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Chaudhary Charan Singh

Chaudhary Charan Singh, though a leading architect of modern India's national system of agrarian alliances and a towering and committed Kisan leader, never believed in caste-based politics. He was a product of the peasant- cultural assertion and the Arya Samaj combine. Hence, he did not use caste as a rallying point. According to him, the ordinary caste interest lay with the interests of the common peasant in the countryside.

Chaudharysahib - as he was fondly addressed by all his supporters- came from a rural family and went on to become the first peasant Prime Minister of India. His chequered career had many high points passing through the garbs of a lawyer, local community leader, freedom fighter and then the democratically - elected representative in the State Assembly and Parliament. Akin to Sir Chhotu Ram, Chaudhary Charan Singh, too, promoted the concept of a united rural community since the early days of his leadership. Both these leaders shared a concern about the exploitative nature of the caste equations in the countyside.

Several decades later, but well before he rose to become the Prime Minister of India, he had won an all-round reputation of being a hard taskmaster who would not tolerate inefficiency, nepotism and corruption in administration. A gifted parliamentarian and a pragmatist, Chaudhary Charan Singh is known for his eloquence and courage of conviction.

Shri Charan Singh was born in 1902 at Noorpur in Meerut district of Uttar Pradesh, in a middle class peasant family. He graduated in science in 1923, and did his post-graduation from Agra University in 1925. Also trained in law, he set up practice at Ghaziabad. He shifted to Meerut in 1929 and later joined the Congress.

He was first elected to the U.P. Legislative Assembly in 1937 from Chhatrauli, and represented the constituency in 1946, 1952, 1962 and 1967. He became Parliamentary Secretary in Pandit Govind Ballabh Pant's Government in 1946 and worked in various departments such as Revenue, Medical and Public Health, Justice, Information etc. In June 1951, he was appointed Cabinet Minister in the State and given charge of the Departments of Justice and Information. Later he took over as the Minister for Revenue and Agriculture in the Cabinet of Dr. Sampurnanand in 1952. When he resigned in April 1959, he was holding charge of the Department of Revenue and Transport. In Shri C.B. Gupta's Ministry he was Minister for Home and Agriculture (1960). Shri Charan Singh served as Minister for Agriculture and Forests (1962-63) in Smt. Sucheta Kripalani's Ministry. He gave up the Department of Agriculture in 1965 and assumed charge of the Local Self-government department in 1966.

Charan Singh became particularly notable in the 1950s for opposing and winning a battle against Nehru's socialistic and collectivist land use policies, for the sake of the Indian Farmer, which endeared him to the agrarian communities throughout the nation, particularly in his native Uttar Pradesh. In 1967 Charan Singh broke from Congress to organize his own party, the Bharatiya Kranti Dal (BKD), to speak for the middle farmer. Charan Singh had emerged as a Kisan Leader though most of the time he was dubbed as a spokesman of the 'kulaks'.

He was the chief architect of land reforms in Uttar Pradesh. He took a leading part in the formulation and finalisation of the Department Redemption Bill 1939, which brought great relief to rural debtors. It was also at his initiative that the salaries and other privileges enjoyed by ministers in Uttar Pradesh were drastically reduced. As Chief Minister he was instrumental in bringing about the Land Holding Act 1960 which was aimed at lowering the ceiling on land holdings to make it uniform throughout the State. Fighting the formidable influence of landlords he mobilised support for peasant ownership of land, implemented reforms and prevented tax increases on farmers. He remained committed to the ideal of a homogeneous India, prominently including the rural block.

After the Congress split, he became the Chief Minister of U.P. for the second time in February 1970 with the support of the Congress Party. However, President's Rule was imposed in the State on October 2, 1970. Shri Charan Singh served Uttar Pradesh in various capacities and won a reputation as a hard taskmaster who would not tolerate inefficiency, nepotism and corruption in administration. A gifted parliamentarian and a pragmatist, Shri Charan Singh was known for his eloquence and courage of conviction. He was the chief architect of land reforms in U.P.; he took a leading part in formulation and finalisation of the Dept. Redemption Bill 1939, which brought great relief to rural debtors. It was also at his initiative that the salaries and other privileges enjoyed by Ministers in U.P. were drastically reduced. As Chief Minister he was instrumental in bringing about the Land Holding Act 1960 which was aimed at lowering the ceiling on land holdings to make it uniform throughout the State.

In 1977 he allied his peasant- and agricultural-based Indian Revolutionary Party with the Janata Party of Morarji Desai and subsequently served as minister of home affairs (1977-78) and deputy prime minister (1979) in Desai's coalition government. The strategy of the Charan Singh/Raj Narain faction was to weaken Morarji Desai by attacking his ex-Jana Sanghi allies. In doing so, Charan Singh was accused of rank opportunism and lust foi power. Factional quarreling broke apart the Janata coalition in 1979.

In July 1979 Singh became prime minister with the support of his former political enemy, Indira Gandhi, who had imprisoned him during the state of emergency of 1975-77. During his term as Prime Minister the Lok Sabha never met. The day before the Lok Sabha was due to meet for the first time the Indian National Congress withdrew their support from his Bharatiya Lok Dal Government. Choudhary Charan Singh resigned and fresh elections were held six months later.

Within a month Gandhi withdrew her support from Singh, who thenceforth headed a caretaker government until Mrs. Gandhi was returned to power in the elections of January 1980. When the Russians moved into Afghanistan in December of 1979, the caretaker government led by Charan Singh was in power, about to turnover authority to Mrs. Gandhi's government which was just then being formed. Her party had won the parliamentary election but she was not in office yet. The Ministry of External Affairs apparently fumbled around and tried to get Charan Singh to authorize a statement about India's response to the Afghan situation, but he wouldn't do it.

Charan Singh was the first member of a non-elite caste to hold the highest political office in the state. Few political leaders in the country could match Shri Charan Singh in their command of popular will at the grass-roots level. A dedicated public worker and staunch believer in social justice, Shri Charan Singh's strength stemmed essentially from the confidence he enjoyed among millions of peasants. Chaudhary Charan Singh led a simple life and spent his spare time reading and writing. He was the author of several books and pamphlets, including 'Abolition of Zamindari', 'Co-operative Farming X-rayed', 'India's Poverty and its Solution', 'Peasant Proprietorship or Land to the Workers' and 'Prevention of Division of Holdings Below a Certain Minimum'.

An ardent patriot, an able administrator, an astute statesman, a champion for the cause of India's peasantry, Chaudhary Charan Singh was a man of impeccable character and integrity and humanist inclinations. In 1984 he rechristened his "Lok Dal" as Dalit Mazdoor Kisan Party (DMKP) but later reverted to the old name 'Lok Dal'. The octogenarian Kisan leader after a prolonged illness passed away on 29 May 1987. He continued to lead the Lok Dal in opposition till his death in 1987, when he was succeeded as party president by his son Ajit Singh. After the death of Charan Singh in 1987, the Lok Dal split. His birth anniversary is also observed as Kisan Diwas in recognition of yeomen services he rendered to the farmers' community.