Charan Singh, 1902–87: An assessment

Abstract

Charan Singh (1902–87) is frequently identified as ‘champion of India's peasants’. That description refers to his long career as an active politician. Less well known is his written work. That is rarely mentioned, and when it is, the tone (especially that of urban intellectuals) is dismissive. It is argued here, firstly, that Charan Singh was, indeed, an accomplished politician, but one who successfully represented the interests not of the whole peasantry, but of its rich and middle strata. It is suggested, secondly, that his published work is of greater significance than is generally acknowledged; that it falls squarely into the broad tradition of neo‐populism; and that he was, unusually, a true ‘organic’ intellectual of the rich and middle peasantry. Both his political career and his ideas merit more serious attention than they have attracted hitherto; and such attention needs an adequate class perspective.