Jat Mahasabha - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Jat Mahasabha or All India Jat Mahasabha is the premier organization of Jats

Jat people

The Jat people are a community of traditionally non-elite tillers and herders in Northern India and Pakistan. Originally pastoralists in the lower Indus river-valley of Sindh, Jats migrated north into the Punjab region in late medieval times, and subsequently into the Delhi Territory,...

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 reservation in the run-up to the Lok Sabha

Lok Sabha

The Lok Sabha or House of the People is the lower house of the Parliament of India. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by direct election under universal adult suffrage. As of 2009, there have been fifteen Lok Sabhas elected by the people of India...

elections in 1999. Chaudhary Dara Singh was the president, Shri Hari Prasad Singh Parihar current president. The Mahasabha became a forum for demanding employment and airing Jat grievances over their poor representation in government service. Leaders like Sir Chhotu Ram were closely associated with the Jat Mahasabha and it remained the leading vehicle for advancing the Jat interests, even after the formation of the Unionist Party

Unionist Party

-United Kingdom:In the United Kingdom the term "unionist' may indicate support for either;* the 1707 Act of Union between Scotland and England or,* the 1800 Act of Union between Ireland and Great Britain....

, which was concerned with agriculturists' interests in Punjab.

The objectives of formation

The All India Jat Mahasabha was founded in Muzaffarnagar

Muzaffarnagar

Muzaffarnagar is a major city and a municipal board in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The city was established in Mughal period by a Sayyid Jagirdar, Munawar Lashkar Ali, and so named in honour of his father, Muzaffar Ali Khan. It is the headquarters of the Muzaffarnagar district. It is a...

in western Uttar Pradesh

Uttar Pradesh

Uttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. , is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity...

, India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

in 1907, as an offshoot of the 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...

. The Mahasabha, a supra-provincial organization, was perceived in southeast Punjab

Punjab region

The Punjab , also spelled Panjab |water]]s"), is a geographical region straddling the border between Pakistan and India which includes Punjab province in Pakistan and the states of the Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh and some northern parts of the National Capital Territory of Delhi...

as a symbol of unity in Jat society and as the main catalyst of reform and change. The Jat Mahasabha is a nonpolitical organization in nature. It is a social organisation. It is organised by a community for its uplift, for social reconstruction. The Jat Mahasabha has been functioning from 1993 for social causes. But it is not a registered body, not even as an NGO or social organisation.

Sir Chhotu Ram explained its objectives as under:

".... slowly the Jat 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...

Sabha

Sabha is one of the districts of Libya. It is located near the center of the country, in the Fezzan region. The capital is the city of Sabha, with a population of 130,000....

in Jamna-par (western UP) came into existence which had its impact in Haryana

Haryana

Haryana is a state in India. Historically, it has been a part of the Kuru region in North India. The name Haryana is found mentioned in the 12th century AD by the apabhramsha writer Vibudh Shridhar . It is bordered by Punjab and Himachal Pradesh to the north, and by Rajasthan to the west and south...

. This was followed by the formation of panchayats. It breathed a new spirit into the Jat community. In this period, only the Arya Samaj propagated its rules in Haryana and the Jats were greatly influenced by it. This movement was consolidated through its leaders. It led to an awakening among the Jats. The Jat school was opened, the Jat (Maha) Sabha was created and the Jat Gazette was started. .... Earlier the Jats were all fragmented, but now they were brought together. They began to perceive all their institutions as exclusively Jat. The Jats became conscious of their sense of unity."

The Jat Mahasabha was initially founded as All India Jat Kshatriya Mahasabha. The founder members were Chaudhary Mamraj Singh Shamli (Muzaffarnagar

Muzaffarnagar

), Kunwar Kalyan Singh Varkatpur (Bulandshahr), Thakur Tej Singh Vahpur (Bulandshahr), Chaudhary Hari Singh Kurmali (Muzaffarnagar

Muzaffarnagar

), Shri Ram Lal Hala Raghunathpur (Badayun), Shri Nathu Singh Pardeshi, Kunwar Hukum Singh Angai (Mathura), Shri Lal Singh and Shri Vahal Singh (Saidpur

Saidpur

Saidpur is a city of Nilphamari district in Rangpur Division of Bangladesh . The city becomes a very important communication hub for adjoining major district headquarters. Saidpur Airport is one of the domestic airports in Bangladesh. The Saidpur Railway Workshop, established in 1870, is the...

), Chaudhary Gulab Singh Yadnagar, Chaudhary Nanu Singh Delhi, Shri Shadi Ram editor '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...

' and Sir Chhotu Ram (Rohtak

Rohtak

Rohtak City is a Municipal Corporation in Rohtak district that styles itself as the "Heart of Haryana". It is located 70 km Northwest of New Delhi and 210 km South of the state capital Chandigarh at the NH 10...

). Kunwar Hukum Singh Angai (Mathura) took pains to bring all the elite people of the society such as Jagirdars, Thikanedars, Raos

Rao (surname)

Rao/राव/رااہ is an Indian princely title cognate with Raja. It's also a royal surname across India, Pakistan, China, Taiwan, Italy and Brazil...

, Rais

Rai (Indian)

Rai is a title of honour in India and is also used as a surname mainly by Rajput, Jat of North India and Bunts of coastal Karnataka and Kerala in south India.It is also used as a surname by Bhumihar of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.It is derived from Raja and the Marathi/Telugu variant is Rao, while...

, Rai Bahadurs at one platform.

Later large number of common people from society joined it. Branches were started at Baghpat, Agra

Agra

Agra a.k.a. Akbarabad is a city on the banks of the river Yamuna in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, India, west of state capital, Lucknow and south from national capital New Delhi. With a population of 1,686,976 , it is one of the most populous cities in Uttar Pradesh and the 19th most...

, Aligarh, Bijnor

Bijnor

Bijnor variously spelt as Bijnaur and Bijnour, is a city and a municipal board in Bijnor district in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India...

, Muradabad, Meerut, Muzaffarnagar

Muzaffarnagar

, Mathura etc. in Uttar Pradesh

Uttar Pradesh

and 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...

, Ajmer

Ajmer

Ajmer , formerly written as Ajmere, is a city in Ajmer District in Rajasthan state in India. Ajmer has a population of around 800,000 , and is located west of the Rajasthan state capital Jaipur, 200 km from Jodhpur, 274 km from Udaipur, 439 km from Jaisalmer, and 391 km from...

, 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...

, Jodhpur

Jodhpur

Jodhpur , is the second largest city in the Indian state of Rajasthan. It is located west from the state capital, Jaipur and from the city of Ajmer. It was formerly the seat of a princely state of the same name, the capital of the kingdom known as Marwar...

etc. places 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...

. Kunwar Hukum Singh Angai (Mathura) expanded its scope from Brij area to All India in character. The first Executive Committee of All India Jat Mahasabha was constituted on 14 March 1907 in Meerut on the occasion of Nauchandi fair.

Annual adhiveshanas from 1908 to 1924

The All India Jat Mahasabha held its annual adhiveshan (Conference

Meeting

In a meeting, two or more people come together to discuss one or more topics, often in a formal setting.- Definitions :An act or process of coming together as an assembly for a common purpose....

) at Delhi in 1908, Meerut in 1909, Garhmukteshwar

Garhmukteshwar

Garhmukteshwar is a town cum village and a municipal board in Panchsheel Nagar district in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India.-Demographics:...

in 1910, Delhi

Delhi

Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...

in 1911, Gwalior in 1912, Rohtak

Rohtak

in 1913, 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...

in 1914, Pushkar

Pushkar

Pushkar is a town in the Ajmer district in the state of Rajasthan, India. It is situated at 14 km North West from Ajmer at an average elevation of 510 metres , and is one of the five sacred dhams...

in 1915, Meerut in 1916, Dhaulpur in 1917, Gwalior in 1918. Rana Udaybhanu Singh

Rana Udaybhanu Singh

Udaibhanu Singh, Lokendra Bahadur, Diler Jang Jai Deo was the Jat ruler of Dholpur state in Rajasthan, India. He was from the Bamraulia gotra of Jats...

, the ruler of Dholpur, was the Chairman of the 1918 adhiveshan. Earlier Sir Chhotu Ram had started a newspaper named Jat Gazette in 1916 which became very popular among the farmers of northern India. Sir Chhotu Ram was awarded the title of 'Rao Bahadur' and he founded 'Zamindar Association' to protect the interests of farmers.

From 1918 to 1924, the annual adhiveshans were held at various places. Decisions were taken regarding social uplift, avoiding extravaganza, and opening new schools and hostels to spread education amongst masses. Sir Chhotu Ram was appointed Agricultural Minister in Punjab Government

Punjab Government

Punjab Government may refer to:*Government of Punjab *Government of Punjab...

in 1924. He had also started the freedom movement against British Rule in India.

Pushkar adhiveshan in November 1925

The Pushkar

Pushkar

Pushkar is a town in the Ajmer district in the state of Rajasthan, India. It is situated at 14 km North West from Ajmer at an average elevation of 510 metres , and is one of the five sacred dhams...

adhiveshan in November 1925, organized by All India Jat Mahasabha, 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

and proved to be a turning point in mobilization of Jats in India. Sir Chhotu Ram, Madan Mohan Malviya, Chhajju Ram, etc. farmer leaders attended. This function was organized with the initiative of Master Bhajan Lal Bijarnia 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, am Singh Bakhtawarpura, Chetram Bhadarwasi, Bhuda Ram Sangasi, and Moti Ram Kotri. 24-year-old Har Lal Singh

Har Lal Singh

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. He was born in 1901 in the family of Chaudhary...

also attended it. The Shekhawati farmers took two oaths in Pushkar namely,

They would work for the development of the society through elimination of social evils and spreading of education.
‘Do or Die’ in the matters of exploitation of farmers by the Jagirdars.
Resolution was passed to remove the British rule from India.

The importance of this institution as a pressure group can be realized from the fact that Britishers were highly concerned for the maintenance and protection of traditions of Jats. Between 1930 and 1932, when the civil disobedience movement spread over the country, it is incredible but true that Governor Malcom Haily had to address the Jat Mahasabha in 1930. The 1930 adhiveshan was the 20th and a historical one. It was held at Tishazari ground in Delhi. It was presided over by Rai Bahadur Chaudhary Lalchand Advocate. This was attended by Rana Udaybhanu Singh

Rana Udaybhanu Singh

Udaibhanu Singh, Lokendra Bahadur, Diler Jang Jai Deo was the Jat ruler of Dholpur state in Rajasthan, India. He was from the Bamraulia gotra of Jats...

, the ruler of Dholpur

Dholpur

Dholpur is a city in eastern-most parts of the Rajasthan state of India. It is the administrative headquarters of Dholpur District and was formerly seat of the Dholpur princely state, before Independence....

and Chaudhary Sahabuddin, the president of Punjab Legislative Assembly (historical)

Punjab Legislative Assembly (historical)

The Punjab Legislative Assembly was the legislature of the province of Punjab in British India. Established by British authorities in 1910, the assembly had nominal powers and a membership of mainly pro-British politicians and government officials. Voting was largely boycotted until the Government...

. Sir Chhotu Ram was the coordinator. It was attended by all communities Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs which was the cause of worry for the British Rule. It was also attended by Kunwar Net Ram Singh, Ladu Ram Jakhar

Jakhar

Jakhar, also known as Jakhu is a gotra or clan of Jats found in the Indian states of Haryana, Punjab, and in Rajasthan, and in the Pakistani province of Punjab.-Etymology:...

, Kunwar Panne Singh, Chaudhary Ram Singh and Swami Baldas from Jaipur.

Jhunjhunu adhiveshan 1932

There was a grand gathering of farmers under the banner of Jat Mahasabha in Jhunjhunu

Jhunjhunu

on 11–13 February 1932. 60,000 Jat farmers from all over India 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

Jhunjhunu

for 15 days to make it a success. It was presided by Rao Sahib Chaudhary Rishal Singh Rayees, who was escorted from station to the meeting place 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 tried make it a failure, it proved a success. On the appeal of fund collection the participant farmers donated the 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 titles. For example, Chaudhary Har Lal Singh was awarded as ‘Sardar’, Ratan Singh of Bharatpur as ‘Kunwar’ and Chaudhary Ram Singh as ‘Thakur’. Thus the Rajput monopoly over these titles vanished.

As the tenth guru of Sikhs Guru Gobind Singh

Guru Gobind Singh

Guru Gobind Singh is the tenth and last Sikh guru in a sacred lineage of ten Sikh gurus. Born in Patna, Bihar in India, he was also a warrior, poet and philosopher. He succeeded his father Guru Tegh Bahadur as the leader of Sikhs at a young age of nine...

made Sikh

Sikh

A Sikh is a follower of Sikhism. It primarily originated in the 15th century in the Punjab region of South Asia. The term "Sikh" has its origin in Sanskrit term शिष्य , meaning "disciple, student" or शिक्ष , meaning "instruction"...

s as ‘Singh’, Thakur Deshraj made the farmers of Shekhawati as ‘Singh’. Thakur Deshraj floated three slogans in this function namely,

Keep your aims high
Leave the social evils
Change your dress and put Singh after your name.

The Jhunjhunu

Jhunjhunu

adhiveshan brought wonderful changes in the life and culture of the farmers of Shekhawati. Their morals were boosted up and other classes accepted the Jats as noble Aryan

Aryan

Aryan is an English language loanword derived from Sanskrit ārya and denoting variously*In scholarly usage:**Indo-Iranian languages *in dated usage:**the Indo-European languages more generally and their speakers...

s and 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...

s. The success of Jhunjhunu adhiveshan not only changed the life of Shekhawati farmers but those of Jaipur and Bikaner princely states also. After this there were programmes started to improve the social life of the Jat community.

The Jat Prajapati Maha-Yagya 1934

In 1934, to spread the principles of Arya Samaj

Arya Samaj

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 took place at Sikar 20–29 January 1934. Kunwar Hukam Singh Rahees Angai (Mathura) was made yagyapati (chairman) of the Yagya. 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 he was requested to attend the Yagya and bring 20 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, flour, and gur and invited all the householders to participate. Hundreds of cans of ghee

Ghee

Ghee is a class of clarified butter that originated in South Asia and is commonly used in South Asian cuisine....

and hundreds of sacks of flour were collected.

During the Yagya 3,000 men and women adopted the Yogyopavit, which was a symbol of "Kisan sangathan" (farmers' 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 in this Yagya had terrified the Jagirdars of Sikar. The role played by Sardar Har Lal Singh

Har Lal Singh

and Thakur Deshraj

Thakur Deshraj

was unparallel which made this yagya a grand success.

In December 1934, ‘All India Jat Students Federation Conference’ was organized at Pilani

Pilani

Pilani is a small town situated in the Shekhawati region of Rajasthan. It is in the Jhunjhunu district in Rajasthan, India. It notable for being the home of a large number of education institutes for its size.-Etymology:...

; the coordinator of it was Master Ratan Singh. Sir Chhotu Ram, Kunwar Netram Singh, Chaudhary Ram Singh, Thakur Jhumman Singh, Thakur Deshraj

Thakur Deshraj

and Sardar Har Lal Singh

Har Lal Singh

, along with large number of farmers from various states, attended it. This conference gave a great strength to the Jat youth.

Centenary celebrations 2007

The All-India Jat Mahasabha held a convention at Talkatora Stadium

Talkatora Stadium

Talkatora Indoor Stadium is an indoor stadium located in New Delhi, India. The stadium has a capacity of 3035 people. The stadium is owned by the New Delhi Municipal Corporation . The stadium will have one competition ring and four warm-up areas...

in Delhi

Delhi

on 9 March 2007 under the chairmanship of its president, Chaudhary Dara Singh

Dara Singh

Dara Singh Randhawa is a wrestler and Indian film actor. He was born in a Jat Sikh family of Punjabi background.He was a wrestler before he started acting in Hindi films in 1962....

. One of the main issues taken up at the convention, which was attended by several Central and State Ministers and MPs, was reservation for the Jats in State and Central Government jobs. The convention also discussed social evils like female foeticide, dowry and drug abuse. The year 2007 was celebrated as the Jat Mahasabha Centenary Year.

External links

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