One of the objectives of the trust was to install the statue of Late Dr. Y.S. Parmar, founder chief minister of Himachal Pradesh popularly known as Himachal Nirmata in village Chanahlag since he was born here. The same was done on 4th August 2015, i.e. on Dr. Y.S. Parmar birth anniversary. The statue was donated by Sirmaur Manch, Solan. A function is organized here on this day every year followed by bhandara.
Dr. Y.S. Parmar Dr. Parmar the third child (2nd son) of Lakshmi Devi and Bhandari Shivanand Singh was born on 4th August 1906. Bhandari Shivanand Singh was the Secretary of the then Maharaja of Sirmaur. Dr. Parmar started his primary education from Nahan and did his matriculation from Shamsher Senior Secondary School Nahan in 1922. He did his BA (Honours) from Foreman Christian College Lahore in 1926 and MA and LL.B. from Canning College Lucknow in 1928. He was awarded the degree of Doctorate of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Sociology on the topic entitled “Polyandry in the Himalayas” by Lucknow University in 1944 and was awarded Degree of D. Lit. (Honorary) from Himachal Pradesh University Shimla in 1972.
Dr. Parmar started his career as a lawyer in Nahan in 1929 and was appointed as Sub Judge cum Judicial Magistrate First Class Nahan (1930-1937) by the Maharaja of Sirmaur and later promoted as District and Session Judge Nahan (1937-1941). Dr. Parmar resigned from his post of District Session Judge due to differences with the Maharaja of Sirmaur and was exiled by the Maharaja in 1941. Dr. Parmar and his elder brother Jagmohan Singh along with their families then shifted to Lahore, where the two brothers worked as Government Contractors, Importers, Exporters and Commission agents. While living in Lahore Cantonment Dr. Parmar guided the leaders of Pajhota Andolan and later the Prajamandalist’s. He came back to Himachal (Shimla) from Lahore in 1947.
In 1948 he successfully organized a campaign at Solan for the merger of the neighbouring Punjab and Shimla Hill States. With the help of his colleagues and from the centre he was successful in forming Himachal Pradesh as a Part C state on 15th April 1948. Himachal was formed by the merger of 30 odd princely states and was under the administration of Chief Commissioner from 1948-1952. Dr. Parmar was one of the members of the nine member advisory council commission. The Chief Commissioner’s administration did not serve the purpose for what it was formed and so by the persistent efforts of Dr. Parmar in 1951 it was decided to grant full-fledged legislative assembly and autonomy to Himachal. In November 1951 elections to the parliament and vidhan sabha were held and Dr. Parmar was sworn in as the first Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh on 24th March 1952.
In 1953 States Reorganization Commission (SRC) was set-up by the Central Government which recommended the merger of the Himachal in to Punjab but its Chairman Fazal Ali was not in its favour. Dr. Parmar was able to convince Prime Minister and his colleagues against the merger of Himachal with Punjab who agreed and granted Himachal Pradesh status of a Union Territory to be governed by dual system of administration (diarchy) i.e. by Lt. Governor and a Territorial council. The SRC report came in to force in 1956. Dr. Parmar quitted office on 31st October 1956 and after the elections in 1957 the Territorial Council functioned in Himachal from 1957-1963.
Dr. Parmar was elected to the Parliament (Lok Sabha) in 1957 but was later unseated by a court verdict in 1960. In between 1956 to 1963 Dr. Parmar lived in Delhi, practiced law in the Supreme Court of India and toured Himachal in various capacities. At the time of elections to the Territorial council in 1962 he was requested to contest the elections to the council but he declined in protest for restoring a democratic set up in Himachal rather than the diarchy system of rule by Lt. Governor and Territorial Council.
During 1963-1966 he played a pivotal role in the merger of hilly areas of Punjab and Shimla Hill States with HP that finally merged with HP in 1966 and Vishal Himachal was formed. Dr. Parmar remained the Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh from 1st July 1963 to 27th January 1977. During this time full Statehood was granted to Himachal Pradesh on 25th January 1971. Himachal became the 18th state of the Indian Union.
Dr. Parmar resigned from the post of Chief Minister on 28th January 1977 and Thakur Ram Lal was sworn as the new Chief Minister. While campaigning for the congress party in the Lok Sabha elections in 1977 Dr. Parmar met with a road accident in Uttarkhand (then Uttar Pradesh). He was hospitalized for about 3 months. In August 1979 he fell ill while addressing a public meeting at Bilaspur, H.P. and was diagnosed with multiple secondaries. Till his death in 1981 he lived in Delhi, Shimla and his farm house at Badyog (Bagthan). He left his heavenly adobe on 2nd May 1981and was cremated on 3rd May 1981 in Shimla. A gun salute marked his funeral.
Dr. Parmar married Chandravati Chauhan D/o Dr. Balbir Singh Chauhan R/o Village Chalesar near Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh on 26th January 1924 (First Marriage). He had 2 daughters and 4 sons from his first wife Chandravati who passed away in 1969. The second marriage was to Satya Wati Dang D/o Satya Nand Stokes R/o V. P.O. Thanedhar, District Shimla in 1974. Satya Wati Parmar died in 2010.
During his tenure as Chief Minister Dr. Parmar laid emphasis on development of roads, education, horticulture, agriculture, tourism, industries, hydropower, forestry (especially 3D Forestry), animal husbandry, panchayati raj, art and culture. Himachal today excel in these aspects because of the solid foundation laid by him. Dr. Y.S. Parmar was not only a political leader, but a man of versatile nature and qualities. He was a popular leader, successful lawyer, writer, thinker and a capable administrator with political acumen and far sightedness. He was an economist and eloquent speaker and an astute politician who stayed away from controversies. He was a thorough gentleman with undoubted integrity with no trace of ostentation. Throughout his life Dr. Parmar was synonymous with the progress of the State. He will always be remembered as the founder of Himachal Pradesh. Dr. Parmar authored five books namely “Polyandry in the Himalayas”; “Years of Challenge and Growth”; “Himachal its Proper Shape and Status”; “Himachal Pradesh: Case for Statehood”; and “Himachal Pradesh: Area and Language”.
Farm house of Dr. Parmar: The farm house of Dr. Parmar is located in village Badyog at a motor able distance of about 1 km from Bagthan. Dr. Parmar visited his farm off and on. After resigning as Chief Minister he spent lot of time here. At this farm he experimented planting different kind of fruit plants was done in search of finding a suitable crop for the Mid Hills to raise the economic standard of the people. Different types of grasses were also tried so as to provide nutritious fodder for the milch animals. Besides this, various kinds of plants were test planted here to search for suitable plants for 3-D Forest Farming that can (i) conserve soil (ii) provide fruits, fuel wood and timber for commercial purposes, (iii) provide fodder and edible seeds for cattle.