National Farmers’ Day, also known as Kisan Diwas, is celebrated across the country on 23rd December. This day is specially recognized to Honour India’s farmers and mark the birth anniversary of Choudhary Charan Singh who served as the fifth prime minister of India between the years 1979 to 1980. During his tenure, he worked hard for the welfare of the farmers. He also developed new schemes for them.
Choudhary Charan Singh was born in a middle-class peasant family in Uttar Pradesh. He was influenced by Mahatma Gandhi’s teachings. He played an active role in India’s struggle for Independence. He mentioned the issues of marginal farmers to the forefront. One of his famous quotes was: “The true India resides in its villages.” Choudhary Charan Singh served twice as the chief minister of India’s agrarian state, Uttar Pradesh, where he played a significant role in molding land reforms. He made several major farmer’s Bills, like the Land Utilization Bill of 1939 and the Debt Redemption Bill in 1939. Before independence, he also served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of the United Provinces elected in 1937, he took a deep interest in the laws that were important to the village economy and he slowly built his ideological and practical stand against the exploitation of tillers of the land by property owners or landlords.
He was an agriculture minister in 1952. He abolished the zamindari system in Uttar Pradesh. He went on to draft the Uttar Pradesh Zamindari and Land Reforms Bill himself. He founded the Kisan Trust on 23 December 1978, with the vision of educating India’s rural masses against injustice and spreading unity and solidarity among them. He was not only a well-known politician but also a very efficient author and expressed his feelings for the farmers and their issues and remedies through his writings. Charan Singh died on 29 May 1987. His memorial is in New Delhi known as Kisan Ghat.
In the year 2001, the government decided to recognize the contributions of Choudhary Charan Singh to the agriculture sector and the welfare of farmers by celebrating his birth anniversary as Kisan Diwas. Since then, this day has been observed as National Farmers’ Day or Kisan Diwas. On this day, awareness campaigns and drives are organized across the country to educate people on the role of farmers and their contribution to the economy. He is well known among the people of India for his work to promote the welfare of farmers and the agricultural sector.
Kisan Divas is celebrated for his invaluable services to the farmers of our nation. The entire country rejoices in Farmer’s Day. On this day, the farmers and people of rural society hold agricultural concerts, celebrations and pay reverence to their adored leader. Fresh policies related to farming, agriculture, seeds, etc. are even declared by the government. We need to remind the people that Farmers are the backbone of society and majorly contribute to the economic development of India. They grow food for the whole nation even after facing difficulties and burnt their skin to feed us. So, they should be appreciated at the same time. We should give them the respect they deserve.
On this day debates, forums, discussions, quizzes, and competitions are held in many states like Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, and Madhya Pradesh that are actively engaged in farming practices. Apart from that the representatives, participants, and the Agricultural department of the State Government are invited to discuss the various issues related to farmers and cultivation and to give suggestions and solutions related to various government policies and use scientific methods to increase crop yield as given to farmers on this day.
In spite of this, we have seen an increase in suicide rates among farmers. The conditions of the farmers are deteriorating day by day. This is because of the challenges they had to face, the burden of ever exploiting money lenders’ poor knowledge about farming, and so on. Although Indian farmers are getting a lot of support from the government for the last 10-15 years such as a rebate on loan, fair price for their yields, modern technology for cultivation, and so on. It is our duty to put more effort into improving their conditions and their farming practices. A lot more effective ways are yet to be developed by the government and citizens for farmers all over India. So, it is our wholesome duty to encourage, help, and respect our farmers and their arduous work as they do not just work till the sun goes down but till the job gets done.
By Ishika Ghosh, Kolkata
