167 Kilometre March from Nashik to Mumbai: A Historic Movement for Land Rights

On 6 March 2018 thousands of farmers began a long protest march from the city of Nashik in the Indian state of Maharashtra. The march later became known as the Maharashtra Farmers Long March. Nearly forty to fifty thousand farmers participated and walked a distance of about 167 kilometres. Covering roughly twenty five to thirty kilometres each day the farmers completed the journey in six days and reached Mumbai on 12 March 2018. The protest was led by the All India Kisan Sabha and its central objective was to draw the government’s attention to the issue of land rights and the growing burden of agricultural debt. Many tribal and poor farmers in Maharashtra had been cultivating forest land for decades. However these lands were officially classified under the Forest Department and the farmers did not possess formal ownership documents. The protesters demanded that under the Forest Rights Act 2006 such farmers should be granted legal ownership or land titles for the land they had cultivated for years. They also demanded relief from agricultural debts. One remarkable incident during the protest occurred in the final stage of the march. When the farmers approached Mumbai a special decision was made. At that time school examinations were taking place in the city and entering during the daytime could have disrupted traffic and caused difficulties for students. Therefore from the night of 11 March to the early hours of 12 March thousands of farmers walked most of the remaining distance during the night and quietly entered the city so that traffic would not be disturbed and students could reach their examination centres without difficulty. After reaching Mumbai the Government of Maharashtra held negotiations with representatives of the farmers and assured progress on implementing the Forest Rights Act and addressing other demands. Following these assurances the protest was peacefully concluded.