Mehar Singh Dahiya (1916-1945) commonly known as Fauji Mehar Singh and Jat Mehar Singh, was a

Haryanavi Haryanvi (हरियाणवी or हरयाणवी) is an Indo-Aryan language spoken primarily in the Indian state of Haryana and the territory of Delhi. Haryanvi is considered to be part of the dialect group of Western Hindi, which als ...

poet. He was born in the Dahiya clan of

Jats The Jat people (, ), also spelt Jaat and Jatt, are a traditionally agricultural community in Northern India and Pakistan. Originally pastoralists in the lower Indus river-valley of Sindh, many Jats migrated north into the Punjab region in ...

in the village Barona in the

Kharkhoda Kharkhoda is a city and municipal committee in Sonipat district in the Indian state of Haryana and is a part of National Capital Region (NCR). In Kharkhoda Chhapadeshwar Mahadev Mandir is very popular within the connected villages. At the time ...

tahsil, in the district of

Sonipat Sonipat is a planned industrial city and administrative headquarter in Sonipat district of Haryana state of India. It comes under the National Capital Region and is around from New Delhi. It lies 214 km (128 miles) southwest of Chandigar ...

(formerly

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 NH 9 (old NH 10). Rohtak forms a part of the Nationa ...

district). In addition to Haryana, his ragnis are still popular in

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

, Western

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...

and

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; Literal translation, lit. 'Land of Kings') is a States and union territories of India, state in northwestern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the List of states and union territories of ...

. According to the records of the

Jat Regiment The Jat Regiment also known as The Royal Jats is an infantry regiment of the Indian Army, of which it is one of the longest-serving and most decorated regiments.

, he was born on 15 February 1916. His father, Nand Ram, was a farmer. Due to the economic conditions of the house, his education ended after Class-III. From Childhood, he was fond of singing ragnis. His father was irritated by his son's propensity of singing ragnis, but he was unable to dissuade him from this pastime. He was married to Prem Kaur. In 1937, Mehar Singh joined the army where he kept singing and recording ragnis. During the Second World War, he and his army colleagues allied with the

Azad Hind Fauj The Indian National Army (INA, sometimes Second INA; ''Azad Hind Fauj'' ; 'Free Indian Army') was a Japanese-allied and -supported armed force constituted in Southeast Asia during World War II and led by Indian anti-colonial nationalist Subh ...

. In 1945, he died while fighting for the cause of India's freedom.

Legacy

Some activities held in his native village and state, in his honour: *The Fauji Jaat Mehar Singh Award is given to folk singers by the Chief Minister of Haryana State, for their contribution to promoting the culture and traditions of Haryana. *15 February is celebrated as a day in Memory of Mehar Singh and a Ragani Programme is organised every year. *A school children's programme on November 14 is organised every year. *A Health Camp is organised once a year in which retired and working doctors of PGIMS Rohtak participate on voluntary basis. *A book of his writings has been published. *A Statue of Mehar Singh has been installed in 2 acres of land donated by the Panchayat of the village.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Singh, Kavi Mehar Singh 1916 births 1945 deaths 20th-century Indian male writers 20th-century Indian poets Folk artists from Haryana Indian male poets Indian National Army personnel Military personnel killed in World War II Poets from Haryana

Legacy

See also

References