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Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday paid tributes to agrarian reformer Deenbandhu Chaudhary Chottu Ram on his 144th birth anniversary, remembering his fight against the Britishers for securing the rights of farmers and labourers.
"On the birth anniversary of Rahbar-e-Azam, Deenbandhu Chaudhary Chhotu Ram Ji--who fought against the British for the rights of the food providers, our farmers and laborers, and who continuously struggled in the freedom movement to safeguard their interests--we pay our humble respects to him," Kharge posted on X in Hindi. Earlier, Union Minister Rao Inderjit Singh also paid tributes to Chhotu Ram, highlighting how his contributions have inspired many for years. "On the birth anniversary of the great freedom fighter, renowned social worker, and fierce protector of farmers' rights 'Dinbandhu' Sir Chhotu Ram Ji, I offer my endless salutations to him," the minister wrote on X in Hindi. Popularly known as 'Deenbandhu' (friend of the poor), and Kisano ka Maseeha (saviour of farmers), Chhotu Ram was an agrarian reformer and politician in the Punjab province of British India. He fought for the rights of farmers and the oppressed, and played a pivotal role in helping shape agrarian policies to help the peasants. He started his political career by first joining the Indian National Congress, serving as the party district president too. However, in 1920, he left the party and co-founded the Unionist Party, which looked to form cross-communal alliances for protecting the interests of the agrarian community. He has held various portfolios in the Punjab provincial government. Holding the finance, agriculture and revenue portfolio. Famously, he is also proposed a transformation of the Sutlej river in the 1940s, looking for giving farmers a source of irrigation and power through it. His efforts ultimately came to fruition in the form of Bakhra dam, part of the Bakhra-Nangal dam system in Himachal Pradesh. (ANI)
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