Sir Chhotu Ram had set the trend for enlistment in armed forces

Vishal Joshi
Tribune News Service
Kurukshetra, February 18

The trend among Haryanavi youths to enlist themselves in the armed forces dates back to 1914. And the credit for this goes to farmer leader Sir Chhotu Ram.

This is highlighted in a five-volume collection titled “Sir Chhotu Ram: Writings and Speeches” published by the Haryana Academy of History and Culture (HAHC) here. It will be released soon.

“Haryanavi youths make up about 10 per cent of the Army personnel. The visionary Chhotu Ram had set the trend more than a century ago,” HAHC Director and historian Prof Raghuvendra Tanwar told The Tribune.

“Chhotu Ram was aware of the hardships youths from humble background faced, as he came from one such family. So, he encouraged youths to join the Army during World War I to improve their financial condition. For this, the British Government had given him the title of ‘Rai Sahib’ in 1916,” the historian said, adding “83,899 youths from modern-day Haryana (then undivided Punjab) had served in the Army in World War I. The number swelled to 1.58 lakh during World War II”.

Tanwar said the five-volume collection would make the younger generation and researchers aware of the vision of Chhotu Ram, who, he said, worked for the peasant class and rural development.

Each volume, about 750 pages long, includes every important writing and speech or statement of Chhotu Ram, starting with his first article written in 1907 for St Stephen’s College magazine.

“The HAHC has covered the entire period up to Chhotu Ram’s death in January 1945. The volumes also include his historic letter to Mahatma Gandhi written on August 15, 1944, in which he had explained that Partition was not an answer to communal politics of the time. He had also noted in the letter that appeasement of any community only added to the problem,” said Tanwar, also Professor Emeritus in Kurukshetra University’s department of history.

He said it was unfair to tag Chhotu Ram as a Jat leader. “He had an impressive following among peasants and Muslims in undivided Punjab.”

“Chhotu Ram was a regular contributor to The Tribune, highlighting the concerns of farmers and development in the south-eastern districts of Punjab (now Haryana). It is his precedence to economics over politics that makes his speeches and writings outstanding and exceptional,” he added.

Letter to Gandhi  

One of five volumes includes Chhotu Ram’s historic letter to Mahatma Gandhi written on August 15, 1944, in which he had explained that Partition was not an answer to communal politics of the time. He had also noted in the letter that appeasement of any community only added to the problem.