Charan Singh - Pioneer of Agrarian Revolution in U.P. and Rest of India
29 May is the Death Anniversary of Ch. Charan Singh. He is acknowledged as pioneer of Agrarian reforms in U.P. and rest of other so many states of India. He conceived and formulated the most acclaimed & revolutionary agricultural reform – U.P. Zamindari Abolition and Land Reforms Act, 1952. So many intellectuals today are of the opinion that had that reform not been executed in those days, today, U.P. would have been turned into a hot bed of Maoist and Naxalite insurgencies in place of Chhatisgarh due to sheer number of peasants without land holding rights. Millions were tilling the fields of Zamindars for generations without their own land rights. Charan Singh foresaw the future rural class-wars even before country got independence. He extensively toured the rural areas and interacted with such farmers. He took Congress leadership in confidence with his well-researched and documented policy. Then introduced it as a Bill and singlehandedly replied all the queries and apprehensions. Got it passed and started its execution since July, 1952. (This news clip of Amar Ujala of those days is a piece of evidence). Captain Bhagwan Singh as Deputy Commissioner (DM) Faizabad got erected a tower in Gulabvadi (Faizabad) to commemorate this revolutionary event. Overnight millions of landless tillers became land owners of the piece of land they were tilling for generations. This one historic decision, architect of which was Charan Singh proved a game changer and consequently pre-empted the future class was, or emergence of Naxalite insurgencies in this huge state. As late as in nineties of last century E.M.S. Namboodaripad, a communist to the core paid homage to Charan Singh like thus – "We as communist failed to formulate and implement the land reforms which even as a Congress Minister Charan Singh in U.P. got it done just after independence !"
While in Mexico, Manila and Tokyo agriculture scientists were working overnight in labs to develop high yielding varieties of wheat and rice crops which led to Green Revolution around 1965, Charan Singh in 1950s had got prepared the fields in rural U.P. so that those seeds could take roots and bear grains. He got executed the Consolidation of Holdings (Chakbandi) Act by which scattered land pieces of farmers got clubbed at one or two places where the farmers could arrange irrigation facilities. Through cooperative banks he got provision done for micro financing the marginal and small farmers. They could build wells, persian wells, tube wells through these loans at very low rates of interest. For providing land parcels to the landless Charan Singh got legislated and implemented Land Ceiling Act. Surplus land from big Zamindars was provisioned to be allotted to the landless category of farmers. When around 1965 high yielding variety seeds were introduced in U.P. our farmers were well prepared with a compact land parcel, irrigation facility near it and enough credit / money to purchase such seeds. Nobel Laureate Norman Borlaug and M.S. Swaminathan had got all the credit to unleash the Green Revolution but contribution of Charan Singh, who made it successful and happen at one go was not less remarkable and outstanding. Journey of farmers treaded under his leadership from being mere tillers to gallop to being rightful owners of the land they were cultivating and now achieving status of storing enough grains in their households to meet their family and social obligations.
During the years in which these revolutionary polices for agricultural transformation were formulated Charan Singh faced stiff opposition from his colleagues in Congress but having backing of C.M. G.B. Pant he had got power to steer policies in the direction he preferred. Hats off to the leadership of those times and devotion and passion of the Minister like Charan Singh towards common farmers ! Common peasants to bureaucrats recognised that he was at once serious, scrupulously honest and a terror to corrupt officers.
Author: Chob Singh Verma, IAS (Retd.)
Date: 29/05/2024