New Delhi, May 28: Chaudhary Charan Singh was born on December 23, 1902, in Noorpur village of Meerut district, Uttar Pradesh (now Hapur), into a middle-class farming family. He belonged to the Tevatia clan of Jats and was a descendant of Raja Nahar Singh, a valiant fighter in the First War of Independence in 1857. His father, Meer Singh, was a farmer. Growing up amidst dust, soil, and crops, he developed a deep understanding of the struggles faced by rural communities.
He graduated with a Bachelor of Science from Agra College in 1923, earned a Master’s degree in History in 1925, and completed his law degree (LLB) from Meerut College in 1927. Inspired by the ideals of Mahatma Gandhi and Sardar Patel, he soon joined the freedom struggle. During the Salt Satyagraha in 1930 and the Quit India Movement in 1942, he was imprisoned multiple times by the British, yet his resolve never wavered.
After independence, as the Minister of Agriculture and Revenue in Uttar Pradesh, Chaudhary Charan Singh made significant contributions that are etched in the annals of Indian administrative history. His most notable achievement was the Uttar Pradesh Zamindari Abolition and Land Reforms Act of 1950, which came into effect in 1952.
On April 1, 1967, he left the Congress party and founded the Bharatiya Kranti Dal (BKD). Just days later, on April 3, 1967, he became the first non-Congress Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh.
To politically empower farming communities, he forged a strong social alliance known as ‘Ajgar’ (Ahir, Jat, Gurjar, and Rajput). Thanks to the Green Revolution and land reforms, these backward and intermediate farming castes became economically robust. Chaudhary Charan Singh organized them, dismantling the traditional high-caste political dominance in North India’s democratic structure.
After the Emergency, the Janata Party won the historic elections of 1977. Serving as Home Minister and Finance Minister in Morarji Desai’s cabinet, he took oath as India’s fifth Prime Minister on July 28, 1979, amidst political turmoil.
Although his tenure was brief, he significantly altered the country’s development agenda. He elevated the Rural Development Department to a full ministry and laid the ideological groundwork for the establishment of NABARD.
Chaudhary Charan Singh passed away at the age of 84 on May 29, 1987. His memorial, located on the banks of the Yamuna in Delhi, is known as ‘Kisan Ghat.’ His birthday, December 23, is celebrated annually as National Farmers’ Day across the country.
The Government of India posthumously honored him with the Bharat Ratna. On March 30, 2024, President Droupadi Murmu presented this award to his grandson, Jayant Chaudhary.
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