National Farmers Day 2020: Ex-PM Charan Singh's birth anniversary celebrated to acknowledge social contribution of farmers

In many ways, farmers constitute the backbone of our nation’s economy. In order to acknowledge their contribution to the society at large, Kisan Diwas is observed every day as a mark of gratitude to farmers. National Farmers Day 2020: Date India observes the Kisan Diwas on 23 December, which is the birth anniversary of the fifth Prime Minister of the country, Choudhary Charan Singh. Born in 1902 at Noorpur in Meerut district of Uttar Pradesh, Charan Singh came from a middle-class peasant family. He contributed to several land reforms in the country, especially in Uttar Pradesh. National Farmers Day 2020: History Charan Singh worked for years to stress upon the importance of farmers in our nation. He also wrote many books and pamphlets during his lifetime. Some of his most popular writings are ‘India’s Poverty and its Solution’, ‘Abolition of Zamindari’, ‘Peasant Proprietorship or Land to the Workers’, ‘Co-operative Farming X-rayed’ and ‘Prevention of Division of Holdings Below a Certain Minimum’. To pay tribute to his contributions to the upliftment of the status of the farmers, the Kisan Diwas is celebrated on his birth anniversary. The government of India officially designated the day in 2001. National Farmers Day 2020: Significance India has always been an agricultural-dependent economy. Kisan Diwas signifies the need to listen to the farmers, and ensure their economic and social security. This year, Kisan Diwas assumes particular significance in the context of three new agriculture-related laws introduced by the Centre, and the protests in response to them . The news laws allow farmers to sell their produce outside mandis regulated by Agricultural Produce Market Committees (APMCs). They also remove stock limits for agricultural produce and provide a framework for contract farming. However, the protesting farmers fear that the laws may eventually lead to the dismantling of the MSP and will create large monopolies.