Indigo

by Louis Fischer
Indigo Summary
Louis Fischer met Gandhi in 1942 at his ashram in Sevagram. Gandhi told him that how he
initiated the departure of the British from India. He recalled that it in 1917 at the request of
Rajkumar Shukla, a sharecropper from Champaran, he visited the place. Gandhi had gone
to Lucknow to attend the annual meeting of Indian National Congress in the year 1916.
Shukla told him that he had come from Champaran to seek his help in order to safeguard
the interests of the sharecroppers. Gandhi told him that he was busy so Shukla
accompanied him to various places till he consented to visit Chaparan. His firm decision
impressed Gandhiji and he promised him that he would visit Calcutta at a particular date
and then Shukla could come and take him along to Champaran. Shukla met him at Calcutta
and they took a train to Patna. Gandhi went to lawyer Rajendra Prasad’s house and they
waited for him. In order to grab complete knowledge of the situation, he reached
Muzzafarpur on 15th April 1917. He was welcomed by Prof. J.B Kriplani and his students.
Gandhi was surprised to see the immense support for an advocate of home rule like him.
He also met some lawyers who were already handling cases of sharecroppers. As per the
contract, 15 percent of the peasant’s land holding was to be reserved for cultivation of
indigo, the crop of which was given to the landlord as rent. This system was very
oppressive. Gandhi wanted to help the sharecroppers. So he visited the British landlord
association but he was not given any information because he was an outsider. He then
went to the commissioner of Tirhut division who threatened Gandhi and ask him to leave
Tirhut. Instead of returning, he went to Motihari. Here he started gathering complete
information about the indigo contract. He was accompanied by many lawyers. One day as
he was on his way to meet a peasant, who was maltreated by the indigo planters, he was
stopped by the police superintendent’s messenger who served him a notice asking him to
leave. Gandhi received the notice but disobeyed the order. A case was filed against him.
Many lawyers came to advise him but when he stressed, they all joined his struggle and
even consented to go to jail in order to help the poor peasants. On the day of trial, a large
crowd gathered near the court. It became impossible to handle them. Gandhi helped the
officers to control the crowd. Gandhi gave his statement that he was not a lawbreaker but
he disobeyed so that he could help the peasants. He was granted bail and later on, the
case against him was dropped. Gandhi and his associates started gathering all sorts of
information related to the indigo contract and its misuse. Later, a commission was set up to
look into the matter. After the inquiry was conducted, the planters were found guilty and
were asked to pay back to the peasants. Expecting refusal, they offered to pay only 25
percent of the amount. Gandhi accepted this too because he wanted to free the
sharecroppers from the binding of the indigo contract. He opened six schools in Champaran
villages and volunteers like Mahadev Desai, Narhari Parikh, and his son, Devdas taught
them. Kasturbai, the wife of Gandhi used to teach personal hygiene. Later on, with the help
of a volunteer doctor he provided medical facility to the natives of Champaran, thus making
their life a bit better. A peace maker, Andrews wanted to volunteer at Champaran ashram.
But Gandhi refused as he wanted Indians to learn the lesson of self reliance so that they
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would not depend on others. Gandhi told the writer that it was Champaran’s incident that
made him think that he did not need the Britisher’s advice while he was in his own country.

Indigo Important Questions CBSE Class 12

English
Short Answer Type Questions (3 Marks, 30-40 words)

Question.1. Why did Gandhiji feel that taking the Champaran case to court was
useless?
(Delhi 2014 Modified)
Answer. When Gandhiji got to know about the plight of the peasant groups in
Champaran from his discussion with the lawyers, he came to the conclusion that the
poor peasants were so crushed and fear-stricken that law courts were useless in their
case. Going to courts overburdened the sharecroppers with heavy litigation expenses.
What really needed to be done was to make them free from fear.

Question.2. How did the Champaran peasants react when they heard that a
Mahatma had come
to help them? (Compartment 2014)
Answer. When the Champaran peasants heard that a Mahatma had come to help
them, they assembled in Motihari in large number. Thousands of peasants held a
demonstration around the courthouse where Gandhiji was supposed to appear. The
crowd was so uncontrollable that the officials felt powerless, and Gandhiji himself
helped the authorities to regulate the crowd.

Question.3. What made the Lieutenant Governor drop the case against Gandhiji?
(Compartment 2014)
Answer. When Gandhiji was asked to appear in the court in Motihari, thousands of
peasants held a demonstration arounck the courthouse. The officials felt helpless and
the government was baffled. The trial was postponed, as the judge didn’t want to
aggravate the situation. He held up the sentence for several days, after which Gandhiji
was released without bail. All these events made the Lieutenant Governor drop the case
against Gandhiji.

Question.4. Why did Gandhiji oppose when his friend Andrews offered to stay in
Champaran and
help the peasants? (Foreign 2014)
or
Why did Gandhiji object to CF Andrews’ stay in Champaran? (Foreign 2009)
Answer. CF Andrews, an English pacifist, was a devoted follower of Gandhiji. The
lawyers thought that bejng an Englishman, Andrews could be of immense help to them
in their cause of fighting the battle of Champaran. Gandhiji, however,.was against this

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because he felt that enlisting an Englishman’s help showed weakness. Their cause was
just, and they had to win the battle by relying on themselves. This would make them
self-reliant.

Question.5. Why do you think Gandhi considered the Champaran episode to be a

turning point
in his life? (All India 2011)
Answer. The Champaran episode began as an attempt to alleviate the distress of poor
peasants. Ultimately it proved to be a turning point in Gandhiji’s life because it was a
loud proclaimation that made the British realise that Gandhiji could not be ordered about
in his own country. It infused courage to question British authority in the masses and
laid the foundation of non-cooperation as a new tool to fight the British tooth and nail.

Question.6. What did the peasants pay to the British landlords as rent? (Foreign
2011)
Answer. The British landlords had entered into a long-term contract with the farmers
according to which they compelled all tenants to plant 15% of their holdings with indigo.
The sharecroppers had to surrender the entire indigo harvest as rent.

[Link] did Gandhiji decide to go to Muzaffarpur before going to

Champaran? (Foreign 2011)
Answer. Rajkumar Shukla had given quite a lot of information to Gandhiji about the
indigo sharecroppers of Champaran. However, Gandhiji wished to obtain more
complete information about the conditions than Shukla had imparted. He visited
Muzaffarpur, which was en route to Champaran, to inquire from the lawyers there about
the issue, as they frequently represented the peasant groups in the court.

[Link] do you think the servants thought Gandhi to be another peasant?

(Delhi 2010)
Answer. The servants knew that Rajkumar Shukla was a poor farmer who pestered
their master to help the indigo sharecroppers. Since Gandhiji accompanied Shukla and
was dressed simply, they mistook him for a peasant. Gandhiji’s modesty and
unassertiveness also led to the assumption that he was a peasant.

Question.9.”The battle of Champaran is won!.” What led Gandhiji to make this

remark?
(Foreign 2010)
Answer. The lawyers first decided to return home if Gandhiji. was arrested. But they
soon realised their mistake. When they declared that they would fight for the peasants’
cause in the event of Gandhiji’s arrest and volunteered to court arrest for the cause of
the sharecroppers, Gandhiji was very pleased and exclaimed, “The battle of Champaran
is won!.”

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[Link] did Gandhi agree to the planters’ offer of a 25% refund to the
farmers? (Delhi 2009)
Answer. Gandhiji agreed to a settlement of 25% refund to the farmers in order to break
the deadlock between the landlords and peasants. For him the amount of the refund
was not very important. The fact that the landlords had been obliged to surrender a part
of their money as well as their prestige gave a moral victory to the farmers. Thus,
Gandhiji not only made the landlords accept their dishonesty but also made the farmers
learn a lesson in defending their rights with courage.

[Link] was Gandhi able to influence the lawyers? Give instances. (All
India 2009)
or
Hbw was Gandhiji able to influence the lawyers? (All India 2008)
Answer. Gandhiji’s sincerity towards the peasants’ cause and convincing arguments
and negotiations, thoroughly influenced the lawyers. He chided them for overcharging
the peasants and encouraged them to court arrest for the peasants’ noble cause. He
even rejected their proposal to seek Mr Andrews help in their battle against the
Britishers in order to be self-reliant and independent.

Long Answer Type Questions (6 Marks, 120-150 Words)

Question.1. Why is the Champaran episode considered to be the beginning of the

Indian struggle
for independence? (All India 2014 Modified)
Answer. The Champaran episode was one of the major events in the struggle for
independence. It was in the course of this small but significant movement that Gandhiji
decided to urge the departure of the British from India.
A close examination of the problems of the Champaran peasants opened Gandhiji’s
eyes to the unjust policies of the British. He realised that people had to be made free
from fear and only then could they be freed from foreign oppression. The spontaneous
demonstration of the people proved that Gandhiji had the nation’s support in his fight
against the Britishers. It also aroused patriotism in the heart of the Indians.
The triumph of [Link] disobedience at Champaran motivated the launching of the
movement on a large scale during the freedom movement. Gandhiji’s winning the case
of the sharecroppers proved that British authority could be challenged. Hence, the
Champaran episode served as a stepping stone to the Indian struggle for
independence.

[Link]’s loyalty was not a loyalty to abstractions; it was a loyalty to

living human
beings. Why did Gandhiji continue his stay in Champaran even after indigo
sharecropping disappeared? (All India 2014 Modified)
Answer. After the Champaran battle was won and the land reverted to the peasants,
Gandhiji continued to stay on in the region. His loyalty was, indeed, to living human
beings and he realised that a lot needed to be done for the upliftment of the peasants in

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the villages of Champaran. Gandhiji took the initiative and began the work of eradicating
their cultural and social backwardness. Primary schools were started so that the poor
peasants and their children could be educated. Gandhiji appealed to teachers, and
many of his disciples, including his wife and son, volunteered for the work.
Health conditions in the area were also miserable. Gandhiji got a doctor to volunteer his
services for six months. All this-goes to prove that Gandhiji’s loyalty was not to
abstractions, but his politics was always intertwined with the practical day to day
problems of the millions.

[Link] how, according to Louis Fischer, Gandhiji succeeded in his

Champaran
campaign. (Compartment 2014)
Answer. The Champaran campaign was an attempt to free the poor peasants of
Champaran from injustice and exploitation at the hands of the Britishers. Gandhiji
succeeded in this campaign using his method of satyagraha and non-violence. He
visited Muzaffarpur to obtain complete information about the actual condition of the
sharecroppers. He first appealed to the concerned authorities, but when there was no
positive response, he organised a mass civil , disobedience movement with the support
of the peasants.
Gandhiji’s main objective was to remove the fear of the British landlords from the heart
of the poor peasants and mould a new free Indian, who could participate in the freedom
movement of the country.
He made the peasants aware of their rights and gave them a new-found confidence for
fighting their own battles. He also taught them to be self-reliant by refusing to take the
help of CF Andrews, his English friend.

[Link] did Gandhiji agree to a settlement of 25% refund to the farmers?

How did it
influence the peasant-landlord relationship in Champaran? (All India 2ol3)
Answer. Under an ancient arrangement, the peasants of Champaran were
sharecroppers. The landlords forced the Indian tenants to plant 15% of their holding
with indigo and surrender the entire indigo harvest as rent.
After Germany developed synthetic indigo, the landlords wanted to dissolve the
agreement, as synthetic indigo would be cheaper. They asked the peasants for
compensation to release them from this arrangement. Most of them signed it willingly,
but felt cheated after they learned about synthetic indigo.
Gandhiji fought their case and the evidence that he collected was so overwhelming that
the landlords were asked to repay. When Gandhiji asked for 50% repayment, the
landlords offered to pay only 25%, as they wanted to create a deadlock, and thus
prolong the dispute. To everybody surprise, Gandhiji agreed to a refund of only 25%.
Gandhiji explained that the amount of refundwas not important. What mattered was that
the landlords were obliged to surrender a part of their money and with it, part of their
prestige.

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Question.5. Give an account of Gandhiji’s efforts to secure justice for the poor
indigo sharecroppers of Champaran. (All India 2012)
Answer. In the course of his journey to Champaran with Rajkumar Shukla, Gandhiji
stayed at Muzaffarpur where he met the lawyers and concluded that fighting through
courts was not going to solve the problem of the poor sharecroppers of Champaran. He
declared that the real relief for them was to be free from fear.
With this intention, he arrived in Champaran and contacted the Secretary of the British
Landlord’s association. The Secretary refused to provide him any information. After this,
Gandhiji met the Commissioner of the Tirhut division who served a notice on him to
immediately leave Tirhut.
Gandhiji accepted the notice by signing it and wrote on it that he would not obey the
order. He was even willing to court arrest for the cause of the peasants.
After four rounds of talks with-the Governor, an official commission of inquiry was
appointed in which Gandhiji was made the sole representative of the peasants.
Through this commission Gandhiji succeeded in getting 25% of the compensation
award for the poor sharecroppers from the British landowners.

Question.6. The Champaran episode was a turning point in Gandhiji’s life.

Elucidate. (All India 2012)
Answer. Gandhiji himself accepted the proposition that the Champaran episode was a
turning point in his life. It was then that he decided to urge the departure of the British
from India.
In fact the Champaran episode was the first experiment of civil disobedience in India.
When Gandhiji was on his way to Champaran, he stayed in Muzaffarpur, where he met
the lawyers who were fighting cases for the sharecroppers. The peasants were so
crushed and fear-stricken . that Gandhiji concluded that law courts were useless. The
real relief for them was to be free from fear. The spontaneous demonstration by the
peasants showed that they were instilled with a new strength and spirit. Gandhiji
showed the poor peasants how to fight the British with ‘satyagraha’. He made them
aware of their power and the power of ahimsa.
All this laid the foundation of his future movements and served as a great source of
strength and motivation for all Indians.

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