Page:Sharad Joshi - Leading Farmers to the Centre Stage.pdf/76

 Individual freedom was the principle Joshi cherished the most throughout life. In a strange way it was also linked to his love for mountaineering. Swiss love for mountains is famous. Wherever you go in that country, you are never far off from a mountain. Joshi loved mountains since childhood. Perhaps it was connected with his physical condition as touched upon in the first chapter. Most of our restrictions are tied to soil and as you move upwards, gradually you begin to find even mental freedom from those restrictions. As someone once said, ‘As we elevate ourselves, we become freer.’ Joshi’s love for freedom could be an influence of economic theories of his favourite writers like Ayn Rand, or there may be some other reasons for it, but his eight-year stay in Switzerland certainly had something to do with it. Importance of economic prosperity, priority to agriculture, use of technology and individual freedom remained the four important aspects of Joshi’s work in India after his return from Switzerland. Q

Years in Switzerland

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