Police arrest Gujarat, Maharashtra farmers, their leaders, seeking to proceed to Modi's birthplace Vadnagar to protest

By A Representative
The Gujarat police have prevented Aasood Yatra, a non-political farmers’ protest rally, led by maverick independent Maharashtra MLA Bacchu Kadu of Amravati, at the inter-state border immediately after it reached Navapur village, to proceed further into Gujarat.
The rally, which began in Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis’ hometown Nagpur on April 11, proposed to reach Vadnagar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s birthplace in Gujarat, on April 21. In Vadnagar, around 1,000 farmers were to donate blood in order to send a message to Modi that they were willing to give their blood if he spared their lives.
The Nagpur to Vadnagar rally consisted of hundreds of whip wielding farmers of Vidarbha. According to Khedut Samaj – Gujarat (KSG) general secretary Sagar Rabari, “About 1,000 Maharashtra farmers, along with 400 Gujarat’s farmers who were about to join the rally, were detained on the border.”

Bacchu Kadu

“Along with farmers and independent MLA Kadu, KSG president Jayesh Patel, who was in South Gujarat town of Bardoli with his supporters to welcome the yatra, was also detained at Songardh”, said Rabari, adding, “Patel had organized lunch for the Maharashtra farmers as also a joint meeting. They have all been taken to the Ucchal police station.”The rally was allowed to pass through Sukhpur, the last village in Maharashtra along the border with Gujarat. In all some 50 groups, including Shetkari Sanghatana, took part of the rally, whose claimed objective was to draw the present government's “attention towards plight of farmers forced to live in abject poverty because of wrong agriculture policies.”

The rally was called Aasood, which in Marathi means whip. It idea taken from top Maharashtra social reformer Jyotiba Phule’s novel 'Shetkaricha Aasood', which is based on the theme that the farmer should use the whip not only on the bullocks he mends but also on the oppressors.
"Motivated by that thought, I mobilized farmers to rise for their rights of a respectable life," Kadu has been quoted as saying.
Even as starting off for the rally, Kadu said, "We will crack the whip against the government to remind Modi that he has failed to fulfill electoral promise of implementing MS Swaminathan Commission's recommendation on fixing crop prices to input costs and 50% of profit.”
He wondered, “We want curbs on exports of cotton, tur to go so that farmers can benefit. When there are no such restrictions on Baba Ramdev's products, why impose them on poor farmers?”

Passing through Wardha, the rally traversed through Yavatmal and Nanded. It covered Latur, Osmanabad, Solapur and later via Sangli, Satara, Kolhapur, Pune, Ahmednagar, Aurangabad, Nashik, Dhule and Nandurbar, before it reached the border with Gujarat in order to proceed towards Vadnagar, via Ahmedabad.
Ahead of the rally, Kadu rejected any support from the Congress or the Nationalist Congress Party, saying, their Kisan Sangharsh Yatra was “nothing but a stunt”.
"These parties were in power when Swaminathan submitted his report in 2006. But they did not implement it. Now out of power they are shedding crocodile tears for farmers," Kadu reportedly said.
"The government without batting an eyelid gives 7th pay commission to its staff. But even after 3.5 lakh farmers committed suicide, they do not want to find permanent solution to agriculture crisis or invest adequately for the cause," he added.

Comments

Pradip Chatterjee. Convener, NPSSFW. said…

The farmers of India have been turned into easy prey of multinational companies by the proponents of Green Revolution. Traditional Indian agriculture that sustained through ages and was strong enough to withstand vagaries of nature was destroyed by making the farmers run after productivity driven by chemical agriculture that degraded our soil and pushed down the farmers' income with rising cost of inputs.Today farmers are committing suicide where agriculture is most productive.

Down with the agriculture policy of Government of India that sub-serves the interest of multinationals. Stop harassing the protesting farmers. We need revival of traditional / natural / organic farming. - Pradip Chatterjee.

April 20, 2017

Dipak Dholakia said…

What I liked the most in this action is the Maharashtra farmer leader Bacchu Kadu's firm no to Congress and NCP to get involved in the rally. All parties are the same. It is good to see that farmers are gathering that sort of courage. The solution of Farmers' problems is in the Farmers hands.
Despite the industrail progress, India's is basically an agrarian economy. You cannot neglect agriculture in India.

April 20, 2017

A comrade in culture and controversy: Yao Wenyuan’s revolutionary legacy

By Harsh Thakor* This year marks two important anniversaries in Chinese revolutionary history—the 20th death anniversary of Yao Wenyuan, and the 50th anniversary of his seminal essay "On the Social Basis of the Lin Biao Anti-Party Clique". These milestones invite reflection on the man whose pen ignited the first sparks of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution and whose sharp ideological interventions left an indelible imprint on the political and cultural landscape of socialist China.

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Rajiv Shah Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

Green capitalism? One-billion people in the Global South face climate hazards

By Cade Dunbar On Friday, 17 October 2025, the UN Development Programme released the 2025 edition of its Multidimensional Poverty Index Report . For the first time, the report directly evaluates their multidimensional poverty data against climate hazards, exposing the extent to which the world’s poor are threatened by the environmental crisis. According to the UNDP, approximately 887 million out of the 1.1 billion people living in multidimensional poverty are exposed to climate hazards such as extreme heat, flooding, drought, and air pollution.

N-power plant at Mithi Virdi: CRZ nod is arbitrary, without jurisdiction

By Krishnakant* A case-appeal has been filed against the order of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) and others granting CRZ clearance for establishment of intake and outfall facility for proposed 6000 MWe Nuclear Power Plant at Mithi Virdi, District Bhavnagar, Gujarat by Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) vide order in F 11-23 /2014-IA- III dated March 3, 2015. The case-appeal in the National Green Tribunal at Western Bench at Pune is filed by Shaktisinh Gohil, Sarpanch of Jasapara; Hajabhai Dihora of Mithi Virdi; Jagrutiben Gohil of Jasapara; Krishnakant and Rohit Prajapati activist of the Paryavaran Suraksha Samiti. The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has issued a notice to the MoEF&CC, Gujarat Pollution Control Board, Gujarat Coastal Zone Management Authority, Atomic Energy Regulatory Board and Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) and case is kept for hearing on August 20, 2015. Appeal No. 23 of 2015 (WZ) is filed, a...

History, culture and literature of Fatehpur, UP, from where Maulana Hasrat Mohani hailed

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* Maulana Hasrat Mohani was a member of the Constituent Assembly and an extremely important leader of our freedom movement. Born in Unnao district of Uttar Pradesh, Hasrat Mohani's relationship with nearby district of Fatehpur is interesting and not explored much by biographers and historians. Dr Mohammad Ismail Azad Fatehpuri has written a book on Maulana Hasrat Mohani and Fatehpur. The book is in Urdu. He has just come out with another important book, 'Hindi kee Pratham Rachna: Chandayan' authored by Mulla Daud Dalmai.' During my recent visit to Fatehpur town, I had an opportunity to meet Dr Mohammad Ismail Azad Fatehpuri and recorded a conversation with him on issues of history, culture and literature of Fatehpur. Sharing this conversation here with you. Kindly click this link. --- *Human rights defender. Facebook https://www.facebook.com/vbrawat , X @freetohumanity, Skype @vbrawat

What Epstein Files reveal about power, privilege and a system that protects abuse

By Bhabani Shankar Nayak* The Jeffrey Epstein scandal is not merely the story of an individual offender or an isolated circle of accomplices. The material emerging from the Epstein files points to structural conditions that allow abuse to flourish when combined with power, privilege and wealth. Rather than a personal aberration, the case illustrates how systems can create environments in which exploitation becomes easier to conceal and harder to challenge.

New RTI draft rules inspired by citizen-unfriendly, overtly bureaucratic approach

By Venkatesh Nayak* The Department of Personnel and Training , Government of India has invited comments on a new set of Draft Rules (available in English only) to implement The Right to Information Act, 2005 . The RTI Rules were last amended in 2012 after a long period of consultation with various stakeholders. The Government’s move to put the draft RTI Rules out for people’s comments and suggestions for change is a welcome continuation of the tradition of public consultation. Positive aspects of the Draft RTI Rules While 60-65% of the Draft RTI Rules repeat the content of the 2012 RTI Rules, some new aspects deserve appreciation as they clarify the manner of implementation of key provisions of the RTI Act. These are: Provisions for dealing with non-compliance of the orders and directives of the Central Information Commission (CIC) by public authorities- this was missing in the 2012 RTI Rules. Non-compliance is increasingly becoming a major problem- two of my non-compliance cases are...

Celebrating 125 yr old legacy of healthcare work of missionaries

Vilas Shende, director, Mure Memorial Hospital By Moin Qazi* Central India has been one of the most fertile belts for several unique experiments undertaken by missionaries in the field of education and healthcare. The result is a network of several well-known schools, colleges and hospitals that have woven themselves into the social landscape of the region. They have also become a byword for quality and affordable services delivered to all sections of the society. These institutions are characterised by committed and compassionate staff driven by the selfless pursuit of improving the well-being of society. This is the reason why the region has nursed and nurtured so many eminent people who occupy high positions in varied fields across the country as well as beyond. One of the fruits of this legacy is a more than century old iconic hospital that nestles in the heart of Nagpur city. Named as Mure Memorial Hospital after a British warrior who lost his life in a war while defending his cou...

Elimination of top Maoist leader alters the balance in India’s longest insurgency

By Harsh Thakor* Madvi Hidma ’s killing in an encounter in the Maredmilli forests along the Chhattisgarh–Andhra Pradesh border recently marks a significant moment for the CPI (Maoist). His wife, Rajakka, and four others were also killed. Hidma, long considered one of the organisation’s most influential field commanders, had been associated with the insurgency in Bastar for nearly three decades. He was one of the few tribal cadres to rise from a child recruit to the upper decision-making levels of the banned Maoist party.

Search This Blog