him and in-depth interview was published on the subsequent day. This publicity was not unpleasant especially against the background of the Press in Maharashtra which never gave him so much coverage. This was the first Punjab tour of Sharad Joshi as a farmers’ leader and the close links he developed in that first tour kept becoming thicker over the years. After that 1982 tour Punjab again came on SS agenda in 1984. It was during the second Convention of SS at Parbhani on 17, 18 and 19 February. Some representatives from Punjab attended as guests. They spoke about the agitation they had planned the following month against the Punjab Electricity Board. Joshi expressed his support and announced that at least 1000 farmers would go from Maharashtra to Chandigarh to support their struggle. “jana hai, jana hai, Chandigarh jana hai” was the slogan repeated loudly in that Convention. Just as Karl Marx gave a call, “Workers of the world, unite” to create class consciousness amongst working class the world-over, Joshi felt that farmers should also create their own brotherhood; their hopes and disappointments were similar. Moreover, for the Sanghatana workers to visit Punjab, was going to mean an expansion of their perspective, which Joshi felt was desirable. The stir in Chandigarh that started on 12 March 1984 was a high point for the farmers’ movement in Punjab. For subsequent six days the Raj Bhavan of Punjab was gheraoed by over one lakh farmers. Forgetting all their differences Hindus and Sikhs jointly took part; quite unique against the background of communal violence that had erupted there. Basically this agitation was against the electricity tariff hike. Of course there were many other demands as well. It is important to note here the flip side of the green revolution. While it was true that the use of improved seeds, fertilizers and pesticides along with adequate irrigation increased the farm 202
Q
Sharad Joshi : Leading Farmers to the Centre Stage
