Indian politics during its first decade of Independence was inspired by the noble ideals of freedom struggle. Notwithstanding the monumental challenges of eradicating illiteracy, inequalities and poverty, the leadership envisioned a new Bharat and planned to put it on the path to development and progress. The leadership put forward two contrasting perspectives to realise their goals. While one group of leadership was advocating more for technological and industrial development, another was for promotion of land reforms and strengthening of the agriculture sector. They knew that the country was badly in need of both. Despite their differences on the models of economic development, they had mutual respect for each other and thus decided to pursue both. Of them, Chaudhary Charan Singh was one such leader who envisaged the development of the economy based on a robust agriculture sector. Today when the nation pays homage to its fifth Prime Minister, Chaudhary Charan Singh on the occasion of his 120th birth anniversary, it is a good opportunity to reflect on his political journey and some of his values and ideals that are worthy of emulation for the coming generations. Chaudhary Charan Singh was a much misunderstood person in a complex world. One of the most distinctive aspects of his political journey, which most may be unaware of, has been his rise at all levels of political system down below from municipal level to the highest office of the land and that too without any political patronage. Unlike many, he was not parachuted into politics. He joined the Indian National Congress as an ordinary worker in 1928. He was inspired by the ideals of Gandhiji and Swami Dayanand Saraswati. He was imprisoned thrice during the freedom struggle. He started his innings as vice-chairman of the District Board, Meerut in 1935 and gradually and successfully made his way up to UP Legislative Assembly in 1937, which he served with great distinction in different capacities without any break until he moved to the Centre in 1977. First, he joined the G.B. Pant government as Parliamentary Secretary and later as Cabinet Minister, holding a whole lot of different portfolios in the governments of Dr Sampurnaanand and Mr C.B. Gupta. He became the Chief Minister of UP twice, once in 1967 and again in 1970. He was imprisoned for two years during Emergency in 1975. After his release, he played a pivotal role in the defeat of the Congress and formation of the Janata government at the Centre in which he first became the Home Minister and later the Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister and finally the Prime Minister in 1979. Subsequently, he was elected twice in Parliament in 1980 and also in 1984 when he became the Leader of Opposition. It has, indeed, been the most remarkable political journey that most political leaders might aspire to tread. Undoubtedly, one needs as much wisdom and intellectual prowess to really succeed in politics as in any other profession. Chaudhary Charan Singh was endowed by nature with both of these most remarkable gifts. Despite he being a great thinker and a prolific writer, urban intelligentsia somehow was not favourably disposed towards him because he did not belong to the western educated elite class of political leaders. The fact of the matter, however, remained that none of his contemporaries could match him insofar as his original writings on complex issues of economy, agriculture reforms, governance and upliftment of rural masses were concerned. He had as many as 19 books to his credit. Some of his books like Abolition of Zamindari, Agrarian Revolution, Joint Farming X-Rayed, India’s Poverty and its Solution, India’s Economic Policy: The Gandhian Blueprint, Economic Nightmare of India are used as reference books in the academic world. Yet he was portrayed by the media in a disparaging manner partly because of his concern and obsession about upliftment of the rural masses and partly because of his humble background. But he never cared for it. Rather he used to tell his supporters that the day media starts praising him they could take him as a sold out. Nonetheless, it was his unflinching commitment towards providing a dignified life to the poor and downtrodden that made him a much loved and respected leader of the rural masses. Something, that most political leaders would seek to accomplish. Of course, it was not all smooth sailing for Charan Singh. His entire political journey was not free from despair and dissensions. This was primarily because of his most uncompromising honesty and non-conciliatory attitude on matters affecting the lives of rural masses. He openly opposed Pandit Nehru’s policy on cooperative farming in 1959 and proposed a contrarian policy deeply rooted in agrarian ethos and culture. He worked tirelessly to establish an economic agrarian order based on small land holdings that brought him in conflict with the senior leadership. He became the principal architect of the Zamindari Abolition Bill that was ultimately passed and became an Act in 1952, giving ownership rights to small farmers. It gave him countrywide fame as the Act was used as a model by other states. On issues dealing with the interests of farmers and farm labourers, he never hesitated in taking up cudgels with his contemporaries including his Chief Ministers who were more for creating a modern industrial society as against his idea of developing an egalitarian society based on agricultural economy. When he realised that his ideas were being shot down by people with no imagination, he decided to part ways with the Congress and founded his own Bhartiya Kranti Dal (BKD) in 1967 and became the first non-Congress Chief Minister of UP. The courage and ability to step forward and take chances to realise his dream was a distinct quality of his which made him stand out and widened his influence across the states. Charan Singh always stuck to high moral standards in running the affairs of both his party and government. He always took a principled stance. He was neither against urbanization nor industrialization as long as it did not hurt the interests of the rural masses. He is known to have resigned as many as nine times mostly on issues of policy formulation and sometimes on loss of self-respect whilst serving as Cabinet Ministers with different Chief Ministers in UP. Had he not taken such principled stands, his governments in 1968 and 1970 in UP and in 1979 at the Centre would not have come to an abrupt end. To those who called him an opportunist, he once wrote “If I desired power, I desired it not for myself but for the uplift of the unfortunate masses of this land. Our administration has not come up to the expectations of masses and I feel we can do more.” A flair and clarity of vision that every political leader may like to aim at. Charan Singh was a man of great integrity. Although his opponents tried to discredit him by levelling baseless allegations against him and his family members but nothing ever came out of it. He was so conscious about his integrity that on more than two occasions he himself had ordered inquiries against his own relatives to get to the bottom of the truth and to expose his adversaries. He trusted the honesty and integrity of his supporters, which also speaks about the quality of his mind. He gained the reputation as an intellectual with strong conviction and integrity even amongst his staunchest rivals. This was primarily because he was principled, courageous, incorruptible, unselfish and a man of integrity beyond reproach. In fact, he consciously maintained his integrity throughout his political journey, which eventually paid him rich dividends. This is a strong leadership quality for those who wish to traverse a long journey in the political arena. National interest was of paramount significance for Charan Singh. In fact, he was a person imbued with high moral principles coupled with honesty, integrity, compassion and commitment. The thought of amassing wealth, creating assets, nepotism and perpetration of family rule had never crossed his mind. He knew how to control his appetite and not allow it to influence his decision making. Undoubtedly, he belonged to a different political breed which believed in service above self. The present generation of leaders need to learn a great deal from the ideals of such a leader who ceaselessly worked for the cause of the rural masses throughout his political career spanning over five decades. It would be good if the younger generation of leaders take a leaf out of his book.
Prof Ved Prakash is a former Chairman, UGC.