Ch Ranbir Singh’s role in shaping Constitution
ONE wonders whether it was a coincidence or a hint from heaven that Chaudhary Ranbir Singh, who rose to be elected as a member of the Constituent Assembly, was born in a farmer’s family at Sanghi village in Rohtak district on November 26, 1914 — the day which is celebrated as Constitution Day. At 33, he was one of the youngest members of the Constituent Assembly and a signatory to the Constitution among 283 members. Our Constitution was adopted on November 26, 1949, and came into effect on January 26, 1950.
A rural lad, he grew up in difficult circumstances yet carved a niche for himself in the national political firmament through diligence and determination. He rubbed shoulders with stalwarts like Dr Rajendra Prasad, Jawaharlal Nehru, Dr BR Ambedkar, Syama Prasad Mookerjee, Gopinath Bordoloi, Krishnaswami Ayyar and KM Munshi.
After graduating from Ramjas College, Delhi, with the blessings of his patriotic father Ch Matu Ram, he joined the freedom struggle under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi. He courted arrest for the first time in 1941 as a satyagrahi; thereafter, he was jailed eight times. He remained in jail at Rohtak, Ambala, Ferozepur, Multan, Sialkot and Lahore for three-and-a-half years. After Independence, he contributed to nation-building under Nehru’s leadership.
Ch Ranbir Singh was elected to seven Houses of representatives, including the Constituent Assembly (Legislative), in his more than three-decade-long political career. He served as a member of the Provisional Parliament, Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha and the Legislative Assemblies of Punjab and Haryana. He was also a minister in the Punjab and Haryana governments. He was the Irrigation and Power Minister of Punjab when the Bhakra Dam was dedicated to the nation in 1963 by then Prime Minister Nehru.
He was known for his Gandhian perspective and a down-to-earth approach to dealing with problems. He spoke powerfully on behalf of rural India and its poor peasantry. In the Constituent Assembly, he opposed the imposition of income tax on farmers and advocated a minimum economic price for the agricultural produce so that agriculturists could lead a financially stable life. He also demanded agricultural insurance through legislation.
Speaking in the Constituent Assembly in 1949, he said, “Punjab also, in future, may be divided into two parts (Punjab and Haryana) and I hope that when this happens, its Hindi-speaking areas will be joined to the divided part...” His prophecy became a reality in 1966 when Haryana was carved out of Punjab on a linguistic basis.
He was a simple and saintly politician with a compassionate nature. Indira Gandhi mentioned him in a letter to her father on February 17, 1959, about her visit to Punjab: “Punjab was strenuous but most exhilarating too. I had one lakh people in Rohtak just for me — Imagine that!... and Chaudhary Ranbir Singh looked after me as if I were his granddaughter!”
