unemployment.[205][206] Like the Bharat Jodo Yatra, the Bharat Nyay Yatra will also be led by Rahul Gandhi.[207]
References
^"Bharat Jodo Yatra". The Times of India. 12 December 2022. Retrieved 31 January 2023.