Teja Singh Sutantar (16 July 1901 − 12 April 1973), also Swatantar, was a national revolutionary of

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

who fought for the independence of India from the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...

and for the liberation of

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

peasantry from the clutches of feudal lords. He was a member of the 5th Lok Sabha from Sangrur constituency as a CPI candidate. He also was Member of

Punjab Legislative Assembly The Punjab Legislative Assembly or the Punjab Vidhan Sabha is the unicameral legislature of the state of Punjab in India. The Sixteenth Punjab Legislative Assembly was constituted in March 2022. At present, it consists of 117 members, directl ...

from 1937 to 1945 and member of

Punjab Legislative Council The Punjab Legislative Council was the upper house of the state legislature of the Indian state of Punjab. This upper house of the Punjab legislature was disbanded by Punjab Legislative Council (Abolition) Act, 1969 The Punjab Legislative Counc ...

from 1964 to 1969. He became actively involved in the revolutionary activities during the 1920s when the

Ghadar Party The Ghadar Movement was an early 20th century, international political movement founded by expatriate Indians to overthrow British rule in India. The early movement was created by conspirators who lived and worked on the West Coast of the Unite ...

was preparing for the second attempt for the overthrow of British government. Sutantar was sent to

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

in 1924 where he joined the Turkish military academy to attain military knowledge. In and out of prison several times, Sutantar was among the top national Communist leaders jailed by the British administration in the Deoli Detention Centre in the early-1940's. Sutantar was a popular Communist leader in the

Kirti Kisan Party Workers and Peasants Party may refer to: * Workers and Peasants Party (Egypt) *Workers and Peasants Party (France) *Workers and Peasants Party (India) * Workers' and Peasants' Party (Japan) *Workers' and Peasants' Party (Liechtenstein) The Worke ...

and later Central Committee member and General Secretary of the Lal Communist Party Hind Union. The party published a magazine, ''Lal Jhanda'', from 1948-1952 under the editorship of Teja Singh Sutantar, managed by Gandharv Sen. Sutantar was among the tallest leaders in undivided Punjab and, post-Partition, on the Indian side who led the struggles of the peasantry, along with the likes of Bhagat Singh Bilga and Baba Bujha Singh. In 1952 Lal Communist Party Hind Union merged into

Communist Party of India Communist Party of India (CPI) is the oldest Marxist–Leninist communist party in India and one of the nine national parties in the country. The CPI was founded in modern-day Kanpur (formerly known as Cawnpore) on 26 December 1925. H ...

. He become the president of

All India Kisan Sabha All India Kisan Sabha ( AIKS; lit. ''All India Farmers Union'', also known as the Akhil Bharatiya Kisan Sabha), is the peasant or farmers' wing of the Communist Party of India, an important peasant movement formed by Sahajanand Saraswati in 19 ...

from 1968 to 1973.

References

Further reading