Mahendra Singh Tikait

Mahendra Singh Tikait () (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. 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 like La Via Campesina, Farmers Coordination Committee India etc.

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.

In 2006, around one lakh (100,000) farmers 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. Mahendra Singh Tikait, president of BKU said " It...
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