Agrarian Unrest

The failure of monsoons still plagued the country, and the drought in 1987 was severe, causing much rural distress. Kalahandi district in Orissa was particularly affected. The discontent in the countryside went beyond the rain-fed areas to the irrigated areas. Farmers’ organisations were formed. The most famous were the Shetkari Sanghatana led by Sharad

Joshi, who had once been civil servant, and the Bharatiya Kisan Union led by Mahendra Singh Tikait. While the former’s bas was in Maharashtra, the latter covered Punjab and Haryana. These leaders spoke of a divide in the country

– between the Bharat of villagers and the India of the urban middle class, with the former getting little attention in the economic policies formulated by the government. Their demand was that there should be a higher price for agricultural produce and subsidised power for agricultural use. In actual fact, however, these organisations were representatives of the rich and middle level farmers, not the really poor sections of rural society. The poor all over India, whether in the urban or in the rural areas, shared the same problems which seldom found voice.