Har Lal Singh
Encyclopedia
Sardar Har Lal Singh was a freedom fighter, social worker who played a leading role in the Shekhawati farmers’ movement for abolition of the Jagirdari system. He was from Duladon ka Bas village, presently known as Hanumanpura. His gotra was Dullar
Dullar
Dullar or Dular Dulad Duhad Dular is a clan of Jats, found in the state of Haryana and Rajasthan in India. This gotra of Jats originated from mahapurusha named Dular .- Distribution :...

. He was born in 1901 in the family of Chaudhary Daluram at village Hanumanpura of Jhunjhunu
Jhunjhunu
Jhunjhunu is a town in the state of Rajasthan in India, and the administrative headquarters of Jhunjhunu District. It is located a 180 km from Jaipur and 245 km from Delhi. The town is famous for the frescos on its grand Havelis, a special artistic feature of this region.- Etymology...

 district in Rajasthan
Rajasthan
Rājasthān the land of Rajasthanis, , is the largest state of the Republic of India by area. It is located in the northwest of India. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert , which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with...

. His father died at the age of 13 years. His entire family was committed to the freedom movement.

Jagirdari abolition movement

Sardar Har Lal Singh was evicted from his agricultural land and residence by the Jagirdars for his acts of taking part in the Jagirdari abolition movement. Jagirdars lodged a number of false cases against him but he always succeeded in getting rid of them. The Dundlod
Dundlod
Dundlod is a town in Jhunjhunu district of Rajasthan in India. It is situated in the Shekhawati region of Rajasthan. It is famous for its fort and havelis. It extends between latitude 28°.06’ in the north and longitude 75°.20’ in the east...

 Thakur
Thakur (Indian title)
Thakur is an Indian feudal title in several Indian languages, literally meaning "lord". A Thikana is the state or estate of a Thakur. A Thakurani is the wife of a Thakur...

 attacked him in 1946 in a planned conspiracy. In this a person was murdered and Har Lal Singh’s brother Shri Rekh Singh received serious head injuries. All attempts by the Jagirdars could not separate him from the freedom movement, and he continued to lead the farmers and served the farmers through Kisan Sabha and Praja Manda.

Pushkar adhiveshan 1925

Pushkar adhiveshan 1925 organized by All India Jat Mahasabha
Jat Mahasabha
Jat Mahasabha or All India Jat Mahasabha is the premier organization of Jats in India. Its aim is to raise awareness about the social and economic problems faced by Jats. Many of its officers are politically active and influential. The Jat Mahasabha spearheaded the community's struggle for...

 was presided over by Maharaja Kishan Singh
Maharaja Kishan Singh
Maharaja Sir Kishan Singh, KCSI was the ruling Maharaja of princely state Bharatpur and successor of Maharani Girraj Kaur....

 of Bharatpur
Bharatpur, India
Bharatpur is a city in the Indian state of Rajasthan. It was founded by Maharaja Suraj Mal in 1733. Located in the Brij region, Bharatpur was once an impregnable, well-planned and well-fortified city, and the capital of Jat kingdom ruled by Sinsinwar Maharajas.The trio of Bharatpur, Deeg and...

. Sir Chhotu Ram, Madan Mohan Malviya, Chhajju Ram etc. farmer leaders had also attended. This function was organized with the initiative of Master Bhajan Lal Bijarnia
Vijayrania
Vijayrania or Bijarnia is a clan or gotra of Jats found in Rajasthan and Haryana in India. The existence of this clan is known from the time of Alexander the Great. Greek historians have clarified about the meaning of Vijayrania. Vijayrania is derived from Vijay + Ran...

 of Ajmer-Merwara
Ajmer-Merwara
Ajmer-Merwara is a former province of British India in the historical Ajmer region. The territory of the province was ceded to the British by Daulat Rao Sindhia by a treaty on June 25, 1818....

. The farmers from all parts of Shekhawati had come namely, Chaudhary Govind Ram, Kunwar Panne Singh Deorod, Ram Singh Bakhtawarpura, Chetram Bhadarwasi, Bhuda Ram Sangasi, and Moti Ram Kotri. 24-year young boy Har Lal Singh also attended it. The Shekhawati farmers took two oaths in Pushkar namely,
  1. They would work for the development of the society through elimination of social evils and spreading of education.
  2. ‘Do or Die’ in the matters of exploitation of farmers by the Jagirdars.

Jhunjhunu adhiveshan 1932

There was a grand gathering of farmers under the banner of Jat Mahasabha in Jhunjhunu
Jhunjhunu
Jhunjhunu is a town in the state of Rajasthan in India, and the administrative headquarters of Jhunjhunu District. It is located a 180 km from Jaipur and 245 km from Delhi. The town is famous for the frescos on its grand Havelis, a special artistic feature of this region.- Etymology...

 on 11–13 February 1932. Sixty thousand Jat farmers attended. Thakur Deshraj
Thakur Deshraj
Thakur Deshraj was a social worker, journalist, nationalist, freedom fighter and author of many books. He was from Rajasthan state in India. He was revenue minister in the princely state of Bharatpur....

 camped at Jhunjhunu for 15 days to make it a success. The farmers from all parts of India attended it. It was presided by Rao Sahib Chaudhary Rishal Singh Rayees, who was escorted from station to the place of meeting on elephant accompanied by a caravan of camels. This program was of Jats but all the communities cooperated and welcomed. Kunwar Panne Singh Deorod welcomed this rally where as Vidyadhar Singh Sangasi did the welcome of Jaipur Prantiya Jat Kshatriya Sabha rallies. Though the Jagirdars did all attempts to make it a failure, but it proved a success. On the appeal of fund collection the participant farmers donated their gold ornaments, which they were wearing. This was the first opportunity of awakening the Shekhawati farmers and proved a grand success. Sardar Harlal Singh and Chaudhary Ghasi Ram had traveled a lot for its publicity and spread its message. Some of the competent people were awarded Kshatriya
Kshatriya
*For the Bollywood film of the same name see Kshatriya Kshatriya or Kashtriya, meaning warrior, is one of the four varnas in Hinduism...

 title
Title
A title is a prefix or suffix added to someone's name to signify either veneration, an official position or a professional or academic qualification. In some languages, titles may even be inserted between a first and last name...

s. For example Chaudhary Har Lal Singh was awarded as ‘Sardar
Sardar
Sardar is a title of Indo-Aryan origin that was originally used to denote feudal princes, noblemen, and other aristocrats. It was later applied to indicate a Head of State, a Commander-in-chief, and an Army military rank...

’, Ratan Singh of Bharatpur as ‘Kunwar’ and Chaudhary Ram Singh as ‘Thakur
Thakur (Indian title)
Thakur is an Indian feudal title in several Indian languages, literally meaning "lord". A Thikana is the state or estate of a Thakur. A Thakurani is the wife of a Thakur...

’. Thus the Rajput monopoly over these titles vanished.

The Jat Prajapati Maha-Yagya 1934

In 1934, to spread the principles of Arya Samaj
Arya Samaj
Arya Samaj is a Hindu reform movement founded by Swami Dayananda on 10 April 1875. He was a sannyasi who believed in the infallible authority of the Vedas. Dayananda emphasized the ideals of brahmacharya...

 and create awakening in Shekhawati, it was decided to hold the Prajapati
Prajapati
In Hinduism, Prajapati "lord of creatures" is a Hindu deity presiding over procreation, and protector of life. He appears as a creator deity or supreme God Viswakarma Vedic deities in RV 10 and in Brahmana literature...

 Yagya (Prayer ceremony for the Lord of Universe). The Jat Prajapati Maha-Yagya was organized at Sikar
Sikar
Sikar is a city located in the Shekhawati region of Rajasthan state in India. It is the administrative headquarter of Sikar District. Sikar is a historical city and contains many old Havelis which are a huge tourist attraction. The best way to reach the city is to use road transport from Jaipur...

 from 20–29 January 1934. Kunwar Hukam Singh Rahees Angai (Mathura) was made Yagyapati or Chairman of the Yagya. He had been Chairman of the Arya Prathinidhi Sabha, Uttar Pradesh province and All Arya Prathinidhi Sabha, Delhi, for many years. Chaudhary Kaluram of village Kudan
Kudan
Koodan or Kudan is a village in Sikar district in Rajasthan, India. It is a well-developed village connected by road and with all forms of modern communication facilities. It is mainly a Jat village with Jat gotras Sunda, Maharia and Kajla. Other major castes are Harijan and Brahmin with a few...

 was the Yagyaman. Acharya Shri Jagdev Sidhanthi received an invitation for this Yagya at his Gurukul at Kirttal, In that invitation was he requested to attend the Yagya and bring twenty Bhramcharis and disciples with him. Volunteers went to all the households in all the villages in the region and collected material that would be needed. They collected Ghee
Ghee
Ghee is a class of clarified butter that originated in South Asia and is commonly used in South Asian cuisine....

, Flour, Gur
Gur
-People:*Mordechai Gur , Israeli politician and the 10th Chief of Staff of the Israeli Defense Forces-Places:*A village in Tibet, see Gur, Tibet*Gur place name in ancient Israel near Megiddo*Guernsey, one of the Channel Islands-Other:...

, and invited all the householders to participate. Hundreds of cans of Ghee and hundreds of sacks of flour were collected.

During the Yagya 3000 men and women adopted the Yogyopavit, which was a symbol Kisan sangathan (farmer's organization). Sheetal Kumari daughter of Kunwar Netram Singh adopted yagyopavit. Chaudhary Chimana Ram of Sangasi brought his wife wearing salwar-kurta. The unity of Jat farmers had terrified the Jagirdars of Sikar
Sikar
Sikar is a city located in the Shekhawati region of Rajasthan state in India. It is the administrative headquarter of Sikar District. Sikar is a historical city and contains many old Havelis which are a huge tourist attraction. The best way to reach the city is to use road transport from Jaipur...

. The role played by Sardar Har Lal Singh and Thakur Deshraj
Thakur Deshraj
Thakur Deshraj was a social worker, journalist, nationalist, freedom fighter and author of many books. He was from Rajasthan state in India. He was revenue minister in the princely state of Bharatpur....

 was unparallel which made this yagya a grand success.

A family committed for freedom

Jagirdars imprisoned Sardar Har Lal Singh in 1938 for one year in two cases against him. During this period his mother Raja Devi and wife Kishori Devi took his place so that the movement is not adversely affected. They took a group of women in year 1939 and reached Jaipur
Jaipur
Jaipur , also popularly known as the Pink City, is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Rajasthan. Founded on 18 November 1727 by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II, the ruler of Amber, the city today has a population of more than 3.1 million....

 for satyagrah. Both were arrested and put in Jail. Kishori had his 6-month-old son with her who was also kept in Jail. His mother Raja Devi was released from Jail only after she became seriously ill. Seth Jamana Lal Bajaj and Hira Lal Shastri tried their best to take her to Jaipur for treatment but she refused to leave his village. His wife Kishori Devi was also active and took part in all the movements, rallies, and gatherings for freedom from 1930 - 1947. Her role in the awakening of women in Jhunjhunu
Jhunjhunu
Jhunjhunu is a town in the state of Rajasthan in India, and the administrative headquarters of Jhunjhunu District. It is located a 180 km from Jaipur and 245 km from Delhi. The town is famous for the frescos on its grand Havelis, a special artistic feature of this region.- Etymology...

 district was unique.

The Praja Mandal

The Praja Mandal leaders also took keen interest in rural peasant affairs and held several of their sessions in rural area towns. The peasant leaders utilized the Praja Mandal as a valuable channel of access to the larger body of political protest and held important positions in it. Sardar Har Lal Singh became the President of Praja Mandal. Others included Chowdhary Kisan Singh and Chowdhary Ishwar Singh. This movement got support from famous Kisan leaders like, Sir Chhotu Ram, Baldev Ram Mirdha
Baldev Ram Mirdha
Baldev Ram Mirdha was a great social reformer of the Marwar region in Rajasthan, India. He was born in a Rad gotra Jat Hindu family of village Kuchera in Nagaur district in Rajasthan in 1889. His father’s name was Mangla Ram ji. His family was given the work of Department of Post and Telegraph...

, Nathuram Mirdha
Nathuram Mirdha
Nathuram Mirdha was a parliamentarian, freedom fighter, social reformer and popular farmer leader of Marwar region in Rajasthan, India. He was born in a Rad gotra Jat Hindu family of village Kuchera in Nagaur district in Rajasthan on 20 October 1921...

 and Chaudhari Kumbharam Arya
Chaudhari Kumbharam Arya
Chaudhari Kumbharam Arya was a freedom fighter, parliamentarian and popular leader of farmers in Rajasthan, India.-Early political movements:...

. After a long struggle the farmers got rid of oppression and got the ownership rights over the land they were cultivating.

After independence also he served the farmers through Congress Party. He was president of Praja Mandal in 1948. Harlal Singh later on also became first Chairman of Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee (RPCC) in 1957.
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