CleanupBot at 06:33, 11 December 2022

2022-12-11T06:33:53Z

New page

{{Short description|RSS-affiliated Farmer's Organization}}{{distinguish|Bharatiya Kisan Union}}
{{Use Indian English|date=July 2015}}{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2020}}
{{Infobox organisation
| name = Bharatiya Kisan Sangh
| native_name =
| logo =
| caption = Logo of Kisan Sangh
| abbreviation = BKS
| motto = "Krithi Mit Krishwa" ([[Sanskrit]]: 'Do farming yourself')
| formation = {{Start date and years ago|df=yes|p=y|1979|03|04}}
| extinction = 
| parent_organization = [[Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh]]
| status = Active
| purpose = 
| headquarters = [[New Delhi]], [[India]]
| region_served = [[India]]
| membership =
| general = 
| leader_title =
| leader_name =
| leader_title2 =
| leader_name2 =
| affiliations = [[Sangh Parivar]]
| website = [http://bharatiyakisansangh.org bharatiyakisansangh.org]
}}

The '''Bharatiya Kisan Sangh''' ('''BKS''') ({{lang-en|Indian Farmers' Association|italics=yes}}) is an Indian farmers' organization that is politically linked to the [[Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh]],<ref name=EXPRESSINDIA>{{cite web|url=http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/Bharatiya-Kisan-Sangh-unhappy-with-BJP-over-cotton-support-prices/246829/|title=Bharatiya Kisan Sangh unhappy with BJP over cotton support prices|access-date=2 July 2008|publisher=Expressindia.com|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120309151907/http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/Bharatiya-Kisan-Sangh-unhappy-with-BJP-over-cotton-support-prices/246829/|archive-date=9 March 2012}}</ref> and a member of the [[Sangh Parivar]].<ref name="PPAHAFHI">{{cite book|author= S. P. Udayakumar|title= Presenting the Past: Anxious History and Ancient Future in Hindutva India|publisher= Greenwood Publishing Group|year= 2005|pages= 3|isbn= 0-275-97209-7}}</ref><ref name="ChhibberVerma2018"/><ref name="Thachil2014">{{cite book|author=Tariq Thachil|title=Elite Parties, Poor Voters|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=K1neBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA108|date=17 November 2014|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-107-07008-0|page=108}}</ref> BKS was founded by [[Dattopant Thengadi]] in 1978.<ref name="ChhibberVerma2018">{{cite book|author1=Pradeep K. Chhibber|author2=Rahul Verma|title=Ideology and Identity: The Changing Party Systems of India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nJRqDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT42|date=24 August 2018|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-062390-6|pages=42}}</ref><ref name="Jagmohan2008">{{cite book|author=Jagmohan|title=Crisis of environment and climate change|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HCUKR07wZ3wC&pg=PR7|year=2008|publisher=Allied Publishers|isbn=978-81-8424-367-3|page=vii}}</ref> As of 2000, [[Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh]] claimed BKS had a quarter million members, organized in 11,000 villages and 301 [[Districts of India|districts]] across the country.<ref name="Jaffrelot2010"/> The organization is dominated by landed gentry.<ref name="Louis2000">{{cite book|author=Prakash Louis|title=The Emerging Hindutva Force: The Ascent of Hindu Nationalism|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=917XAAAAMAAJ|year=2000|publisher=Indian Social Institute|isbn=978-81-87218-31-9|page=63}}</ref>

==Founding==
The first chapter of BKS to be formed was its [[Rajasthan]] branch, founded on 13 March 1978.<ref name=a>{{cite book|title=The Indian Journal of Agricultural Economics: Organ of the Indian Society of Agricultural Economics|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7SxHAAAAYAAJ|year=1990|publisher=The Society|pages=235–236}}</ref><ref name="Naidu1994">{{cite book|author=Kankanala Munirathna Naidu|title=Peasant movements in India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8RpuAAAAMAAJ|date=1 January 1994|publisher=Reliance Pub. House|isbn=978-81-85972-59-6|page=118}}</ref> The all India organization of BKS was announced by Thengadi on 4 March 1979 at the first All India Conference of BKS in [[Kota, Rajasthan|Kota]].<ref name=a/><ref name="Banerjee1998">{{cite book|author=Partha Banerjee|title=In the Belly of the Beast: The Hindu Supremacist RSS and BJP of India : an Insider's Story|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dituAAAAMAAJ|year=1998|publisher=Ajanta Books International|page=38}}</ref> The 650 delegates at the 1979 conference had been handpicked by Thengadi, who travelled across the country to meet with farmers' representatives.<ref name="Powers2008">{{cite book|author=Janet M. Powers|title=Kites over the Mango Tree: Restoring Harmony between Hindus and Muslims in Gujarat: Restoring Harmony between Hindus and Muslims in Gujarat|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O5JxDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA81|date=30 November 2008|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-0-313-35158-7|pages=81–83}}</ref> The launch of BKS was preceded by earlier efforts of RSS to organize the peasantry. In the 1960s, RSS had organized farmers in the [[Vidharba]] region, and again in 1972 in [[Uttar Pradesh]].<ref name="Jaffrelot2010">{{cite book|author=Christophe Jaffrelot|title=Religion, Caste, and Politics in India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XAO3i_gS61wC&pg=PA195|year=2010|publisher=Primus Books|isbn=978-93-80607-04-7|pages=195–196}}</ref> The RSS effort to build an agrarian front, parallel to [[Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh]] trade union movement, had however failed to attract major mass support.<ref name="ZavosWyatt2004">{{cite book|author1=John Zavos|author2=Andrew Wyatt|author3=Vernon Marston Hewitt|title=The Politics of Cultural Mobilization in India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dBxuAAAAMAAJ|year=2004|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-566801-8|page=121}}</ref>

==1980s==
On 26 February 1981 the BKS held a mass rally at the [[Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly]] in [[Hyderabad]], the first major farmers mobilization after the [[Green Revolution]].<ref name="Durgaiah2000">{{cite book|author=D. Durgaiah|title=Farmers Movements in India: A Study of Andhra Pradesh|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YkVuAAAAMAAJ|year=2000|publisher=Classical Publishing Company|isbn=978-81-7054-312-1|pages=40, 51}}</ref> The organizing of peasants in areas of Andhra Pradesh such as [[Karimnagar District]], [[Nizamabad District]] and [[Warangal District]] led to tensions with the dominant [[Naxalite|Naxal]] movement in the area, and in February 1984 BKS Karimnagar District Secretary Gopal Reddy and Ramchander Rao (a RSS [[taluk]]-level organizer) were killed in [[Jagityal]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Sûrya India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=23xDAAAAYAAJ|year=1988|publisher=A. Anand|page=27}}</ref> In July 1985 BKS organized a mass rally at the [[Rajasthan Legislative Assembly]], a protest movement that forced the state government to lower electricity prices.<ref name=a/>

In 1986–1987 BKS led a mass movement in [[Gujarat]], culminating in a violent [[gherao]] of the [[Gujarat Legislative Assembly]] in March 1987.<ref name=b/><ref>{{cite book|title=Economic and Political Weekly|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8VMWAQAAMAAJ|year=1987|publisher=Sameeksha Trust|page=630}}</ref><ref name=c>{{cite book|author=Romesh Thapar|title=Seminar|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DfVtAAAAMAAJ|year=1988|publisher=R. Thapar|pages=532, 535}}</ref> The campaign began in October 1986, following two years of drought in the state.<ref name="Mathur1991">{{cite book|author=Krishna Mohan Mathur|title=Police in India: Problems and Perspectives|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=k7ggAAAAIAAJ|year=1991|publisher=Gian Publishing House|isbn=978-81-212-0350-0|page=96}}</ref> On 1 January 1987 a mass rally of 400,000 people was held in Vijaypur.<ref name="Mathur1991"/> The movement culminated in the gherao of the Legislative Assembly, at which police fire killed four demonstrators at the 19 March 1987 gherao, and one police officer was killed by the demonstrators.<ref>{{cite book|title=Political Events Annual|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SaJHAAAAMAAJ|year=1989|publisher=Lok Sabha Secretariat|page=154}}</ref> The BKS leadership was arrested and the organization declared an indefinite state-wide ''[[bandh]]'' following the clashes.<ref>{{cite book|title=Data India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PIBDAAAAYAAJ|year=1987|publisher=Press Institute of India|page=152}}</ref> The 1986–1987 Gujarat movement was marked by a competition between BKS (based mainly in northern Gujarat, with some influence in central Gujarat) and the Khedut Samaj and Kisan Sanghatana (based in south Gujarat).<ref name="Durgaiah2000"/><ref name=c/> Whilst the movement had a larger charter of demands, its key demand was the lowering of electricity prices for farmers.<ref name=c/> BJP supported the BKS agitation, as means of countering the influence of [[Sharad Joshi]] in the state.<ref name="Brass2013">{{cite book|author=Dr Tom Brass|title=Peasants, Populism and Postmodernism: The Return of the Agrarian Myth|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=50QsBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA136|date=1 February 2013|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-136-32515-1|page=136}}</ref>

==Later history==
With its base among wealthier farmers, BKS supported the privatization of inputs and increased mechanization of agriculture in the 1990s.<ref name="Gupta2019"/> In Gujarat BKS became primarily dominated by cotton farmers, an export-oriented cash crop.<ref name="Gupta2019">{{cite book|author=Sejuti Das Gupta|title=Class, Politics, and Agricultural Policies in Post-liberalisation India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mQiKDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA172|date=9 May 2019|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-108-41628-3|pages=172–173}}</ref>

BKS held its sixth national conference in [[Hastinapur]] in 1999, addressed by RSS [[sarsanghchalak]] [[Rajendra Singh (RSS)|Rajendra Singh]].<ref name=o>{{cite book|title=Organiser|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iNA-AQAAIAAJ|year=1999|publisher=Bharat Prakashan|page=li}}</ref> At the time, Kunvarji Bhai Jadhav, was the BKS president.<ref name=o/> Anand Prakash Singhal, elder brother of VHP head Ashok Singhal and a US-educated agriculturist, played a significant role in the BKS. He was instrumental in India obtaining the patent for cow urine.{{citation needed|date=April 2021}}

==Political line==
BKS describes itself as an apolitical organization, and its by-laws indicate that the BKS banner is [[ochre]] colour (rather than the nearly identical [[saffron]] colour of the RSS banner).<ref name="Powers2008"/> The organization describes itself as an organization 'by farmers, for farmers',<ref name="Powers2008"/> promoting agricultural self-reliance.<ref name="Parvathy2003">{{cite book|author=A. A. Parvathy|title=Hindutva, Ideology, and Politics|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RGbXAAAAMAAJ|date=1 January 2003|publisher=Deep & Deep Publications|isbn=978-81-7629-450-8|page=118}}</ref> Organizers of BKS are generally RSS members or sympathizers, its leader is largely pro-[[Bharatiya Janata Party]].<ref name=b>{{cite book|title=Party Life|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CdgsAAAAIAAJ|year=1990|publisher=Communist Party of India|page=54}}</ref> The motto of the organization, in [[Sanskrit]], is 'Krithi Mit Krishwa' ('Do farming yourself'), taken from the [[Rig Veda]].<ref name="Powers2008"/> The organization opposes [[genetically modified]] crops in oilseed production.<ref>''The Hindu''. ''[https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/agri-business/bharatiya-kisan-sangh-opposes-gm-tech-in-oilseeds/article29360411.ece Bharatiya Kisan Sangh opposes GM tech in oilseeds]''</ref>

Whilst politically close to BJP, its relations with the party hasn't always been uncomplicated. When [[Narendra Modi]], as [[Chief Minister of Gujarat]], increased electricity prices in 2003 the BKS launched a protest movement against the BJP government, with a 50,000 strong protest in [[Gandhinagar]].<ref name=d>''Indian Express''. ''[https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/the-return-of-kisan-politics-4719127/ The return of kisan politics]''</ref> The BJP responded by evicting the BKS from its state headquarters at the Members of Legislative Assembly quarters.<ref name=d/> The RSS intervened, trying to reconcile BKS and BJP in the state. But in [[Gujarat]] BKS refused to support BJP in the [[2004 Indian general election]].<ref name=d/> In 2007, the BKS showed resentment with the ruling [[Bharatiya Janata Party]] (BJP) government in [[Gujarat]]. Dissatisfied with the prevailing cotton prices, it led to farmers' agitation in [[Saurashtra (region)|Saurashtra]].<ref name=EXPRESSINDIA/>

In September 2020, the BKS also protested against the [[Indian farm reforms 2020|agriculture bills]] passed by the [[Indian Parliament|Parliament]]<ref>{{Cite web|date=September 22, 2020|title=Madhya Pradesh farmers take to streets, threaten stir over agriculture bills |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bhopal/mp-farmers-take-to-streets-threaten-stir-over-agri-bills/articleshow/78243129.cms|access-date=2020-09-23|website=The Times of India|language=en}}</ref> and asked for [[Amend (motion)|modifications]] to the bill.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Anshuman|first=Kumar|title=Govt must send farm bills to the parliamentary standing committee: Bhartiya Kisan Sangh|work=The Economic Times|url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/govt-must-send-farm-bills-to-the-parliamentary-standing-committee-bhartiya-kisan-sangh/articleshow/78152794.cms|access-date=2020-09-23}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-09-20|title=Bhartiya Kisan Sangh: Farm Bills in present form not acceptable|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/india/bhartiya-kisan-sangh-farm-bills-in-present-form-not-acceptable/|access-date=2020-09-23|website=The Indian Express|language=en}}</ref>


==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://bharatiyakisansangh.org/ Official Website]

{{Sangh Parivar}}
{{Bharatiya Janata Party}}

[[Category:Political organisations based in India]]
[[Category:Sangh Parivar]]
[[Category:Agricultural organisations based in India]]
[[Category:Hindu organizations]]
[[Category:1978 establishments in India]]
[[Category:Organizations established in 1978]]

Bharatiya Kisan Sangh - Revision history

CleanupBot at 06:33, 11 December 2022