Bharat Ratna Charan Singh: A farmer leader who rose to the top but never forgot his roots

Former Prime Minister Chaudhary Charan Singh

Former prime minister Chaudhary Charan Singh, often referred to as the champion of India’s peasants, has been posthumously conferred with India’s highest civilian honour the Bharat Ratna.

The announcement was made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter, on February 9.

“It is a matter of great fortune for our government to honor the former Prime Minister of the country, Chaudhary Charan Singh, with the Bharat Ratna. This recognition is dedicated to his incomparable contributions to the country,” Modi said.

Political observers say the announcement of Bharat Ratna for Singh exemplifies the Modi governments’ commitment to the agricultural sector and farmers.

Along with Singh, MS Swaminathan, the agriculture scientist who pioneered research into hybrid varieties of food grains and their widespread adoption in states that became instrumental in ensuring India's food security, often dubbed as the green revolution, too, was honoured with Bharat Ratna.

Another former prime minister, late PV Narashima, too, has been conferred the honour, taking this year's Bharat Ratna count to five. Bharat Ratna for former Bihar chief minister Karpoori Thakur and BJP veteran LK Advani was announced a few days ago.

Who was Chaudhary Charan Singh?

Education: Born in 1902 in Noorpur area of Meerut district in Uttar Pradesh, Charan Singh hailed from a middle-class peasant family. He completed his undergraduate studies in science in 1923 and completed his master's degree from Agra University in 1925.

He studied law and practised in Ghaziabad but in 1929, he moved to Meerut and became affiliated with the Congress party.

Politics:  He was first elected to the Uttar Pradesh assembly in 1937 from Chhaprauli and represented the constituency in 1946, 1952, 1962 and 1967. He parted ways with the Congress in 1967 and became the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh for the first time, emerging as the leader of the Sanyukta Vidhayak Dal coalition. He was re-elected as chief minister for a second term in 1970.

In 1979, after the Jana Sangh, the BJP's predecessor, withdrew support from the Morarji Desai led-Janata Party government, the Congress (I) decided to offer support to Singh. He was sworn in as the prime minister on July 28, 1979. But before he could prove his majority in the Lok Sabha, Indira Gandhi withdrew her party’s support to his government, leading to Singh’s resignation.

Eloquent leader: Political scientists say 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”. They say, he was a gifted parliamentarian and a pragmatist, known for his eloquence and courage of conviction.

He was the chief architect of land reforms in Uttar Pradesh and took a leading part in formulation and finalisation of the Department of Redemption Bill 1939, which brought great relief to rural debtors. It was due to his initiative that the salaries and other privileges enjoyed by ministers in Uttar Pradesh were drastically reduced.

Author: Singh’s strength stemmed essentially from the confidence he enjoyed among millions of peasants. 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.