Shri Baldev Ramji Mirdha was born on 17 January 1889 in a farmer’s family in village Kuchera in district Nagaur of Rajasthan. He passed the Matric examination and joined service in the former Jodhpur State. By dint of hard work and honestly, he rose to become a high police official. His interest and commitment however lay elsewhere.
At that time the lot of farmers was very unenviable everywhere but much more so in the native states. He found the feudal exploitation of farmers unbearable and vowed in his heart to fight it. He started the Marwar Kisan Sabha to organize farmers and held many massive rallies and demonstrations. After the formation of Rajasthan, he established the Rajasthan Kisan Sabha and enlarged the ambit of his activities. He was working in cooperation with Lok Parishad and Congress leaders like Jai Narain Vyas. It was after consultations with Jawahar Lal Nehru and Govind Ballabh Pant that Rajasthan Kisan Sabha was merged with the Indian National Congress on the eve of the first General Elections.
Baldev Ramji Mirdha was a great social worker and made it the foundation of his political work. He started a movement for helping the backward classes and enabling them to take water from the village well. He started a movement for the abolition of customs like feasts after death. These activities enraged the entrenched leaders of society who carried on a tirade against him. He believed that education was necessary for liberating an individual and started a number of schools and hostels in rural areas. Students from these institutions are at the forefront of the political and social life of the State. His various activities for organizing the kisans fighting for their right to be masters of the land that they cultivated earned him the title of “Kisan Kesari”. He died on 25 August 1953 in harness while going to address a Kisan conference.
Source: Information Brochure of Commemorative Postage Stamp issued by Department of Posts.