Mahendra Singh Tikait

Mahendra Singh Tikait, BKU leader

Mahendra Singh Tikait (Hindi: महेन्द्र सिंह टिकैत) (6 October 1935 – 15 May 2011) was a noted Indian leader of farmers from western Uttar Pradesh state. He was born in 1935 at village Sisauli in Muzaffarnagar District of Uttar Pradesh. He was the President of the 'Bharatiya Kisan Union'. Tikait died in Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh on 15 May 2011 due to protracted illness from bone cancer at the age of 76. He was a Jat of Balyan Khap.

Biography

Leader of farmers and peasants

Tikait was a leader of farmers and President of the Bharatiya Kisan Union. He led a number of mass Kisan movements against the state and central governments in India to support the rights of the farmers. He led many international delegations with him around the globe.^{[citation needed]} The character of Kisan movements since the 1970s has been a matter of considerable debate. Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) worked in close cooperation with international organizations such as La Via Campesina, Farmers Coordination Committee India etc.^{[citation needed]}

The BKU received national attention in 1988, when its supporters organised a virtual siege in Meerut in pursuit of higher prices for sugarcane, cancellation of loans and lowering of water and electricity rates.^{[citation needed]}

In 2006, around one lakh (100,000) farmers^{[citation needed]} gathered in Mumbai during heavy rains to protest against Government's WTO and anti-farmers policies.A memorandum addressed to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was released urging to keep agriculture out of WTO. Tikait said " It does not matter how much it rains here. We will not stop our fight. The Government will have to hear us. We need a change of Policies".^{[citation needed]}

Rise of Bhartiya Kisan Union

Poverty and Lack of Political power was a constant theme in the discourse of Tikait, the leader of Kisan Union. After the death of former Prime Minister of India late Ch.Charan Singh(1979–80)in western U.P. was called the second 'Maseeha'or The Savior of farmers. On 17 October 1986 he formed a non-political organization named 'Bhartiya Kisan Union(BKU)' to protect the interests of all the farmers of India, who form an overwhelming majority in the population of the country.^{[citation needed]}

One journalist asked him "Whether the Kisan Union also represented the landless labourers, Tikait attempted to side-step the question by saying "There is no Mazdoor(Labourers) as such. We are all labourers...Some are big labourers, some are small...Who is the rich farmer? There is no rich farmer.The house we are sitting in belongs to a farmer who is considered the third richest in this village of 20,000 people.And yet he does not have even 18 acres (73,000 m²) of land-the ceiling".^[1]

Mahendra Singh Tikait-Rural Agitation and Farmer's Movement

The villages adjoining his village have not paid electricity bills for a long time, yet have not been penalised by successive governments.^{[citation needed]}

Remarks against Mayawati

Tikait was arrested and later released on bail on April 2, 2008 for allegedly making derogatory and caste-based remarks against Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati at a rally in Bijnore on March 30, 2008.^[2] Almost 6000 men from the security forces had surrounded Tikait in his village. The entire row sparked off after Tikait had referred to Mayawti by her caste.

Farmers plan protest march against talks

Thousands of farmers, under the banner of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU), are expected took part in a protest march on Thursday against India hosting an informal WTO meeting in the Capital, BKU said on Wednesday.^[3]

Kisaan Jagriti Divas

The farmers celebrate kisaan jagriti divas on the birthday of kissan maseeha Mahendra singh tikait's birthday in whole India.

See also

• Sharad Anantrao Joshi
• Raju Shetty

References

1. ^ Cooper, Frederick; Packard, Randall M. (1997), International development and the social sciences: essays on the history and politics of knowledge, University of California Press, p. 335, ISBN 9780520209572, http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=NueOngvzwK0C 
2. ^ Tikait arrested | 'Calling Maya names was a mistake'
3. ^ http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/Economy/Farmers-plan-protest-march-against-talks/articleshow/4966118.cms

External links

• Mahendra Singh Tikait Arrested before Surrender In Muzaffarnagar
• Mahendra Singh Tikait addressing a press conference in Mysore
• Tikait, supporters arrested to prevent BKU rally
• Tikait declares: Love marriages are dirty
• Tikait in THE HINDU
• [1]
• Official information at NIC

Persondata
Name	Tikait, Mahendra Singh
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1935
Place of birth
Date of death	2011
Place of death