From 6 to 12 March 2018, tens of thousands of farmers and farm workers, most of them Adivasi cultivators from Nashik, Thane and Palghar, walked about 180 km from Nashik to Mumbai under the All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS). They walked through the night before the last leg so as not to block traffic for students sitting board exams. On 12 March the Devendra Fadnavis government accepted most of their demands in writing, including a six-month deadline on forest land claims, and the march was called off. The AIKS says many promises were not kept, and it has marched again in 2019, 2023 and 2026.
Key takeaways
- The Kisan Long March, organised by the All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS), left CBS Chowk in Nashik on 6 March 2018 and reached Azad Maidan in south Mumbai early on 12 March 2018, covering about 180 km.
- On the night of 11 March the marchers left their camp at Somaiya Ground after midnight and walked to Azad Maidan, so that SSC students would not be held up on the morning of 12 March.
- After talks on 12 March, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said the government had "accepted almost all their demands". Forest land claims were to be settled within six months, and the 2017 loan waiver was widened to cover loans from 2001 to 2009. The AIKS called it "a historic victory" because the assurances were in writing.
- The AIKS said in February 2019 that the government "did not keep a single word" and set out on a second march. It called the march off on 21 February 2019 after ministers gave fresh written assurances, including a forest rights deadline of one to three months and a review meeting every two months.
- Further AIKS-led marches in March 2023 (called off at Vasind after Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's statement in the Assembly) and January 2026 (halted in Thane after talks with Fadnavis) were again largely about forest rights.
Background: forest land, debt and a waiver with conditions
Many of the marchers were Adivasi families who had farmed land for generations without owning it. The land is recorded as belonging to the forest department. The Forest Rights Act (FRA) of 2006 lets traditional forest dwellers claim title to land they cultivate, up to four hectares, but the marchers said it had not been applied on the ground Al Jazeera.
The state's own record supported part of that complaint. Of 364,358 forest rights claims Maharashtra received up to 10 October 2017, it rejected 231,856, or 64%, according to an IndiaSpend analysis of Ministry of Tribal Affairs data. The national rejection rate was 43.6% IndiaSpend via The Quint.
Debt was the second grievance. After an 11-day farmers' strike in June 2017, the state announced a loan waiver package of Rs 34,000 crore, up to Rs 1.5 lakh per farmer, but with conditions that the AIKS says left most farmers out PARI (AIKS account) DailyO. Fadnavis had met Kisan Sabha leaders in March 2016 and agreed to some demands; the AIKS says they were not implemented PARI (AIKS account).
What the marchers demanded
- Loan waiver: a complete, unconditional waiver of farm loans, and of electricity bills Times of India.
- Forest land: titles under the FRA for land Adivasi families had tilled for years IndiaSpend via Business Standard.
- Crop prices: implementation of the Swaminathan Commission's recommendation of a minimum support price (MSP) at 1.5 times the cost of production The Quint.
- River linking: a change in plans to link rivers in Nashik, Thane and Palghar so that tribal land would not be submerged, and so that the water would reach these areas and drought-prone districts, organisers told PTI Outlook (PTI, ANI).
- Other demands: higher pensions for farm workers, compensation for pink bollworm and hailstorm losses, and an end to land acquisition for the bullet train and new highways PARI Outlook.
The march, day by day
The AIKS is the farmers' wing of the Communist Party of India (Marxist). Its leaders on the march included president Ashok Dhawale, state general secretary Ajit Nawale and CPI(M) MLA J.P. Gavit Outlook PARI. Most reports give the start date as 6 March; IndiaSpend and ANI gave 5 March.
Setting out from Nashik
About 25,000 people left CBS Chowk in Nashik, according to PARI and the AIKS. They walked about 30 km a day, slept by the road and cooked on wood fires, with grain pooled by each taluka PARI IndiaSpend via BS.
Bhiwandi, and a traffic advisory
On the fifth day the march stopped for lunch at Sonale in Bhiwandi taluka, about 55 km from Azad Maidan. More farmers joined at Shahapur and Thane PARI. Mumbai Police closed the southbound Eastern Express Highway from Anand Nagar toll plaza to Somaiya Ground to heavy vehicles for the next day Outlook.
Into Mumbai
The march left Thane at 11 a.m. and reached K.J. Somaiya Ground in Chunabhatti around 9 p.m. PARI. Fadnavis said the government had set up a six-member cabinet committee to discuss the demands Times of India.
The night walk
Around 11:30 p.m. the leaders decided to set off after midnight so that the march would not hold up SSC students the next morning. Marchers left at about 1 a.m. and reached Azad Maidan by about 5 a.m. PARI. Water resources minister Girish Mahajan said he had asked the farmers to either camp at Somaiya Ground or reach Azad Maidan that night, and they chose the second option Times of India.
Talks at Mantralaya
An 11-member delegation met a six-member ministerial panel led by Fadnavis while the farmers waited at Azad Maidan. They had planned to surround the Vidhan Bhavan that day PARI.
March called off
Ministers Chandrakant Patil, Eknath Shinde and Girish Mahajan addressed the crowd, the leaders announced the march was over, and the farmers left. Special trains were arranged to take them home PARI The Quint.
The reception in Mumbai
Residents' associations, religious groups, political parties and individuals offered water, biscuits and bananas along the Eastern Express Highway PARI. At Azad Maidan people brought food and replacement shoes and slippers. A few farmers passed out from exhaustion and were treated by ambulances at the ground. Police manned the ground, and marchers were seen greeting them Al Jazeera. ANI reported that about 300 marchers were treated at JJ Hospital for fever, stomach ailments and leg injuries The Quint.
The march drew support across party lines. NCP chief Sharad Pawar, state Congress president Ashok Chavan, Shiv Sena leader Aaditya Thackeray and MNS chief Raj Thackeray backed it. The Shiv Sena was then a partner in the BJP-led government Times of India The Quint.
Crowd estimates varied. Police sources put the number at 15,000 and the unions at nearly 50,000 Times of India. IndiaSpend and The Quint reported about 35,000, Al Jazeera nearly 40,000, and AIKS general secretary Ajit Nawale over 40,000 IndiaSpend via BS Al Jazeera PARI.
What the government agreed in writing
Fadnavis told reporters: "We have accepted almost all their demands." Organisers said the assurances were given in writing The Quint. Scroll later reported that the Kisan Sabha and the state government signed an agreement on 12 March Scroll. According to the AIKS's own account, Fadnavis tabled it in the Assembly on 13 March PARI (AIKS account).
- Forest land: a committee would hand over title to Adivasi cultivators who could prove, with documents from before 2005, that they had been tilling the land. Claims would be cleared in six months. An official said the department had over one lakh pending FRA applications The Quint.
- Loan waiver: the 2017 waiver would cover loans from 2001 to 2009; applications for loans from before 2009 had been rejected until then. Term loans would also be included. Allowing separate applications for each borrower in a family would be considered after costing PARI.
- Pensions: pensions for farm workers would rise from Rs 500 to Rs 1,000 a month IndiaSpend via BS.
- River linking: river-linking and dam projects would not displace farmers or send water to Gujarat PARI.
- Land acquisition: no land would be taken for the Samruddhi highway without farmers' consent PARI.
Both accounts
Organisers' account
AIKS president Ashok Dhawale said: "We have achieved a historic victory as the government has given its assurances in writing this time" The Quint. Nawale said the forest rights decision would come within six months and called the outcome "a big achievement" Al Jazeera. He also said the fight for a full loan waiver would continue. CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury said that if the promises were not kept, the next movement would be "much bigger" and not confined to farmers Governance Now.
Government's account
Government's position Fadnavis said the government was "sensitive" to the farmers PARI. He said the Swaminathan MSP recommendation "was accepted and would be implemented", but that the state could not accept the demand for further loan waivers. He said the Nar-Par-Tapi-Narmada and Damanganga-Pinjal links would bring north Maharashtra more irrigation water The Quint. The government said it had already sent banks waiver funds for 4.62 million farmers, with 3.55 million beneficiaries so far Governance Now.
Some demands were outside the state's control. J.P. Gavit said the leaders knew the state could not enforce the Swaminathan MSP formula, because that power lies with the Centre PARI.
Implementation after March 2018
At the time of the march, a state minister told PTI he had settled 50% of tribal FRA claims Al Jazeera. In November 2018 about 20,000 farmers, most of them Adivasi, marched from Thane to Azad Maidan under a different group, the Lok Sangharsh Morcha. It said the state had rejected 63% of FRA claims between March and September 2018 without hearing the claimants. The government reportedly agreed to reassess at least 7,000 claims Scroll.
By February 2019 the AIKS said the deadlines had passed. Nawale said tribal claimants had been told the original documents they submitted had gone missing from government offices Tribune. Government's position On 17 February 2019 the government said it had cleared more than 43,000 forest rights claims in the previous three months The Quint (PTI).
The second Long March, February 2019
After talks with Fadnavis on 17 February 2019 broke down, the AIKS said about 80,000 farmers would march from Nashik on 20 February, aiming to reach Mumbai during the budget session Tribune. Nawale said: "The government did not keep a single word" PARI.
Claim · AIKS The AIKS said police stopped contingents from Thane, Palghar and Ahmednagar from reaching Nashik, and that officials had filed cases against organisers of farmers' meetings in Ahmednagar PTI via BS Tribune. The start slipped by a day. The march finally set off on the afternoon of 21 February, still without police permission PARI.
The same day, after three and a half hours of talks with ministers Girish Mahajan and Jaykumar Rawal at Ambebahula village in Nashik, the AIKS suspended the march. Dhawale said about 50,000 farmers had taken part. He said the government had promised in writing that ministers and AIKS leaders would review progress every two months: "Such meetings did not happen over the past year" PTI via BS. As reported by Hindustan Times, Dhawale said 15 demands had been met, with the FRA to be implemented within three months. Mahajan said the demands "will be met in a timely manner" SabrangIndia, citing HT.
The 2023 Long March
On 12 March 2023 (13 March in IANS and Outlook reports), five years after the first march, more than 10,000 farmers, ASHA workers and others set out from Dindori in Nashik district with a 17-point charter, under the Eknath Shinde and Devendra Fadnavis government Deccan Herald Outlook. IANS put the number at over 15,000. The trigger was a crash in onion prices. Demands included Rs 600 a quintal in relief for onion growers, 12 hours of uninterrupted power, a loan waiver and forest land rights Outlook.
After talks on 15 and 16 March, Shinde made a statement in the Assembly on 17 March. Orders and implementation schedules were handed to the AIKS, and on 18 March it called off the march at Vasind in Thane district. Some marchers were unhappy with the Rs 350 a quintal onion relief, against the Rs 600 they had demanded IANS via ummid Deccan Herald. More than 40 marchers fell ill, and a 58-year-old farmer from Dindori died at the Vasind camp Deccan Herald.
Where things stand
On 25 January 2026 the AIKS and CPI(M) led another march from Nashik towards Mumbai. Its demands included FRA titles, land record entries, PESA recruitment and the restoration of MGNREGA Free Press Journal. NewsGram reported more than 50,000 marchers. The march was halted in Thane district on 27 January after a delegation met ministers and Fadnavis. According to Dhawale, the state agreed to re-examine every FRA claim district by district within three months, through committees led by sub-divisional officers NewsGram. Journalist Jaideep Hardikar wrote that outside Gadchiroli and parts of eastern Maharashtra, FRA implementation in the state "remains a non-starter" National Herald.
In September 2026 Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule announced a statewide campaign from 17 September to 2 October 2026 to give full ownership to tribal farmers who have no forest land titles or only partial ones UNI. No results of that campaign had been reported by 12 October 2026.
Outcome
- Deaths and arrests (2018): none reported. About 300 marchers were treated in hospital, per ANI.
- Written agreement: signed on 12 March 2018. It promised FRA claims settled in six months, a wider loan waiver and higher pensions.
- Forest rights: deadlines missed by the AIKS's account. The state said it cleared over 43,000 claims in the three months to mid-February 2019. Claims were re-examined again in 2026.
Questions people ask
What was the Kisan Long March of 2018?
It was a walk of about 180 km from Nashik to Mumbai from 6 to 12 March 2018, organised by the All India Kisan Sabha. Most marchers were Adivasi farmers seeking forest land titles, along with farmers demanding loan waivers and better crop prices.
Why did the farmers walk through the night?
SSC board exams were being held in Mumbai on 12 March 2018. The organisers left Somaiya Ground after midnight and reached Azad Maidan by about 5 a.m., so that students and commuters would not be held up.
What did the Fadnavis government promise?
In writing, it promised to settle forest land claims backed by pre-2005 proof within six months and to widen the 2017 loan waiver to loans from 2001 to 2009. It also promised to raise farm workers' pensions and to ensure that river-linking projects would not displace farmers.
Were the promises kept?
The AIKS said in February 2019 that they were not, and marched again. The government said it had cleared over 43,000 forest rights claims in the three months before that. Forest rights remained the main demand in the 2023 and 2026 marches.
Sources
- PARI library: The Kisan Long March in Maharashtra (Ashok Dhawale, P. Sainath, Sudhanva Deshpande; LeftWord Books with AIKS), 27 Apr 2018
- PARI: Long March: Blistered feet, unbroken spirit, 13 Mar 2018
- PARI: After the March, the aftermath, 14 Mar 2018
- IndiaSpend via Business Standard: Farmers flood Mumbai, force Maharashtra govt to accept four major demands, 13 Mar 2018
- IndiaSpend via The Quint: Tribal farmer rights statistics in Maharashtra, 16 Mar 2018
- Al Jazeera: A 'long march' by India's farmers forces government to act, 14 Mar 2018
- The Quint: Farmers call off protest as Maha govt vows to meet land demands, 12-13 Mar 2018
- Times of India (via India Environment Portal): Thousands of farmers reach Mumbai, opposition supports stir, 11 Mar 2018
- Outlook: Here's why thousands of farmers are walking 180 km from Nashik to Mumbai, 11 Mar 2018
- DailyO: Farmers' long march to Mumbai: 5 things to know, 12 Mar 2018
- Governance Now: Fadnavis govt offered roadmap to address agrarian crisis, 13 Mar 2018
- Scroll: As 20,000 farmers reach Mumbai, Maharashtra reportedly agrees to reassess Adivasi land rights claims, 22 Nov 2018
- Tribune: After talks with CM fail, farmers to march again to Mumbai, 19 Feb 2019
- The Quint (PTI): Farmers' march to go on despite inconclusive talks with Maha govt, 20-21 Feb 2019
- PARI: 'This is the only way we'll be heard', 21 Feb 2019
- PTI via Business Standard: Farmers' march to Mumbai suspended after talks with Maha govt, 22 Feb 2019
- SabrangIndia: Maharashtra farmers call off second Long March after meeting with Gov't, 22 Feb 2019
- Deccan Herald: Farmers on long march yet again in Maharashtra, 13 Mar 2023
- Outlook: Explained: Why are farmers holding 'Long March' from Nashik to Mumbai, 16 Mar 2023
- Deccan Herald: Maharashtra farmers call off march after talks with government, 18 Mar 2023
- IANS via ummid.com: AIKS calls off farmers' 'long march', 18 Mar 2023
- Free Press Journal: Thousands of tribal farmers begin long march to Mumbai, 25 Jan 2026
- NewsGram: Long March from Nashik to Mumbai halted after meeting with Maharashtra government, 28 Jan 2026
- National Herald (Jaideep Hardikar): "We are not statistics. Listen to us!", 31 Jan 2026
- UNI: Maharashtra to grant full legal land ownership rights to tribal farmers, 9 Sept 2026