4.
Hands in Soil May 1, the day Sharad Joshi and his family landed in Mumbai happened to be a Public holiday on account of International Labour Day and also Maharashtra Day. Previous year, on 25 June 1975, Indira Gandhi had declared national emergency. She had arrested most of the opposition leaders and suspended democratic rights including freedom of Press. However, within a few months most people had more or less come to terms with the reality. There was some opposition but it was too feeble to be visible except for those whose family members were directly involved in anti-emergency struggle. “Trains are running on time,” was a note of appreciation frequently aired by the Media. By coincidence, the Deccan Queen to Pune which Joshi family boarded in Mumbai happened to leave half an hour late that day; proving wrong at least one claim of the emergency supporters! There was complete silence in the train. ‘How come this train known to be most punctual is late today?’ Joshi whispered to his neighbour, just to strike some conversation. Cold stare is what he got back as an answer. Couple of persons sitting nearby also looked at him in surprise. Everyone seemed very cautious. It was as if even the slightest criticism of system could be construed as an antigovernment act! Joshi suddenly felt suffocated. Normally the train travel Joshi was used to in India used to be full of chatter. He had read in the Swiss Press about how terror had struck India and now he knew how true that was. But he realized that there was no point in grumbling because it was his own decision to return to India. 72
Q
Sharad Joshi : Leading Farmers to the Centre Stage
