Jaagran Yatras
– Awareness Campaigns

For amelioration of various problems faced by our country, active participation and awareness of the masses is indispensable which has been demonstrated during the historical Dandi March as well as the Bhoodan Movement embarked on by Mahatma Gandhi and Vinoba Bhave respectively. On similar lines, Yuvak Biradari conducts ‘Bharat Jodo’ yatras to make the masses aware of their duties and responsibilities towards the country and society we live in.

The various Jaagran Yatras that were conducted were titled Jodo Bharat Yatras, Vasundhara Bachao (Save Earth) Abhiyaan, Swachhata-Paryavaran Jan Jaagruti and Shanti Yatra.

Jodo Bharat Yatra

Yuvak Biradari believes that yatras (i.e. long marches) can help explore the depth of human relations by bringing people closer to each other, and their consequent collective approach can accomplish great constructive goals. In order to bring awareness regarding global problems (like violence, population explosion, pollution, social discrimination and illiteracy) on one hand, and to foster the spirit of humanity and national integration on the other, Biradari considers yatras as an effective tool.

Hence, many long marches were organised from time to time over long geographical distances at national and state levels for “Bharat Jodo--Bharat Milan--Bharat Banao”. More than 30,000 kms have been covered on foot or on bicycle by Biradars till date with an average 100 Biradars regularly participating in each of them, along with overwhelming support and enthusiastic participation of thousands of local people on the way. Tableaus (ChitraRath) depicting the diverse cultural background of India were also used to exhort people through mediums like group dance, chorus songs, talks and speeches full of social messages.

Several eminent intellectuals, artists, sportsmen and social workers participate in these yatras and get opportunities to interact closely with the local villagers at grass roots level en route.

Following are some of Biradari’s memorable yatras:

• Godavari se Chandrabhaga (25th December 1981 - 9th January 1982): In reverence of the tradition of great saints of India, 62 Biradars covered a distance of 900 kms from Kopargaon to Pandharpur passing through 9 districts in Maharashtra.

• Vidarbha Prabodhan Yatra (11th – 22nd December 1982): To pay homage to Saint Tukdoji Maharaj, 60 Biradars walked 900 kms from Akola to Nagpur, covering all districts in the Vidarbha region of Maharashtra.

• Ba se Bapu (2nd October - 14th November 1984): In memory of Mahatma Gandhi and Kasturba Gandhi, 150 Biradars covered 2500 kms from Pune to New Delhi. This yatra started from Kasturba Gandhi’s memorial in Pune and culminated at Bapu’s (Mahatma Gandhi) Samadhi at Rajghat (New Delhi), passing through Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana. The credit for this yatra goes to Shri Sushil Kumar Shinde, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Mohan Dhariya and Prabodh Rawal. Convenor Kranti Shah was supported by Rohini Hattangadi and Manmohan Krishna.

• Guwahati Sneha Yatra (2nd October 1985): Yatra for peace and national solidarity in the capital city of Assam. The credits for its stupendous success go to the Chief Minister of Assam Shri Hiteshwar Saikia, Basu Bhattacharya, Rekha Sabnis, Mulkraj Anand, Prakash Jha, Protima Bedi and Girija Prasad Das. Convenor Kranti Shah was assisted in it by Kuldip Singh, Bal Deshpande, Dr.Dhananjay Gunde and Anuradha Joshi.

• Taj se Sangam (31st October - 14th November 1986): Commencing on Indira Gandhi’s martyrdom day, it passed via Kanpur, Lucknow and Raebareli, and concluded on Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru’s birth anniversary at Allahabad, with 70 Biradars covering a distance of 1000 kms. Credit for support in this yatra goes to Prof. Ram Gopal Chouhan, Arun Dang and his family, Rohini Hattangadi and Sharad Kumar Rahi.

• Faijpur se Mahad (21st February - 12th March 1987): Shanti Yatra in remembrance of Faijpur Congress, by 75 biradars covering 1500 kms in 17 districts in Maharashtra. Credits for the success of this yatra go to Shri Madhukar Rao Choudhary, Dada Saheb Rupwate, Dr.Bapu Ka;date, Prof. Ram Joshi and Pradip Mun.

• Sabarmati se Brahmaputra (31st October - 31st December 1988 and 1st January – 12th January 1989): From West to East India (Ahmedabad to Guwahati/Shillong), for the cause of national integration on the occasion of the Birth Centenary of Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru, 100 Biradars covered 8000 kms passing through Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, UttarPradesh, Rajasthan, Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Bihar, West Bengal and Meghalaya. Credits for its success go to Ajit Wadekar, Amar Singh Choudhary, Arjun Singh, Azhar Hussein and P A Snagma. Convenor Kranti Shah was assisted in this yatra by Farooque Shaikh, Basu Bhattacharya, Pradip Naik, Govind Singh, Sanjay Pandey, Prashant Kavatkar, Vaishampayan Gamhare, Suvarna Bhagwat and many others.

• Shahubhumi se Dikshabhumi (25th September - 14th October 1990): On the occasion of the Birth Centenary of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar, 65 Biradars marched 1500 kms passing through 42 towns in Maharashtra from Kolhapur (Chatrapati Sahuji Maharaj’s Karmabhumi) to Nagpur (Babasaheb’s Dikshabhumi). This yatra was held under the leadership of Sanjana Kapoor, Deepak Madlik, Sachin Shirke, Sandeep Malve and others.

• Sevagram - Kranti Maidan - Sabarmati (9th August - 15th August 1992): To commemorate the Golden Jubilee of the Quit India movement, Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao himself lit the torch of this yatra of 150 Biradars covering 1700 kms in two parts: from Kranti Maidan (Mumbai) to Sevagram (Wardha) and from Kranti Maidan (Mumbai) to Sabarmati (Gujarat). In this yatra, Biradari got support from Jaya Bachchan, Sudhakarrao Naik, Narhari Amin, Sanjana Kapur, Sandhya Sahapure, Sunil Walawalkar, Yogendra Kande and others.

• Azad Bharat Rail Yatra (1997): On the occasion of the Golden Jubilee of India’s Independence, 150 youth representatives from different places were introduced to the rich heritage and culture of India and its people. It was held under the leadership of Sashank Tripathi.

• Mandovi se Yamuna (18th December 1998 – 30th January 1999): To mark the Silver Jubilee Year of Yuvak Biradari, Pratigya Abhiyaan of 80 young Biradars marched for 5000 kms from Goa to New Delhi, passing through Goa, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi to launch and promote our Vasundhara Bachao Abhiyaan (Save The Earth movement). It was held under the leadership of Sudhir Mehta, Pradeep Naik and Sanjay Pandey.

• Rashtriya Jaagran Abhiyaan (14th November – 7th December 2001): 40 artist-volunteers of Biradari marched through 64 towns of Maharashtra in 25 days to propagate the messages of family planning, environmental protection and financial saving.

• Dandi 75: Dandi Smriti Sankalp Abhiyaan (11th March - 6th April 2005): This yatra from Sevagram to Dandi was to commemorate the 75th Anniversary of the historical Dandi March by Mahatma Gandhi in 1930. Yuvak Biradari undertook this yatra with the objective of emotional integration and to spread the ideals of Insaani Biradari through a pledge and signature campaign on our 7-point program (Save Water, Control the Population, Protect the Environment, Respect for Women, Prefer Swadeshi, Conserve the Family System, and Make Towns/Villages clean, green and self-reliant). This padyatra (journey on foot) with a contingent of 75 Biradars passed through 81 towns covering a distance of 386 kms from Sevagram to Dandi. Hundreds of citizens joined this yatra at different places en-route, along with some eminent personalities like industrialist FT Khorakiwala, film director Ashutosh Gowarikar, actors Rohini and Jayadev Hattangadi, Mahatma Gandhi’s great grand-daughter Usha Gokani, editor of Loksatta Kumar Ketkar, academician and social worker Prof P B Patil and Gandhian freedom fighter Dheerubhai Patel. During the yatra, 10,00,000 people signed the pledge which was, later, submitted to the union minister for Youth affairs Sunil Dutt in New Delhi. Credits for this yatra go to the Chief Minister of Maharashtra Vilasrao Deshmukh. Convenor of this program Kranti Shah was assisted by Nagendra Rai, Yogendra Kawle, Sudhir Mehta, Rajay Watandar, Prashant Pawar, Sonali Salian, Rekha Shah and others.

The route of this yatra was Sevagram, Wardha, Aarvi, Talegaon, Mozri, Tivsa, Amravati, Badnera, Murtijapur, Akola, Shegaon, Khamgaon, Chikhli, Deulgaon Raja, Jalna, Ambad, Shahagadh, Gevrai, Beed, Jamkhed, Bhoom, Latur, Osmanabad, Tuljapur, Sholapur, Barshi, Kurduvadi, Tembhurni, Pandharpur, Sangola, Tasgaon, Aashtha, Sangli, Jaisingpur, Kurundvad, Ichalkaranji, Kagal, Savantwadi, Aazraa, Murgud, Kolhapur, Kasegaon, Undale, Karad, Satara, Bhuinj, Wai, Panchgani, Pune, Ranjangaon, Shirur, Ahmednagar, Rahuri, Shrirampur, Shirdi, Kopargaon, Loni, Sangamner, Nasik Road, Nasik City, Pimpalgaon Basvant, Chandvad, Manmad, Malegaon, Dhule, Chalisgaon, Pachora, Jalgaon, Erandol, Amalner, Shirpur, Dondaicha, Nandurbar, Khandbara, Navapur, Bardoli, Navsari and Dandi.

Many other yatras were also conducted by regional Centres of Yuvak Biradari. Some of them are:

• Jallianwala Bagh Yatra (1989) by U.P. Biradars

• Shahubhumi to Chaityabhumi Yatra (Kolhapur to Nagpur, 1990)

• Vidarbha Adivasi Yatra (1993-94) by Vidarbha Biradari

• India Gate to Gateway of India (New Delhi to Mumbai, 1994) by Delhi Biradars.