Sir Chhotu Ram in the Punjab Politics

 

Sir Chhotu Ram in the Punjab Politics

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Sir Chhotu Ram was the first economic thinker who stressed, initiated and implemented the policies and programme for the development of agriculture and rural development. He has been trying to ameliorate the condition of the rural masses and for this purpose he had sponsored legislation which were wholly constructive and aimed to provide opportunities in rural areas people so that they could compete in some way with their richer urban classes. Sir Chhotu Ram was a great visionary in many ways. He supported views of Mahatma Gandhi on Panchayati Raj. He realized that unless power was transferred to the rural people, the country would not remain united and strong. The early Nineteenth Century witnessed India’s immense agricultural indebtedness. It continued to increase at an alarming speed, with the Government doing nothing, Sir Chhotu Ram came to oppose exploitation and stood for the rights of those who were themselves too weak to fight. Chhotu Ram was a staunch Arya Samajist and did not believe in distinguishing between people on religion basis. He was born in the surroundings which helped him to embrace the reformist cult of Arya Samaj which was sweeping South-Eastern Punjab in the 19^th  Century.