INDIGO
1. Why is Rajkumar Shukla described as being ‘resolute’?
Ans: Rajkumar Shukla is described as resolute because of his
determination to take Mahatma Gandhi to his native district of
Champaran, Bihar to complain about the injustice of the landlord
system.
[Link] do you think the servants thought Gandhi to be another
peasant?
Ans: To the servants he must have looked like just another
poor farmer in this country. Moreover he was accompanied by
Rajkumar Shukla whom they knew to be a poor indigo
sharecropper. Thus when the servants saw them both together
they mistook Gandhi to be another peasant.
[Link] the places that Gandhi visited between his first meeting
with Shukla and his arrivat at Champaran.
Ans: After his first meeting with Shukla, Gandhi visited
Cawnpore, his ashram near Ahmedabad, Calcutta, Patna and
Muzzafarpur before he reached Champaran.
4. What did the peasants pay the British landlords as rent? What
did the British now want instead and why? What would be the
impact of synthetic indigo on the prices of natural indigo?
Ans: The peasants paid the entire indigo harvest, which they
had to cultivate on 15 percent of the land, as a rent to the British.
The British then wanted to release the peasants from
this arrangement, provided they compensate for being released.
The prices of natural indigo would go down due to
synthetic Indigo.
[Link] did Gandhi agree to a settlement of 25 per cent refund to
the farmers?
Ans: He wanted the poor farmers to realise that they too had
rights and that they need not really live in fear of the British
landlords. Therefore, although he had initially quoted a 50 percent
refund, he later agreed to a settlement of 25 percent refund to the
farmers.
6. How did the episode change the plight of the peasants?
Ans: The peasants were saved from spending time and
money on court cases. After some years the British planters gave
up control of their estates. These now reverted to the peasants.
Indigo sharecropping disappeared.
7. Why do you think Gandhi considered the Champaran episode to
be a turning point in his life?
Ans: Gandhi considered the Champaran episode to be a
turning point in his life because he realised that civil disobedience,
which had triumphed for the first time, could go a long way in the
freedom struggle. Moreover, he had succeeded in making the
peasants aware of their rights and becoming confident.
8. How was Gandhi able to influence lawyers? Give instances.
Ans: Gandhi asked the lawyers what they would do if he was
sentenced to prison. They said that they had come to advise him.
If he went to jail, they would go home. Then Gandhi asked them
about the injustice to the sharecroppers. The lawyers held
consultations. They came to the conclusion that it would be
shameful desertion if they went home. So, they told Gandhi that
they were ready to follow him into jail.
9. What was the attitude of the average Indian in smaller localities
towards advocates of ‘ home rule’ ?
Ans: The average Indians in smaller localities were scared to
show sympathy for the advocates of home-rule due to the fear
and control instilled by British. They were not courageous enough
to say or act anything against these rulers as they were afraid of
the dire consequences of helping the advocates of home rule.
10. How do we know that ordinary people too contributed to the
freedom movement?
Ans: Ordinary teachers and doctors came forward and
rendered their services towards the upliftment of Champaran.
This helped change the life of people, eventually making them
self-reliant and supporting the freedom movement. In this way, we
know that ordinary people too contributed to the freedom
movement.