Baba Ram Chandra (1864/1875–1950)
[S.K. Mitral and Kapil Kumar, ]
Baba Ram Chandra and Peasant Upsurge in Oudh, 1920-21
', Social Scientist, No. 71 (June 1978)[Ram Chandra (Baba]
in ''Indian History'', 26th edition, ed. V.K. Agnihotri, Allied Publishers, 1988[Dictionary of National Biography, Vol I (A-D), ed. S.P. Sen, Institute of Historical Studies, Kolkata, 1972 pp. 452-53.] was an Indian
trade union
A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ...
ist who organised the farmers of
Awadh
Awadh (), known in British historical texts as Avadh or Oudh, is a region in the modern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, which was before independence known as the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh. It is synonymous with the Kośāla region of ...
, India into forming a united front to fight against the abuses of landlords in 1920s and 1930s. He was also an influential figure in the
history of Fiji
The majority of Fiji's islands were formed through volcanic activity starting around 150 million years ago. Today, some geothermic activity still occurs on the is
lands of Vanua Levu and Taveuni. Fiji was settled first by the Lapita culture, ar ...
, and owed his inspiration to take up the cause of the down-trodden to his 12 years as an
indentured labourer in
Fiji and to his efforts to end the indenture system. He is one of the prime characters in Kamla Kant Tripathi's history based novel "Bedakhal".
Early years
Ram Chandra was born in a small village in
Gwalior State
Gwalior state was a semi-autonomous Maratha state. It was centred in modern-day Madhya Pradesh, arising due to the rise of the Maratha Empire and fragmentation of the Mughal Empire.
It was ruled by the Scindia, House of Scindia (anglicized fro ...
in 1864
[ or 1875.][ His real name was Shridhar Balwant. Some sources say he is from Maharastra.]
His stay in Fiji as an indentured labour
He stayed in Fiji for thirteen years and took active part in the movement to emancipate the lot of the indentured labourers. He came in contact with Manilal Doctor, who took keen interest in social and political movements in Fiji.
Ram Lila
' in Fiji which helped in creating a sense of solidarity among the Indian indentured labourers. He also ensured the dismissal of an official who rode roughshod over the religious sentiments of the labourers. He led popular demonstrations in Fiji to focus on the grievances of indentured labourers. He smuggled into India an article on the deplorable and inhuman conditions of indentured labourers, which was published in ''Bharat Mitra'', a newspaper from Calcutta
Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...
. The Fiji Government was alarmed by this article and was on the look out for its writer. The article created such a furore that Ram Chandra was advised by his friends to leave Fiji before the authorities were able to lay their hands on him. He left Fiji in 1916.
Organising farmers in India
On his return to India he settled in Ayodhya
Ayodhya (; ) is a city situated on the banks of holy river Saryu in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.
Ayodhya, also known as Saketa, is an ancient city of India, the birthplace of Rama and setting of the great epic Ramayana. Ayodhya wa ...
and became a ''sadhu'' (holy man). He was accused by the local police of spreading disaffection among the peasantry. He married a woman of Chamar caste [ and commenced calling himself "Baba Ram Chandra." He moved around the region with a copy of the ]Ramayana
The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th ...
under his arm, blending readings from this popular Hindu
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
epic with denunciations of both the British Raj
The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent;
*
* it is also called Crown rule in India,
*
*
*
*
or Direct rule in India,
* Quote: "Mill, who was him ...
and the landlords, and appealed to the peasants to act together against their exploiters. Although he began by seeking to harmonise tenant-landlord relations, Ram Chandra soon considered this to be a wasted effort and began to mobilise the peasants. He encouraged peasants to pay only the required rent and refrain from customary donations. In 1919 he led the first peasant protest against the landlords and by 1920 had organised all the farmers associations in Oudh, forming the ''Oudh Kisan Sabha'' (Oudh Farmers’ Association).[
In June 1920, Nehru toured the villages of Awadh. By October the sabha was headed by Baba Ramchandra, Nehru and a few others. Within a month it had set up over 300 branches. It helped integrate the peasants in the NCM.]Nehru
Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (; ; ; 14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat—
*
*
*
* and author who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20t ...
and other Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British E ...
leaders to fight for the rights of the farmers, he was disappointed to discover that the Congress, with its urban-based leadership, was concerned only with independence and did not seem to understand the needs of the peasants.
External links
The Origins of the Peasant Agitation in Oudh
References
* M.H. Siddiqi, ''Agrarian Unrest in North India 1918-1922'', Vikas Publishing House, New Delhi, 1978
* K. Kumar, ''Peasants in Revolt: Tenants, Landlords, Congress and the Raj in Oudh, 1886-1922'', Manohar Publications, Delhi, 1984.
* Kapil Kumar, ''The Ramcharitmanas as a Radical Text: Baba Ram Chandra in Oudh, 1920-1950'', in ''Social Transformation and Creative Imagination'', 1984.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chandra, Ram
1864 births
1950 deaths
Indian emigrants to Fiji
Marathi people
Fijian Hindus
Fijian trade unionists
Trade unionists from Maharashtra