Rakesh Tikait

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Rakesh Tikait
Rakesh Tikait (cropped).jpg
Tikait in 2016
Born (1969-06-04) 4 June 1969 (age 55)
Education Meerut University (MA, LLB) [1]
OccupationFarmer
Organization Bharatiya Kisan Union
Spouse
Sunita Devi
(m. 1985)
Children3
Parent Mahendra Singh Tikait

Rakesh Tikait (born 4 June 1969) is an Indian farmer rights activist and national spokesperson of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU). He successfully led the farmer protests in 2020-2021 to cause repeal of three farmer laws implemented by the Indian government.

Contents

Personal life

Tikait was born on 4 June 1969 in Sisauli town of Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh. He is the son of a prominent farmer leader and BKU co-founder late Mahendra Singh Tikait. [2] His eldest brother is Naresh Tikait, who is the National President of the BKU. [2]

He upholds Gandhian ideology. [3]

Career

Tikait graduated with an M.A. degree from Meerut University and then did LLB after that. He joined Delhi Police in 1992, as constable then Sub Inspector, [4] but left Delhi police in 19931994. After leaving the police, he joined the BKU. [2] After the death of his father, Tikait officially joined BKU and later became its spokesperson. [2] In 2018, Tikait was the leader of Kisan Kranti Yatra from Haridwar, Uttrakhand to Delhi. [5] Tikait had contested the 2007 UP Assembly elections from the Khatauli seat as a candidate of the Bahujan Kisan Dal (BKD) party (with Congress support), only to finish a distant sixth. [6] [7] In the 2014 Indian general election, he fought on a Rashtriya Lok Dal ticket from Amroha Lok Sabha constituency. [8]

2020-21 Farmers protest

In November 2020, his organization BKU joined the 2020–2021 Indian farmers' protest, demanding declaration of MSP as a legal right, exclusion of farmers from the law to curb pollution to allow burning of crops (consensus to which was reached during the sixth round of talks between the Centre and Farmer Union) [9] and removal of the farm bills."Our biggest concern is that operations in mandis and outside would be different. While mandis would levy taxes, there would be no tax or market fee outside. The government is not abolishing the Agricultural Produce Market Committees directly. However, the mandi system enables an assured minimum support price, which will collapse gradually" said Rakesh Tikait. [10] After violence broke out in the National Capital on 26 January (Republic Day), Delhi Police filed an FIR against Rakesh Tikait and a few other farmer leaders for their role in inciting violence on Republic Day and breach of the NOC issued by Delhi Police. [11]

On 19 November 2021, the government took the decision to repeal the bills. Both houses of Parliament successfully passed the Farm Laws Repeal Bill, 2021 on 29 November. [12]

Related Research Articles

Chaudhary Charan Singh, better known as Charan Singh was an Indian politician and a freedom fighter. Singh was principally known for his land and agricultural reform initiatives. He briefly served as the prime minister of India from July 1979 to August 1979 and was Member of Parliament (MP) for Baghpat. During prime ministership he was a member of the Janata Party (Secular). He served as 5th Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh as a member of Bhartiya Kranti Dal. He also briefly served as deputy prime minister of India from January 1979 to July 1979 as a member of the Janata Party. Singh is widely regarded as the "Champion of farmers", after his life has been dedicated to advocating for the wellbeing and rights of farmers.

Mahendra Singh Tikait was an Indian farmer leader from the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. He was born in 1935 at village Sisauli in Muzaffarnagar District of Uttar Pradesh. He was President of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU). Mahendra Singh Tikait died in Muzaffarnagar on 15 May 2011 from bone cancer at the age of 75. Tikait had become the Chaudhary of Baliyan Khap, at the age of eight after his father's death.

Sisauli is a town and a Nagar Panchayat in Muzaffarnagar district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is situated on Muzaffarnagar-Shamli border.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chaudhary Charan Singh University</span> Public state university in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh

Chaudhary Charan Singh University, formerly Meerut University, is a public state university located in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, India. The university was established in 1965. It was later renamed to its current name after Chaudhary Charan Singh, former Prime minister of India. The university celebrated its silver jubilee in 1991.

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Rakesh Rathore alias Guru, alternatively Rakesh Rathour is an Indian politician representing Sitapur, Uttar Pradesh Assembly constituency since 2022. He is a member of Bharatiya Janata Party. Rathore won in 2022 Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly election. He was a car mechanic who had the same name as the previous MLA Rakesh Rathore. The previous MLA fell into controversy with the Yogi Adityanath government after audio clips were leaked of his private conversations in which he was being extremely critical and harsh on the government after which Rakesh Rathour was found and made his replacement.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bharatiya Kisan Union</span> Farmers Representative Organisation In India

Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) is a farmer's representative organisation in India. It was founded by Chaudhary Charan Singh from the Punjab Khetibari Union which became its Punjab branch. The union is affiliated to the All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee and Via Campesina. The national headquarters of the union is located in Sisauli, Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh.

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The 2020–2021 Indian farmers' protest was a protest against three farm acts that were passed by the Parliament of India in September 2020. The acts, often called the Farm Bills, had been described as "anti-farmer laws" by many farmer unions, and politicians from the opposition who said that it would leave farmers at the "mercy of corporates" since the farmer-trader disputes were taken to SDM instead of judiciary. The protests demanded the creation of a minimum support price (MSP) bill, to ensure that corporates cannot control the prices. The Union Government, however, maintained that the laws would make it effortless for farmers to sell their produce directly to big buyers, and stated that the protests are based on misinformation. Related endemic legacy issues include farmer suicides and low farmer incomes. Despite India being largely self-sufficient in foodgrain production and having welfare schemes, hunger and nutrition remain serious issues, with India ranking as one of the worst countries in the world in food security parameters. Due to unfulfilled previous demands 2024 Indian farmers' protest started on 13 of February 2024.

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References

  1. "राकेश टिकैत: मेरठ यूनिवर्सिटी से LLB, किसानों के लिए छोड़ी Delhi Police की नौकरी, 44 बार जा चुके हैं जेल" [Rakesh Tikait: LLB from Meerut University, left Delhi Police job for farmers, has gone to jail 44 times]. Zee Uttar Pradesh Uttarakhand (in Hindi). 28 January 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "जानिए कौन हैं राकेश टिकैत, जो किसानों की तरफ से सरकार से कर रहे बातचीत" [Find out who is Rakesh Tikait, who is talking to the government on behalf of farmers]. आज तक (in Hindi). Retrieved 28 January 2021.
  3. Mehrotra, Vani (31 January 2021). "Ideological fight with govt, will return home when new farm laws are repealed: Rakesh Tikait". India TV News.
  4. "Did you know this? Rakesh Tikait, summoned for Delhi tractor rally violence, was once a Delhi Police officer!". zeenews. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  5. "Strong movements will help farmers, says Rakesh Tikait of BKU". The Statesman. 13 April 2019. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
  6. "Statistical Report on General Election, 2007 to the Legislative Assembly of Uttar Pradesh". Election Commission of India. p. 832. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
  7. "Cong joins hands with Tikait". Indian Express. Express News Service. 26 March 2007. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
  8. Harish Damodaran (30 January 2021). "A breakdown, and the rise of farmer leader Rakesh Tikait". Indian Express. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
  9. "Farm Law Talks: Centre, Farmers Reach Consensus on Power Tariff, Stubble Burning". The Wire. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
  10. "The mandi system will eventually collapse: Rakesh Tikait on new farm laws". www.downtoearth.org.in. 21 September 2020. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
  11. Pushkar Tiwari, ed. (27 January 2021). "Yogendra Yadav, Darshan Pal, Rakesh Tikait, other leaders booked for violence during farmers' tractor march in Delhi". zeenews.india.com. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
  12. Prusty, Nigam (29 November 2021). "India's parliament passes bill to repeal controversial farm laws". Reuters. Retrieved 29 October 2023.