The UP tinderbox: Panchayats become political tools

It was 1987, Akbar and Jaipal died in police firing during a Bhartiya Kisan Union-convened panchayat meeting to protest against power tariff hikes. Next day, when BKU leader Chaudhary Mahendra Singh Tikait walked with his followers to take part in the last rites of the two boys, the crowd grew from 20,000 to 100,000 during the 20-km stretch. And the story of Tikait began.

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