Bharat Jodo Yatra: Why a former associate professor, son of former CM are marching on
A group of 200 men and women from different backgrounds have been walking with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi since the start of the Bharat Jodo foot march from Kanyakumari on September 7.
They have walked for over 3,000 kilometres in four months. Staying in 60-odd containers at the campsite, waking up at 4am and participating in ‘Flag Vandan’ before leaving for the yatra at 6am, it’s the hope of bringing about “change” that keeps the Bharat Yatris going.
A group of 200 men and women from different backgrounds have been walking with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi since the start of the nationwide foot march from Kanyakumari on September 7.
Twenty-three-year-old Krushna Tawale from Maharashtra’s Osmanabad is the youngest of them. Pursuing LLB from Mumbai, he was appointed as national spokesperson of Indian Youth Congress (IYC) at the age of 21.
“I am the first from my family to enter politics. The family was anxious about letting me come for this yatra, but at the same time, they are proud,” he said.
“We are getting to know local issues, diverse cultures and meeting a lot of people from different professions and backgrounds. This is not an ordinary yatra,” he added.
The yatra in Ambala started near Shahpur, on the outskirts, and culminated at Saini Bhawan on NH-44. While entering the site, another Bharat Yatri, Chandy Oommen was given a respectful welcome despite tight security for Rahul.
Son of former Kerala chief minister Oommen Chandy, the 36-year-old chairman of the outreach cell for the Indian Youth Congress, has been marching barefoot. In an interview, Chandy said that initially, he walked with shoes on but as he got blisters, his fellows advised him to walk barefoot. “The yatra has made me realise there is no difference between any Indian,” he said.
While most yatris are associated with the party, there are also many from different interest groups who have joined the yatra hoping to bring about political change.
Representing Yogendra Yadav’s Swaraj Abhiyan, 50-year-old Pankaj Pushkar, is walking with Gandhi. An ex-MLA from Delhi’s Timarpur seat for Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and a Bharat Yatri from the civil society, Pushkar comes from a small town called Gajraula in West Uttar Pradesh.
“I’ve been an associate professor and have worked in various movements to reclaim politics from muscle and money power. I see this yatra as a national churning against hatred and a hope for idealism,” said Pushkar, also a co-founder of AAP.