Right to Livelihood Award Goes to Land Redistribution Efforts

The 2008 Right Livelihood Award, also known as the Alternative Nobel Prize, was awarded this year to recipients in Germany, Somalia, and India. Krishnammal Jagannathan and Sankaralingam Jagannathan of LAFTI (Land for Tillers’ Freedom) won the prize for their efforts in land redistribution for Dalits. The award’s website provides more information:

Krishnammal Jagannathan and Sankaralingam Jagannathan are two lifelong activists for social justice, and for sustainable human development, working with those who are at the lowest rung of the social ladder. They have carried the Gandhian legacy into the 21st century, never ceasing to serve the needs of Dalits, landless and those threatened by the greed of landlords and multinational corporations.

The roots of this work lie in Vinoba Bhave’s Bhoodan (land gift) movement. According to LAFTI’s site, their efforts have resulted in “distributing 11,000 acres of land to 11,000 landless poor families, through non-violent campaigns for the purchase of land at a reasonable price, or the lease of temple or trust land for cultivation by the village community.” It’s always wonderful to see individuals that commit their lives toward a cause, like the Jagannathans, gain international recognition for their work.