Bharatiya Kisan Sangh
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The Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS) () is an Indian farmers' organization that is politically linked to the
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS,, ) is an Indian right-wing politics, right-wing, Hindutva, Hindu nationalist volunteer paramilitary organisation. It is the progenitor and leader of a large body of organisations called the Sangh Parivar ( ...
. BKS was founded by Dattopant Thengadi in 1978. As of 2000,
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS,, ) is an Indian right-wing politics, right-wing, Hindutva, Hindu nationalist volunteer paramilitary organisation. It is the progenitor and leader of a large body of organisations called the Sangh Parivar ( ...
claimed BKS had a quarter million members, organized in 11,000 villages and 301
districts A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions ...
across the country. The organization is dominated by landed gentry.


Founding

The first chapter of BKS to be formed was its
Rajasthan Rajasthan (; Literal translation, lit. 'Land of Kings') is a States and union territories of India, state in northwestern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the List of states and union territories of ...
branch, founded on 13 March 1978. The all India organization of BKS was announced by Thengadi on 4 March 1979 at the first All India Conference of BKS in Kota. The 650 delegates at the 1979 conference had been handpicked by Thengadi, who travelled across the country to meet with farmers' representatives. The launch of BKS was preceded by earlier efforts of RSS to organize the peasantry. In the 1960s, RSS had organized farmers in the
Vidarbha Vidarbha (Pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, ‹id̪əɾbʱə is a geographical region in the west Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Forming the eastern part of the state, it comprises Amravati Division, Amrav ...
region, and again in 1972 in
Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...
. The RSS effort to build an agrarian front, parallel to Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh trade union movement, had however failed to attract major mass support.


1980s

On 26 February 1981 the BKS held a mass rally at the
Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly The Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly ( Telugu: ఆంధà±à°°à°ªà±à°°à°¦à±‡à°¶à± శాసన సభ, ISO: ''Ä€ndhra Pradēś ÅšÄsana Sabha'') is the lower house of the bicameral legislature of the Indian state, Andhra Pradesh. ...
in
Hyderabad Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of , much ...
, the first major farmers mobilization after the
Green Revolution The Green Revolution, or the Third Agricultural Revolution, was a period during which technology transfer initiatives resulted in a significant increase in crop yields. These changes in agriculture initially emerged in Developed country , devel ...
. The organizing of peasants in areas of Andhra Pradesh such as
Karimnagar district Karimnagar district, also known as Elagandula district, is one of the 33 districts of the Indian state of Telangana. Karimnagar city is its administrative headquarters. The district shares boundaries with Peddapalli district, Peddapalli, Jagitya ...
, Nizamabad district and
Warangal district Warangal district (formerly Warangal Rural district) is a district in the Indian state of Telangana. The district shares boundaries with Mahabubabad, Jangaon, Hanamkonda, Mulugu and Bhupalpally districts. As of June 2021, Hanamkonda tenta ...
led to tensions with the dominant Naxal movement in the area, and in February 1984 BKS Karimnagar District Secretary Gopal Reddy and Ramchander Rao (a RSS
Tehsil A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluk, or taluka () is a local unit of administrative division in India and Pakistan. It is a subdistrict of the area within a Zila (country subdivision), district including the designated populated place that ser ...
-level organizer) were killed in Jagityal. 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. In 1986–1987 BKS led a mass movement in
Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...
, culminating in a violent gherao of the
Gujarat Legislative Assembly The Gujarat Legislative Assembly or Gujarat Vidhan Sabha is the unicameral legislature of the Indian state of Gujarat, in the state capital Gandhinagar. Presently, 182 members of the Legislative Assembly are directly elected from single-member ...
in March 1987. The campaign began in October 1986, following two years of drought in the state. On 1 January 1987 a mass rally of 400,000 people was held in Vijaypur. 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. The BKS leadership was arrested and the organization declared an indefinite state-wide ''
bandh Bandh () is a form of protest used by political activists in South Asian countries such as India and Nepal. It is similar to a general strike. During a bandh, a political party or a community declare a general strike. For example, a ''Bharat (t ...
'' following the clashes. 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). Whilst the movement had a larger charter of demands, its key demand was the lowering of electricity prices for farmers. BJP supported the BKS agitation, as means of countering the influence of Sharad Joshi in the state.


Later history

With its base among wealthier farmers, BKS supported the privatization of inputs and increased mechanization of agriculture in the 1990s. In Gujarat BKS became primarily dominated by cotton farmers, an export-oriented cash crop. BKS held its sixth national conference in Hastinapur in 1999, addressed by RSS sarsanghchalak Rajendra Singh. At the time, Kunvarji Bhai Jadhav, was the BKS president. 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.


Political line

BKS describes itself as an apolitical organization, and its by-laws indicate that the BKS banner is
ochre Ochre ( ; , ), iron ochre, or ocher in American English, is a natural clay earth pigment, a mixture of ferric oxide and varying amounts of clay and sand. It ranges in colour from yellow to deep orange or brown. It is also the name of the colou ...
colour (rather than the nearly identical
saffron Saffron () is a spice derived from the flower of '' Crocus sativus'', commonly known as the "saffron crocus". The vivid crimson stigma and styles, called threads, are collected and dried for use mainly as a seasoning and colouring agent ...
colour of the RSS banner). The organization describes itself as an organization 'by farmers, for farmers', promoting agricultural self-reliance. Organizers of BKS are generally RSS members or sympathizers, its leader is largely pro-
Bharatiya Janata Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; , ) is a political party in India and one of the two major List of political parties in India, Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. BJP emerged out from Syama Prasad Mukherjee's ...
. The motto of the organization, in
Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...
, is 'Krishi Mit Krishaswa' ('Do farming yourself'), taken from the
Rigveda The ''Rigveda'' or ''Rig Veda'' (, , from wikt:ऋचà¥, ऋचà¥, "praise" and wikt:वेद, वेद, "knowledge") is an ancient Indian Miscellany, collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns (''sÅ«ktas''). It is one of the four sacred canoni ...
. The organization opposes
Genetic engineering Genetic engineering, also called genetic modification or genetic manipulation, is the modification and manipulation of an organism's genes using technology. It is a set of Genetic engineering techniques, technologies used to change the genet ...
crops in oilseed production. Whilst politically close to BJP, its relations with the party hasn't always been uncomplicated. When
Narendra Modi Narendra Damodardas Modi (born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician who has served as the Prime Minister of India, prime minister of India since 2014. Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Par ...
, as
Chief Minister of Gujarat The chief minister of Gujarat is the head of government, chief executive of the government of the Indian state of Gujarat. The governor appoints the chief minister, whose Cabinet (government), council of ministers are Cabinet collective respons ...
, increased electricity prices in 2003 the BKS launched a protest movement against the BJP government, with a 50,000 strong protest in
Gandhinagar Gandhinagar () is the capital of the state of Gujarat in India. Gandhinagar is located approximately 23 km north of Ahmedabad, on the west central point of the industrial corridor between the megacities of Delhi and Mumbai. Gandhinagar ...
.''Indian Express''.
The return of kisan politics
'
The BJP responded by evicting the BKS from its state headquarters at the Members of Legislative Assembly quarters. The RSS intervened, trying to reconcile BKS and BJP in the state. But in
Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...
BKS refused to support BJP in the
2004 Indian general election General elections were held in India in four phases between 20 April and 10 May 2004. Over 670 million people were eligible to vote, electing 543 members of the 14th Lok Sabha. Seven states also held assembly elections to elect state governmen ...
. In 2007, the BKS showed resentment with the ruling
Bharatiya Janata Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; , ) is a political party in India and one of the two major List of political parties in India, Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. BJP emerged out from Syama Prasad Mukherjee's ...
(BJP) government in
Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...
. Dissatisfied with the prevailing cotton prices, it led to farmers' agitation in Saurashtra. In September 2020, the BKS also protested against the agriculture bills passed by the
Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
and asked for modifications to the bill.


References


External links


Official Website
{{Bharatiya Janata Party Political organisations based in India Sangh Parivar Agricultural organisations based in India Hindu organizations 1978 establishments in India Organizations established in 1978