Charan Singh facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Chaudhary Charan Singh
Official portrait, 1979
6th Prime Minister of India
In office 28 July 1979 – 14 January 1980
President	Neelam Sanjiva Reddy
Vice President	B. D. Jatti Mohammad Hidayatullah
Deputy	Yashwantrao Chavan
Preceded by	Morarji Desai
Succeeded by	Indira Gandhi
3rd Deputy Prime Minister of India
In office 24 January 1979 – 16 July 1979 Serving with Jagjivan Ram
Prime Minister	Morarji Desai
Preceded by	Morarji Desai
Succeeded by	Yashwantrao Chavan
Minister of Finance
In office 24 January 1979 – 16 July 1979
Prime Minister	Morarji Desai
Preceded by	H. M. Patel
Succeeded by	Hemvati Nandan Bahuguna
Minister of Home Affairs
In office 24 March 1977 – 1 July 1978
Prime Minister	Morarji Desai
Preceded by	Kasu Brahmananda Reddy
Succeeded by	Morarji Desai
5th Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh
In office 18 February 1970 – 1 October 1970
Preceded by	Chandra Bhanu Gupta
Succeeded by	President's rule
In office 3 April 1967 – 25 February 1968
Preceded by	Chandra Bhanu Gupta
Succeeded by	President's rule
Personal details
Born	Chaudhary Charan Singh (1902-12-23)23 December 1902 Noorpur, United Provinces of Agra and Oudh, British India (present-day Uttar Pradesh, India)
Died	29 May 1987(1987-05-29) (aged 84) New Delhi, India
Political party	Lokdal (own party; 1980–1987)
Other political affiliations	Indian National Congress (Before 1967) Bharatiya Lok Dal (own party;1967–1977) Janata Party (1977–1979) Janata Party (Secular) (1979–1980)
Spouse	Gayatri Devi
Children	6; including Ajit Singh
Alma mater	Agra University

Chaudhary Charan Singh (born December 23, 1902 – died May 29, 1987) was an important Indian leader. He served as the 5th Prime Minister of India from July 28, 1979, to January 14, 1980. Many people called him the 'champion of India's peasants' because he worked hard for farmers.

Charan Singh was born in a village called Noorpur in British India. His family were farmers. He got involved in politics because he was inspired by Mahatma Gandhi and the fight for India's freedom. He was jailed twice by the British government for his activism. Before India became independent, he worked to change laws that were unfair to farmers. He wanted to protect farmers from landlords.

He became well-known in Uttar Pradesh (a state in India) in the 1950s. He helped create new laws to reform land ownership. These laws were very important for farmers. He also disagreed with Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru's ideas about land policies. Charan Singh believed in careful government spending and dealing with corruption. He left the Congress party in 1967 and became the first Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh who was not from the Congress party.

In 1977, many opposition parties joined together to form the Janata Party. Charan Singh was a big part of this group. He hoped to become Prime Minister, but Morarji Desai was chosen instead. Later, in 1979, he did become Prime Minister. However, he resigned after only 24 weeks. This was because the Congress Party stopped supporting his government. He continued to lead his party, the Lok Dal, until he passed away in 1987.

Early Life and Fight for Freedom

Charan Singh's family had a history of fighting against British rule. His ancestor, Raja Nahar Singh, was a leader in the Indian Rebellion of 1857. After the rebellion, Charan Singh's family moved to Uttar Pradesh to escape British oppression.

Charan Singh was born on December 23, 1902, in Noorpur village. He was a good student and earned a law degree from Agra University in 1926. He started working as a lawyer in 1928.

In 1937, he was elected to the Legislative Assembly of the United Provinces. He introduced a bill to protect farmers from unfair traders. This bill was later adopted by many states in India. Charan Singh followed Mahatma Gandhi's non-violent methods to gain independence. He was imprisoned several times by the British for his actions.

Working for Independent India

After India became independent, Charan Singh disagreed with Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru's economic plans. Nehru wanted to create cooperative farms, but Charan Singh believed that farmers needed to own their land. He thought that owning land was very important for farmers. His open criticism of Nehru's policies affected his political career.

In 1967, Charan Singh left the Congress party and started his own party, the Bharatiya Kranti Dal. With support from other leaders, he became the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh twice, first in 1967 and again in 1970. In 1975, he was jailed by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi during a period called the state of emergency. She had arrested many of her political opponents.

In the 1977 elections, the Indian people voted Indira Gandhi out of power. Charan Singh became a senior leader in the new government. He served as Deputy Prime Minister, Home Minister, and Finance Minister in the government led by Morarji Desai.

First Time as Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh (1967–1968)

Charan Singh became Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh for the first time on April 3, 1967. He formed a group of parties called the Samyukta Vidhayak Dal. He had left the Congress party with 16 other elected members to form this new group.

However, disagreements soon started within this group. Some parties wanted to remove land taxes, but Charan Singh did not agree. He was worried about how the government would get money. Other parties wanted to release government workers who were jailed for striking, but Singh also refused. Because of these disagreements, his government resigned in February 1968, and the state was put under President's rule.

Second Time as Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh (1970)

Charan Singh became Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh for the second time on February 18, 1970. He had the support of Indira Gandhi's Congress party. However, this support was later withdrawn. Charan Singh asked some ministers to resign, but they refused.

On October 1, 1970, President's rule was again put in place in Uttar Pradesh. This meant the central government took control of the state. A new Chief Minister was chosen just two weeks later.

Serving as Home Minister (1977–1978)

Charan Singh became the Home Minister in Morarji Desai's government on March 24, 1977. As Home Minister, he decided to dissolve the state assemblies that were under Congress rule. He believed these assemblies no longer represented the people. The Supreme Court later supported his decision.

In October 1977, Charan Singh ordered the arrest of Indira Gandhi. However, she was released by the magistrate because there was not enough evidence. Charan Singh resigned from the cabinet in July 1978 due to disagreements with Morarji Desai. He returned to the cabinet in January 1979 as Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister.

Becoming Prime Minister

When the Janata Party won the elections in 1977, Morarji Desai became Prime Minister. Charan Singh was made Home Minister. After some disagreements, Singh resigned but later returned as Deputy Prime Minister.

In 1979, the Janata government started having problems. Charan Singh worked with Indira Gandhi's party, Congress (I). After many members left the Janata party to join Singh's group, Morarji Desai resigned. Charan Singh was then appointed Prime Minister on July 28, 1979. He had support from Indira Gandhi's party.

However, Charan Singh refused to drop some legal cases against Indira Gandhi. Because of this, Congress (I) withdrew its support. Charan Singh resigned as Prime Minister on August 20, 1979, after only 23 days. He was the only Prime Minister who never proved his majority in Parliament. He continued as caretaker Prime Minister until new elections were held in January 1980.

Later Years and Legacy

On September 26, 1979, Charan Singh formed a new political party called Lok Dal. He was elected its president. The party later had some splits. In 1984, he formed another party called Dalit Mazdoor Kisan Party, which later changed its name back to Lok Dal.

Charan Singh suffered a stroke in 1985 and passed away on May 29, 1987, in New Delhi.

He is remembered for his important work in land reforms in Uttar Pradesh. He helped create laws that reduced debt for farmers. He also worked to reduce the salaries and benefits of ministers in Uttar Pradesh. His efforts helped to make land ownership fairer for farmers.

Many people remember Charan Singh as a leader with great intelligence and honesty. His memorial in New Delhi is called Kisan Ghat, which means 'Farmer's Bank'. His birthday, December 23, is celebrated as Kisan Diwas (Farmer's Day) in India. A special postage stamp was also released in his honor.

The Amausi Airport in Lucknow and the University of Meerut in Uttar Pradesh were both renamed after him to honor his contributions.

Books by Charan Singh

• Agrarian Revolution in Uttar Pradesh (1957)
• Joint Farming X-rayed (1959)
• India's Economic Policy – The Gandhian Blueprint (1978)
• Economic Nightmare of India: Its Cause and Cure (1981)

See also

• Bharatiya Kisan Union