Updated: December 17, 2020 7:15:15 am
Sharad Joshi was the only one among the great agricultural leaders of India who supported globalization and the entry of multinational companies into agriculture. Express file
On Monday, some farmers’ unions met with Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar to express support for the three agricultural laws against which thousands of farmers protest on the borders of Delhi. Among those who knew Tomar was Shetkari Sanghatana, the Maharashtra-based union that was founded by the legendary agricultural leader Sharad Joshi.
Joshi and his vision
Before tackling farmers’ problems, Joshi, an economist by training, worked for the United Nations in Switzerland. After returning to the country, he bought land near the now Chakan industrial belt in the Khed taluka of Pune district and became a full-time farmer. In 1979, he led a group of farmers to block the Pune-Nashik highway to push for higher prices for onions. The genesis of the Shetkari Sanghatana lies in this movement, in which onion growers threw their produce on the road to underscore their demand.
Joshi believed that unless the problems of Bharat (that is, rural India) were strongly raised in India (a reference to cities and urban areas), farmers would never receive justice. Its upheavals, therefore, were invariably staged in urban areas and calculated to impact urban life. Protesters often gathered on roads or railways to push for better sugar cane prices or the elimination of the state monopoly on the purchase of cotton. 📣 Follow Express explained on Telegram
Faith in the open market
Since its inception, the Shetkari Sanghatana has expressed its opinion on market access. Joshi was convinced that the root cause of farmers’ problems lay in their limited access to the market. Markets, Joshi would say, should be open and competitive to allow for prices of agricultural products. He accused governments of intentionally deflating the prices of agricultural products to ensure that consumers get them cheap.
Joshi and his hugely popular Sanghatana took to the streets to demand the removal of zone boundaries for sugarcane farmers, or a ban on the interstate movement of cotton. In 1984, Joshi had declared war on the Maharashtra State Cooperative Cotton Marketing Federation’s monopoly on the purchase of cotton. The federation was then the only buyer of cotton and farmers had to queue for days to sell their crop. There were reports of nepotism and corruption. Joshi and his followers went to the borders of Maharashtra with their cotton in open violation of government rules. The agitation was successful and the government was forced to retract the law against the interstate movement of cotton.
Joshi was the only one among the three great agricultural leaders of India at that time; the other two were Mahendra Singh Tikait from the Bharatiya Kisan Union and MD Nanjundaswamy from Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha, who supported globalization and the entry of multinational companies into agriculture. When supporters of Tikait and Nanjundaswamy set fire to the outlets of US fast food giants, Joshi and his supporters held marches in support of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). Joshi welcomed India’s membership of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 1995.
It was his belief in open markets that led Joshi to oppose the chain of Agricultural Products Market Committees (APMC). In his view, these cooperative markets were an impediment to achieving honest prices for farmers. While other agricultural leaders demanded government subsidies, Joshi spoke about open markets.
Sanghatana and the current crisis
As support for the open market is part of its DNA, the Sanghatana was one of the first bodies to come out in support of the agricultural reforms announced by the central government. Of the three new laws, the Trade in Agricultural Products and Trade (Promotion and Facilitation) Act 2020 received the most support from the union. According to Sangthana President Anil Ghanwat, the law restricts the power of the APMCs to regulate agricultural trade within its four walls and allows real free markets to operate for farmers.
The current system prevents farmers from getting better prices, Ghanwat said. “Only a handful of merchants control the auctions. Now that the markets are opening, we expect new operators to enter the market. This will help in fair competition. “
As a result of the changes, investments will be made in cold rooms and warehouses in rural areas, Ghanwat said.
When asked about his meeting with the Minister of Agriculture, Ghanwat said this was the “first time in the last 40 years” that farmers have the opportunity to benefit from the open market. “If under pressure from farmers in just two states, the central government makes the decision to repeal the law, it would mean the end of the road for this (initiative),” he said. No popular government would ever try to offer a free market to farmers, he said.
The politics of Sanghatana
The group claims to be politically to the left of the center. At its peak, many senior leaders of the Sanghatana were elected to the Maharashtra Assembly. Joshi himself entered Rajya Sabha on a Shiv Sena ticket, but was most remembered for his vote against the women’s reserve bill. Currently, the Sanghatana has members of the zilla parishad in various districts of Maharashtra.
While the Sanghatana has supported farm laws, it has also demanded that the ban on the export of onions be lifted immediately and threatened to throw onion bulbs at BJP MPs if the central government does not comply with the demand.
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