Hari Singh Burdak
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Hari Singh Burdak (1884-1966) was a freedom fighter of Shekhawati region in Rajasthan, India. He was born in year 1884 in a Jat Hindu family of Burdak gotra in village Palthana of Sikar district in Rajasthan, India. He was a brave, fearless and straightforward person. [1]
Before independence the conditions of the farmers in the Shekhawati region were worst. The farmers of the Shekhawati region were exploited and oppressed by the Jagirdars during British Raj. They were deprived of fundamental rights. They were given inhuman treatment when the Jagirdars did not get cesses known as “lag” or “begar” in time, they were given hard punishments and their crop used to be destroyed. [2]
The exploitation of farmers by the Rao Raja of Sikar was at peak when Hari Singh Burdak took a lead in movement against oppression of Jagirdars. Hari Singh understood the consequences of struggle against the Jagirdars but even then he united the farmers in 1933 in Palthana village and was successful in motivating them for the agitation. The farmers elected him as sarpanch. He led the farmer’s movement in 1934 in Khuri village and in 1935 in Kudan village. Hari Singh’s strategy of the movement of farmers was based on the demands of settlement of lands, rights over the land and fixation of rates of the produce but this did not work initially and he failed to achieve the success. [1]
When Hari Singh decided to stop paying the lags or cesses, The Jagirdars tried to suppress the movement in many ways with the help of police of Jaipur state in both Khuri and Kudan villages.[1] Many farmers were killed and a large number were sent to jail. A Jat farmer was beaten to death in the market of Sikar town; his dead body was thrown and insulted. [2]
The Shekhawati Jat movement had its genesis in the Jat Praja Pati Maha-Yagna a socio-religious festival held in January 1934. It lasted ten days and was the biggest of its kind in Rajputana. It facilitated a widespread involvement of Jats in a community festival. Each Jat household attending it was to contribute some cash and an unspecified quantity of ghee. A total of two hundred maunds of ghee were used in the sacrificial flame. The function concluded with a triumphal elephant ride hitherto prohibited by the rules of Sikar Thikana. The success of this movement encouraged the Jats to hold more meetings on local levels and print literature to glorify Jat history. The Yagna became a dominant symbol of folklore, which glorified it as the beginning of an anti-feudal struggle. The peasants demanded remissions in taxes and finally a Jat-Sikar Thikana Agreement was signed on August 23, 1934, by which the Thikana authorities conceded to abolish various lags (taxes) and agreed to provide for a mobile dispensary. The following year, the Kisan Sabha formally came into existence and Under its aegis the famous Sikar Andolan of 1935 was launched. With outside mediation efforts of Jamnalal Bajaj, Sir Chhotu Ram-a renowned Jat leader of Punjab and Ratan Singh of All India Jat Mahasabha, a settlement was arrived at and the Jats were promised remissions of rent, abolition of internal cesses and an introduction of fixed rent tenure. The Jats were also promised equal opportunities in Thikana administration and were permitted to ride elephants and horses and to construct schools for their children. The formation of a Jat Kisan Panchayat was officially sanctioned and the right to agitate for redressal of grievances in non-Khalsa areas was conceded. Much however, could not be made out of these agreements for two reasons. First, the subordinate Thikanedars of Sikar did not fully cooperate with Sikar authorities to ensure compliance with the terms of these agreements. Secondly, the beginning of settlement operations and reform of revenue administration was a time-consuming process which Entailed enormous delay. This was interpreted by the Jats as a breach of agreement and hence, they indulged in acts of disorder and violence, which were perceived by Thikana authorities as signs of bad faith. In the meanwhile two unsavoury incidents led to a termination of agreements. The first, occurred at Khudi village, where the sight of Jat bridegroom riding a horse incensed the local Rajputs and the two sides readied themselves for an armed combat. The state authorities asked the two parties to disperse but the Jats refused. The state police charged and in the melee that followed, several people were injured. The second incident took place at Kudan village, where about one hundred armed Jats attacked Sikar revenue officials. The police fired upon the armed mob, which resulted in several casualties and injuries. A total of 104 Jats were arrested. [3]
As a result of these incidents Sikarvati Jat Panchayat and Kisan Sabha were declared unlawful bodies and several of their members were interned for stirring up the peasant struggle. Such intermittent Movements and state reprisals continued till independence.[1]
The Rao Raja of Sikar kept Hari Singh in prison in Devagarh fort. He was expelled from Sikar thikana for about 14 months. During expulsion period also he was not silent, he went to Ajmer where he contacted Jaynarayan Vyas and Haribhau Upadhyay and got done the publicity of the oppressions on farmers of Sikar. He had started a school in Palthana, which was destroyed by the Jagirdars during his expulsion. He continued his struggle for farmers from 1930 to 1947 as a prominent leader of Prajamandal. As a result of his struggle the farmers of Sikar got success in the settlement of land, rights of farmers on the land, which they were cultivating, and the rates of lagan on land were fixed.[1]
Hari Singh Burdak expired in 1966.
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e Smt Parvati Chaudhary, Jat Samaj monthly Magazine, July 1998 issue page 10, published from Agra by RS Faujdar
- ^ a b Dr Natthan Singh, Jat-Itihas, (Jat History), Jat Samaj Kalyan Parishad, F-13, Dr Rajendra Prasad Colony, Tansen marg, Gwalior, M.P, India 474 002 2004
- ^ Dr Vir Singh, The Jats- their role and contribution to the socio political life and Polity of North and north West India- Vol 2.Edited and com piled by Dr Vir Singh, ISBN 81-88629-51-0, distributed by D K Publishers, 4834 Ansari Road, New Delhi, web site www://dkpd.com.
