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 changed the agenda of the country, pushing the two major emotional issues of that time – construction of Ram Mandir at Ayodhya and the reservation according to the recommendations of Mandal Commission — into the background. This shift from non-essential and dividing identity issues to essential economic issues was something Joshi had strongly desired. The decision to liberalize was taken against the background of international pressure which again was the product of global paradigm shift. Just as socialism was the zeitgeist for thirty years after the Second World War, after around 1975, leaders like Ronald Regan, Margaret Thatcher and Deng Xiao Ping had ushered in the age of liberalization. Mikhail Gorbachev with his policy of Glasnost and Perestroika had revealed the severe strains in the Soviet system. The earlier glamour of Socialism lost its sheen when the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics disintegrated in 1991 following the near-collapse of its economy over the previous couple of decades. Another development in 1991 at the international level necessitated this trend towards liberalization. It was the discussion which started globally on the presentation of proposals generally known as Dunkel Draft. This proposal is regarded as the foundation for the subsequent liberalization. It is worth mentioning the background to this Dunkel Draft. The Second World War destroyed the economies of the warring European nations but economy of the United States of America was largely intact. It was by then widely accepted that whatever may be the momentary provocations for the war, the primary cause was economic. As the War was nearing its end US took the initiative to call a meeting of 44 key nations. The marathon meeting took place in the city of Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, USA, between 1 and 22 July 1944. The resolutions passed at the meeting are known as Bretton Woods Agreements. Accordingly, it was decided to form three international 286

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Sharad Joshi : Leading Farmers to the Centre Stage