because today almost entire agriculture business is controlled by the Government.’ Ultimately, Joshi wanted the farmer to produce what market needed and then be able to command the right price rather than having to demand it. Joshi was highly critical of the Government which, in its attempt to support farmers, had established a complex system which included Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee (APMC), Agricultural Price Commission (APC), Food Corporation of India (FCI), Essential Commodities Act (ECA) and the Public Distribution System (PDS). Joshi believed that these five institutions had been the basic instruments of exploitation of the farmers. Joshi referred to the measures taken by them as “sultani calamities”. He maintained that a genuinely free market assured a price that adequately covered the cost of production as was happening in case of almost all other produce and the same should be applied to agricultural produce. To press for their demand of increased farm prices, SS called a special convention on 16 November 1983, Kartiki Ekadashi, at Pandharpur. The convention ended with the demand for abolition of existing Agricultural Price Commission. Later, it could be said, Rajiv Gandhi took note of that demand and changed the name of earlier APC to “Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices”. Addition of the word “Costs” indicated the new emphasis. One thing should be added here about this Convention at Pandharpur. Normally only religious events took place there, as one of the biggest pilgrimage centres in Maharashtra. But that time, purely economic matter was discussed there. In fact, Joshi had often criticized the warkaris, the pilgrims, who travelled to Pandharpur on their annual yatra during the early monsoon days when farm work would be in full swing. The area where Joshi’s own farm was located was at the heart of the warkari-dominated When White Gold Turned Red
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