Hardev Singh Nehra (1925–1998) was a freedom fighter and social worker who played a leading role in Shekhawati farmers’ movement for abolition of Jagirdari system. He was born in 1925 at village Harsawa

Harsawa

Harsawa is a village located in the Sikar district of Shekhawati region, in Rajasthan state, India. Harsawa is within the Fatehpur Tehsil, 8 km south along National Highway-11 from Fatehpur town. Sand dunes of the Thar Desert can be seen from Harsawa...

 of Sikar

Sikar

Sikar is a city located in the Shekhawati region of Rajasthan state in India. It is the administrative headquarter of Sikar District. Sikar is a historical city and contains many old Havelis which are a huge tourist attraction. The best way to reach the city is to use road transport from Jaipur...

 district in Rajasthan

Rajasthan

Rājasthān the land of Rajasthanis, , is the largest state of the Republic of India by area. It is located in the northwest of India. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert , which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with...

 in the family of Hindu Jat Chandra Singh Nehra

Nehra

Nehra is an Indian Jat surname. It is based on gotra Nehra. Nehra gotra Jats are found in Rajasthan, Haryana, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh in India. The origin of Nehra is derived from Nehra mount in Sindh where they were the rulers. Nehras are descendant of Narishyanta , son of Vaivasvata Manu and...

.

Freedom movement

He was involved in the freedom movement from childhood when he was studying in school in village Narsara. The senior leaders of ‘Jaipur Praja-Mandal’ in Skekhawati, Ladu Ram Joshi, Kishan Singh Batar

Batar

The Batar rocket launcher is a weapon developed by the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Palestinian militant group Hamas during the Al-Aqsa intifada. The weapon was reportedly created and produced in clandestine workshops in the Gaza strip under the direction of Adnan al-Ghoul...

, Bhinw Raj Dugar had once organized a meeting in village Harsawa

Harsawa

Harsawa is a village located in the Sikar district of Shekhawati region, in Rajasthan state, India. Harsawa is within the Fatehpur Tehsil, 8 km south along National Highway-11 from Fatehpur town. Sand dunes of the Thar Desert can be seen from Harsawa...

 for the awakening of the villagers. The villagers insulted these leaders which hurt Hardev Singh and from that time he joined the leaders of ‘Jaipur Praja-Mandal’ and motivated the villagers and got their meeting held.

Social works

Hardev Singh worked at the grassroots level for awakening of the villagers through nukkad dramas and village-level meetings to spread the freedom messages of Mahatma Gandhi

Mahatma Gandhi

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi , pronounced . 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948) was the pre-eminent political and ideological leader of India during the Indian independence movement...

, Tilak and Gokhale

Gokhale

Gokhale is an Indian surname typically found in the western state of Maharashtra amongst Chitpavan Kokanastha Brahmins. The supposed origin of the Gokhale clan was in the small coastal town of Velneshwar about 10km from Guhagar and 50km from Chiplun in the Konkan region...

. He also came in contact with Vinoba Bhave

Vinoba Bhave

Vinoba Bhave , born Vinayak Narahari Bhave often called Acharya , was an Indian advocate of nonviolence and human rights. He is best known for the Bhoodan Andolan...

 during his visit to Sikar, after which he motivated the villagers against social evils like intoxication, untouchability and child marriage. He worked for women's education. He started education in the village Harsawa in 1934 with the cooperation of villagers and the formal education in 1935 with the help of Birla

Birla

Birla may refer to:* Birla family* Members of the Birla family:** Aditya Birla** Basant Kumar Birla** Ghanshyam Das Birla** Krishna Kumar Birla** Kumar Mangalam Birla...

s under ‘Varnacular’ scheme. The first primary school in Harsawa was started by the state govt. in 1949 only due to his efforts.

Role in abolition of Jagirs

Harsawa village has played an important role in the abolition of Jagirs. Before independence the conditions of the farmers were worst. The farmers were exploited and oppressed by the Jagirdars during British Raj. They were deprived of fundamental rights. They were given inhuman treatment when the Jagirdars did not get cesses known as “lag” or “begar” in time, they were given hard punishments and their crops used to be destroyed. The farmers of Harsawa united against oppression of Jagirdars and stopped giving cesses. Chaudhari Motaram and 15 others of the village Harsawa were arrested by Raja of Sikar

Sikar

Sikar is a city located in the Shekhawati region of Rajasthan state in India. It is the administrative headquarter of Sikar District. Sikar is a historical city and contains many old Havelis which are a huge tourist attraction. The best way to reach the city is to use road transport from Jaipur...

 in 1935 and imprisoned for three months. Farmers, mainly the Jats, under the leadership of Hardev Singh Nehra joined ‘Sikar Jat-Kisan-Panchayat’ and ‘Jaipur Praja-Mandal’ along with the Shekhawati farmers. From 1944 - 1947 he worked full time with Ladu Ram Joshi and Badrinarayan Sodani.

The incidence of Patusari village in 1939 is worth mentioning. Patusari village was in Mandawa

Mandawa

Mandawa is a town in Jhunjhunu district of Rajasthan in India. It is part of Shekhawati region. Mandawa is situated 190 km off Jaipur in the north. The town lies between latitude 28°.06’ in the north and longitude 75°.20’ in the east. Mandawa is known for its fort and havelis...

 thikana of Sikar

Sikar

Sikar is a city located in the Shekhawati region of Rajasthan state in India. It is the administrative headquarter of Sikar District. Sikar is a historical city and contains many old Havelis which are a huge tourist attraction. The best way to reach the city is to use road transport from Jaipur...

Jagirdar. The Jagirdar was levying excessive taxes on the agricultural produce. He had also threatened to evacuate the villagers. The villagers collectively decided not to pay any taxes. Hardev Singh and Balu Ram took a lead in this movement. The Jagirdar attacked the villagers but the villagers resisted peacefully. Village was evicted by the Jagirdar, crops were burnt, cattle were killed but the villagers did not heed to the Jagirdar and did not pay levy. This was unique example of entire village being evacuated. After a long struggle the farmers got rid of oppression and got the ownership rights over the land they were cultivating.