Q. The real relief for them is to be free from fear”, remarked Gandhi.

What do you think, was “the

beginning of their liberation from the fear of the British” ?

A. The sharecropper peasants had to grow indigo on 15 per cent of their holdings and surrender
the indigo harvest as rent to the landlord. When Germany developed synthetic indigo, the British
planters started extracting money illegally and deceitfully as compensation from the peasants for
being released from the 15 per cent arrangement. The peasants were made to sign new agreements
and pay money. The planters behaved as lords above the law. Many peasants engaged lawyers at
high fees and went to courts.
The Muzaffarpur lawyers briefed Gandhi about the peasants for whom they frequently represented
in courts. Gandhi realised that these peasants were badly crushed and fear- stricken. Freedom from
fear was more important than legal justice for them. Gandhiji was ready to go to jail for them.
Thousands of peasants demonstrated spontaneously around the court. The government had to
release Gandhi without bail. This voluntary uprising of the peasants marked the beginning of their
liberation from the fear of the British.

Q”Indigo sharecropping disappeared.” Which factors do you think, helped to achieve freedom for
the fear-stricken peasants of Champaran?

A. Gandhi went to Champaran on receiving reports of exploitation of the poor sharecropper

peasants at the hands of British planters. He began by trying to get the facts. The British landlords
as well as the Commissioner of Tirhut were non-cooperative. Lawyers from Muzaffarpur briefed
him about the court cases of these peasants.

Gandhi and the lawyers collected depositions by about ten thousand peasants. Notes were made
on other evidence. Documents were collected. The whole area throbbed with the activities of the
investigators and forceful protests of landlords.

The lieutenant governor summoned Gandhi. After four protracted interviews an official
commission of inquiry was appointed to look into the indigo sharecroppers’ condition. Gandhi was
the sole representative of the peasants. The official inquiry assembled huge quantity of evidence
against the big planters. They agreed, in principle, to make refunds to the peasants. After
consultation, a settlement of 25 per cent refund to the farmers was agreed on. This was a moral
victory of the peasants. They recognised their rights and learned courage.

Within a few years the British planters gave up their estates. These now went back to the peasants.
They became the masters of land. Thus, indigo sharecropping disappeared.

[Link] did Gandhi work for rural uplift during his stay in Champaran?

A. Gandhi wanted to do something to remove the cultural and social backwardness in Champaran
villages. He appealed for teachers. Two young disciples of Gandhi, Mahadev Desai and Narhari
Parikh and their wives volunteered themselves for work. Several others responded from distant
parts of the country. Mrs. Kasturba Gandhi and Devdas, Gandhi’s youngest son, arrived from the
Ashram. Primary schools were opened in six villages. Kasturba taught the ashram rules on personal
cleanliness and community cleanliness. She also talked to women about their filthy clothes.

Health conditions were miserable. Gandhi got a doctor to volunteer his services for six months.
Only three medicines were available: Castor oil, quinine and sulphur ointment. Anyone who
showed a coated tongue was given a dose of castor oil; anybody with malaria fever received
quinine plus castor oil; anybody with skin eruptions received ointment plus caster oil.

Thus, Gandhi never contented himself with large political or economic solutions. He worked for
total uplift of villages and the poor sections of the society.

Q. ‘Self-reliance, Indian independence and help to sharecroppers were all bound together.’
Elucidate on the basis of reading ‘Indigo’ by Louis Fischer.

Ans. Gandhi stayed in Champaran for a long time. The Champaran episode was a turning point in
his life. It was during this struggle in 1917 that he decided to urge the departure of the British.

Champaran episode did not begin as an act of defiance. It grew out of an attempt to make the
sufferings of large numbers of poor peasants less severe. Gandhi concentrated on their practical
day to day problems. He analysed the root cause of the problem-fear, and tried to eradicate it. The
voluntary demonstration of the poor peasants against the government for putting Gandhi in trouble
was the beginning of the end of their fear of the British.

In everything Gandhi did, he tried to mould a new free Indian who could stand on his own feet and
thus make India free. He taught his lawyer friends a lesson in self-reliance by opposing the
involvement of C.F. Andrews, an Englishman in their unequal fight. His help would be a prop.
This would reflect their weakness. Their cause was just and they must rely on themselves to win
the battle. Thus self-reliance, Indian independence and help to sharecroppers were all bound
together.

[Link] is the Champaran episode considered to be the beginning of the Indian struggle for
Independence?

A. The Champaran episode began as an attempt to ease the sufferings of a large number of ’
peasants. He got spontaneous support of thousands of people. Gandhi declared that the British
could not order him about in his own country. Under his leadership, the peasants became aware of
their rights. Raj Kumar Shukla, a farmer of Champaran helped him a lot in bringing about the
change. Other peasants too fought courageously and contributed in their own way to the
movement. It resulted in their winning the battle of Champaran. The effects of Gandhi’s method
of non-violence and non-cooperation proved very fruitful in this movement. Hence, it can be said
that the Champaran episode is the beginning of the Indian struggle for independence.
Q. Why do you think Gandhi considered the Champaran episode to be a turning point in his life?

A: The Champaran episode was a turning point in Gandhi’s life. Gandhi himself accepted it. It was
the first mass movement in India. Gandhi took up the cause of the poor peasants. He fought against
the injustices of the cruel landlords. They extorted money from the poor sharecroppers. But
Champaran didn’t begin as an act of defiance. The movement grew out of Gandhi’s attempt to
remove the distress of thousands of poor peasants. It was a typical Gandhian movement. The
success of Champaran marked the first victory of the Civil Disobedience in India. The amount of
the refund money was less important. More important was that English landlords were forced to
surrender part of the money. Previously they behaved as lords above the law. Now the Indian
peasants had people to defend their rights.

Above all, the Champaran episode was the beginning of their liberation from fear of the British.

Q. What was the attitude of the average Indian in smaller localities towards advocates of home
rule’?

A: It is true that before the advent of Gandhi, there was no mass movement in India. The common
masses were totally indifferent and unorganized. They were crushed and exploited by the
landlords. The attitude of the average Indian in smaller localities was quite indifferent or evasive.
They were afraid to show sympathy for advocates of home rule.

Gandhi brought the average Indian away from this isolation and indifference. Some leaders like
J.B. Kripalani and Prof. Malkani were with Gandhiji. Kripalani was present at the station with a
large body of students. Gandhi stayed for two days in the home of Professor Malkani. It was quite
a courageous and extraordinary thing in those days to give shelter to a man like Gandhi

But J.B. Kripalani and Professor Malkani were exceptional cases. The average Indian in smaller
localities preferred to be indifferent to such burning issues
[Link] battle of Champaran is won’, Gandhi exclaimed. Explain the context in which this was said.

Ans: When Gandhi was in Motihari, the headquarter of Champaran district, he was served with a
notice to leave the district immediately. Gandhi signed a receipt for the notice and wrote on it that
he would disobey the order. Thereupon, he was summoned to appear in the Court the next morning.
The news of Gandhi being summoned to the court spread and thousands of peasants gathered
around the courthouse the next morning. Their spontaneous demonstration baffled the government
and it wanted to postpone the date of trial. But Gandhi protested against the postponement and he
told the court that he was involved in a ‘conflict of duties-on the one hand, not to set a bad example
as a lawbreaker; on the other hand, he was to do justices to thousands of poor sharecroppers. He
disobeyed the order to leave not because he did not have respect for the lawful authority, but
because of his obedience to the voice of his conscience. But the magistrate reserved the judgment
to a later date. Rajendra Prasad, and many other prominent lawyers who had come to help Gandhi
then conferred among themselves and decided to follow him into jail. At this Gandhi exclaimed
with joy that “The battle of Champaran is won.”