Charan Singh
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| Chaudhary Charan Singh | |
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| In office 28 July 1979 – 14 January 1980 |
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| Preceded by | Morarji Desai |
| Succeeded by | Indira Gandhi |
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| Born | 23 December 1902 Noorpur, United Provinces, British India |
| Died | May 29, 1987 (aged 84) |
| Political party | Janata Party |
| Spouse | Gayatri Devi |
| Religion | Hindu |
Chaudhary Charan Singh (23 December 1902 – 29 May 1987) was the sixth Prime Minister of the Republic of India, serving from 28 July 1979 until 14 January 1980.
Born into a Jat family in 1902[1][2], Charan Singh entered politics as part of the Independence Movement. After independence he 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. Popular especially among his native Jat community, his political base was Western Uttar Pradesh and Haryana, where that community was dominant.
The leader of the Bharatiya Lok Dal, a major constituent of the Janata coalition, he was disappointed in his ambition to become Prime Minister in 1977 by Jayaprakash Narayan's choice of Morarji Desai. He settled at the time for the largely honorary post of Deputy Prime Minister of India. However, the internal stresses of the coalition's government caused him to leave the government with the former Lok Dal, after being promised by Mrs. Gandhi the support of the Congress Party on the floor of the House in any efforts to form a government. He was sworn in as Prime Minister with the support of just 64 MPs.
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.
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. His association with the causes dear to farming communities in the North caused his memorial in New Delhi to be named Kisan Ghat. (In Hindi, Kisan is the word for farmer.).
The university of Meerut city in Uttar Pradesh India, is named after him (Chaudhary Charan Singh University).
[edit] Early Years - Pre Independence India
Charan Singh's ancestor was the prominent leader of the Indian Rebellion of 1857, Raja Nahar Singh of Ballabhgarh (in present day Haryana). Maharaja Nahar Singh was sent to the gallows in Chandni Chowk, Delhi. In order to escape the oppression from the British Government following their defeat, the Maharaja's followers, including Charan Singh's grandfather moved eastward to district Bulandshaher in Uttar Pradesh.
Charan Singh was born on 23 December 1902 in village Noorpur, town Hapur, Ghaziabad district of Uttar Pradesh. He was a good student, and received a Masters of Arts degree in 1925 and Law degree in 1926 from Lucknow University.
In February 1937 he was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Uttar Pradesh (United Provinces) at the age of 34. In 1938 he introduced an Agricultural Produce Market Bill in the Assembly which was published in the issues of The Hindustan Times of Delhi dated 31 March 1938. The Bill was intended to safeguard the interests of the farmers against the rapacity of the traders. The Bill was adopted by most of the States in India, Punjab being the first state to do so in 1940.
Charan Singh followed Mahatma Gandhi in non-violent struggle for independence from the British Government, and was imprisoned several times. In 1930 he was sent to jail for 6 months by the British for contravention of the salt laws. He was jailed again for one year in November 1940 for individual Satyagraha Movement. In August 1942 he was jailed again by the British under DIR and released in November 1943.
[edit] Independent India
In 1952, he became the Revenue Minister of state of Uttar Pradesh, the most populous state in independent India. He was dedicated to enforcing and implementing the provisions of the Zamindari Abolition and Land Reform Act of which he was the major architect. It has been argued by leading political scientists that success of Indian Democracy lies in successful implementation of this reform. Pakistan on the other hand did not have similar reforms, and the power is concentrated amongst the few powerful landlords or Zamindar who run their lands as their private fiefdom, and use their influence to further their wealth.
Charan Singh opposed Nehru on his Soviet Style Economic reform. Charan Singh was of the opinion that cooperative farms would not succeed in India. Being a son of a farmer, Charan Singh opined that the right of ownership was important to the farmer in remaining a cultivator. Charan Singh's political career suffered due to his open criticism of Nehru's economic policy. In 1950's, no one questioned Nehru in India.
Charan Singh left the Congress party in 1967, and formed his own political party. He had two short stints as Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh in 1967, and later in 1970. In 1975, he was jailed again, but this time by then Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, daughter of his former rival Nehru. She had declared the state of 'Emergency' and jailed all her political opponents. The Indian populace voted her out, and the opposition party, of which Chaudhary Charan Singh was a senior leader came into power. He served as Deputy prime minister and home minister in Janata government headed by Morarji Desai.
He became Prime Minister of India in 1979. His speech to the nation on India's Independence Day (August 15, 1979 ) was very prophetic in which he identified Pakistan's nuclear ambition as a major threat to India. He also mentioned that Indian labour laws had to be refined if India were to become competitive in world economy. He also opened high level diplomatic relations with Israel, which Indira Gandhi's government which took office following the 1980 elections curtailed.'
Charan Singh passed away on May 29, 1987. He was survived by his wife, Gayatri Devi and 6 children.
Charan Singh has written several books. Some of them are:
- India's Economic Policy - The Gandhian Blueprint
- Economic Nightmare of India - Its Cause and Cure
- Cooperative Farming X-rayed
[edit] References
- ^ The Churchill Centre. "India: Making headway with the critics", The Churchill Centre, 2002. Retrieved on 2006-07-11.
- ^ Rediff.Com. "The anti-reservation man", Rediff.Com, November 27, 2003. Retrieved on 2006-11-18.
| Preceded by Chandra Bhanu Gupta |
Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh 1967–1968 |
Succeeded by Chandra Bhanu Gupta |
| Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh 1970–1970 |
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| Preceded by Morarji Desai |
Prime Minister of India 1979–1980 |
Succeeded by Indira Gandhi |
| Preceded by Morarji Desai |
Finance Minister of India 1979–1980 |
Succeeded by Ramaswamy Venkataraman |
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