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When BJP chief and former Union Minister Chaudhary Birender Singh joined a dharna in help of the farmers protesting in opposition to the brand new farm legal guidelines in Haryana’s Jhajjar, he introduced again into focus the identify and politics of his grandfather Sir Chhotu Ram.
“I am morally bound (to support the farmers). The concept of MSP (minimum support price) and APMC (Agricultural Produce Market Committee) was the handiwork of Chaudhary Chhotu Ram. First time, he brought in agricultural reforms (during British rule),” Singh mentioned on the dharna organised by Sir Chhotu Ram Manch.
Hailed because the nation’s first large agrarian reformer who stood up and fought for the rights of agriculturists, Sir Chhotu Ram and his model of politics had been lacking from the continued protests by the farmers over the three agri legal guidelines launched by the Centre.
While farmers unions and the Opposition events have always being claiming that the brand new central legal guidelines will destroy the prevailing mandi system, there had hardly been any point out of Sir Chhotu Ram who, as the event minister within the provincial authorities of his Unionist Party, had acquired The Punjab Agricultural Produce Markets Act handed in 1939, paving means for the creation of the market committees with two-thirds farmer illustration to supervise the functioning of the mandis.
The 1939 Act was simply one of many reform legal guidelines launched in Punjab province by the Unionist Party, which additionally noticed the passage of three essential Bills in search of to finish the exploitation of the peasantry by moneylenders.
It was in 1905 that Sir Chhotu Ram co-founded the All India Jat (then Kshatriya) Mahasabha. He went on to grow to be its secretary in 1913. In 1916, he began publishing an Urdu weekly — Jat Gazette — to air the grievances of the farmers, below the title of ‘Bechara Zamindar’ and fashioned ‘Zamindara League’ with farmers primarily from the Sikh and Hindu faiths.
It was within the Jat Gazette that he wrote: “People describe the farmer as the Lord of Grains (Annadata), but no one sees whether he himself eats or not. It is the biggest wonder of the world that the one who produces remains hungry. I tell the Rajas and Nawabs and all types of governments of Hindustan to not harass the farmer to the extent that he stands up… Other people break the law when they get angry with a government, but when the farmer would get angry, he would not only break the law, he would also break the back of the government.”
In 1923, Sir Chhotu Ram together with Sir Fazl-e-Hussain and Sir Sikandar Hayat Khan and Chaudhary Lal Chand fashioned the Unionist Party. The celebration received the overall elections of 1936 and fashioned a coalition authorities in Punjab together with the Congress and the Akali Dal. Sir Sikandar Hyat-Khan turned Premier of Punjab whereas Sir Chhotu Ram turned the Revenue Minister.
Agriculture reforms
As a part of the Unionist Party authorities, Sir Chhotu Ram was instrumental in introducing a number of reforms in agriculture sector. The legislations introduced have since then been hailed because the Golden Bills of the Unionist Party. These have been:
The Punjab Alienation of Land Second Amendment Bill, 1938: Commonly often known as the Benami Transactions Bill, it empowered the deputy commissioners to declare all transactions null and void, if these have been discovered to be in violation of the unique Act. The Bill was an try and cripple unlawful strategies of moneylenders to amass farming lands.
The Punjab Registration of Moneylenders Bill 1938: It was handed with a view to make moneylenders apply for a get licenses to deliver all transactions on report.
The Punjab Restitution of Mortgaged Lands Bill 1938: The laws sought to terminate outdated mortgages of land effected earlier than June 8, 1901 on cost of an affordable compensation.
The Punjab Relief of Indebtedness Bill 1943: The laws decided the proportion of debt on farmers, , or tenant of agricultural land or who earned livelihood for work related with agriculture. It additional supplied that no decree or declare may very well be handed in opposition to an agriculturist debtor for any sum greater than twice the unique quantity.
The Punjab Agricultural Markets Products Bill 1939: Popularly often known as the Mandi Act, it primarily supposed to avoid wasting the farmers from completely different malpractices by brokers and shopkeepers.
Unionist Party authorities additionally established Debt Cancellation Boards at district stage to cut back the burden of loans on farmers and tenants.
Opposition to partition
High on farmer help, and backed by Khalsa National Party of Sunder Singh Majithia, Sir Sikandar Hyat Khan made efforts for inter-community concord, unity and to take away political variations among the many Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs. As the Premier of Punjab Province, he signed the Sikandar-Jinnah Pact with the Muslim League and the Sikandar-Baldev Pact with the Sikhs for communal concord, reconciliation and the welfare of all communities.
“Pakistan would mean a Massacre,” mentioned Sir Sikandar Hyat-Khan in October 1938. He reiterated it earlier than the Punjab Legislative Assembly on March 11, 1941. “We want freedom for our Country, freedom in the sense that we shall have full control of our own affairs…We do not ask for freedom that there may be Muslim Raj here and Hindu Raj elsewhere…we should examine this problem not from any petty communal or sectarian point of view… Whatever our differences… Let us strive togeth’er for a freedom which will ensure liberty and freedom for all and which will enable us to live together.”
In 1946, Unionist Party was profitable in making Khizar Hyat Khan Tiwana its Premier in Punjab with the assistance of the Congress celebration and the Shiromani Akali Dal whereas preserving largest celebration — Muslim League — out of energy.
However, following the dying of Sir Sikandar Hyat Khan, Sir Chhotu Ram and Sunder Singh Majithia by then, it turned unimaginable for Tiwana to withstand the strain from Muslim League and the Congress and he resigned quickly after British authorities introduced partition.
Why there aren’t any takers for Sir Chhotu Ram model of politics?
The farmer leaders who emerged post-partition couldn’t do a lot for the peasants, says Sardar Manoj Singh Duhan, a farmers’ chief from Haryana who, impressed by Sir Chhotu Ram, launched Unionist Mission in 2015. “Whether it was in Punjab, Haryana or Uttar Pradesh, the so called farmers’ leaders only strengthened their families and now their next generations are ruling over farmers. They are only watching the Union government undoing the reforms introduced by Sir Chhotu Ram. Congress didn’t give any space to him in the history written after partition. Farmers’ unions are largely guided by Left parties and they don’t want to look beyond Shaheed Bhagat Singh. This is why Sir Chhotu Ram and his politics has been sidelined,” he added.
“Politics of Unionist Party and Sir Chhotu Ram was to unite farmers. They countered the politics of moneylenders to bring farm reforms, including the Mandi Act. It is recorded in Assembly proceedings to what extent representatives of moneylenders opposed the farm reforms and how Sir Chhotu Ram stood against them. He and his party wanted to break communal chains by bringing farmers from all religions on one platform,” Duhan added.
© The Indian Express (P) Ltd
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