Ekta Parishad is people’s movement dedicated to non-violent principles of action. Our activists work towards building community-based governance (gram swaraj), local self-reliance (gram swawlamban) and responsible government (jawabdeh sarkar.) Our aim is to see India’s poorest people gain control over livelihood resources, especially land, water and forest.

We are a federation of approximately 11,000 community based organizations and have thousands of individual members. We are currently operating in 11 states working for the land and livelihood rights of India’s most marginalized communities (tribals, Dalits, nomadic communities, agricultural labourers, small and marginal farmers, etc.)

In Hindi, ekta translates to “unity” and parishad translates to “forum” or “space.” We believe that the grassroots, the village, is the perfect space in which to plant and nurture the seeds of unity and non-violence that can create positive changes at the social, political and economic levels.

We believe that through ahimasak sangharsh (non-violent struggle) the rural communities of India can secure Gandhi’s vision of gram swaraj. Srijan, or the creation of a self-reliant society, is possible when community ties are strengthened through mutual respect and social equity.