Joshi invited to lead their struggle… BBC coverage… 15,000 farmers start rasta roko… firing on 6 April 1981… twelve farmers killed… unity of Marathi and Kannada farmers, no trace of border dispute… first step outside Maharashtra
8. When White Gold Turned Red ...................................... 153 Cartful of cotton fetched one tola of gold… prosperity of Bombay textile mills… exploitation of farmers… why Mahatma Gandhi focussed on Khadi and Charkha… symbol of freedom struggle… burning of foreign cloth… corruption of Monopoly Purchase scheme of Maharashtra Government… 12 Dec 1986, sevagram rail roko…cases in High Court… reasons for farmers’ suicide… struggle spreads far and wide
9. Building Shetkari Sanghatana ....................................... 173 Need to build an organization…training camps… 1 Jan 1982, first Convention of Shetkari Sanghatana at Satana… ideological grounding of the organization… history of farming… all wealth and culture came from agriculture… plunder by aggressors and kings… brown ruler replaces white ruler… exploitation continues… ‘Remunerative price for farm produce’ was the one-point programme
10. Joshi in Punjab .............................................................. 195 28 May 1982, Bharatiya Kisan Union Meeting in Khanna… helping other leaders understand root of the problem… first involvement in Punjab… 12 Mar 1984, one lakh Hindu and Sikh farmers gherao Raj Bhavan in Chandigarh for six days to protest against high power tariff… Show of Hindu-Sikh Unity… Bhupinder Singh Mann …limitations of Green Revolution… increased production did not help farmers Sharad Joshi : Leading Farmers to the Centre Stage
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