"Peasantry Society and Ch. Chhotu Ram”

Abstract

other advocates of his time. He could also amass wealth like many other politicians if he so desired. But legal practice and politics were for him a path of personal sacrifice and selfless service to the peasantry and downtrodden and not the pursuit of wealth, power and abuse of authority. During his student life, Chhotu Ram experienced the deepest punch of poverty and helplessness of rural people in general and of peasantry in particular.1 According to Chhotu Ram,. A Sanskrit couplet which he had read in Hitopdesh for the first time in his school in 1897 planted a sapling of his life mission i.e. improving the lot of the peasantry and downtrodden in his heart. The couplet says : "In ordinary course of nature thousands upon thousands are born everyday but he alone is truly born whose birth leads to the elevation of his race". Thus leaving all personal considerations of his own and of his family for comforts, money and power; he directed all his time, energy, talent and labour towards the selfless and fearless service for the upliftment of longue tied, poverty stricken, debt laden peasantry and downtrodden and worked for secularism and oneness of the nation. Chhotu Ram rightly saw in the anti-agriculturist and anti-labour policy of British rulers who also gave full protection to money-lenders and traders oftenly enlarging their net of exploitation. The irony was that though the producer of food was worst-affected, being squeezed and sucked by the trading community delivering kicks to their empty stomachs.2 According to Darling, "Bulk of the Punjab cultivators are born in debt, live in debt. And die in debt".3 Further illiteracy, frequent occurance of famines, traditional rainfed farming with small and fragmented fields as autumn leaves, ignorance and extravagance of cultivators on social customs, illegal extortion of money and high handedness of officials were more causes responsible for the pitiable condition of peasantry. Sir Chhotu Ram fought for the emancipation of helpless peasantry ad the downtrodden both inside the legislative and outside.