they could in fact be waiting for such an opportunity. On Saturday, 4 April, all shops in Nipani town remained closed as a token of support to the farmers. Sunday, 5 April happened to be the festival called ughadi in Karnataka and gudhi padwa in Maharashtra. It is the first day of the New Year according to the Hindu calendar. Andolan nagari was bubbling with enthusiasm. Farmers woke up early in the morning and wiped clean their tents and the portion of the road in front. They tied auspicious mango leaves at the entrances. In front of each hut a neatly washed stick was erected with a silk cloth tied at the other end and a brass pot placed in inverted position over it. This was the traditional way to welcome the New Year. All the farmers and their wives had taken early bath and had put on their best clothes. It was a unique combination of festive mood and excitement of the agitation. At night, all went to sleep on the highway in relaxed mood. No one had any clue of the terrible blow that was in store for them. It was about six in the morning of Monday, 6 April. As agitating farmers were waking up and attending to their morning chores, suddenly hoards of policemen descended on them beating them mercilessly with lathis. They demolished all the tents erected by the farmers and started throwing around all belongings kept inside. The natural instinct of some farmers was to resist the police physically but Sharad Joshi urged them not to raise their hands. Joshi had earlier told the police to arrest him only after everyone else was arrested so that he could be free to control the farmers. But the police were in no mood to pay any heed to what he was saying. They arrested him and their leaders and immediately started their action. Overnight the police had made full preparation to crush the agitation. Large police force was ordered along with several buses to ferry the agitators to jails. Sharad Joshi, Subhash Joshi, Ramesh Shipurkar and Shobhana Shipurkar were the first four to be 148
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Sharad Joshi : Leading Farmers to the Centre Stage
