Comrade Achhar Singh Chhina (Aged 82) was born on October 2, 1899, in Harsha Chhina, Tehsil Ajnala, Amritsar, Punjab. He completed his basic studies at Khalsa College. The students and teachers of the college boycotted the visit of the Prince of Wales to the college to protest against the British rule.
In 1921, Achhar Singh went to the University of California, Berkeley, in the United States for further studies in Economics. That same year, he joined the Gadar Party in San Francisco and received his first lesson in national politics. In 1932, he went to the Soviet Union for further studies on socialism. He returned to India in 1936 and was arrested in Lahore in the same year. He was detained in Lahore Fort for two months. In 1937, the British Government ordered Chhina to stay in his own village under curfew for the whole year.
In March 1938, the Communist Party of India (CPI) organised a conference on March 13 at Fatehwal village, Amritsar. The conference was to be headed by Comrade Achhar Singh Chhina and Mohan Singh Batth and addressed by Gopi Chand Bhargava, Sohan Singh Josh, and Begum Fatima. The goondas of Mir Maqbool, the local landlord and parliamentary secretary of the Unionist ministry, disrupted the conference and destroyed the stage. Achhar Singh Chhina and his associates arrived on the scene and held the proposed meeting despite the impending threat. After Chhina left for Amritsar, the goondas attacked the people who were dispersing. When people retaliated, two attackers were killed after being pushed down from a roof. Police registered a criminal case against Comrade Achhar Singh Chhina and Joginder Singh Chhina, along with 47 other persons under section 302 IPC. This case was highlighted throughout the country, and a defense committee was appointed to fight the case.
The committee was headed by Jawaharlal Nehru, and Dr. Saifuddin Kitchlew, the Congress leader, and Karam Singh Mann, both lawyers, were actively involved in the defense. The police forced Mr. Ram Lal, a police constable, to give a false statement in court that at the time of murder, Mr. Chhina was the main person who attacked the victim. However, he refused to give this statement in court.
Achhar Singh Chhina used the opportunity to go to the Soviet Union in 1940 by crossing the Hindukush Mountains on foot through Kabul and discussed the possibility of independence with top Soviet Leaders. In December 1940, Comrade Achhar Singh Chhina (Larkin) submitted the thesis “The National Front in India” to Comrade Stalin.
In 1942, he was elected as President of the All India Kisan Sabha – Punjab and held this position for seven years. It was in that capacity that he organised the Harsha Chhina Moga Morcha in 1946, as a result of which he was detained in Lahore jail for three months. He also held the post of Secretary of the Punjab Communist Party. He passed away on March 11, 1981.
Achhar Singh Chhina
(1899 – 1981) – (Punjab)
Comrade Achhar Singh Chhina (Aged 82) was born on October 2, 1899, in Harsha Chhina, Tehsil Ajnala, Amritsar, Punjab. He completed his basic studies at Khalsa College. The students and teachers of the college boycotted the visit of the Prince of Wales to the college to protest against the British rule.
In 1921, Achhar Singh went to the University of California, Berkeley, in the United States for further studies in Economics. That same year, he joined the Gadar Party in San Francisco and received his first lesson in national politics. In 1932, he went to the Soviet Union for further studies on socialism. He returned to India in 1936 and was arrested in Lahore in the same year. He was detained in Lahore Fort for two months. In 1937, the British Government ordered Chhina to stay in his own village under curfew for the whole year.
In March 1938, the Communist Party of India (CPI) organised a conference on March 13 at Fatehwal village, Amritsar. The conference was to be headed by Comrade Achhar Singh Chhina and Mohan Singh Batth and addressed by Gopi Chand Bhargava, Sohan Singh Josh, and Begum Fatima. The goondas of Mir Maqbool, the local landlord and parliamentary secretary of the Unionist ministry, disrupted the conference and destroyed the stage. Achhar Singh Chhina and his associates arrived on the scene and held the proposed meeting despite the impending threat. After Chhina left for Amritsar, the goondas attacked the people who were dispersing. When people retaliated, two attackers were killed after being pushed down from a roof. Police registered a criminal case against Comrade Achhar Singh Chhina and Joginder Singh Chhina, along with 47 other persons under section 302 IPC. This case was highlighted throughout the country, and a defense committee was appointed to fight the case.
The committee was headed by Jawaharlal Nehru, and Dr. Saifuddin Kitchlew, the Congress leader, and Karam Singh Mann, both lawyers, were actively involved in the defense. The police forced Mr. Ram Lal, a police constable, to give a false statement in court that at the time of murder, Mr. Chhina was the main person who attacked the victim. However, he refused to give this statement in court.
Achhar Singh Chhina used the opportunity to go to the Soviet Union in 1940 by crossing the Hindukush Mountains on foot through Kabul and discussed the possibility of independence with top Soviet Leaders. In December 1940, Comrade Achhar Singh Chhina (Larkin) submitted the thesis “The National Front in India” to Comrade Stalin.
In 1942, he was elected as President of the All India Kisan Sabha – Punjab and held this position for seven years. It was in that capacity that he organised the Harsha Chhina Moga Morcha in 1946, as a result of which he was detained in Lahore jail for three months. He also held the post of Secretary of the Punjab Communist Party. He passed away on March 11, 1981.
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