Shobha Ram Kumawat

Shobha Ram Kumawat (7 January 1914 – 23 March 1984) was an Indian freedom fighter and politician from Rajasthan, India. He was a member of the 1st Lok Sabha and the 2nd Lok Sabha. He was first Revenue Minister of the Rajasthan.

The hero of the people, the immortal fighter of the freedom struggle, Shobha Ram Kumawat, sowed the seeds of Rajasthan politics. Babu Shobha Ram was a favorite of the Other Backward Classes and other castes, respected by all and respected by all sections. Babu Shobha Ram Kumawat ji is called Chanakya of Rajasthan politics and Gandhi of Alwar.

Early life and education

Shobha Ram Kumawat was born on 09 January 1914 in Kathumar, Alwar State, British India, to Father Buddha Ram Kumawat. He got his education from Raj Rishi College and Sanatan Dharma College, Kanpur.Kumawat was married on December 12, 1932 to Kam Pyari Kumawat.

Political career

Kumawat was the first and only chief minister of the United States of Matsya, serving from its formation on 18 March 1948 until it was merged into the United State of Rajasthan on 15 May 1949. Following that he was the first Revenue Minister of the Rajasthan government from 1949 to 1950. In 1952 he was elected as a member of the 1st Lok Sabha for the Alwar Lok Sabha constituency. He was elected again in 1957 for the 2nd Lok Sabha but lost his chair in 1962 in the elections for the 3rd Lok Sabha. Following that he was member of the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly on the fourth (1967–72) and fifth (1972–77) assemblies.

Kumawat also served as the head of the Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee.

Hunger strike with Mahatma Gandhi

Mahatma Gandhi announced a hunger strike in 1943 at the Aga Khan Palace in Poona. This had a magical effect on Babu Shobharam and he also sat on a hunger strike with Gandhi after eight days. Shobharam's hunger strike lasted for 13 days and was broken by Mahatma Gandhi's strike. Shobharam emerged as the most popular leader from the incident.

Leadership of the Alwar Farmers Movement

On 1 and 2 April 1941, Shobharam Kumawat, President of Alwar State Prajamandal organized Jagir Mafi Praja Conference in Rajgarh, Alwar. This conference was inaugurated by Shri Satyadev Vidyalankar. This conference demanded the abolition of high rates of forced labor, labor, land revenue. Outraged by the conference organized by the Prajamandal, the small jagirdars and apologists had evicted their farmers from the holdings and they either managed their land themselves or the land was left vacant. Even after the regular efforts of the Praja Mandal, the government did not take any action in the case of Jagir forgiveness farmers. On 2 February 1946, Prajamandal, under the leadership of Shobharam, organized a meeting in a village named Kheda Mangal Singh of Rajgarh, Alwar in this context. Many leaders including Bhawani Sahai Sharma, Shobha Ram Kumawat, Ramji Lal Agarwal, Lala Kashi Ram were arrested. On 8 February 1946, the Alwar Prajamandal celebrated 'Anti-Daman Day' throughout the state. Jai Narayan Vyas was appointed to investigate the matter. Finally, there was an agreement between the Prajamandal and the Maharaja in the mediation of Heera Lal Shastri, as a result of which the agitators were released on 10 February 1946.

Journey of Independence in Prajamandal

Babu Shobharam visited the village with village colleagues and held meetings for the expansion of Prajamandal. The effect was that public morale was up. Members of Praja Mandal would have reached the place of injustice on behalf of the feudal lords and the police. During this period a series of political activities took place under the leadership of Prajamandal. From 1943, the movement in Alwar state started gaining momentum. Babu Shobharam Kumawat along with Master Bholanath, Lala Kashi Ram, Phool Chand Gothadia and other activists were also engaged in Jagran. At the same time, Ramji Lal Aggarwal also return to Kanpur, Indore, etc. with experience of student and labor movement and got involved in the support of Praja Mandal. In 1944, a conference of princely activists of the princely states of Rajasthan and Central India took place at Girdhar Ashram. Big leaders like folk heroes Jai Prakash Narayan, Gokulbhai Bhatt came. Now whenever some subjects were tortured, the tone of protest became clear. The premiers led agitations against jagir pardon, custom tax, tax on tobacco, increase in tax on production, expansion of war fund, excesses of police and revenue officials. Kripa Daya Mathur, Ram Chandra Upadhyay, and other activists joined the work. Similarly, the Tehsildar bribery case in Thanagaji was also opposed by the Prajamandal. In this movement, Pandit Hari Narayan Sharma, Lakshmi Narayan Khandelwal and others reached Thanagaji and held a meeting.

Naming the college in honor

The college was formed in 1978 from the Faculty of Arts of Raj Rishi College. Shobha Ram Kumawat, an Indian freedom fighter from Mewat, who was also the first revenue minister of the Rajasthan government; In 1999, the name of the college was changed to Babu Shobha Ram Government Arts College.