Personal Details

• 🎂 Date of Birth
• 03 September 1935
• 🌍 Place of Birth
• Satara, Maharashtra, India
• 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Family
• Father: Anant Narayan
• Mother: Indirabai Joshi 

Early Career

• Sharad Joshi began their professional journey in the Indian Postal Service a seemingly conventional path that would soon diverge into a career as a prominent satirist and social commentator.
• 🌱 Early Life, Education, and Career
• Sharad Joshi was born in Satara, Maharashtra, to Anant Narayan and Indirabai Joshi. He pursued higher education in commerce and earned a Master’s degree in Commerce from Sydenham College, Mumbai, in 1957, followed by a Diploma in Informatics from Lausanne in 1974.
• During his academic journey, he received several prestigious awards, including the C.E. Randle Gold Medal for Banking (1955) and the Cursetjee Dady Prize for his work on Computation of Irrigation Benefits.
• He began his professional career as a Lecturer in Economics and Statistics at the University of Poona (1957–1958). Later, he joined the Indian Postal Service (Class I) and served from 1958 to 1968. His international career took him to Switzerland, where he worked as the Chief of Informatics Service at the International Bureau, Universal Postal Union (UPU), Bern, from 1968 to 1977.
• He also served as a United Nations officer before eventually returning to India to establish the Shetkari Sanghatana, a movement dedicated to farmers’ rights.

Career Journey

• A sharp one-liner capturing Sharad Joshi’s identity: A satirical voice championing farmers' rights and economic liberalization in India.
• 🚜 Farmer’s Issues
• Sharad Joshi was the founder of Shetkari Sanghatana, a prominent farmers’ organisation in Maharashtra. He led numerous mass agitations on agricultural issues, primarily focusing on fair prices for farmers’ produce. He also established the Kisan Coordination Committee (KCC), a coalition of sister organisations from 14 states including Maharashtra, Karnataka, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala.
• Under his leadership, agitations were held in several states demanding remunerative prices for crops such as onions, sugarcane, tobacco, paddy, cotton, milk, and against issues like hiked electricity tariffs, rural debts, and state dumping in domestic markets. In 1995, Joshi contested the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly elections from Hinganghat but lost to Ashok Shinde of Shiv Sena.
• Joshi was known as an economic liberal, strongly advocating for a reduction of state control in the agricultural sector. He supported India’s participation in the WTO, believing that access to global markets would make Indian farming profitable. He also coined the term “Bharat vs India” to highlight the neglect of rural farmers by urban elites.
• In his will, he left most of his estate to the Shetkari Trust, ensuring that his movement and work would continue. Apart from activism, Joshi was also a columnist for leading dailies such as The Times of India, Business India, and Lokmat, and authored several books on agricultural issues.
• 👩‍🌾 Shetkari Mahila Aghadi (SMA)
• Sharad Joshi also founded the Shetkari Mahila Aghadi (SMA), one of the largest organisations of rural women in India. The SMA gained recognition for its campaigns on women’s property rights, particularly through the Lakshmi Mukti programme, which conferred land titles upon lakhs of rural housewives.
• A landmark moment came in 1986, when over two lakh peasant women gathered at Chandwad village in Nashik district, Maharashtra, marking one of the largest women-led farmers’ gatherings in India’s history.
• 🌾 Special Economic Zones for Farming
• Joshi advocated the establishment of Special Economic Zones (SEZs) in sectors where India had a comparative advantage, such as organic farming, aromatic and medicinal plants, hybrid seed production, and horticulture. He stressed the need for credible certifying agencies for organic produce and suggested exclusive zones for growing special varieties of onions. These zones, he believed, would not only insulate domestic markets from global fluctuations but also generate valuable foreign exchange.
• 📜 Socialism and the Constitution
• In December 2005, Sharad Joshi introduced a private member’s bill in the Rajya Sabha demanding the removal of the word “socialism” from the Representation of the People Act and the Constitution of India. He argued that excessive socialist policies were harmful to India’s agricultural and economic progress.
• 📚 Publications
• Sharad Joshi was a prolific writer who expressed his ideas through books, articles, and columns in English, Marathi, and Hindi. His works focused on farmers’ issues, economic liberalism, women’s rights, and rural struggles, reflecting his vision for a free and prosperous agricultural society.
• In English, some of his notable works include Organisation of Peasants: Thought and Practice, Bharat Speaks Out (1982), Bharat Eyeview (1986), The Women’s Question (1986), and Answering Before God (1994).
• In his native Marathi, he authored several influential books such as AngarMala (अंगारमळा), Anwayarth Part 1 and 2 (अन्वयार्थ – १ & २), Arth To Sangato Punha (अर्थ तो सांगतो पुन्हा), Khulya Vyavasthekade - Khulya Manane (खुल्या व्यवस्थेकडे खुल्या मनाने), Chandawadchi Shidori - Striyancha Prashn (चांदवडची शिदोरी स्त्रियांचा प्रश्न), Jag Badalnari Pustake (जग बदलणारी पुस्तके), Poshindyachi Lokshahi (पोशिंद्याची लोकशाही), Prachalit Arthavyvasthevar Nava Prakash (प्रचलित अर्थव्यवस्थेवर नवा प्रकाश), Baliche Rajya Yenar Aahe (बळीचे राज्य येणार आहे!), Bharatasthi (भारता’साठी), Mazya Shetkari Bhavanno Aani Maybahininno, Rakhekhalche Nikhare (राखेखालचे निखारे), Rashtriya Krushineetee (राष्ट्रीय कृषिनीती), Shetkari Sanghatana: Vichar Aani Karyapaddhatee (शेतकरी संघटना : विचार आणि कार्यपद्धती), Shetkaryacha Raaja Shivaji Aani Itar Lekh (शेतकऱ्यांचा राजा शिवाजी आणि इतर लेख), and Swatantrya Ka Nasle? (स्वातंत्र्य का नासले?).

Achievements and Milestones

• C. E. Randle Gold Medal for Banking – 1955
• Cursetjee Dady Prize – 1957