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Kisan Diwas Commemorating the Birth Anniversary of Chaudhary Charan Singh
On 23rd December, India celebrates the National Farmer’s Day or the Rashtriya Kisan Diwas to commemorate the significant contribution of farmers, the backbone of Indian economy and rural prosperity. Rashtriya Kisan Divas is observed to mark the birth anniversary of Late Chaudhary Charan Singh, India’s fifth Prime Minister.
The day is popular amongst India’s agricultural and farming states of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh and others. In India, the day marks the contributions of Chaudhary Charan Singh to the agriculture sector and welfare of farmers.
Almost 50% of the population of the country is dependent on agriculture. And that is why National Farmer’s Day was recognised by the 10th government of independent India in 2001.
Contributions of Chaudhary Charan Singh
An Indian politician and a freedom fighter, Chaudhary Charan Singh was born in Meerut. After completing his studies, Singh entered politics as part of the Indian Independence Movement under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi. In the following years, he was jailed twice by the British government.
Singh remained a Congress person for most of this time. But during the national emergency, imposed by Indira Gandhi between 1975 to 1977, Chaudhary Charan Singh became part of an emergency opposing political movement led by Morarji Desai. Under the name of ‘Janata Party’, the movement became the first, other than the Indian National Congress, to form a government in Uttar Pradesh. And Charan Singh became the first non-congress chief minister in Northern India.
Desai’s political movement defeated the Congress in 1977 general elections to elect Morarji Desai as the Prime Minister of the post emergency India.
By 1979, the Janata Party started splitting because of loyalty of some of its members towards the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a Hindu nationalist organisation. During this time, Murari Desai resigned, and Singh was appointed the Prime Minister. His government was supported by Indira Gandhi’s Congress party, the same leader against whom Singh signed an arrest order as the union home minister.
But this sport came with a cost. Indira Gandhi had conditions for supporting Singh. And the conditions were to drop all charges against her and son Sanjay Gandhi. Charan Singh decided to not agree to the conditions, and had to resign just after 23 days of Prime Ministership. This made him the only Prime Minister of the country to never face a Parliament session. Charan Singh continued as the caretaker Prime Minister until January 1980.
In 1979, Singh founded the Lok Dal in 1979. He led Lok Dal until his death in 1987. His last remains rest at Kisan Ghat in Delhi.
