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delhione
August 10th, 2010, 03:57 PM
Every day we witness some new Law, Amendment, Rule or Policy to match and facilitate the fast and rapid speed of development in every sphere of economy/ business/ finance; but rarely any law enactment, amendment, policy, order, scheme is seen where the letter and spirit of the Govt. to protect or its commitment for welfare of the peasant/ farmer or poor is actually reflected.

All of us know that Ch. Chhotu Ram was an Advocate in his times and had done a lot for the welfare and up-liftment of poor and victimized peasants/ farmers, But unfortunately only some of us know the actual works done by him. Though I don’t claim to know everything done by this self less Jat leader, but through a Govt. Document I have come to know that Ch. Sir Chhotu Ram in a brief period from 1926 to 1936 drafted several historical laws; not only drafted but was instrumental in their enactment and strict implementations. Some of such laws are mentioned below here highlight the true and relentless pursuit of this philanthropist for the welfare of poor , economically and physically battered peasant/ farmer…

The Punjab Alienation of Land Act, 1901 :
This act was passed to prevent the transfer of land to a non-farmer or non-agriculturist professional. such acts are still in force in several states e.g. Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat and in Telangana region of Andhra Pradesh. This law was devised to prevent to growing tendency of the Mahajans/ Money lenders from taking over the land from a farmer. The apparent purpose behind such law was that the land should belong to the peasant/ farmer and none else.

The Restitution of Mortgage Land Act, 1938 :
This law terminated all old mortgages existing before June 8, 1901 when Punjab Alienation of Land Act had come in to effect. This law helped to restore back almost 83,500 acres of agricultural land to almost three lakh sixty five thousand poor peasants/ farmers whose land was swallowed down by greedy Mahajans/ Money Lenders using laws then in force.

The Punjab Agricultural Produce Marketing Act, 1938 :
Before this law the Mandi used to be a place of trading controlled by Mahajans/ Money Lenders and Aadtis and the farmer was at their mercy without any government machinery to check working system and unilateral procedures adopted by the Aadtis and Money Lenders to run the Mandi . This law made it mandatory for the mandis and mahajans to get themselves registered. The registration of Mandis was followed by the formation of Mandi Regulation Committees, with two-third representations of the peasant/ farmers and one third of the Mahajans. This act to a major extant changed the corrupt practices of Mahajans to buy the agricultural produce from the farmer on their own selfish terms.

The Punjab Registration of Moneylenders Act, 1938 :
Under this law a money lender was required to obtain a license before doing business. Under this Conciliation Boards were set up and majority of its members were farmers/ peasants to help the debt ridden farmers in every possible manner. it was the first step to curb the menace of money lenders and their working style to victimize the peasant/ farmers and the poors.

The Punjab Debtors Protection Act, 1936 :
Under this law the Decree Holders (the person who has a handy court order to take over/ sell off somebody’s property as mentioned in the Court order, for the debt/ recoverable dues from that person), which majority of were Mahajans and money lenders, were restrained from taking over/ selling off the essentials of the peasant/ farmer e.g. house, fodder, standing crop, bullock cart, milch cattle, cow shed, cow shed. Before this law there was a practice to get the peasant arrested by the police by lodging the false report of resistance in the execution of court decree, but after this law such arrests were banned.

I hope after reading the aforesaid scholarly and effective legal works of Ch. Chhotu Ram the respect for him in any Jat’s mind and spirit is bound to rejuvenate and to grow manifold.

And also; this article, in my opinion, is quite timely for all the Jat leaders, debating for amendment in (recently hot) marriage laws, to think over the welfare of masses following this legendry Leader; and the same way they should demand for Law, Amendment, Rule, Policy for the welfare of unemployed Jat youths & Poor, Helpless, uneducated and debt ridden peasants/ farmers.

Regards,

Yashpal

singhvp
August 10th, 2010, 09:29 PM
Unlike the present day fake Kisan leaders, Choudhary Chhotu Ram was genuinely concerned with the plight of peasantry, exploited by the “soodkhor” Mahajans of that time. He took pains and traversed the arduous path to become a popular and legitimate Kisan leader by dint of his hard work and; was not thrust upon the people by any clan leader as he was not born with a silver spoon in his mouth. Passage of those peasant-friendly amendment bills in Punjab Legislature was one of his great achievements and a turning point in the lives of small and medium farmers consisting of Muslims who used to call him Rehbar-e-Azam. Because of his exceptional intelligence, propensity to work hard and honesty, Choudhary Chhotu Ram became a de facto Prime Minister of pre-independence Punjab and closest confidante of Sir Sikander Hayat Khan, the de jure Prime Minister.

I happened to lay hands on his biography written by Raja Ram Shastri when I was just in 8th Standard. (Actually my father checked it out from some library for reading himself.) After casually turning a few pages out of curiosity and going through a few anecdotes, the book seemed to me interesting and I read it religiously. I felt greatly influenced by that narrative about this Jat Hero, a great visionary, statesman and above all an exceptionally brilliant, honest and practical leader. There is, however, some ambivalence about his proximity to the British Indian Rulers, but that can be termed as a tactical line taken by him according to the prevalent political equations and scenario, to extract maximum benefit for the farming community. He was a highly dignified man and never compromised his principles for his individual interest.

We should take inspiration from Choudhary Chhotu Ram and should share the agony of our impoverished brothers suffering from untold miseries, in whatever possible manner. Instead of debating the marriage law we should concentrate on more important and serious issues directly afflicting our rural areas viz. unemployment, mal-nourishment, lack of quality education, lack of medical facilities, shortage of electricity, poor drainage and sanitation, roads, abolition of social evils like dowry and female foeticide, etc. etc.

smriti
August 11th, 2010, 08:14 PM
Every day we witness some new Law, Amendment, Rule or Policy to match and facilitate the fast and rapid speed of development in every sphere of economy/ business/ finance; but rarely any law enactment, amendment, policy, order, scheme is seen where the letter and spirit of the Govt. to protect or its commitment for welfare of the peasant/ farmer or poor is actually reflected.

All of us know that Ch. Chhotu Ram was an Advocate in his times and had done a lot for the welfare and up-liftment of poor and victimized peasants/ farmers, But unfortunately only some of us know the actual works done by him. Though I don’t claim to know everything done by this self less Jat leader, but through a Govt. Document I have come to know that Ch. Sir Chhotu Ram in a brief period from 1926 to 1936 drafted several historical laws; not only drafted but was instrumental in their enactment and strict implementations. Some of such laws are mentioned below here highlight the true and relentless pursuit of this philanthropist for the welfare of poor , economically and physically battered peasant/ farmer…

The Punjab Alienation of Land Act, 1901 :
This act was passed to prevent the transfer of land to a non-farmer or non-agriculturist professional. such acts are still in force in several states e.g. Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat and in Telangana region of Andhra Pradesh. This law was devised to prevent to growing tendency of the Mahajans/ Money lenders from taking over the land from a farmer. The apparent purpose behind such law was that the land should belong to the peasant/ farmer and none else.

The Restitution of Mortgage Land Act, 1938 :
This law terminated all old mortgages existing before June 8, 1901 when Punjab Alienation of Land Act had come in to effect. This law helped to restore back almost 83,500 acres of agricultural land to almost three lakh sixty five thousand poor peasants/ farmers whose land was swallowed down by greedy Mahajans/ Money Lenders using laws then in force.

The Punjab Agricultural Produce Marketing Act, 1938 :
Before this law the Mandi used to be a place of trading controlled by Mahajans/ Money Lenders and Aadtis and the farmer was at their mercy without any government machinery to check working system and unilateral procedures adopted by the Aadtis and Money Lenders to run the Mandi . This law made it mandatory for the mandis and mahajans to get themselves registered. The registration of Mandis was followed by the formation of Mandi Regulation Committees, with two-third representations of the peasant/ farmers and one third of the Mahajans. This act to a major extant changed the corrupt practices of Mahajans to buy the agricultural produce from the farmer on their own selfish terms.

The Punjab Registration of Moneylenders Act, 1938 :
Under this law a money lender was required to obtain a license before doing business. Under this Conciliation Boards were set up and majority of its members were farmers/ peasants to help the debt ridden farmers in every possible manner. it was the first step to curb the menace of money lenders and their working style to victimize the peasant/ farmers and the poors.

The Punjab Debtors Protection Act, 1936 :
Under this law the Decree Holders (the person who has a handy court order to take over/ sell off somebody’s property as mentioned in the Court order, for the debt/ recoverable dues from that person), which majority of were Mahajans and money lenders, were restrained from taking over/ selling off the essentials of the peasant/ farmer e.g. house, fodder, standing crop, bullock cart, milch cattle, cow shed, cow shed. Before this law there was a practice to get the peasant arrested by the police by lodging the false report of resistance in the execution of court decree, but after this law such arrests were banned.

I hope after reading the aforesaid scholarly and effective legal works of Ch. Chhotu Ram the respect for him in any Jat’s mind and spirit is bound to rejuvenate and to grow manifold.

And also; this article, in my opinion, is quite timely for all the Jat leaders, debating for amendment in (recently hot) marriage laws, to think over the welfare of masses following this legendry Leader; and the same way they should demand for Law, Amendment, Rule, Policy for the welfare of unemployed Jat youths & Poor, Helpless, uneducated and debt ridden peasants/ farmers.

Regards,

Yashpal

Yashpal g This thread abt Choudhary sahab is very informative.
Plz sir if u can help me in collecting one more information abt RAHBAR -E-AZAM i shall be very thnkfull.Plz clear one doubt of mine regarding views of choudhary sahab for SIMMON COMMISSION.Was he in favour of that or nt.Sir plz explain what was this SIMMON commission and was it in favours of farmers or nt.
Plz sir dont take my curiousty otherwise.I am asking this with one motive to expose the knoweledge about RAHBAR-E-AZAM DIN BANDHU SIR CHHOTU RAM OHLAN

bhupindersingh
August 11th, 2010, 10:51 PM
Yashpal Ji & Vijay Pal Ji, Nangal Dam is also one of the achievements of Sir Chhotu Ram. Request you if you can please give more information about this also. Usually people think that it was the effort was by Jawahar Lal Nehru which as far as I know is not true.

singhvp
August 12th, 2010, 07:57 PM
Yashpal Ji & Vijay Pal Ji, Nangal Dam is also one of the achievements of Sir Chhotu Ram. Request you if you can please give more information about this also. Usually people think that it was the effort was by Jawahar Lal Nehru which as far as I know is not true.

Bhakhra Nangal Dam was a brainchild of Choudhary Chhotu Ram. The blueprint of this mega project was initiated on his behest. Because of his untimely demise the project could not be executed during his life time and was completed after his death. So the credit goes to Choudhary Sahib as the plan was conceived during his tenure as Minister in Punjab, much before Nehru's ascension on India's Prime Ministership. Still, I am not 100% sure. I think the information could be available on wiki also. But, I did not take this information from any encyclopaedia and faintly remember having read from his biography. I have heard it from some Bujurgs also including my father. Would be grateful for correcting me, if wrong.

yudhvirmor
August 12th, 2010, 08:11 PM
I wasn't aware of this.. Excellent information !!

bhupindersingh
August 13th, 2010, 02:32 AM
Yashpal Ji, I watched a short film on Sir Chhotu Ram on DD1 long back. This information was in that documentory film. Also, I read his biography during my engg. The information in film & the biography was same. The biography also contains the copy of some of the original letters written by Sir Chhotu Ram. It was very old book published in 1969. I tried to get the copy of it but could not get it. still looking for it. I must say reading his biography was more interesting than reading "Five Point Someone" by Chetan Bhagat.


Bhakhra Nangal Dam was a brainchild of Choudhary Chhotu Ram. The blueprint of this mega project was initiated on his behest. Because of his untimely demise the project could not be executed during his life time and was completed after his death. So the credit goes to Choudhary Sahib as the plan was conceived during his tenure as Minister in Punjab, much before Nehru's ascension on India's Prime Ministership. Still, I am not 100% sure. I think the information could be available on wiki also. But, I did not take this information from any encyclopaedia and faintly remember having read from his biography. I have heard it from some Bujurgs also including my father. Would be grateful for correcting me, if wrong.

delhione
August 13th, 2010, 12:55 PM
Vp Singh Ji and Bhupinder Ji i have created one new thread on Bhakhra Nangal Dam, because this is a thread for discussing Ch. saab's legal contribution for the welfare of masses by means of law and i think his contribution in the field of irrigation should be threaded seperately.

And Smriti Ji, as i have written in this thread that i dont know much about Ch. saab but i assure you that i will reply back once i find a reliable answer of your query.

Thanks & regards,

Yashpal.

raka
August 17th, 2010, 04:28 PM
Plz clear one doubt of mine regarding views of choudhary sahab for SIMMON COMMISSION.Was he in favour of that or nt.Sir plz explain what was this SIMMON commission and was it in favours of farmers or nt.

शायद देश की ज्यादातर जनता को यह नहीं पता के यह साइमन कमीशन क्या था ? कांग्रेस इसकी मुखालफत क्यों कर रही थी ? अंग्रेज सरकार ने ' गवर्मेंट ऑफ़ इंडिया 1919 एक्ट ' बनाया इसमें प्रांतीय सरकारों को कृषि , शिक्षा व हेल्थ के अधिकार दिए गए और defence , communication , external affairs आदि अधिकार अंग्रेज सरकार ने अपने पास रखे | इस एक्ट की समीक्षा व सुधार के लिए गोरी सरकार ने सर जॉन साइमन की अध्यक्षता में एक कमीशन का गठन किया | इस कमीशन के 7 मेम्बर थे जो सारे गोरे थे |
1927 में जहा कांग्रेस इस साइमन कमीशन की मुखालफत कर रही थी वही चौ. साहब इस कमीशन के हक में थे | अब रही बात कांग्रेस के मुखालफत की | कांग्रेस पार्टी असल में लालो की पार्टी थी, और इन लालो को पता था के अगर यह कमीशन भारत में आया तो यह प्रांतीय सरकारों को और मजबूत करेंगे | चौ.छोटूराम सरीखे किसान नेता और मजबूत होंगे और जो गरीब किसानो के ज़मीनों के पट्टे लालो के पास गिरवी रखे हैं सब छीन जायेंगे | ऐसा हुआ भी इसी एक्ट के कारण ही चौ.साहब यह सब किसान हितेषी कानून बनाने में सफल हुए |
जब चौ.छोटूराम जी से पूछा जाता था के क्या आप आज़ादी नहीं चाहते ? तो इस पर चौ. साहब का जवाब होता था की मैं आज़ादी के हक में हु पर अभी मेरी कौम इस लायक नहीं हुई हैं पहले हम अपनी कौम को हर स्तर पर तैयार कर ले मजबूत कर ले उसके बाद आज़ादी मांगेंगे | क्योंकि अगर अभी आज़ादी मिल भी गई तो " इन गोरे बनियों से ज्यादा काले बनियों की गुलामी खतरनाक होगी " |
चौ.साहब की बात में कितनी सच्चाई थी यह आज देखने को मिल भी रही हैं | अब काले अंग्रेज देश को खा रहे हैं अपनों पर गोली चलवा रहे हैं |

smriti
August 18th, 2010, 05:15 PM
Rakesh bhai thnx for clearing doubts regarding views of CHOUDHARY SAHAB about 'SIMMON COMMISSION'.

narendersingh
October 23rd, 2010, 01:39 PM
Ch. Chhotu Ram did a lot for the down trodden,marginal farmers and welfare of farmers community as a whole.