National Farmers Day: Chaudhary Charan Singh Jayanti or the birth anniversary of Ch. Charan Singh is on December 23. It is observed as Kisan Diwas or Farmers day. Since, farmers are the backbone of an economy therefore our nation celebrates Farmers Day in the memory of late Ch. Charan Singh, the ex-Prime Minister of India. He was primarily a farmer himself and his personal life-style was extremely simple. He was a son of the soil and his efforts towards the improvement of an Indian farmer are unparalleled. He is credited for a slew of agrarian reforms and new policies being introduced in India. His peasantry background helped him understand real problems of the farmers.
Charan Singh Jayanti:
Chaudhary Charan Singh also framed and implemented the famous Zamindari Abolition Act. His sincere appeal and magnetic persona garnered all the farmers against the moneylenders and landlords. He also introduced an Agricultural Produce Market Bill for the welfare of the farmers.
He was a prolific writer and penned his thoughts on farmers, their problems and solutions. Ch. Charan Singh passed away on 29 May 1987. Kisan Divas is an acknowledgement of his vision of a strong and independent Indian farmer. The entire country celebrates this day. Members of the rural community and farmers organize agricultural shows and pay tribute to their beloved leader. Moreover, new policies concerned with farming, agriculture, seeds etc are announced by the government in order to reciprocate the hard labour of the Indian Kisan.
National Farmers Day (Charan Singh Jayanti) Date:
- 2023: 23rd December, 2021 (Saturday)
- 2024: 23rd December, 2024 (Monday)
History of National Farmers Day (Kisan Diwas):
National Farmers Day or Kisan Diwas is celebrated in the honor of Chaudhary Charan Singh who was the fifth Prime Minister of India. He served the country as Prime Minister for a very short tenure starting from 28th of July 1979 till 14th January 1980. He was a very simple-minded man and led an extremely simple life. During his tenure as the Prime Minister, he introduced many policies to improve the life of Indian farmers. The magnetic personality of Chaudhary Charan Singh and various beneficial policies in the favor of farmers united all the farmers of India against the landlords and moneylenders. He followed the famous slogan ‘Jai Jawan Jai Kisan‘ given by the 2nd Prime Minister of India Lal Bahadur Shastri. Chaudhary Charan Singh was also a very successful writer and wrote down several books depicting his thoughts on farmers and their problems; he even came out with various solutions to improve the lives of farmers.
Chaudhary Charan belonged to the farmer’s family and thus he led an extremely simple life despite being the honorable Prime Minister of India. India is primarily the land of villages and majority of the population living in villages are farmers and agriculture is the main source of income for them. 70% of the Indian population still today thrives on the income generated through cultivation. India witnesses an interesting farming journey.
The green revolution during the 60s evolved in Punjab and Haryana transformed the agricultural picture of the country. This increased the productivity and thus India became self-sufficient in various agro-commodities.
Farmers are the spine of India. The nation of lands, India celebrates Nationals Farmer’s Day every year on 23rd of December to pay honor to the great work done by the farmers of our country.
Why do we celebrate National Farmers Day (Kisan Diwas)?
Born on 23 December, the humble man Chaudhary Charan Singh was also the Kisan (Farmers) leader. He was a humble and compassionate leader and was highly popular amongst the farmers and thus he was called the Farmer’s leader too. Chaudhary Charan Singh Jayanti or the birth anniversary of Ch. Charan Singh is on December 23. It is observed as Kisan Diwas or Farmer’s day. Since farmers are the backbone of our economy; therefore our nation celebrates Farmers Day in the memory of late Ch. Charan Singh, the ex-Prime Minister of India. He was a farmer himself and led an extremely simple life. Since he belonged to the farmer’s family he made a lot of efforts towards improving the life of Indian farmers. It goes without saying that farmers are the backbone of our society and contribute greatly to the economic development of India. Majority of Indian population live in villages and cultivation is the main source of income for them. Thus, a day dedicated to Indian farmers would not only increase their enthusiasm but would create respect in people’s mind for them.
National Farmers Day is celebrated every year in all states and especially in those states which are actively engaged in farming and cultivation such as Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh and others. Members of the farmers and rural community organize various agricultural shows in order to pay tribute to their adored leader. On this day various debates, forums, discussions, quiz, competitions are organized. Several issues related to farmers are discussed and the participants are invited to share and suggest solutions. The state governments utilize this day to introduce new Bills in the favor of farmers if any. The representatives of farmers are also invited to the celebrations and motivated to put across their issues and problems. On National Farmers Day, homage is paid to the great and benevolent leaders of the past who were devoted towards the welfare and development of farmers.
How National Farmers Day (Charan Singh Jayanti) is celebrated?
The Government of Uttar Pradesh, India celebrates the National Farmer’s Day every year on 23rd December as Kisan Samman Diwas. This is the birth date of one of the former Prime Ministers of India, Choudhary Charan Singh. He was highly compassionate towards farmer community and introduced several policies for benefiting farmers. Thus, Kisan Diwas or Kisan Samman Diwas or National Farmer’s day is observed on 23rd December. On this day the Uttar Pradesh government organizes many programs, seminars and discussions related to farmers of India and Divisional Agriculture Science at District and Block level, Uttar Pradesh.
Various workshops, exhibitions and seminars are been organized on this day by the state government and rural development associations to make sure the development in cultivation field. Officers belonging to the agriculture department and agricultural scientists visit the villages and interact with peasants and farmers to understand their issues and provide them with solutions and information about the recent agriculture techniques and different types of insurance schemes to protect their agriculture production.
During the celebration, the Agricultural Scientists and experts in the field of farming share various informational programs for the benefit of farmers. The experts also give different suggestions on avoiding the circumstances that lower down the agro-production or result into a spoilt agricultural production. Thus, to attend these programs is highly beneficial for the farmers for the development of their farming.
There are approximately 26 Agriculture Knowledge Centers and around 31 Agriculture Science Centers in Uttar Pradesh; all these centers also celebrate the National Farmer’s Day by organizing different discussions in the state. All these are organized not only to commemorate the birthday of one of the former Indian Prime Ministers, but also to generate helpful and informed circumstances for farmers in the state.
Most of the states in India, especially those which are rich in agriculture such as Haryana, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh and various other states are taking ideas from Uttar Pradesh for celebrating Kisan Diwas. The Population of Uttar Pradesh is the largest in India and most of the people are engaged in farming for their living. Farmers produce food and other eatables which are distributed across the nation; the urban population greatly depends upon the farming done by the farmers all over India. Thus, it is important that the government develop more productive conditions for the farmers all over India for healthier and richer cultivation.
Kisan Samman Diwas is one of the most important days for many states in India. The Agricultural department of the State Government and the representatives of farmers come together on the same platform to discuss the issues and solutions related to farmers. The day is also utilized to increase the awareness of the farmers about the advanced technology of farming.