Chhotu Ram
| Sir Chhotu Ram | |
|---|---|
| Born |
24 November 1881 Rohtak, Punjab, British India |
| Died | 9 January 1945 (aged 63) Lahore, Punjab, British India |
| Alma mater | University of Delhi |
| Political party | Unionist Party |
| Website | www.sirchhoturam.com |
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 Jat peasantry and a champion of its interests. He was knighted in 1937 and was a co-founder of the National Unionist Party.
Chhotu Ram was born as Ram Richpal to a Hindu, Jat family in the village of Garhi Sampla, Rohtak district, Punjab. His parents were Chaudhari Sukhiram Singh Ohlyan and Sarla Devi. He acquired the nickname Chhotu Ram as he was the youngest of his brothers.
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 from where he graduated in 1905 with a distinction in Sanskrit. He gained his LLB from Agra College in 1910 and began his practice as an advocate in 1912. He started the Jat-Anglo Sanskrit School on 26 March 1913 in Rohtak. He joined National Congress in 1916. Chhotu Ram worked as the President of the Rohtak District Congress Committee from 1916 to 1920.
After 1920, Ram tried to create a non-sectarian peasant group consciousness. He formed the Unionist Party (Zamindara League) in 1923, which was a cross-communal alliance of Hindu Jats and Muslim agriculturists. He soon aligned with such Muslim leaders as Fazli Husain.
The Unionist Party won elections in 1935 to form the provincial government in the capital at Lahore. As revenue minister, he brought in changes in the law to stop the practice of usury (charging interest on interest). Among the supporters of the party at this point were such prominent urban Muslims as Abdul Qadir.
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