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 society would always adopt the thinking most suitable for itself at the given phase; no philosophy was going to be valid forever. In fact, his attempts to make headway into politics were clearly to seek an alternative. Political process, he believed, by introducing systemic changes, could achieve what sporadic agitations could not. But in present politics winning elections was paramount and by early nineties he knew he had been a failure in that area. To break out of his entanglement he was searching for some ways and the liberalization which started in 1991, he thought, provided the opportune moment to shift gear. Earlier agitations were like a spark. It had its utility but today farmers needed a flame; one that could illuminate and was steady. He developed many ideas for that kind of sustained work which he outlined before the SS executive committee meeting at Wardha on 22 October 1991, then in the major farmers’ gathering at Shegaon on 10 November 1991 and then again on 28 February 1993 during the executive committee meeting in Mumbai. Later, on 10 December 1998, SS had called a special assembly at Amaravati called Jan Sansad. A Marathi book by Joshi titled “Swatantrya ka naasale” (“What went wrong with independence”) provided the framework for that Assembly. In that book, written after seeing a lukewarm response to the Golden Jubilee of India’s independence in August 1997, Joshi had expressed his overall thinking about what ailed independent India. Joshi elaborated many ideas in due course about constructive new ways for farmers to improve their lot.

His first concept was “Chaturang Sheti” (four-prong agriculture). In that concept, he gave four added dimensions to traditional farming : Sita Sheti, Majghar Sheti, Vyapar Sheti and Niryat Sheti. 296

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Sharad Joshi : Leading Farmers to the Centre Stage