Rakesh Tikait is a farmer leader, politician, and national spokesperson for the Bharatiya Kisna Union (BKU). He is the son of the late Mahendra Singh Tikait, one of the most influential farmer leaders in the history of independent India. In 2020, Rakesh Tikait came into the spotlight for his involvement in the farmers’ protest against the three farm laws passed by the Indian Parliament in September 2020.
Wiki/Biography
Rakesh Tikait was born on Wednesday, June 4, 1969 (51 years old in 2020) in the village of Sisauli in Muzaffarnagar district, Uttar Pradesh. His zodiac sign is Gemini. He attended DAV College in Sisauli, Muzaffarnagar and then completed his high school education from Lalu Kri Kisan College, Muzaffarnagar in 1986. He completed his secondary education from the Uttar Pradesh Board of Secondary and Secondary Education in 1988. Thereafter, he graduated from Chaudhary Charan Singh University (formerly Meerut University), Meerut with a Bachelor of Arts degree.
Rakesh Tikait in his village
appearance
Height (approximate): 5′ 10″
Hair color: gray and white
Eye color: Black
Family and caste
Rakesh Tikait belongs to the Jaat community.
Parents and siblings
Rakesh Tikait is the youngest son of Mahendra Singh Tikait, a famous farmer leader who has fought for the interests of farmers all his life. Mahendra is revered by farmers as the second savior after Chaudhry Charan Singh, the fifth Prime Minister of India.
Mahendra Singh Tikait attends a farmers’ protest on the lawns of the New Delhi Rowing Club in 1988
On May 15, 2011, Mahendra Singh Tikait died of bone cancer at the age of 76. Rakesh Tikait’s mother Baljori Devi has also passed away.
Rakesh Tikait’s parents Mahendra Singh Tikait and Baljori Devi
Tikait’s elder brother Naresh Singh Tikait is the president of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU). Naresh Tikait was appointed to the post after his father’s death.
Naresh Singh Tikait
Besides Naresh, Rakesh has four siblings: two younger brothers Surendra Tikait (a manager of a sugar mill in Meerut) and Narendra Tikait (a farmer), and two sisters.
Narendra Tikait
Surendra Tikait
Wife and children
Rakesh Tikait married Sunita Devi.
Rakesh Tikait’s wife Sunita Devi
The couple has a son, Charan Singh Taikit, and two daughters, Seema and Jyoti.
Charan Singh Takait poses next to the sculpture of Mahendra Singh Tikait in Sisauli village
Profession
As a police officer
Rakesh Tikait had briefly served as a constable in the Delhi Police. He resigned from the Delhi Police during the farmers’ protests of 1992-93, when the protests were led by his father Mahendra Singh Tikait and he joined the then ongoing movement.
In politics
Rakesh Tikait has contested two different elections. The first was in the 2007 Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly elections, when Rakesh contested from the Khatauli assembly seat in Muzaffarnagar as an independent candidate. In that election, he secured only 9,095 votes. On March 14, 2014, Rakesh Tikait joined the Rashtriya Democratic Party (RLD), which was founded by Chaudhary Charan Singh’s son Ajit Singh. His decision to join the RLD came as a surprise to people as he had previously been critical of the RLD and supported the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Talking about the reason behind his decision to join the RLD, Tikait said,
I have to choose between RLD and other parties. I find RLD better. It is the party that cares most about farmers’ issues.”
Before the Lok Sabha elections in 2014, the UDF fielded Rakesh Tikait as its candidate from the Amroha Lok Sabha constituency. Rakesh again suffered defeat, securing only 9,539 votes, which was 0.62% of the total votes.
Farmer Leadership
Rakesh Tikait was elected as the national spokesperson of the Indian Farmers Union in 1997 and has been fighting for farmers’ rights ever since.
Bajra protests
It is reported that Rakesh Tikait had asked the Rajasthan government to increase the price of purchasing millet from farmers. When the government refused to accept this request, he held a protest. As a result, the Rajasthan government increased the price for farmers to buy millet. Rakesh was also arrested during the protest and imprisoned in Jaipur Jail.
Kisan Kranti Yatra 2018
In October 2018, the Indian Farmers Union launched a call for a “farmers’ movement” from Tikait Ghat in Haridwar to Delhi. The move was aimed at forcing the federal government to meet a series of farmers’ demands, including unconditional waiver of farmers’ loans, waiver of arrears by sugar mills, higher crop prices, free electricity to farms, and lower diesel prices. Farmers also demanded the implementation of the Swaminathan Commission report. As thousands of protesters reached the Delhi border, Section 144 was imposed in East Delhi and Northeast Delhi. Delhi Police and Uttar Pradesh Police deployed more than 3,000 security personnel to the area to prevent farmers from entering the capital. Police had to use water cannons and tear gas to disperse the crowd.
Kisan Kranti Yatra at Delhi Border
Eventually, a Union government minister met with Tikait and other farmer leaders and convinced them to stop the protest. The protest was called off after Tikait and other leaders agreed to the government’s promise to set up a committee to study the farmers’ demands.
Farmers’ protests in India 2020-21
In September 2020, the Indian government passed three farm bills in the Indian Parliament. Soon after the bills were introduced, many farmer unions, including the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU), held protests and subsequently demanded the repeal of the bills. Rakesh Tikait became a well-known figure in this movement.
Rakesh Tikait speaks at Singh Border during farmers’ protest in Delhi
Rakesh Tikait is among the farmer leaders who have participated in 12 rounds of talks with the government to resolve the dispute.
Rakesh Tikait talks to Indian Agriculture Minister Narendra Tomar at Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi
After two months of peaceful sit-in protest, farmers entered Delhi on tractor marches from protest sites at Singh Border, Tikri Border and Ghazipur Border on January 26, 2021. Rakesh Tikait was one of the organizers of the initiative. At the beginning of the rally, a group of protesters deviated from the designated route of the rally, broke through the roadblocks and entered the center of Delhi. The rally in the center of Delhi turned violent, leaving 394 security personnel injured and one agitator dead. As a result, various government departments put pressure on farmers to vacate the protest sites. A large number of security forces were sent to various protest sites, including the Ghazipur border protest site, where the protest was led by Rakesh Tikait, spokesperson of the Indian Farmers Union. The Ghaziabad administration issued an ultimatum to farmers to vacate the Ghazipur protest site and open the road blockade. Rakesh Tikait was asked to surrender to the police as his name appeared in an FIR on the Republic Day violence. Rakesh Tikait refused to acknowledge his arrest and said that the protest would continue even in the face of bullets. He said,
“They (government) are planning to murder me in the name of arrest. Uninvited people with weapons were sent to the protest site with Lucknow Congress stickers on their cars. There was no violence at the Ghazipur border. Despite this, the government has adopted a repressive policy. We wanted to accept the arrest peacefully. But it seems that there are plans to incite violence when the protesters return. If there is such a plan, I will stay here. I will face bullets. I will commit suicide, but I will not quit the protest until the law is repealed.”
He also broke down and cried in front of the camera while talking to media reporters.
As the video of him breaking down and threatening to hang himself if the farm laws are not repealed went viral, a large number of Tikait’s supporters started moving towards the Ghazipur border. The protest site, which was sparsely populated due to the Republic Day violence, was filled again after most of the protesters had evacuated. This forced the government to recall a strong police deployment from the site and cancel the evacuation of the protest site. The power and water supply, which had been cut, were also restored after midnight. Apparently, Rakesh Tikait’s emotional breakdown overwhelmed the massive police deployment and revived the farmers’ movement once again.
net worth
According to an affidavit filed with the Election Commission of India in 2014, Rakesh Tikait’s net worth is estimated at Rs 41 crore.
Facts/Trivia
- The hereditary title of “Tikait” is held by male members of the Rakesh and Tikait families and was conferred on the chiefs of Baliyan Khap by Raja Harshavardhana, the Jat ruler of Thanesar in the 7th century. Since then, every chief of Baliyan Khap and his male family members have adopted this as their surname. Rakesh Tikait’s brother Naresh Tikait is the current chief of Baliyan Khap, having taken over the position after the death of his father Mahendra Singh Tikait in 2011.
- Although the leadership of the Indian Farmers Union was handed over to Rakesh’s elder brother Naresh Tikait after his father’s death (according to Khap rules, only the eldest son can become the leader of the organization), all major decisions of the BKU are still taken by Rakesh himself.
- According to media reports, Rakesh Tikait has been jailed more than 40 times while protesting for the interests of farmers. Currently, three criminal cases are pending against him.
- Mahendra Singh Tikait has been arrested by the police on several occasions. The most dramatic incident in his life took place in 2008 when a team of about 10,000 policemen surrounded the village of Sisoli and arrested Mahendra Singh Tikait. Mahendra had allegedly made derogatory caste remarks against Mayawati, the then Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, while addressing a farmers’ rally in Bijnore district. Thousands of Mahendra Singh’s supporters acted as shields and prevented the police from entering the village. As a result, a massive clash broke out between Mahendra’s supporters and the police. Later, Mahendra surrendered in a Bijnore court and was released after apologizing.
- Veteran farmer leader Mahendra Singh Tikait is also known for his simplicity. He often sits among farmers to eat. Even during protests, he often sits among farmers instead of standing on the stage.
- On May 30, 2022, a man named Shivakumar Atri attacked him with ink at a press conference in Bengaluru. It was later discovered that the man was a murder convict who was released from Hassan Jail in Karnataka in 2015 for good behavior.
Rakesh Tikait was attacked with ink during a press conference in Bengaluru on May 30, 2022
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education