Sir Chhotu Ram (born Ram Richpal; 24 November 1881 – 9 January 1945) was a prominent politician in
British India's
Punjab Province, an ideologue of the pre-Independent India, who belonged to the
Jat community and championed the interest of oppressed communities of the
Indian subcontinent. For this feat, he was knighted in 1937. On the political front, he was a co-founder of the
National Unionist Party
The Democratic Unionist Party ( ar-at, الحزب الإتحادي الديموقراطي, al-Hizb al-Ittihadi al-Dimuqrati), also referred to by itself as the Original Democratic Unionist Party, is a political party in Sudan, closely tied to t ...
which ruled the United Punjab Province in pre-independent India and kept Congress and Muslim League at bay. In 1916, he brought out a weekly newspaper named
Jat Gazette, which is still being published today.
Early life
Chhotu Ram was born as Ram Richpal in a
Jat family in the village of Garhi Sampla,
Rohtak district,
Punjab Province. His parents were Chaudhari Sukhiram Singh Ohlyan and Sarla Devi. He acquired the nickname Chhotu Ram as he was the youngest of his brothers.
He was married to a
Jat girl of Village Kheri Jat,
Jhajjar.
Chhotu Ram joined primary school in January 1891, passing out four years later. When he was around eleven years of age he married Giano Devi. He studied for his middle school examination in
Jhajjar, 12 miles from his village, then enrolled in the Christian Mission School in
Delhi. He passed his intermediate examination in 1903 and proceeded to
St. Stephen's College, Delhi
St. Stephen's College is a constituent college of the University of Delhi, widely regarded as one of the oldest and most prestigious colleges for arts and sciences in India. It was established in 1881 by the Cambridge Mission to Delhi. The college ...
from where he graduated in 1905 with a distinction in
Sanskrit. Parts of his education were funded by the prominent Jat philanthropist
Seth Chhaju Ram. He was great follower of arya samaj
Political activities
Among the supporters of the party at this point were such prominent urban Muslims as
Abdul Qadir
Abd al-Qadir or Abdulkadir ( ar, عبد القادر) is a male Muslim given name. It is formed from the Arabic words '' Abd'', '' al-'' and '' Qadir''. The name means "servant of the powerful", ''Al-Qādir'' being one of the names of God in t ...
.
Ch. Om Parkash Kadyan, Chief Patron of Kadyan Khap International www.scoutingindia.in directed to recognize his contribution with Bharat Ratna.
Political views
A substantial portion of his salary as minister was set aside for scholarships and stipends for economically poor but bright students. As Punjab's Revenue Minister, he set up the Peasants' Welfare Fund. Future
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfre ...
laureate
Abdus Salam
Mohammad Abdus Salam Salam adopted the forename "Mohammad" in 1974 in response to the anti-Ahmadiyya decrees in Pakistan, similarly he grew his beard. (; ; 29 January 192621 November 1996) was a Punjabi Pakistani theoretical physicist and a N ...
was one of the beneficiaries of this Fund.
The enactment of two agrarian laws was primarily due to his contribution. These were the Punjab Relief Indebtedness Act of 1934 and the Punjab Debtor's Protection Act of 1936.
Ram died in Lahore on 9 January 1945. His body was carried back to his home in Rohtak city, where it was cremated at the Jat Heroes Memorial Anglo Sanskrit Senior Secondary School in the presence of thousands of people.
Legacy
All punjabis recognised that Chotu Ram's demise possessed profound political consequences. Farmers flocked to Rohtak to pay respects at his demise.
Monuments and memorials

Ram's place of residence in Rohtak was known as "Prem Nivas" and "Nili Kothi" (English: Blue Bungalow). The
chowk
Chowk may refer to:
Website
* Chowk.com, a website about current affairs, politics and cultural aspects of India and Pakistan
Localities
In Bangladesh
* Chowk Bazaar, a bazaar in Lalbagh
In India
*Chowk, Allahabad, a locality/township of Allah ...
(road square) nearest to his house is now known as "Chhotu Ram Chowk" and a
Dharamshala
Dharamshala (; also spelled Dharamsala) is the winter capital of Himachal Pradesh, India. It serves as administrative headquarters of the Kangra district after being relocated from Kangra, a city located away from Dharamshala, in 1855.
T ...
exists at the same place in his name. A samadhi (tomb) was created in his memory at the school campus where he was cremated, and there people pay homage on his birthday each year.
Chhotu Ram State College of Engineering College in Murthal (Sonepat District), Haryana, is named after him (the name of the college has since been changed to
Deenbandhu Chhotu Ram University of Science and Technology
Deenbandhu Chhotu Ram University of Science and Technology (DCRUST), formerly Chhotu Ram State College of Engineering, Murthal (CRSCE), is a state university located in Murthal, Sonipat, Haryana, India. It was established in 2006 by an Act of ...
abbreviated as DCRUST, after it got the University Status in 2006).
Sir Chhotu Ram College of Education,
Kurukshetra
Kurukshetra (, ) is a city and administrative headquarter of Kurukshetra district in the Indian state of Haryana. It is also known as Dharmakshetra ("Realm of duty ") and as the "Land of the Bhagavad Gita".
Legends
According to the Pur ...
is named after him.
Further, Sir Chhotu Ram Institute of Engineering & Technology at
Meerut
Meerut (, IAST: ''Meraṭh'') is a city in Meerut district of the western part of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The city lies northeast of the national capital New Delhi, within the National Capital Region and west of the state capi ...
is also named after him.
The Indian government issued a commemorative stamp on 9 January 1995.
The Jat-Anglo Sanskrit School was started by him on 26 March 1913 in
Rohtak
Rohtak () is a city and the administrative headquarters of the Rohtak district in the Indian state of Haryana. It lies north-west of New Delhi and south of the state capital Chandigarh on National Highway 9 (India), NH 9(old NH 10). Rohtak fo ...
. A Bachelor of Education college at the same campus, is also named after him.
Ch. Birender Singh
Ch. Birender Singh (born 25 March 1946) is a senior Indian political leader and a well-known face in Indian Politics. He lately served as Minister of Rural Development, Panchayati Raj, Sanitation & Drinking Water from 2014 to 2016 and later a ...
, Sir Chhotu Ram's daughter's son got built a 64 feet statue by Ch. Chhotu Ram Trust - Rohtak, highest in Haryana, at his birth site, Garhi Sampla. This statue was unveiled by Prime Minister
Narendra Modi
Narendra Damodardas Modi (; born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician serving as the List of Prime Ministers of India, 14th and current Prime Minister of India since 2014. Modi was the List of chief ministers of Gujarat, Chief Minist ...
on 9 October 2018.
References
Further reading
*K.C.Yadav: The Crisis in India: Reflections of Sir Chhotu Ram, Haryana Historical Society, Kurukshetra, 1996
*Balbir Singh: Sir Chhotu Ram in Thoughts and Deeds, Jat Samaj Sewa Trust (regd.), New Delhi, 1930
*Madan Gopal: Sir Chhotu Ram: A Political Biography, B.R. Publishing Corporation, New Delhi, 1988
*Madan Gopal: Sir Chhotu Ram: The Man and the Vision, Bhagirath Sewa Sansthan, Ghaziabad, 1997
External links
Harappa.com
1881 births
1945 deaths
Indian Knights Bachelor
Knights Bachelor
People from Rohtak district
Indian Hindus
Rai Bahadurs
Indian independence activists from Punjab (British India)
St. Stephen's College, Delhi alumni
Speakers of the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab
Farmers' rights activists
Jat
Politicians from British India
{{Improve categories, date=June 2020