Kisan Diwas 2004

Kisan Diwas, or National Farmers' Day, is observed on 23 December, the birth anniversary of former Prime Minister Chaudhary Charan Singh. Born into a farming family in 1902, Charan Singh built much of his political career around agrarian issues, land reform and the economic position of cultivators and rural communities.

Kisan Diwas, or National Farmers' Day, is observed on 23 December, the birth anniversary of former Prime Minister Chaudhary Charan Singh. Born into a farming family in 1902, Charan Singh built much of his political career around agrarian issues, land reform and the economic position of cultivators and rural communities. As a legislator and later Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh and Prime Minister of India, he wrote and spoke extensively about agricultural policy, rural debt and the structure of landholding. The commemorative day uses his birthday to draw attention to the people who produce food and sustain a large part of India's rural economy. Farmer meetings, agricultural discussions and outreach programmes focus on crop productivity, markets, technology, soil and water, credit and welfare. The day therefore joins historical remembrance with continuing questions about the dignity and economic security of farming.

Charan Singh served as India's prime minister from 1979 to 1980, but the observance is not simply a political leader's birthday celebration. It provides an opportunity to discuss fair prices, land tenure, rural credit, irrigation, soil health, climate risk and the often-unrecognized labour of women farmers and agricultural workers. Schools, farmer groups and public institutions can use the day for practical learning and respectful dialogue, rather than treating all farmers as having the same resources or needs.

Honours farmers and farm workers and recalls Chaudhary Charan Singh's advocacy for rural livelihoods, land reform and agricultural welfare.

Farmer meetings, agricultural education, soil and water conservation programmes and discussion of credit and markets; secular observance.

India observes National Farmers' Day on 23 December, the birthday of former Prime Minister Chaudhary Charan Singh (1902–1987).