Chaudhary Charan Singh served as the Prime Minister of India between 1979-1980 and is known to contribute a major chunk of his political career towards issues related to India’s farmers and making land reform policies.

India also observes ‘Kisan Diwas’ on December 23, the birth anniversary of Chaudhary Charan Singh.

After being born on Uttar Pradesh’s Noorpur in 1902, Chaudhary Charan Singh graduated from Agra University in 1925 and later set up his law practice in Ghaziabad before joining Congress.

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After spending years as a member of Uttar Pradesh’s Legislative Assembly, he was inducted into the state’s Cabinet was put in charge of the Departments of Justice and Information. Later he took over as the Minister for Revenue and Agriculture in the Cabinet of Dr. Sampurnanand in 1952. When he resigned in April 1959, he was holding charge of the Department of Revenue and Transport, according to an official government website.

Chaudhary Charan Singh has also been the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh twice, taking the office with the support of Congress. He took the position the second time in February 1970.

Throughout his political career, he authored multiple books and pamphlets. These include ‘Prevention of Division of Holdings Below a Certain Minimum’, ‘India’s Poverty and its Solution’, ‘Abolition of Zamindari’, ‘Peasant Proprietorship or Land to the Workers’ and ‘Co-operative Farming X-rayed’.

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During his brief time in the Prime Minister’s office, Chaudhary Charan Singh reportedly scripted multiple schemes and policies for the welfare of Indian farmers. 

The highlights of his time as a politician include his contribution towards the Dept. Redemption Bill 1939, which brought great relief to rural debtors, according to an official government website.

He died on May 29, 1987. In 2001, the government designated Charan Singh’s birth anniversary as Kisan Diwas.