Umarikar, was one of the ten and he was also arrested. He wrote a book on his experiences in Punjab. During this imprisonment, Joshi developed his first heart problem. He had chest pain and was immediately admitted to a Chandigarh hospital. It was diagnosed to be angina pain. Fortunately, he recovered soon but this heart condition remained with him for the rest of his life. Even in future Joshi kept his involvement in the farmers’ struggle in Punjab. He participated in their struggle at Wagha Border in 1998 for free trade between India and Pakistan. A few thousand farmers from Punjab, Maharashtra, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh had gone to Wagha border carrying a few sacks of wheat. In a way it was just a symbolic gesture, but the logic behind it was fairly convincing. If one took into account that the price of wheat in India that time was Rs. 300 per quintal, whereas the same in Pakistan was Rs. 800, the economic benefit to the Indian farmer of free trade between the two countries was obvious. Joshi had also participated in their struggle to get accumulated immoral loans written off. For that to happen, with the help of Advocate Ram Jethmalani, they had fought a long battle at the Punjab High Court.
Punjab chapter in Joshi’s life happened when he was looking for ways to expand beyond Maharashtra. It gave new direction for the growth of SS. For the agriculture of India, Punjab naturally had a central role and any farmers’ movement had to be active there if it had to make a national impact. Even in the days when Khalistan movement was at its peak, Joshi used to move around Punjab without any bodyguards. In fact several of his mass meetings were organized in the rural areas of Punjab which was the bastion of Khalistani leaders like Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale. Joshi never believed in the 216
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Sharad Joshi : Leading Farmers to the Centre Stage
