Page:Sharad Joshi - Leading Farmers to the Centre Stage.pdf/206

 illiteracy, superstitions, corruption, just to name a few. But Joshi avoided getting into those kind of activities which were normally called social work. He said, ‘Unless we eradicate poverty of our agriculture, our other problems would never go away. When the entire blood in human body is contaminated and body is full of boils all over, there is no point in applying ointment or dressing to any one boil. By the time you did that, five new boils prop up. You need to cleanse the entire blood from within. In the same way, if you want to remove injustices and other problems, you have to eradicate their root which is poverty and to end that poverty, we must first ensure that farmers get remunerative price.’ Joshi believed that with more money in hand a farmer could use better seeds and fertilizers, have better water supply and equipment. This would further increase his yield and income. He could start some business. This would create employment in the rural areas and reduce the pressure on our cities. Even big industries would be able to sell their products since huge rural market would open up. The sheer economy of scale would improve quality and reduce cost. When farmers prospered, it meant seventy percent of the population which depended on farming prospered. More than anything else, farmers would have dignity for their labour. That way, even their children might want to be in farming. Prosperity of farming would result in prosperity of the nation. He had personally seen something like that happen in Switzerland and had also heard about how it had happened in Japan. “We don’t need alms, just give us right price for our farm produce,” was his demand. He taught his followers how to think. While telling them to refrain from violence he urged them to have courage. Fundamentally, he taught them the value of freedom which to him was the greatest of human values. His struggle for eradication of poverty was also born out of his love When White Gold Turned Red

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