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 for any leader to make in that sensitive area which had the background of long-standing border dispute. That statement received spontaneous applause from all the farmers. Joshi firmly believed that the Maharashtra-Karnataka border issue or MarathiKannada language issue was the creation of some selfish politicians for their own vote-catching and common man had no such division in his mind. The atmosphere prevailing in the andolan nagari proved his point. However, Karnataka government totally neglected the agitation. This neglect further infuriated the farmers who had hoped earlier that seeing their strong resolve the government would concede to their highly legitimate demands or at least start negotiations. To keep up the enthusiasm of the farmers, organizers found different innovative ways. On 18 March, 3000 farmers fasted jointly. That kind of collective fast on such a scale was unheard of for many. This helped boost confidence and also built further the spirit of unity amongst farmers. On Thursday, 2 April, 40,000 agitating farmers took out a massive procession from andolan nagari to Nipani town and back. It was so disciplined that the police had no role to play except to stand by the roadside quietly. The discipline seen in the procession impressed the town people. On the other hand, a procession organized by the traders of Nipani on 3 April, the following day, in the Nipani town to show their opposition to the agitating farmers, attracted hardly couple of hundred persons. Moreover, it ended in throwing stones at the homes of Subhash Joshi and Gopinath Dharia, breaking the window panes and damaging the twowheelers parked in front of their homes. In retaliation, the agitating farmers wanted to go to Nipani town to teach the traders a lesson, but Sharad Joshi persuaded them not to do so, insisting that their agitation had to remain peaceful, no matter what the provocation would be. He knew very well that any such act of violence would invite brutal action from the police and Smouldering Tobacco in Nipani

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