The 7th Bihar state conference of the All India Kisan Mahasabha had identified the need for a concerted struggle against the ongoing agrarian crisis and to defend sharecroppers’ rights. It had also been decided at the state conference that a sustained week-long campaign for sharecroppers’ rights would be launched in districts and blocks all over Bihar from 28 November-4 December. This decision was implemented by observing a ‘protest week’ from 28 November-4 December, during which protests, conventions and meetings were organized in several blocks in 18 districts of Bihar. Thousands of sharecroppers participated in these programmes. Several demands were raised: issue of identify cards to sharecroppers and recognition of sharecroppers as farmers, issue of farmer credit cards and diesel subsidies, making pesticides, seeds, insecticides and agricultural implements available at cheap rates, allowing purchase of grains from sharecroppers without land ownership papers, allowing sharecroppers to avail of crop insurance and compensation for crop failure as well as irrigation facilities. Apart from these demands, some issues specific to certain regions were also raised during the campaign, such as rejuvenation of ponds, and construction and maintenance of local water management systems. This campaign was held in Patna, Bhojpur, Buxur, Kaimur, Rohtas, Aurangabad, Arwal, Gaya, Jehanabad, Purnea, Begusarai, Bhagalpur, Darbhanga, Siwan, Nalanda, Muzaffarpur and Samastipur.
