stranded on the Mumbai-Nashik-Agra Highway which was blocked in 1980. When they discovered what the agitation was all about they had invited Joshi to come to Punjab. The opportunity came about two years later. Shetkari Sanghatna had organized a rally of milk producers in Dhule on 23 April 1982 and some farmers’ leaders from other States were also invited. One of them was Balbir Singh Rajewal. He was General Secretary of Akhil Bharatiya Kisan Union under leadership of Narayan Swami Naidu of Tamil Nadu. During their meeting in Dhule, he said to Joshi, ‘We have organized a meeting in Khanna on May 28, 29 and 30 of this year. The purpose is to adopt the written constitution of Akhil Bharatiya Kisan Union. After that meeting, we have organized mass rallies of the farmers in Bhatinda, Jallundur, Firojpur and Ludhiana districts on subsequent four days. We shall be delighted if you could attend as our guest.’ Joshi liked the idea immensely. This was his opportunity to develop direct link with the farmers’ leaders from other states including from Punjab. He knew the importance of Punjab in Indian agriculture and did not want to lose this opportunity. Accordingly, along with his three colleagues, Bhaskarrao Borawake, Vijay Jawandhiya and Shrikant Taral, Joshi boarded Jhelum Express from Pune on 26 May. One professor from Alibag, a friend of Sureshchandra Mhatre, called Arvind Waman Kulkarni also joined them at the last minute. Later on, Kulkarni wrote a small book depicting their experiences of this weeklong tour. As scheduled they all reached Punjab on early morning of May 28. Khanna was an important centre for agriculture of Punjab. The Market Committee here (called Sangh) was the largest in Punjab. Its office was in a huge building surrounded by a massive ground. Out of the total wheat purchased in whole of Punjab nearly one third was purchased here. It was quite 198
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Sharad Joshi : Leading Farmers to the Centre Stage
