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Rajagopal P. V.
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Rajagopal P. V. is an Indian Gandhian activist, a former Vice Chairman of the New Delhi Gandhi Peace Foundation,[1] and the president and founding member of Ekta Parishad.[2][3] In 1972, Rajagopal started working alongside Gandhian activists J.P. Narayan and Subba Rao to disarm 578 bandits in the Chambal region of India.[4] Thereafter, he stayed away from dealing with direct violence and focused on the people of Adivasis, bonded labourers, and other landless communities affected by poverty and exploitation.[citation needed]
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Rajagopal P. V. | |
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![]() Rajagopal October 2007 | |
Born | Rajagopalan Puthan Veetil 1948 |
Nationality | Indian |
Education | Diploma in Engineering |
Occupation(s) | Activist, president of Ekta Parishad |
Partner | Jill Carr-Harris |
From 1989 to 2018, Rajagopal trained thousands of rural young people to serve in villages as trainer-leaders to build up community leadership and popular action.[citation needed] This culminated in many efforts of state and national activism.[citation needed] An example of the latter occurred in 2007 when 25,000 landless poor, mainly Adivasis, marched a 350-kilometre pilgrimage from Gwalior to Delhi to demand the land reforms promised upon independence.[citation needed] The Union government agreed to the demands made, leading to the implementation of the Forest Rights Act.[citation needed]
A second effort of national activism occurred in 2012 when Rajagopal led a march of 100,000 people to the capital to demand popular control over land and resources for livelihood. The effort resulted in the signing of a ten point agreement with the Union government.[4]
In 2018, Rajagopal embarked on a more ambitious agenda of mobilizing one million people to nonviolently address their livelihood rights.[4] For Mohandas Gandhi's 150th birthday in 2019, Rajagopal planned to take his message worldwide as a way to spread peace and nonviolence.[citation needed]
Rajagopal's main contributions to Indian society are the method of a nonviolent approach for the addressing of grievances shared by millions of Indians and the enhancement of dialogue with the government.[citation needed]