The Banyan tree has deep roots, wide, lush branches and is a sacred tree that protects the land and shelters local communities. Sometimes, the spirit of the Banyan is embodied in a leader who builds deep roots and protects the local community. In Ran Singh bhai, a Gandhian leader with clear eyes and a strong voice that reverberated for peace and justice across generations, we had the shelter of the Banyan tree. Serious and conservative with his words, he was a leader that we would look up to, and sometimes be nervous in talking to, even though he was always kindly and well spoken when the conversation would arise. The first time I got to really spend time and talk to him was during the Jai Jagat Global Padayatra (Peace march) in 2019-2020, as we walked along dusty highways and vast farmlands, meeting farmers, discussing challenges facing local communities and solutions from a grassroots perspective. During the padayatra, he would be amongst the first to get up and get ready, and often one of the last to sleep since he would be on the phone, talking, coordinating, organising and planning for the next halt, or discussing with a farmer who had met him about soil, seed and rain. He was a scholar, a practitioner and a scientist who had spent decades understanding land and its relationship with the landless.

Across the years, I learnt more and more about Ran Singh bhai’s work, his journeys with Raja ji and how they supported over 500 dacoits to surrender, and transformed lives by engaging them in service to humanity, the protection and revival of indigenous fauna of central India, protecting land rights, farmer rights and preserving and celebrating indigenous identities. He truly carried forward and reimagined the Gandhian spirit through the use of Khadi as a tool to empower rural communities, and promoting the principle of ‘Swaraj’, building resilient communities that align the needs of the underprivileged with the demands of twenty-first century India. In the time I spent with him, I observed the organic approach towards feminism that he cultivated, supporting courageous and dedicated leadership from women, who were at the frontlines of leading change at MGSA and beyond. When I went to MGSA, I also learnt that they were supporting education for girls, and helping empower a new generation. It is difficult to encapsulate the sheer expanse of his work, and the impact on hundreds of thousands of lives and families across generations, and considering Ran Singh bhai’s nature, he would probably be embarrassed at these descriptions, and gently tell me off.

When I got to spend time with Ran Singh bhai, he must have been in his 60s. Yet, he was tireless. After walking over 2600 km across India and Armenia, we had to pause the Jai Jagat padayatra when the pandemic stuck, and he immediately started mobilising the MGSA community to provide food, support and shelter to hundreds of thousands of migrants who were making their way home due to the lockdown across India. His work was always led by practice, and when I got to know him better, I would find myself having discussions with him without hesitation, and despite an entire lifetime of experience beyond anything I could imagine, he would always take time and share his learnings and provide perspectives I could not imagine. He was a simple and kindly soul, and carried his simplicity wherever he went. I am reminded of an incident in Armenia. Through the march, Ran Singh bhai would carry just three pairs of clothes, and wash the clothes every alternate day. We were walking down the mountainside in Armenia in February in knee-deep snow, and in the evening, we rested in a small school in the mountains. Ran Singh bhai diligently washed the clothes in the freezing cold, and left the clothes on to a side gate. In the morning, the clothes were frozen solid. We did manage to rescue the clothes, but despite the hardships of the terrain and weather, he stuck to his principles of travelling simple, doing shramdaan (contributing through labour) and staying as the strong banyan tree he was, always providing and supporting. India has lost one of its finest leaders, but we have lost our Ran Singh bhai, and though the pain of losing him is stark and unforgiving, his work lives through the countless leaders that have grown in the shade of his infinite wisdom and grace.

Jai Jagat.

Janmejay

14 March, 2026