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Giving farmers their dignity

SOCIAL reformers have never had it easy. By its very nature, uprooting age-old practices and traditions in society is an arduous task. In modern Indian history, be it Swami Dayanand Saraswati who founded Arya Samaj to free religion from dogmas and class divide or Raja Ram Mohan Roy, who fought against Sati pratha, they had to face stiff opposition and antagonism from various strata of society.

Giving farmers their dignity

TRUE TO SOIL: A firm backer of the Bhakra Dam, Sir Chhotu Ram brought nine enactments to improve the financial and social status of farmers.



Birender Singh
Union Minister for Steel and grandson of Sir Chhotu Ram

SOCIAL reformers have never had it easy. By its very nature, uprooting age-old practices and traditions in society is an arduous task. In modern Indian history, be it Swami Dayanand Saraswati who founded Arya Samaj to free religion from dogmas and class divide or Raja Ram Mohan Roy, who fought against Sati pratha, they had to face stiff opposition and antagonism from various strata of society. But with their passion, commitment and perseverance they overcame resistance and succeeded in their noble goals.

Sir Chhotu Ram (1881-1945; knighted in 1938) was no exception. He was born in an era when the country was under British rule and Indians had very limited rights, liberties and freedom. Farmers had to face additional problems due to seasonal vagaries, illiteracy, zamindari system and high taxes. In such adverse times, he chose to dedicate his life to the cause of farmers and villagers. He believed that political freedom alone is not enough, and the exploited, backward, downtrodden classes and farmers must have economic freedom also. Throughout his life he organised and inspired them to fight injustice for their dignity.

In those times, farming was not treated as a profession. It was thought that people sowed crops for livelihood only. Sir Chhotu Ram fought against this misconception to bring farmers out of the clutches of poverty and misery. He strived to establish farming and agriculture as respectable professions which could be used for economic strengthening of the individual as well as society. He instilled these values and feelings among the farmers and encouraged them to seek their rightful place in society.

He had the vision and foresight to highlight the role of education in improving the overall living standards, employability and social and economic status of the people. Therefore, he took keen interest in establishing institutions of learning in the country.

In this background, it was an emotional and proud moment for me and the millions of people who have over the years benefited from his initiatives, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled the statue of Sir Chhotu Ram in Rohtak this week.  It is not only a recognition of the farming community in the progress and development of the nation, but also a befitting tribute to the stature and contribution of Sir Chhotu Ram. The Prime Minister echoed the sentiments of lakhs of Haryanvis when he said, ‘It is the right of every Indian to know more about Sir Chhotu Ram who contributed a lot to the country. A person of his stature should not have been confined to the boundaries of a region. It did not have any impact on his legacy, but generations lost out on learning valuable lessons from his life.’ I consider myself fortunate to have played a significant part in giving shape to this tallest statue of Haryana, from conceptualisation to the execution stage.

Sir Chhotu Ram was a pioneer who insisted that the farmers should get their due share while selling their crops. He stood against the British and took a stand that farmers will sell their produce to them only if they get optimal price for the crop. This philosophy later on developed into the concept of Minimum Support Price. This was revolutionary in those times as farmers were entirely dependent on rains and seasonal vagaries coupled with other working conditions made their lives miserable.

He conceived of the Bhakra Dam as he realised that the hardworking farmers were totally dependent on rains. The dam was his solution to the problems of farmers. In states like Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan, the farmers are still reaping the benefits of the dam.

He rightly recognised the causes of deteriorating economic condition of the agricultural classes in his time. He brought nine enactments to improve the financial and social status of farmers. Modern concepts like debt settlement boards, caps on interest, the basic fairness to the tiller were included in these 1930s laws. The Punjab Relief Indebtedness Act, 1934, and the Punjab Debtors’ Protection Act, 1936, were created in 1930s by  Sir Chhotu Ram. It won’t be an exaggeration to say that he gave shape to a bloodless revolution in the field of agriculture and farming. 

The nation will remember the PM for bringing the forgotten leaders of the country to the limelight, be it Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, Dr BR Ambedkar or Sir Chhotu Ram. 

While we remember Deenbandhu Sir Chhotu Ram by unveiling his statue, we must also reaffirm our commitment to the values, ideals and principles he fought for. If the youth of the country can internalise his teachings and follow in his footsteps, that will be true homage to this son of the soil.

Because of his opposition to Jinnah’s two-nation theory, Sardar Patel had once remarked to Sri Ram Sharma that he would not have worried about any of Punjab’s problems had Chhotu Ram been alive.

Sir Chhotu Ram’s contribution assumes added significance as he single-handedly worked for the betterment of the lives of the forsaken farmer. Exhorting peasants to shed their inferiority complex and fatalistic outlook, he played a significant role in their organisation as a self-conscious community and helped them acquire self-confidence and respect. It was a huge accomplishment to motivate an isolated and downtrodden peasant community to claim its rightful status in society.

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