Leaders of the Freedom Movement in Chhattisgarh

Prerequisites

• Veer Narayan Singh and 1857: the first generation of resistance
• Non-Cooperation and Civil Disobedience in Chhattisgarh: the events these leaders shaped
• Jungle Satyagraha: the forest struggles of 1922 and 1930

The Hook: Names on Your Campus Gate

Why it matters: Prelims tests leader-event pairs and epithets (“Chhattisgarh’s Gandhi”). Mains and the interview reward the ability to cite the right local leader for each phase.

Leaders by Phase

flowchart TD
    A["1857 phase"] --> A1["Veer Narayan Singh (Sonakhan)"]
    A --> A2["Hanuman Singh (Raipur, 1858)"]
    B["Bastar tribal resistance"] --> B1["Gend Singh (Paralkot, 1825)"]
    B --> B2["Gunda Dhur (Bhumkal, 1910)"]
    C["Gandhian phase, 1920-1947"] --> C1["Pt. Sundarlal Sharma"]
    C --> C2["Thakur Pyarelal Singh"]
    C --> C3["Pt. Ravishankar Shukla"]
    C --> C4["Chhotelal Shrivastava, Narayan Rao Meghawale"]
    C --> C5["Shyamlal Som, Yatiyatan Lal, Dayavati"]
    D["Press and public life"] --> D1["Madhavrao Sapre (Chhattisgarh Mitra, 1900)"]

Profiles

Pt. Sundarlal Sharma (पं. सुंदरलाल शर्मा), 1881–1940

• Born 21 December 1881 at Chamsur, near Rajim.
• Called “Chhattisgarh’s Gandhi” (छत्तीसगढ़ के गांधी).
• Led the Kandel canal satyagraha (1920) and went to Calcutta to invite Gandhi, who reached Raipur on 20 December 1920.
• Social reformer: campaigned against untouchability and for the entry of Dalits into temples, years before Gandhi’s 1933 Harijan tour. Gandhi is widely reported to have called him his “guru” in this work.
• Jailed during Non-Cooperation.
• Writer: author of “Chhattisgarhi Danlila” (छत्तीसगढ़ी दानलीला), an early literary work in Chhattisgarhi.
• Memorial: Pt. Sundarlal Sharma (Open) University, Bilaspur.

Thakur Pyarelal Singh (ठाकुर प्यारेलाल सिंह), 1891–1954

• Labour leader of Rajnandgaon: led the BNC Mills workers’ strike of 1920 and later mill struggles.
• Cooperative movement: a leading organiser of cooperatives in the Raipur region.
• A Congress leader of Raipur in Non-Cooperation and Civil Disobedience; active in municipal politics.
• After Independence he left the Congress and joined the socialist opposition.

Pt. Ravishankar Shukla (पं. रविशंकर शुक्ल)

• A Raipur lawyer who became the leading Congress figure of the Central Provinces.
• Took part in Non-Cooperation and Civil Disobedience; repeatedly jailed.
• Headed the government of the Central Provinces and Berar from 1946.
• First Chief Minister of the new Madhya Pradesh on 1 November 1956; he died in office at the end of that year.
• Memorial: Pt. Ravishankar Shukla University, Raipur.

Babu Chhotelal Shrivastava (बाबू छोटेलाल श्रीवास्तव)

• Of Kandel village, Dhamtari: the local organiser of the Kandel canal satyagraha (1920).
• Linked with the Dhamtari forest satyagrahas of 1930.
• Memorial: in 2019 the Madamsilli dam in Dhamtari district was named after him.

Narayan Rao Meghawale (नारायण राव मेघावाले)

• Dhamtari Congress leader; one of the three leaders of Kandel with Sundarlal Sharma and Chhotelal Shrivastava.

Pt. Vaman Rao Lakhe (पं. वामनराव लाखे)

• Pioneer of the cooperative movement in Raipur; a Congress leader of the Non-Cooperation and Civil Disobedience years.

Shyamlal Som (श्यामलाल सोम)

• Tribal leader of Sihawa-Nagri; led the jungle satyagraha of January 1922, described as one of the earliest in the country.

Yatiyatan Lal (यतियतन लाल) and Shankarrao Ganodwale

• Sent by the Raipur District Congress Committee to lead the Tamora jungle satyagraha (1930), Mahasamund.

Dayavati Kanwar (दयावती कंवर)

• Teenage tribal girl (about 16) remembered as the heroine of Tamora (1930) for standing up to the police to protect satyagrahis.

Dr. Khubchand Baghel (डॉ. खूबचंद बघेल), 1900–1969

• A doctor who gave up government service to join the national movement; jailed in Civil Disobedience and Quit India.
• After Independence, the pioneer of the separate Chhattisgarh demand (Chhattisgarh Mahasabha, 1956; Chhattisgarh Bhratri Sangh, 1967). See Formation of the State.

Madhavrao Sapre (माधवराव सप्रे)

• Started “Chhattisgarh Mitra” (छत्तीसगढ़ मित्र) from Pendra in 1900, the region’s pioneering Hindi journal.
• Translated Tilak’s “Gita Rahasya” into Hindi; part of the nationalist press tradition of the Central Provinces.

Mahant Laxminarayan Das (महंत लक्ष्मीनारायण दास)

• A Raipur Congress leader of the Civil Disobedience and later phases.

Earlier leaders (see topic pages)

Leader-to-Event Master Table

Memory Tricks

Don’t Confuse

Common Mistakes

Practice

These are original practice questions written in CGPSC style. They are not previous-year questions.

Level 1: Foundation

1. ________ is known as “Chhattisgarh’s Gandhi”.
2. Chhattisgarh Mitra was started in 1900 from ________ by Madhavrao Sapre.
3. The Madamsilli dam was named in 2019 after ________.

Level 2: Prelims MCQs

Q1. Consider the following statements:

1. Pt. Sundarlal Sharma wrote “Chhattisgarhi Danlila”.
2. Pt. Ravishankar Shukla was the first Chief Minister of the new Madhya Pradesh formed in 1956.
3. Thakur Pyarelal Singh led the Tamora jungle satyagraha.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only (b) 1 and 2 only (c) 2 and 3 only (d) 1, 2 and 3

Q2. Match List-I (Leader) with List-II (Associated with):

(a) A-3, B-1, C-2, D-4 (b) A-1, B-3, C-2, D-4 (c) A-3, B-2, C-1, D-4 (d) A-3, B-1, C-4, D-2

Q3. Which leader is known as “Chhattisgarh’s Gandhi”?

(a) Thakur Pyarelal Singh (b) Pt. Ravishankar Shukla (c) Pt. Sundarlal Sharma (d) Dr. Khubchand Baghel

Q4. Which of the following was NOT a leader of the Kandel canal satyagraha?

(a) Babu Chhotelal Shrivastava (b) Narayan Rao Meghawale (c) Pt. Sundarlal Sharma (d) Yatiyatan Lal

Level 3: Mains Answer Writing

Q1. Evaluate the contribution of Pt. Sundarlal Sharma to the freedom movement and social reform in Chhattisgarh. (150–200 words)

Q2. “The freedom movement in Chhattisgarh was led by both mass leaders and local organisers.” Illustrate with examples. (250 words)

Quick Revision Table

Key Takeaways

What’s Next

• Quick Revision: the whole chapter on one page
• Formation of the State and Administrative Structure: from freedom fighters to the statehood movement
• Literature, Chhattisgarhi Language, Idioms and Riddles: Sapre, Sundarlal Sharma and Chhattisgarhi writing
• The Gandhian Era and Independence: the national context