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 and well informed. SS never had any property – no buildings, no cars. It had no paid staff. Joshi’s home was its office. For any programme, expenses were kept at the minimum. Even for its mass rallies, there was never much paraphernalia like a shamiyana and elaborate stage. A little hillock in the vicinity would suffice as a stage. All farmers attended the rally at their own cost. There was no system of some central fund covering expenses; the local organizers pooled their own resources. Often Joshi dug into his own savings. Not even his enemies ever accused him of personal corruption. Joshi never tried traditional ways of becoming popular with the masses. He never put on khaddar kurta-pyjama. Nor did he dress like a farmer to gain acceptance. Almost always he was in his blue jeans and a T-shirt or white manila. His speech never had any deliberate rural tone to please rural audience. His clarity of thought and sincerity ensured that he needed no other special effects. Farmers never had any difficulty in understanding what he was saying. He never cultivated an image of a very busy person. He was always available to meet any worker. There was no Personal Assistant or a peon around him. He wrote all his letters himself, made all phone calls himself, and picked up the receiver himself whenever the bell rang. He always travelled with everyone else, ate whatever others ate. Nor did he particularly follow any routine practice like attending the wedding in the families of his workers or visiting the unwell worker. When possible he would certainly go, but for him it was not something he must do. He simply disregarded any such formalities considered as necessary for anyone wanting to give leadership. But his concern for the farmers was so obvious that his followers never misunderstood his intent. Our society was riddled with so many complex and chronic problems; unemployment, pollution, deforestation, diseases, 192

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Sharad Joshi : Leading Farmers to the Centre Stage