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A voice from the soil
Poverty, ₹75 a day and people’s taunts: they built the determination that made a labourer’s son a brother to millions.
Childhood
A childhood in the soil
Every big story begins in a small village. This one begins in Ladrawan (Bahadurgarh) in Jhajjar district, where Harsh was born on 8 February 1989 into an ordinary farming, labouring family. The home had little to spare.
After his mother passed away when he was 7, he took the weight of responsibility on his shoulders.
Between rising prices, debt and poverty, even the family’s farmland was sold for next to nothing. Paying school fees was hard, but that hardship turned the boy’s will into steel.
14 years old, ₹75 a day
Labour by day, books by night
There was a time when my father worked as a labourer, and at 14 I unloaded gravel and dust trucks with him, for 75 rupees a day. I heard plenty of abuse from people, but I never stopped working hard.
Harsh Chhikara, June 2023Matriculation from the village government school, senior secondary in Bahadurgarh, then a degree and an LL.B. Playing for a state-level cricket team, he won awards about 10 times. From 16 January 2024, “Advocate” joined his name.
A resolve
No poor person should sleep hungry
In those years of struggle Harsh resolved that while he lived, no poor person would have to sleep hungry. In 2012 he formed a small team that collected leftover wedding food and carried it to children in poor settlements.
In December 2016 the YouTube channel began, and with it the practice of going live on social media to ask directly for help for families in need. There were taunts and criticism, but he did not stop.
People abused me a lot: why the drama, why the show… but we kept working.Harsh Chhikara, Dec 2022
In July 2022, while his father fought for his life in hospital for 25 days, Harsh still answered every call from the community; he did not let anyone sense the trouble at home.
Identity
Not just a name, a trust
He embraced every religion, caste and class; that is why everyone now calls him their own.
Above every caste and religion there is one thing, and it is called brotherhood; and the one thing Chhikara has earned is brotherhood.Harsh Chhikara, Jan 2022
- 1Unloading gravel from trucks for ₹75 a day
- 2The weight of responsibility at the age of 7
- 3Struggling even to pay school fees
- 4A tiny team sharing leftover wedding food
- 5Taunts: “he is just showing off”
- 6No name, no connections
- 1A support for 5000+ families with nowhere else to turn
- 2The blessings of thousands of mothers and sisters
- 3Advocate: law degree (LL.B.) and a legal profession
- 4A family of 13,300+ registered members
- 5A social media family of 53 lakh+ followers
- 6A mandate of 14,761 votes (2024)
Tap “Now” to see what each stage of the struggle built.
The journey
From 1989 to 2026
1989
Born on 8 February in Ladrawan village (Bahadurgarh), Jhajjar district, into an ordinary farming, labouring family.
1997
After his mother passed away when he was 7, he took the weight of responsibility on his shoulders.
Age 14
Labouring beside his father, unloading gravel and dust from trucks for ₹75 a day, while still studying.
2012
Feeding hungry children with leftover wedding food; active in the Jan Lokpal movement.
2016
In December, a YouTube channel and live videos asking for help on social media.
2019
After Pulwama, a campaign to shut 40 cities; a voice for soldiers’ rights at Jantar Mantar.
2020–21
Covid relief for 5 lakh+ people; the movement against the farm laws, won on 19 Nov 2021.
2022
A Jind mahapanchayat against Agnipath; law degree (LL.B.) completed.
2023
Standing with the wrestlers at Jantar Mantar; the Mewat brotherhood mahapanchayat; the 100th bhaat and the 400th daughter’s wedding.
2024
A new identity as an advocate in January; an independent election in Gohana: 14,761 votes in about 40 days.
2025
A voice for justice for Manisha; Punjab–Haryana flood relief.
2026
His own home after 18 years of renting; an agreement on 15 July after Chanot’s 61-day drinking-water movement (Hansi); the milestone of 1500+ weddings.
Videos