Indigo

by Louis Fischer

A true story about the plight of Champaran sharecroppers, and the rise of Gandhiji's methods of non-violence, non-cooperation and civil disobedience.

“The Champaran episode was a turning-point in Gandhi's life.”

Answer the following questions:

1)

a) Rajkumar Shukla was a sharecropper.

b) Rajkumar Shukla was poor and illiterate.

2) Why is Rajkumar Shukla described as being ‘resolute’?

Rajkumar Shukla followed Gandhiji wherever he went after the Lucknow conference. Shukla was determined to convince Gandhiji and take him to Champaran. He accompanied him everywhere. Even when Gandhiji returned to his ashram, Shukla followed him there. He never left his side. Therefore, he is described as being ‘resolute’.

3) Why do you think the servants thought Gandhi to be another peasant?

Gandhiji was not so popular at that time in India. Further, he was also wearing very simple clothes. He had accompanied Rajkumar Shukla, a poor farmer, who had been there quite a few times already. Therefore, the servants mistook Gandhiji to be another peasant.

4) List the places that Gandhi visited between his first meeting with Shukla and his arrival at Champaran.

Cawnpur (Kanpur), Ahmedabad, Calcutta, Patna, Muzzafarpur

5) What was the attitude of the average Indian in smaller localities towards the advocates of ‘home rule’?

In smaller localities, the average Indian people were afraid to show sympathy towards the advocates of ‘home rule’.

6) 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?

It was compulsory for all the sharecroppers to grow indigo on 15 percent (3/20th) of their land, and hand over the entire indigo crop as rent to the British landlords.

However, the landlords soon learned that Germany had developed synthetic indigo, and the British landlords preferred that. So, they did not want the natural indigo from these farmers now. Instead, they demanded money from them as rent.

Because of the arrival of synthetic indigo and due to its increased demand, the prices of natural indigo fell drastically.

7) Write about Gandhiji’s methods during this episode.

Gandhiji strictly believed in truth and non-violence. At Champaran, his primary methods involved civil disobedience and non-cooperation.

When Gandhiji received an official notice to leave the district of Champaran immediately, he signed a receipt of the notice and wrote on it that he would disobey the order.

After this, he received a summons to appear in court. However, the crowd of thousands had already gathered there. When the court asked for some delay, Gandhiji protested against it. When he was asked to apply for bail and furnish it after recess so that they could officially let him go, he even refused to pay the bail amount. The court had to let him go without the bail.

Moreover, he was ready to go to jail for the purpose, and he even prepared other lawyers to follow him into jail if the need be.

8) Why did Gandhi agree to a settlement of 25 per cent refund to the farmers?

Some of the farmers had already paid the money instead of the indigo crop before Gandhiji arrived and protests started. However, after they learned about the synthetic indigo, they felt cheated and wanted the money back. They hired lawyers, but the British landlords hired thugs who bullied and intimidated them. There was a deadlock. The fight was going nowhere.

Further, Gandhiji explained that the amount of the refund was less important than the fact that the landlords had to let go and surrender part of the money, and part of their prestige. Their honor and ego would be hurt no matter the amount. The peasants could see now that they had rights they could fight for. They learned courage which was more important in the context than the amount of refund.

9) How did the episode change the plight of the peasants?

The Champaran sharecroppers were exploited by the British landlords. Nobody ever dared to raise their voices against them. They were silently tolerating any mistreatment and exploitation. They lacked courage.

Through this episode, they learned about their rights. They started believing that they could fight against the British landlords, and actually win. There was courage in them now, and they could raise their voice against injustice.

Within a few years of this episode, the British landlords had to give up their estates, which then ultimately reverted to the peasants of Champaran. Indigo sharecropping disappeared.

10) How was Gandhi able to influence the lawyers? Give instances.

When Gandhiji met the lawyers in Muzzafarpur, he learned that they were charging big amount of fees from the Champaran sharecroppers. After knowing this, Gandhiji scolded the lawyers for collecting fees instead of helping the poor peasants.

In another instance, when Gandhiji asked what the lawyers would do if he went to prison, they replied by saying that they would go home. They had come to advise and help Gandhiji, and if he went to jail, there would be nobody to help. Gandhiji demanded to know about the injustice to the sharecroppers. The lawyers then thought to themselves that even being an outsider, he was prepared to go to prison for the peasants; and they, on the other hand, not only were the residents of the district but also claimed to serve and represent the peasants in courts. This way, Gandhiji inspired the lawyers, and then they too were ready to follow him into jail if the need be.

11) How can we say that the Champaran episode is the turning point in Gandhiji’s life and in the Indian freedom movement?

Gandhiji was not that a popular figure in India at the time when Champaran movement started. He had succeeded in his motives in South Africa, but he was relatively new in India. He had joined the freedom movement with others, but had not become well-known yet. His methods were also not known and had not been used effectively till then.

In Champaran, he employed his most powerful tools of non-violence, non-cooperation and civil disobedience. When the court had to leave him without even an official bail in front of a crowd, these methods seemed to work.

Eventually, the British landlords had to let go of some money and provide the refund of twenty-five percent to the sharecroppers. Here, his methods had completely triumphed.

Gandhiji and his methods taught these poor peasants that they had rights, and that they had to defend them by fighting for them. They overcame the bullying and intimidation of the Britishers and started believing that they could raise their voice against injustice. They learned courage.

Further, Gandhiji worked really hard for many months to improve the education, hygiene and lifestyle of these peasants of Champaran. He believed in making a new free Indian who could stand on his own feet and thus make India free.

His methods and ideas, the sense of courage in the poor peasants, all of it spread throughout the country and changed the mindset of millions of people altogether. This gave confidence to all the Indians to fight against the injustice of the Britishers.