Chaudhary Charan Singh served as Minister of Home affairs in the Janata Party Government (1977-78). As infighting in Janata Party came to the fore, Chaudhary Charan Singh and his followers decided to call for a gathering in Delhi.
A Kisan rally took place on the Boat Club in Delhi, on 23rd December 1978, Chaudhary Sahab’s 77th birth anniversary. In contemporary political commentary, the turnout at the Kisan Rally was assessed as the biggest the world had witnessed. Rajnarayan, Madhu Limaye, Madhu Dandwate, Karpuri Thakur, Shyam Nandan Misra, Ch. Devi Lal, Smt. Chandrawati, Maniram Bagari, Biju Patnaik, R.K. Amin, Ram Naresh Yadav, Chiman Bhai Patel, Devraj Urs, G. Lachhanna, Dr. S. Santosham, Nathuram Mirdha, Daulatram Saran, Sharad Yadav were the prominent leaders who attended the rally.
The Boat Club Kisan Rally had a deep political impact. It was also a meaningful event in our history at Kisan Trust, as it was in this rally that India’s farmers collectively gifted Rs. 77 Lakhs to Chaudhary Charan Singh. With this amount Chaudhary Sahab established Kisan Trust on the 3rd April 1979 and dedicated it for the cause of nation building. Chaudhary Charan Singh served as the founder Chairman of the trust. Other founding members of the Governing Body (trustees) were
- Shri Rajnarain, M.P
- Shri Rabi Ray, Health Minister
- Devi Lal, Chief Minister of Haryana
- Chandrawati, M.P.
- Shri Dharam Vir Vasishta, M.P.
- Shri Narendra Singh, M.P.
- Shri Hukamdeo Narain, M.P.
- Shri Ram Vilas Paswan, M.P.
- Shri Daulat Ram Saran, M.P.
- Shri Rashid Masood, M.P.
- Shri Rama Shankar Singh, M.P.
- Shri K. Prabhakar, Deputy Speaker, Andhra Pradesh Assembly
- Shri Vallabh Bhai Patel, M.L.A. Gujarat Assembly
- Ram Das, Managing Trustee
After the sad demise of Chaudhary Charan Singh in May 1987, Shri Ajay Singh was appointed Chairman and remained on this post till 1992. Mr. A.V. Sethumadhavan was nominated as managing trustee in 1988. After the resignation of Mr. Ajay Singh, former Union Minister, Chaudhary Ajit Singh was elected chairman of the trust unanimously in 1992. He nominated Shri Bhola Shankar Sharma as Managing Trustee in the year 2003.
Ch. Ajit Singh resigned from the post of Chairman in 2014 and Jayant Kumar Singh, Ex-M.P. was appointed chairman of the trust in August 2014.