In January 1988, around twenty thousand farmers had gathered in the city of Meerut, Uttar Pradesh. They were protesting against the government decision to increase electricity rates. The farmers camped for about three weeks outside the district collector’s office until their demands were fulfilled. It was a very disciplined agitation of the farmers and all those days they received regular food supply from the nearby villages. The Meerut agitation was seen as a great show of rural power of farmers cultivators. These agitating farmers were members of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU), an organisation of farmers from western Uttar Pradesh and Haryana regions. Similar demands were made by other farmers’ organisations in the country. Shetkari Sanghatana of Maharashtra declared the farmers’ movement as a war of Bharat (symbolising rural, agrarian sector) against forces of India (urban industrial sector).

In which state was Rayata Sangha working like Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU)?

Karnataka

Like the BKU, farmers’ organisations across States recruited their members from communities that dominated regional electoral politics. Shetkari Sanghatana of Maharashtra and Rayata Sangha of Karnataka, are prominent examples of such organisations of the farmers.