National Farmer's Day

Why is in news? National Farmer's Day being observed today

National Farmer's Day is being observed on December 23 to commemorate the birth anniversary of the fifth Prime Minister of India, Chaudhary Charan Singh, and his contributions towards the upliftment of farmers in the country.

On this day, awareness campaigns and drives are organised across the country to educate people about the role of farmers and their contribution to the economy.

National Farmers’ Day, also known as Rashtriya Kisan Diwas, is popular across India’s agricultural and farming states, including Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, and Madhya Pradesh, among others.

It is celebrated to promote awareness among the citizens to understand the importance of the contributions of the farmers to the society and overall economic and social development of a country.

Government also aims to encourage the farmers across the country by organizing various activities like debates and seminars on agriculture.

Chaudhary Charan Singh:

Chaudhary Charan Singh was born in 1902 at Noorpur in Meerut district of Uttar Pradesh in a peasant family.

He served as the fifth Prime Minister of India from 28 July 1979 to 14 January 1980.

Coming from an agricultural family, he was a proponent of rural and agricultural development. He made continuous efforts to keep agriculture at the centre of planning for India.

His key contribution includes the formulation and finalisation of the Debt Redemption Bill 1939 was done under his leadership. The aim of the bill was to give relief to the peasantry from moneylenders.

While serving as agriculture minister in 1952, he led UP in its efforts to abolish the Zamindari system.

He was instrumental in bringing about the Land Holding Act, 1960 aimed at lowering the ceiling on land holdings to make it uniform throughout the State was brought by him

He was the founder of the Kisan Trust, which was a non-political, non-profit-making body, on 23 December 1978. The aim of the trust was to educate India’s rural masses against injustice, and foster solidarity among them.

His well-known literary works are Co-operative Farming X-rayed, India’s Poverty and its Solution and Abolition of Zamindari.