Kisan Diwas: Date, Theme, and Significance

Context

Every year, December 23 is celebrated as Kisan Diwas or National Farmers’ Day to honour farmers of the country. 

About Kisan Diwas 

• Origin: In 2001, the union government decided to recognize Chaudhary Charan Singh’s contribution to the agriculture sector and the welfare of farmers by commemorating his birth anniversary as Kisan Diwas.
• Commemoration: The National Farmers’ Day marks the birth anniversary of Farmer leader and the 5th Prime Minister of India, Chaudhary Charan Singh.
• Theme: The theme for Kisan Diwas 2023 is ‘Delivering Smart Solutions for Sustainable Food Security and Resilience‘.
• Significance of the Day
  • Promote Contributions of Farmers: The day is celebrated to promote awareness of the contribution made by farmers to society and to reward them for it.
  • Honour Chaudhary Charan Singh’s Legacy: Kisan Diwas is also an opportunity to honour the legacy of Chaudhary Charan Singh.

Farming in India

• About: India is one of the largest countries practicing agriculture by employing more than 50% of the Indian workforce and contributing 20.2% to the country’s GDP. 
  • According to studies, around 70 percent of India’s rural households still depend primarily on agriculture for their livelihoods.
• Area under Farming: India tops the list with countries having the highest net cropped area followed by the US and China.
• Problems Faced by Farmers
  • Changing Weather Pattern: Changing rain and weather patterns have led to excess heat in some parts and floods in some others.
  • Declining Land Productivity: Excess use of fertilizers and irrigation has led to a change in the pH of the soil, causing a decline in productivity.
  • Land Fragmentation: Due to the division of family lands, the area under cultivation has fragmented. This increases the input cost of agriculture.
  • Rising Input Costs: Global conditions have led to a rise in the cost of farm inputs, including fertilizers and pesticides.
  • Marketing and Storage Facilities: Despite progress made in modern farming, India still suffers from a shortage of quality storage facilities.
  • Credit Availability: Small and marginal farmers still struggle to avail credit facilities for practicing farming.
  • Lack of Irrigation: The majority of Indian farming depends on groundwater and rains for agriculture. There is an urgent need for expanding irrigation facilities.
• Significance of Farming:
  • Creation of Employment: About 70 percent of India’s rural households still depend primarily on agriculture for their livelihoods.
  • Export Contribution: In 2020, the total agricultural commodities export was US$3.50 billion, making India the seventh-largest agricultural exporter.
  • Self-Sufficiency: Self-sufficiency in food production is one of the biggest outcomes of the Indian Green Revolution.
  • Raw Materials: Farming provides raw materials for food and other products. Farming drives manufacturing industries in India.
  • Rural Prosperity: Agriculture and allied activities are crucial for rural prosperity. Economic activities in these areas are centered on agriculture.
• Schemes for Farmers’ Welfare
  • Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM KISAN): The PM-KISAN Scheme seeks to provide income support to all landholding Farmers’ families across the country by paying an amount of Rs.6000/- per year for the farmers’ families with cultivable land holdings.
  • Kisan Credit Card Scheme: It is a credit scheme of the Union government that provides adequate and timely credit support from the banking system to farmers for their agriculture and allied activities.
  • Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana: PM Fasal Bima Yojana is an insurance scheme covering crops to ensure comprehensive risk against accidental damage from natural calamities.
  • Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana: Launched in 2015 under an extended component of Soil Health Management (SHM), the scheme seeks to promote organic farming in the country through monetary compensation.
  • Atal Bhujal Yojana: It is a Union government Scheme of the Ministry of Jal Shakti to carry out sustainable groundwater management through community participation.
  • Soil Health Card: The scheme will provide each farmer soil nutrient status of their holding and advise them on the dosage of fertilizers that have to be applied.
  • e-NAM: The National Agriculture Market (eNAM) provides an online trading platform for agricultural commodities in India. The platform facilitates farmers, traders, and buyers with online trading in commodities.
  • Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana: The scheme has been formulated to enhance access to water for farming, expand the cultivation area under irrigation, improve water use efficiency, and promote sustainable practices of water conservation.
  • National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA): The scheme seeks to carry out an Integrated Farming System to enhance productivity and minimize risks associated with climatic variability in rain-fed areas of the country.
• Quotes on Farmers:
  • “Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan” – Lal Bahadur Shastri
  • “If agriculture goes wrong, nothing else will have a chance to go right in the country.” – M S Swaminathan
  • “I would rather be on my farm than be emperor of the world.” – George Washington

About Chaudhary Charan Singh

• About: Chaudhary Charan Singh was a farmer leader and the 5th Prime Minister of India. He is hailed as the champion of Indian peasants.
• Birth: Chaudhary Charan Singh was born on 23 December 1903 in a rural peasant family of village Noorpur, United Provinces of Agra and Oudh.
• Early Education: Charan Singh completed a Master of Arts (MA) degree in 1925 and a law degree in 1926 from Agra University. He began practice in 1928.
• Independence Movement: Charan Singh was a close follower of Mahatma Gandhi. He was imprisoned for 12 years by the British for contravention of the salt laws.
• Political Initiation: 
  • Pre-Independence: Even before independence, Charan Singh was active in the Meerut District Indian National Congress for which he was jailed by the British. 
    • He was also a member of the Legislative Assembly of the United Provinces elected in 1937.
  • Post Independence: He served as the Revenue Minister responsible for Land Reform in Uttar Pradesh. He is said to have initiated revolutionary land reform laws in the state.
    • Following his opposition to Congress ideology, Singh joined the opposition bloc in 1967 and became the first non-Congress chief minister of Uttar Pradesh.
    • His political party, the Bharatiya Lok Dal was part of the Janata Party coalition. He became the Prime Minister in 1979 but had to resign after just 24 weeks in office when Indira Gandhi’s Congress Party (I) withdrew support to the government. 
• Contributions to the Nation:
  • Abolition of Zamindari: Charan Singh is credited for inventing and executing the well-known Zamindari Abolition Act.
    • He also initiated the Land Holding Act 1960 which was aimed at lowering the ceiling on land holdings to make it uniform throughout the State.
  • Literature: He wrote many books such as ‘Abolition of Zamindari,’ ‘Joint Farming X-rayed,’ ‘India’s Poverty and its Solution,’ and ‘Peasant Proprietorship’. 
  • Opposition to Cooperative Farms: Charan Singh opposed the Nehruvian idea of cooperative farms as he believed it would hamper ownership of peasants.
• Honour:
  • Kisan Diwas: Charan Singh’s birth anniversary is celebrated as National Farmers’ Day or Kisan Diwas in India.
  • Kisan Ghat: His memorial in New Delhi has been named as Kisan Ghat due to his association with farming class.
  • Airport: The international airport in Lucknow was renamed Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport after him.

Conclusion:

Kisan Diwas helps us remember the contributions of farmers towards society, as well as honour the legacy of farmer leader and former Prime Minister Chaudhary Charan Singh.

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