Indigo—Louis Fischer

Question.1. Why did Gandhiji feel that taking the Champaran case to court was useless?

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?

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 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?

Answer. 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. 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

Question.1. Why is the Champaran episode considered to be the beginning of the Indian
struggle for independence?

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 The Civil 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.

Question.2. Gandhiji’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?

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 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.
Question.3. Describe how, according to Louis Fischer, Gandhiji succeeded in his
Champaran campaign.

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.

Question.4. Why did Gandhiji agree to a settlement of 25% refund to the farmers? How
did it influence the peasant-landlord relationship in Champaran?

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 refund was not important. What mattered was that the landlords were obliged to
surrender a part of their money and with it, part of their prestige.
Question.5. Give an account of Gandhiji’s efforts to secure justice for the poor indigo
sharecroppers of Champaran.

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.

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.