Short Answer Type Questions : 2Marks (40 to 50 words)
Question.1. Why did Gandhiji feel that taking the Champaran case
to court was useless?
Answer. Being a lawyer, Gandhi knew that it was a British court with a
British law under a British judge against a British big influential landlord,
wherein there 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. So Gandhi said that it was
useless going to courts.
Question.2. How did the Champaran peasants react when they
heard that a Mahatma had come to help them?
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?
Answer. When Gandhiji was asked to appear in the court in Motihari,
thousands of peasants held a demonstration around 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?
CF Andrews, an English pacifist, was a devoted follower of Gandhiji.
The lawyers thought that being an Englishman, Andrews could be of
immense help to them in their cause of fighting the battle of Champaran.
Gandhiji,however was against this 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?
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 proclamation 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?
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.
Question.7.Why did Gandhiji decide to go to Muzaffarpur before
going to Champaran?
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.
Question.8.Why do you think the servants thought Gandhi to be
another peasant?
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?
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!.”
Question.10.Why did Gandhi agree to the planters’ offer of a 25%
refund to the farmers?
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.
Question.11.How was Gandhi able to influence the lawyers? Give
instances.
Answer. Even after being outsider of Champaran 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 British in order to be self-reliant
and independent.
Question 12.How did Gandhi bring solution not only to the political
issues but also to the social and cultural problems?
To bring up the social condition, primary were schools were started. He
urged his disciples to volunteer to teach in the schools. His wife
Kasturba Bhai taught women about the importance of personal
cleanliness and sanitation. Gandhi got a doctor to volunteer for
improving the miserable health conditions. Thus with the political and
economioc problems social and cultural problems were also solved.
