Maharashtra farmers' strike: Fadnavis has lost the plot despite loan waiver

The real trigger was the govt's reluctance to ensure price support to tur producers in the state

The spontaneity driving the ongoing farmers’ strike in Maharashtra has rendered it unusual and extraordinary. Though the farmers in the Puntamba block in western Maharashtra are not known to have a strong farmers’ organisation, their decision to not cultivate their fields this monsoon has fired the imagination of farmers in different districts across the state. The phenomenon is unique, but the method of agitation is not.

In the heydays of the Shetkari Saghatana, led by Sharad Joshi, then the country’s most articulate farmers’ organiser, an attempt was made to stop the supply of milk to cities. The move, however, turned