The Forgotten Strongman

The unsung Jat hero from Rohtak, Sir Chhotu Ram and his Unionist Party stood as the bulwark against Jinnah’s ambitions for Punjab, but his legacy today remains largely forgotten.

Recently, I found myself in dusty Rohtak in Haryana, now home to sprawling highways and concrete buildings. Yet, it was not the modernity of the place that caught my attention, but rather a paradox of a forgotten hero whose name barely lingers in the annals of our collective memory.

His death anniversary (on January 9) had passed unnoticed, but his contribution to the preservation of India’s integrity and the thwarting of Partition is nothing short of remarkable. The man was Sir Chhotu Ram, a leader who stood firm in the face of the Muslim League’s encroachment, ensuring that the Punjab he loved remained a fractured mosaic of communities until his untimely death in 1945.

Chhotu Ram was a towering figure in the Unionist Party, the political force that governed undivided Punjab in the pre-Partition years.

The Unionists’ most significant achievement was their refusal to allow the Muslim League, led by Mohammad Ali Jinnah, any foothold in Punjab until the final months of 1947.

But despite their pivotal role in the partition drama, this party is barely mentioned in mainstream historical narratives. Few outside Punjab even recall its name, and fewer still remember the vital role Chhotu Ram played in trying to keep the province united.

The Unionist Party, founded in 1923 by Fazli Hussain, represented the region’s landlord class and emphasized Punjabiat - the concept of Punjab’s unity that transcended religious lines, seeking to unite Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs in shared political and economic interest. Its early success lay in appealing to all communities in Punjab.

After Hussain’s death, leadership passed to Sir Sikandar Hayat Khan, a politician with deep grassroots ties, who consolidated the Unionist’s power. But perhaps the party’s greatest strength came from Chhotu Ram, a man of humble origins from Rohtak in the Hindu-majority region of East Punjab, who had earned the trust of the Hindu Jats and their overwhelming support.

Punjab’s importance in British India was undeniable. Its fertile lands, bolstered by an extensive canal irrigation system, made it a key revenue generator for the British empire during the Second World War.

The region also supplied a significant proportion of soldiers to the British Indian Army, particularly from the Muslim, Sikh and Hindu communities. The significance of Punjab as the ‘grain bowl’ and ‘sword arm’ of India was not lost on Jinnah, who coveted it as the jewel of the new Pakistan. His dream of a Muslim-majority state was intricately tied to controlling this fertile, strategically vital region.

The demographics of Punjab were more complex than Jinnah expected. Of the five divisions - Rawalpindi, Lahore, Multan, Jullundur and Ambala - three were Muslim-majority, while two were Hindu-Sikh-dominated. This balance, with Muslims making up 60 percent of the population but concentrated in the western regions, kept Jinnah’s ambitions in check.

The Unionists, led by Sir Sikandar Hayat Khan, opposed Partition, and Sikandar’s alliances with conservative Muslim movements like the Ahrars and Khaksars, along with Chhotu Ram’s influence in East Punjab, prevented the Muslim League from gaining significant ground.

Jinnah’s desperation to make inroads into Punjab culminated in the 1937 Jinnah-Sikandar pact, which allowed Muslim Unionists to maintain dual membership in both the Muslim League and the Unionist Party. But crucially, the Unionist Party maintained ultimate control over Punjab’s political future. Still, it was the deep-rooted political dexterity of Sikandar and Ram that kept Punjab firmly in the hands of the Unionists for the better part of the 1940s.

However, the death of Sir Sikandar on Christmas night in 1942 dealt the Unionists a severe blow. Replacing him was Sir Khizr Hayat Tiwana, a man less politically astute and lacking the mass appeal of his predecessor. Sensing an opening, Jinnah redoubled his efforts, mobilizing students from Aligarh Muslim University and League strongholds in other parts of India to launch a campaign of religious fervour in Punjab. The once-solid Unionist front began to crack.

When Sir Chhotu Ram passed away in 1945, the Unionists were left vulnerable. Without their strongest and most beloved leader, the political unity that had previously shielded Punjab from Jinnah’s designs began to disintegrate. The 1946 elections reflected this shift, as the Muslim League emerged as the largest party in Punjab, although still short of a majority.

Despite frantic efforts at coalition-building, it was the Congress and the Akali Dal that came together to form a government, with the Unionists sidelined. The League, feeling marginalized, resorted to violence through its paramilitary National Guard, launching attacks on Hindu and Sikh communities in the region, forcing many to flee.

By March 1947, Sir Khizr, overwhelmed by internal and external pressures, resigned. The British government, under Governor Evan Jenkins, allowed the Muslim League to gain ground, facilitating the eventual Partition of Punjab and India.

It is a tragedy that, despite his significant role, Sir Chhotu Ram remains largely forgotten, even in his own hometown of Rohtak. To the locals I spoke with, he was a distant memory, often confused with his successors, such as Devi Lal, or mistakenly identified as a Congressman.

The legacy of this unsung hero, who kept Punjab out of Jinnah’s grasp for as long as he did, deserves to be acknowledged.

(The author is a history observer. Views personal.)