Kisan Diwas, or National Farmers Day, is held on December 23 across the country to honour farmers, who are the backbone of India. The day was picked to honour Choudhary Charan Singh, India's fifth prime minister, on the occasion of his birth anniversary.
Every year, National Farmers Day is observed, particularly in farming-intensive regions such as Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, and Madhya Pradesh.
Farmers are the foundation of society. They are the ones that work around the clock and throughout the year to ensure that people do not go hungry, yet they themselves struggle to eat two square meals a day. Every year, Farmers Day is observed to support, honour, and promote public awareness of the contributions that farmers provide to society.
National Farmers' Day: Significance
India is a rural country with agricultural surpluses. Farmers and agricultural workers make up the vast majority of the country's rural population. A large proportion of the country's soldiers are from farming backgrounds.
Kisan Diwas is celebrated every year to honour farmers' passion and sacrifice. That we must also pay attention to them and ensure their social and economic well-being. The day also aims to provide farmers with the latest recent agricultural information.
National Farmers Day 2020: History
Between July 28, 1979, to January 14, 1980, Chaudhary Charan Singh, the Kisan Leader, governed the nation for a brief period of time. He established multiple welfare schemes for farmers and produced several books about farmers and their difficulties, illustrating several solutions to better the life of the nation's farmers. As a result, the government declared Charan Singh's birth day as Kisan Diwas in 2001.
Chaudhary Charan Singh used the renowned motto "JAI JAWAN JAI KISAN" that Lal Bahadur Shastri, India's second Prime Minister, gave to farmers.
Choudhary Charan Singh was born on December 23, 1902, to a middle-class peasant family in Noorpur village, Meerut district, Uttar Pradesh. He served as Prime Minister of India from 1979 to 1980, during which time he was instrumental in the execution of various farmer-friendly land reform programmes.
During his brief stint as Prime Minister, Chaudhary Charan Singh worked relentlessly for the welfare of farmers. He set up a variety of aid programmes for them. Singh has had a special heart for the oppressed since his days as a liberation warrior.
In 1939, Charan Singh proposed the Debt Redemption Bill to safeguard farmers from moneylenders and their misdeeds. From 1962 to 1963, he was Minister of Agriculture and Forests in Sucheta Kripalani's Ministry.
The then-government designated Charan Singh's birth day as Kisan Diwas in 2001.
Singh spent the majority of his free time reading and writing since he believed in living a simple life. Throughout his life, Singh wrote a number of books and pamphlets. Co-operative Farming X-rayed, India's Poverty and its Solution, and Abolition of Zamindari are among his most well-known publications.