2402:3A80:1C4A:79D7:0:0:32E5:C3DC at 10:22, 13 January 2022

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{{EngvarB|date=September 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2018}}
{{Infobox person
| name = [[Sir]] Chhotu Ram
| title = For the honesty of Social work, he was given the title of the '''[[Sir]]'''.
| image = Chhotu Ram 1995 stamp of India.jpg
| caption = Sir Chhotu Ram on a 1995 stamp of India
| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1881|11|24}}
| birth_place = [[Garhi Sampla-Kiloi (Vidhan Sabha constituency)|Garhi Sampla]], [[Punjab Province (British India)|Punjab]], [[British Raj|British India]] <br> {{small|(present-day [[Haryana]], [[India]])}}
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1945|01|09|1881|11|04}}
| death_place = [[Lahore]], Punjab, British India <br> {{small|(present-day [[Punjab, Pakistan|Punjab]], [[Pakistan]])}}
| party = [[Unionist Party (Punjab)|Unionist Party]]
| alma_mater = [[University of Delhi]]
| spouse = Giano Devi
| family = [[Ch. Birender Singh]] (grandson) and Ch. Mahender Singh Ohlian (Great Grandson) Mother Name :(Harki Davi)
}}

'''[[Sir]] Chhotu Ram''' (born '''Ram Richpal'''; 24 November 1881 – 9 January 1945) was a prominent politician in [[British India]]'s [[Punjab Province (British India)|Punjab Province]], an ideologue of the pre-Independent India, who belonged to the [[Jat]] community and championed{{dubious|date=June 2021}} the interest of oppressed communities{{who said|date=June 2021}} of the [[Indian subcontinent]]. For this feat, he was knighted in 1. On the political front, he was a co-founder of the [[Unionist Party (Punjab)|National Unionist Party]] which ruled the United Punjab Province in pre-independent India and kept Congress and Muslim League at bay.

==Early life==
Chhotu Ram was born as Ram Richpal in a [[Jat]] family in the village of Garhi Sampla, [[Rohtak district]], [[Punjab Province (British India)|Punjab Province]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Tika Ram |title=Sir Chhotu Ram: a biography |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Lni1AAAAIAAJ |year=1979 |publisher=Ritu}}</ref> His parents were Chaudhary Sukhiram Singh Ohlian and Sarla Devi. He acquired the nickname Chhotu Ram as he was the youngest of his brothers.<ref>S.P. Sen, Dictionary of National Biography, Vol ?, Calcutta, 1973, p.309</ref>
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.<ref>S.P. Sen, Dictionary of National Biography, Vol ?, Calcutta, 1973, p.310</ref> 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<ref>[http://www.haryana-online.com/people/sir_chhotu_ram.htm Sir Chhotu Ram] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131002005110/http://haryana-online.com/People/sir_chhotu_ram.htm |date=2 October 2013 }}</ref> 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 (Muslim leader)|Abdul Qadir]].<ref>J. Henry Korson. (1974) ''Contemporary Problems of Pakistan''. Brill. p. 10</ref>

== Political views ==
A substantial portion of his salary as minister was set aside for scholarships and stipends for economically poor but bright students.

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.<ref>Abhishek Kadyan (3 January 2009) [http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2009/01/416892.html UK Indymedia – Rahabar-i-Azam Sir Chhotu Ram – angel for farmer]. Indymedia.org.uk. Retrieved on 30 November 2018.</ref>

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.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.google.co.in/books/edition/Khizr_Tiwana_the_Punjab_Unionist_Party_a/jEldAgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=unionist+party+choturam&pg=PA136&printsec=frontcover|isbn = 9781136790362|title = Khizr Tiwana, the Punjab Unionist Party and the Partition of India|date = 16 December 2013|publisher = Routledge}}</ref> Farmers flocked to Rohtak to pay respects at his demise.

==Monuments and memorials==
[[File:Panormic_View_DCRUST_Murthal.jpg|thumb|240px|right|Panormic view of [[Deenbandhu Chhotu Ram University of Science and Technology]] (DCRUST) at Murthal.]]

Ram's place of residence in Rohtak was known as "Prem Nivas" and "Nili Kothi" (English: Blue Bungalow). The [[wikt:chowk|chowk]] (road square) nearest to his house is now known as "Chhotu Ram Chowk" and a [[Dharamshala (type of building)|Dharamshala]] 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]] abbreviated as DCRUST, after it got the University Status in 2006).

Sir Chhotu Ram College of Education, [[Kurukshetra]] is named after him.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.scrce.com/choturam.php?A6 |title=Sir Chhotu Ram |accessdate=29 October 2013 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140512224820/http://www.scrce.com/choturam.php?A6 |archivedate=12 May 2014 |publisher=scrce.com}}</ref> Further, Sir Chhotu Ram Institute of Engineering & Technology at [[Meerut]] 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]]. A Bachelor of Education college at the same campus, is also named after him.

[[Ch. Birender Singh]], 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]] on 9 October 2018.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==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 {{ISBN|81-85083-28-2}}

==External links==
*[http://www.harappa.com/shah/shah034.html Harappa.com]
* [http://ase.tufts.edu/chemistry/kumar/ssc/html/sschis.html St. Stephen's College, Delhi, India: History]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ram, Chhotu}}
[[Category:1881 births]]
[[Category:1945 deaths]]
[[Category:Indian knights]]
[[Category:Knights Bachelor]]
[[Category:People from Rohtak district]]
[[Category:Indian Hindus]]
[[Category:Rai Bahadurs]]
[[Category:Indian independence activists from Punjab (British India)]]
[[Category:St. Stephen's College, Delhi alumni]]
[[Category:Speakers of the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab]]
[[Category:Farmers' rights activists]]

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Chhotu Ram - Revision history

2402:3A80:1C4A:79D7:0:0:32E5:C3DC at 10:22, 13 January 2022