Bharat Jodo Yatra () was a mass movement which was held by the Indian National Congress ("the Congress" or INC as short form). Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi orchestrated the movement by encouraging the party cadre and the public to walk from Kanyakumari at the southern tip of India to the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir, a journey of over almost 150 days.
According to the INC, the movement was intended to unite the country against the "divisive politics" of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Government of India. The Bharat Jodo Yatra movement was launched by Rahul Gandhi and Tamil Nadu chief minister M. K. Stalin; on 7 September 2022. It was claimed that its main objective was to protest against the politics of "fear, bigotry and prejudice", and the economics of livelihood destruction, increasing unemployment and growing inequality. During the movement, the INC elected a new party president and also won a majority in the 2022 Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly election, its first majority it won by itself since 2018, thus repeating a pattern of change of state governments each election in Himachal Pradesh. Also talking about the notable loss in the period was the heavy drubbing of INC in the 2022 Gujarat legislative assembly election, falling to its lowest ever tally in Gujarat ever since the formation of the state.
Background
The Indian National Congress launched the logo, tagline, and website for Bharat Jodo Yatra at AICC headquarters on 23 August 2022. The march started from Kanyakumari on 7 September. It was planned as a -long, 150-day "non-stop" march that would pass through 12 states and two Union Territories. During the march, Congress Member of Parliament (MP) Rahul Gandhi would meet people during the day and would sleep in makeshift accommodation at night. These makeshift accommodations were mobile ontainers specially built by Tata Corporation. The march started from Kanyakumari and was to end in Srinagar, and would be accomplished entirely on foot. Marchers were scheduled to cover approximately each day in two shifts.
By , the march had covered more than . The Bharat Jodo Yatra has similarities to ex-prime minister of India Chandra Shekhar's nearly -long Bharat Yatra march of 1983.
Schedule
+All India – Yatra ScheduleState / UTEntry DateNo. of daysKey placesTamil Nadu7 & 29 September4KanyakumariKerala10 September18Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, NilamburKarnataka30 September21Mysore, Bellary, Raichur Andhra Pradesh18 October4D. Hirehal, AlurTelangana23 October12Vikarabad, HyderabadMaharashtra7 November14Nanded, Jalgaon JamodMadhya Pradesh23 November16Mhow, Indore, UjjainRajasthan4 December18Jhalawar, Alwar, Kota, DausaHaryana21 December & 6 January 12Ambala, Nuh, FaridabadDelhi24 December2Badarpur, RajghatUttar Pradesh3 January5Ghaziabad, BulandshahrPunjab10 January11PathankotHimachal Pradesh18 January1Kangra districtJammu and Kashmir19 January11Lakhanpur, Jammu, Srinagar
Methods
The Bharat Jodo Yatra used a variety of slogans, poetry, and songs, such as Mile Kadam, Jude Vatan (walk together, unite the country), Mehengai Se Nata Todo, Mil Kar Bharat Jodo (break ties with inflation, unite India), Berozagari Ka Jaal Todo, Bharat Jodo (break the web of unemployment, unite India), Nafrat Chhodo, Bharat Jodo (quit hate, unite the country) and Samvidhan Bachao (save the constitution) among others. Marchers, who were termed padayatris, would speak with members of civil society every day during the break. Public rallies were also held during the march. On 15 October, Rahul Gandhi's public gathering in Ballari amid heavy rainfall got widespread media coverage.
Participants Throughout the five-month long yatra, there were three types of Padyatris. Bharat Yatris, who will walk the yatra throughout its whole journey. Atithi Yatris, guest marchers from states through which Bharat Jodo Yatra is not travelling, will be the second group. The third group to finish the march will be the Pradesh Yatris, a group of 100 yatris from states the march is travelling through and they will be a part of the yatra in that state. Three hundred padyatris will be marching at any moment. Few prominent people joining the yatra are Rahul Gandhi, former president of Indian National Congress Sonia Gandhi, INC leader Jairam Ramesh, Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha Bhupesh Baghel, then Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh Pawan Khera, AICC social media chairman Kanhaiya Kumar, political activist from Indian National Congress Vijay Inder Singla, former Punjab cabinet minister Siddaramaiah, former Chief Minister of Karnataka Oommen Chandy, former Chief Minister of Kerala Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, current Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh Mukesh Agnihotri, deputy Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh Ashok Gehlot, former Chief Minister of Rajasthan Sachin Pilot, former deputy chief minister of Rajasthan Digvijaya Singh, former Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh Revanth Reddy, president of Telangana PCC Pratibha Singh, HPCC Chief Aaditya Thackeray, Shiv Sena leader Praniti Shinde, MLA from Maharashtra Supriya Sule, MP NCP, daughter of Sharad Pawar Jayant Patil, NCP Maharashtra President Jitendra Awhad, NCP politician Tushar Gandhi, author, Great-grandson of Mahatma Gandhi Mani Shankar Aiyar, former MP for Mayiladuthurai. Charanjit Singh Channi, former Chief Minister of Punjab Chandy Oommen, National outreach Chairman of Indian Youth Congress Swara Bhasker, actress and political activist Urmila Matondkar, Actress and politician Nagma, actress and politician Kanimozhi, MP of DMK Nana Patole,INC politician Kamal Haasan, actor and politician president of Makkal Needhi Maiam Farooq Abdullah, former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Santokh Singh Chaudhary, MP from Jalandhar Mohammad Azharuddin, Former Indian Cricket Captain and Telangana PCC President
Supporters Many grassroots movements have been joining or endorsing the Bharat Jodo Yatra. The INC appealed to individuals, organizations, and movements to join the yatra. More than 200 civil society members have appealed people to support Congress' Bharat Jodo Yatra. The Congress invited Chief Minister of Bihar Nitish Kumar and deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav to join the yatra respectively. Nitish Kumar declined to join the Bharat Jodo Yatra
In late September, as the march was set to enter Karnataka, at least 89 organizations based in the state announced their support for and participation in the protest march. Prominent participants in the Karnataka phase of the march include author Devanur Mahadeva and literary critic G. N. Devy.
Admiral Laxminarayan Ramdas, former Chief of the Naval Staff with his wife Radhika Vemula, Dalit Activist, mother of Rohith Vemula Priyanka Gandhi, (INC leader) with her husband Robert Vadra Raghuram Rajan, former Governor of the Reserve Bank of India Sunidhi Chauhan, singer Mridula Mukherjee, historian Captain Bana Singh, Indian Army, Param Vir Chakra awardee Perumal Murugan, author Prashant Bhushan, lawyer and rights activist Medha Patkar, Social Activist Harsh Mander, social activist and writer, Prof. In IIT Delhi Aruna Roy, co-founder of the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS) Yogendra Yadav, founder of Swaraj India G. N. Devy, writer and cultural activist Syeda Hameed, former member of the Planning Commission Bezwada Wilson, the founder of the Safai Karmachari Andolan Mrinal Pande, Indian journalist Dharamvir Gandhi, former MP from the Aam Aadmi Party Anjali Bhardwaj, Indian social activist Kavita and Indira Lokesh, mother and sister of Gauri Lankesh Sujata Rao, Indian civil society member Prof. Vipin Tripathi, physicist Abhijit Sengupta, Indian civil society member Sridhar Radhakrishnan, environmental activist Akshay Shimpi, poet and actor C. R. Neelakandan, environmental activist Amol Palekar and Sandhya Gokhale, Director and Writer Onir, film director Pooja Bhatt, actress and director Rashami Desai, actress Riya Sen, actress Akanksha Puri, actress and model Sushant Singh, actor Digangana Suryavanshi, actress and author T. M. Krishna, singer Mona Ambegaonkar, actress Riya Sen, Actress Ramesh Pisharody, Comedian
Timeline
September
Rahul Gandhi launched the yatra on 7 September 2022 at Kanyakumari. The yatra reached Kollam on 14 September, where Gandhi met local cashew workers. The yatra also entered Alappuzha, and Kochi.
The Kerala High Court dismissed plea to regulate the Bharat Jodo Yatra. The marchers entered Thrissur, Malappuram, and Gudalur in Tamil Nadu on 29 September.
On 30 September, the yatra entered Karnataka.
October On 4 October, the yatra took a break at Mandya. On 6 October, Sonia Gandhi joined the yatra. It reached Chitradurga district on 11 October, where Gandhi met unemployed youth.
The yatra entered Anantapur district in Andhra Pradesh on 14 October. It re-entered Karnataka the day later, completing in Bellary district, entering Kurnool district Andhra Pradesh on 18 October, before returning to Karnataka three days later. The yatra entered Telangana on 23 October, followed by a three-day Diwali break.
It resumed in Telangana on 27 October, passing through Mahabubnagar, Narayanpet, Sangareddy, and Ranga Reddy districts. On 29 October 2022, the marchers reached Jadcherla, a town in Mahabubnagar district.
November
On 1 November 2022, Late Dalit scholar Rohith Vemula's mother joined the Bharat Jodo Yatra to walk alongside Rahul Gandhi, en route to Hyderabad. Rahul Gandhi crossed 19 assembly segments of Telangana, traversing Shamshabad, Aramghar, Bahadurpura, Charminar, Afzalgunj, Mozzamjahi Market, Nampally (Gandhi Bhavan), Balanagar, Moosapet Y-junction, Kukatpally, Miyapur, BHEL, Patancheru (via NH-65). The yatra covered almost 60 km from Shamshabad to Muthangi (ORR). On the evening of 7 November 2022, the 61st day of the march, Bharat Jodo Yatra entered Maharashtra, crossing from Menuru village in Madnoor Mandal district of Telangana to Nanded district in Maharashtra.
On 11 November 2022, Shiv Sena, leader and former Maharashtra Minister Aaditya Thackeray joined the Bharat Jodo Yatra in Hingoli district. On 16 November 2022, activist Medha Patkar joined Bharat Jodo Yatra in Washim. On 19 November, the birthday of Indira Gandhi actor-turned-politician Nagma joined the march in Buldhana district. On 24 November 2022, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi and her husband Robert Vadra joined Bharat Jodo Yatra in Madhya Pradesh.
In Burhanpur, Rahul Gandhi met with banana-plantation and powerloom workers. Former CM of Madhya Pradesh Digvijaya Singh underplayed the electoral impact of the yatra.
Congress communication chief Jairam Ramesh said the yatra had given the party confidence to undertake similar marches from west to east in 2023. Rahul Gandhi described both Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot as assets to the party.
December Bharat Jodo Yatra first entered a Congress-ruled state, Rajasthan on 4 December 2022. On 13 December, Bharat Jodo Yatra resumed from Jeenapur in Sawai Madhopur district, Rajasthan. The following day, former Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor Raghuram Rajan joined Bharat Jodo Yatra in Sawai Madhopur district.
Bharat Jodo Yatra completed 100 days on 16 December 2022. Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, Mukesh Agnihotri deputy CM, and the state's Congress chief Pratibha Singh walked alongside Rahul Gandhi. Singer Sunidhi Chauhan performed at a concert marking the completion of 100 days of the protest at Albert Hall Museum in Jaipur on 16 December.