Who is Rakesh Tikait? From Delhi Police SI to heading farmers’ agitation

Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait has been in the news in the recent past as he has been at the helm of the farmers’ protests in Ghazipur. The video of him breaking down overnight as he said that there would be no turning back on the protests stands out.

Rakesh Tikait, who has been spearheading the ongoing farmers’ protest, was once employed with the Delhi Police as Sub Inspector.

Farmers have been protesting the contentious Farm laws since the last two months. Hundreds and thousands of farmers have been in a sit-in protest near the borders with the capital. On Republic Day, the capital saw violent clashes between the protestors and police. On January 28, the Yogi Adityanath government ordered all DMs, SSPs to ensure to end the farmers’ agitation in the state. Despite being ordered to vacate the place, farmers led by Tikait refused to leave the UP border as they occupied Ghazipur and continued to protest the laws.

Who is Rakesh Tikait?

Rakesh Tikait is the son of a farmer leader Mahendra Singh Tikait and inherited his legacy on farmers’-related issues after his demise. Mahendra Singh Tikait is believed to have enjoyed massive support among the farmers and had the charisma to shake the political corridors of power in Delhi over farmers’ issues.

Tikait has studied MA from Meerut University and also studied law. He was employed with the Delhi Police as Sub Inspector in 1985. After which he quit his job and stood with the farmers’ movement.

Since then, he has been championing the farmers’ issues and become an integral part of the farmers’ movement in the country. Rakesh Singh Tikait was born on 4 June 1969 in Sisauli village of Muzaffarnagar district.

Rakesh Tikait has been jailed 44 times in the fight for justice for the farmers. He had spent 39 days in Madhya Pradesh jail in a protest against Land Acquisition Act.