On December 23, National Farmers’ Day, or Kisan Diwas, is observed across India to honour India’s farmers and to commemorate the birth anniversary of the country’s fifth prime minister, Choudhary Charan Singh.
Why is Kisan Diwas celebrated?
In 2001, the government designated Choudhary Charan Singh’s birthday as Kisan Diwas, honouring his contributions to agriculture and the welfare of farmers.
The 23rd of December has been designated as National Farmers’ Day ever since. Across the country, public awareness programmes and initiatives are held to educate people about the role of farmers and their contribution to the economy.
Who was Chaudhary Charan Singh?
Chaudhary Charan Singh was a farmer leader. He implemented a number of programmes to better the life of the country’s farmers.
A native of Noorpur, Uttar Pradesh, Chaudhary Charan Singh has served as the Prime Minister of India from July 28, 1979, to January 14, 1980. His efforts to improve the lives of India’s farmers earned him the moniker of “champion of India’s peasants.”
On this day every year, a number of programmes are held across the country. To honour this day, many schools, institutions, and even the government host a variety of programmes, debates, seminars, quiz competitions, talks, workshops, exhibitions, essay writing competitions, and other events.
Chaudhary Charan Singh shaped India’s agricultural sector from pre-independence to post-independence by campaigning for and enacting various measures for farmers’ reforms.
During his time as India’s prime minister, he implemented a number of policies aimed at improving the socioeconomic position of farmers.
He also had a key role in the country’s agriculture sector, sponsoring reform laws benefiting farmers.
The government of India decided to commemorate Singh’s birth day as Kisan Diwas in 2001, in recognition of his excellent achievements and journey from farmer to head of state.
On January 14, 1980, Chaudhary Charan Singh passed away. At Raj Ghat, a memorial called ‘Kisan Ghat’ was created in his honour.
He also wrote several works about improving the lives of farmers. ‘Abolition of Zamindari,’ ‘Co-operative Farming X,’ and ‘Prevention of Division of Holdings Below a Certain Minimum’ are some of the more notable titles.
The Indian agriculture industry
Although no exact figure is available, India has around 150 million farmers who operate farms on land.
Every year on Kisan Diwas, India honours the spirit and dedication of farmers.
Almost half of India’s rural households have small agricultural holdings. In rural India, there are 93.1 million agricultural households, according to the 2019 Situation Assessment Survey (SAS).
In the 365 days leading up to the survey, an agricultural household was defined as one that produced field or horticultural crops, livestock, or other specified agricultural products worth more than 4,000 rupees and had a member self-employed in agriculture.
