Chandra Shekhar - Bharat Yatra

As President of the Janata Party, he undertook a marathon walk (Padyatra, later known as Bharat Yatra) from Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu to Rajghat in New Delhi, covering a total distance of 4260 km from 6 January 1983 to 25 June 1983.

The objective of undertaking such an arduous task, i.e., the Bharat Yatra, was to highlight the problems of the rural areas and eliminate the prevalent social inequalities and disparities.

This exercise made him popular amongst the masses.

During this journey, Chandra Shekhar established around 15 Bharat Yatra centers in various parts of India including Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, and Haryana.

On the momentous Bharat Yatra, Chandra Shekhar observed: “For nearly six months till we reached Delhi on 25 June 1983, it was a continuous procession. It was the spontaneous response of the people which made the Yatra a unique success.

For the first time, people realized that there were some who were ready to come to their houses to understand their problems.

"When we started, it was doubtful whether people would react positively to Bharat Yatra or would take it as a political drama. But all through the Yatra, the villagers who were illiterate, who were ignorant, who were helpless, lined up in large numbers to receive the volunteers who were walking. In almost all the villages, even the poor people managed to offer the best welcome that they could afford. There might have been difficulty of language, but the language of the heart, which was more powerful, helped to communicate the feelings. We ourselves understood that the people are willing to cooperate if we go to them. In this respect, it was Mahatma Gandhi who put his finger on the pulse of the people. It was an adventure in self, it was an adventure of self-education."

Text Courtesy: Chandra Shekhar in Parliament – A Commemorative Volume

Pictures Courtesy: Google

In the first picture, Chandra Shekhar can be seen with former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

In the second and third pictures, former Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar on his Bharat Yatra

To be continued.....