Ranbir Singh Hooda Explained

Honorific Prefix:Chaudhary
Ranbir Singh Hooda
Birth Date:26 November 1914
Birth Place:Sanghi, Punjab Province, British India
Death Place:Rohtak, Haryana, India
Nationality:Indian
Alma Mater:Ramjas College
Occupation:Agriculturist, politician
Party:Indian National Congress
Children:Bhupinder Singh Hooda (son)
Relatives:Deepender Singh Hooda (grandson)

Ranbir Singh Hooda (26 November 1914 - 1 February 2009) was an Indian freedom fighter, parliamentarian and administrator from state of Haryana known for taking up the cause of poor and backward people and peasants. He actively participated in the freedom struggle, and was jailed five times.[1]

He was a member of the Indian National Congress. The Indian National Congress party sent him to the Constituent Assembly of India in July 1947, largely owing to his contribution to the freedom movement. He was instrumental in the framing of the Indian Constitution and primarily voiced concerns of workers, peasants, and lower-caste people. He was also a member of the Provisional Parliament and served it in 1950–52.

The Limca Book of Records has included the name of Ranbir Singh, for his national record of having remained a member of seven different Houses.[2]

He served as a minister in undivided Punjab and then in the Haryana government.He was inducted into the council of ministers and held the portfolios of Power and Irrigation in 1962–66 and PWD and Health in 1966–67. He is also remembered for his contribution in the creation of the Bhakra Nangal Power Project. His 100th birth anniversary celebration was inaugurated by President Pranab Mukherjee on 27 November 2014.[3] [4]

Early childhood

Born into a Jat family[5] on 26 November 1914, in Sanghi, a village in Rohtak district of Undivided Punjab (now Haryana), Ranbir Singh Hooda got his initial education at his village school and later at the Gurukul Bhainswal Kalan near Gohana (Sonipat) run by the Arya Samaj activist and social reformer, Bhagat Phool Singh.[6]

Education

After completing primary education, Ranbir Singh Hooda joined Vaish High School, Rohtak. He completed matriculation in 1933 and joined Government College, Rohtak for higher studies. He passed his FA examination in 1935. Later, he moved to Delhi and graduated from Ramjas College in 1937. He was conferred with an honorary degree of D.Litt. by Kurukshetra University in 2007.[7]

Participation in freedom movement

Ranbir Singh Hooda joined the Gandhian army in the 1930s to contribute towards India's freedom struggle. Hooda was imprisoned on many occasions during the 1940s for his role in the independence movement.[8]

He was first arrested in 1941 for participating in a Satyagraha movement. He was put behind the bars several times during India's freedom struggle. In all, he spent three and a half years in rigorous imprisonment and was under house arrest for two years. He was imprisoned in different jails in Rohtak, Ambala, Hisar, Ferozepur, Lahore (Borstal), Lahore (Central), Multan and Sialkot. He remained closely associated with Mahatma Gandhi during the latter's visits to Rohtak and nearby districts of Punjab.

Role in Constituent Assembly and Political career

The Indian National Congress party sent him to the Constituent Assembly of India in July 1947, largely owing to his contribution to the freedom movement. He was instrumental in the framing of the Indian Constitution and primarily voiced concerns of workers, peasants, and lower-caste people. He was also a member of the Provisional Parliament and served it in 1950–52.

His Constituent Assembly speeches form part of a book, Making of our Constitution: Speeches of Ch. Ranbir Singh in the Constituent Assembly of India (2009), launched when his son was Haryana chief minister.[9]

He contested the first general election in 1952 from the Rohtak Lok Sabha constituency and won the poll with a huge margin. In the second general elections in 1957, he again successfully contested from his old constituency of Rohtak. In 1962, he was elected to the Punjab assembly. He was inducted into the council of ministers and held the portfolios of Power and Irrigation in 1962–66 and PWD and Health in 1966–67. He is also remembered for his contribution in the creation of the Bhakra Nangal Power Project.[10]

Upon the formation of Haryana as a new state on 1 November 1966, he shifted his political base to Haryana and became a minister. He won the Kiloi assembly seat in a by-election in 1968. He was elected to Rajya Sabha in 1972 and worked for the introduction of pension for former MPs. He remained the deputy leader of the Congress in Rajya Sabha in 1976–77.[11] Ranbir Singh Hooda was the founder general secretary of Bharat Krishak Samaj and the All-India Backward Classes Federation. He remained the working president of the All-India Freedom Fighters Organisation till his demise.

Recognition

Ranbir Singh Hooda had set a record for being a member of seven different houses in India's democratic history, a feat that has been registered and acknowledged by the Limca Book of Records.

On 1 February 2011, Indian National Congress President Sonia Gandhi released a postage stamp depicting him.[12] [13]

Death

Ranbir Singh Hooda died at the age of 94 on 1 February 2009. He was few of the surviving members of the Constituent Assembly of India during his death. He is survived by his sons Bhupinder Singh, Inder Singh and Dharmender Singh. Two of his sons, Pratap Singh and Joginder Singh, had died earlier.

Notes and References

  1. https://theprint.in/theprint-profile/chaudhary-ranbir-singh-hooda-who-was-minister-in-punjab-haryana-and-went-to-jail-5-times/185933/ Chaudhary Ranbir Singh Hooda, who was minister in Punjab & Haryana and went to jail 5 times
  2. https://www.hindustantimes.com/punjab/ranbir-hooda-s-name-enters-in-limca-book-of-records/story-I56bQFBhuBO1YMGRMQJyMJ.html Ranbir Hooda's name enters in Limca Book of Records
  3. https://web.archive.org/web/20141210211540/http://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2014/11/28/Freedom-Fighter-Chaudhary-Ranbir-Singh-Eulogised-on-His-Birth-Centenary/article2544579.ece Freedom Fighter Chaudhary Ranbir Singh Eulogised on His Birth Centenary
  4. http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/president-calls-for-remembering-freedom-fighters-and-constitution-drafters/articleshow/45297204.cms?intenttarget=no President calls for remembering freedom fighters and Constitution drafters
  5. https://www.indiatoday.in/elections/haryana-assembly-election/story/dushyant-chautala-and-deepender-hooda-gen-next-jat-scions-searching-for-new-ground-1612968-2019-10-25 Dushyant Chautala and Deepender Hooda: Gen-next Jat scions searching for new ground India Today
  6. Abhishek Kadyan (1 February 2009) Ch Ranbir Singh Hooda member of India's Constituent Assembly is no more. indymedia.org.uk
  7. https://www.constitutionofindia.net/members/chaudary-ranbir-singh/
  8. https://theprint.in/theprint-profile/chaudhary-ranbir-singh-hooda-who-was-minister-in-punjab-haryana-and-went-to-jail-5-times/185933/ Chaudhary Ranbir Singh Hooda, who was minister in Punjab & Haryana and went to jail 5 times
  9. https://theprint.in/theprint-profile/chaudhary-ranbir-singh-hooda-who-was-minister-in-punjab-haryana-and-went-to-jail-5-times/185933/ Chaudhary Ranbir Singh Hooda, who was minister in Punjab & Haryana and went to jail 5 times
  10. http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-president-pranab-mukherjee-to-inaugurate-centenary-celebrations-of-freedom-fighter-ranbir-singh-hooda-2038139 President Pranab Mukherjee to inaugurate centenary celebrations of freedom fighter Ranbir Singh Hooda
  11. http://www.aninews.in/newsdetail2/story193046/president-mukherjee-to-inaugurate-centenary-celebrations-of-freedom-fighter-ranbir-singh-hooda.html President Mukherjee to inaugurate centenary celebrations of freedom fighter Ranbir Singh Hooda
  12. https://web.archive.org/web/20160809102453/http://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/article391787.ece Sonia anguished on blind race for power and pelf
  13. http://www.tribuneindia.com/2011/20110202/haryana.htm#4 Sonia releases stamp on Chaudhary Ranbir Singh