for that. It exhorts him not to join the ranks of the exploiters by becoming a part of the system but to fight hard so that his parents toiling in the scorching fields can get a life of dignity. The article evoked incredible response from the young children of the farmers in rural Maharashtra who had gone to cities for study. Many students had pasted that article on their hostel walls and were always moved to tears whenever they read it. The letter played a big part in taking ideas behind Shetkari Sanghatana to rural Maharashtra which caught rapid fire. That entire letter was based on Joshi’s days in Kolhapur and it captures all that went through his mind as he conversed with the students there. After that exposure to the world of hostel students Joshi completely changed his style of teaching. He began to use the language any student coming from vernacular medium would also understand. The focus no longer was to dazzle students with his knowledge but on getting across the basic economic thought to students. When his farmers’ struggle spread and Joshi began to address rallies of thousands of farmers, men and women both, the audience would understand his thinking easily. Even an ordinary worker of Shetkari Sanghatana, without having much education, could explain the importance of globalization and liberalization to audiences and could comfortably answer all the queries of journalists and economists. Ability to explain even the most complex ideas in simple language became an important weapon in Joshi’s armor as he took his ideas to millions. During that one year of teaching, Joshi worked with Dr Bhanage on a project that studied “Impact of rural electrification in Kolhapur district”. Both had to travel to remotest corners of the district and meet a large number of villagers. It was a study that convinced him of the importance of technology in transforming lives of people. He had mentioned that project in his bio-data prepared when he was abroad.
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Sharad Joshi : Leading Farmers to the Centre Stage
