Class XII: Flamingo – INDIGO –

One of the sharecroppers name d RajK uma r Shukla me t Gandhi in this regard and compelled him to visit Champaran because of the long term injustice
of landlords. Then the two o of them boarded a train for the city of Patna in Bihar .From there Shukla led him to the house of a lawyer name d Rajendra
Prasad.

Mahatma Gandhi’s humble e and simple le attire ma de the servants mistook him as another poor peasant. He surveyed before taking any vital step in
order to get those peasants justice. It was the time when British Governmentnt punished those who in any condition gave shelter to national leaders or
protesters.

G andhi’s arrival and the nature of his mission spread like a w ildre. M any lawyers and peasant groups came in large numbers to support him. The law
yers accepted the fact that their charges w ere high and for a poor peasant it w ill be irksome .G andhirebuked them for collecting big fee from the

sharecroppers.H e stressed on counseling as this w ould give the peasants enough con dence to ght their fear.H e ma naged to get justice after a
yearlong battle for the peasants.H e also ma de arrangeme nts for the education,health,and hygiene for the families of the poor peasants.H e gave them
the lesson of self-reliance.

M ain points

1.RajK uma r Shukla,a poor sharecropper w ished to me et

G andhito comp lain about the injustice of the landlord system in Champ aran.

2.Shukla follow ed G andhieveryw here and begged him to x a date to come to his district.

3.G andhiw as mu ch imp ressed and xed a schedule.

4.G andhiand Shukla reached Patna to me et D r.Rajendra Prasad but he w as out of tow n.

5.Then decided to go to M uzzafarpur rst to get detailed informa tion about Champ aran sharecroppers.

6.Sent telegram to J B K riplaniand stayed in Prof.M alkani’s home – a governme nt servant.

7.Indians afraid to show symp athy to the supporters of home rule.

8.The new s of G andhi’s arrivalspread- sharecroppers gathered in large numbe r to me et their champ ion.
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9.G andhichided the M uzzafarpur law yers for taking high fee from poor sharecroppers.

10.Champ aran district w as divided into estate ow ned by English people,Indians w ere only tenant farme rs.

11.Landlords comp elled tenants to plant 15% of their land w ith indigo and surrender their entire harvest as rent.

12.In the me antime G erma ny had developed synthetic indigo – British landlords freed the Indian farme rs from the 15% arrangeme nt but asked them
to pay comp ensation.

13.M any signed,some resisted,engaged law yers,landlords hired thugs.

14.G andhireached Champ aran- visited the secretary of the British landlord association to get the facts but denied as he w as an outsider.
15.G andhiw ent to the British O cialCommi ssioner w ho asked him to leave Trihut.G andhidisobeyed,w ent to M otiharithe capitalof Champ aran w
here a vast m ultitude greeted him, continued his investigations.

16.Visited ma ltreated villagers – stopped by the police superintendent but disobeyed the order.

17.M otihariblack w ith peasants – spontaneous demo nstrations

– G andhireleased w ithout bail– CivilD isobedience triump hed.

18.G andhiagreed to 25% refund by the landow ners,it symbo lized the surrender of the prestige.

19.G andhiw orked hard tow ards socialeconomic reforms .

20.G andhitaught a lesson of self-reliance.

Short A nsw er Type Q uestions

Q 1.Why was Gandhijiim pressed w ith Rajkum ar Shukla’s tenacity and determ ination?
Ans.RajK uma r Shukla,a poor Sharecropper from Champ aran requested G andhiin Congress Session in Lucknow to x a date to visit Champ aran w here
the sharecroppers w ere subjected to injustice.TillG andhi xed a date,he did not leave him rather he accomp anied him w herever he w ent.G andhiw as
imp ressed by his tenacity and determination and nally agreed to go there from Calcutta.

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3/21/2018 Class XII: Flamingo – INDIGO – Academicseasy

Q 2.Wh y did G andhichide the law yers w ho represented the interests of group of sharecroppers of Cham paran?

Ans.G andhichided the law yers for collecting big fees from the sharecroppers to ght their case in law courts.H e felt taking their case to law courts w
ould do little good w hen they w ere so crushed and fear stricken.So his rst priority w as to free them from fear.

Q 3.Wh at w ere the conditions of sharecroppers of Cham paran?

Ans.The peasants of Champ aran w ere tenants of British landlords.U nder long term sharecropping arrangeme nt,they

w ere grow ing Indigo on 15 percent of their holding and surrendering the harvest as rent to the British landlord.But

w hen Indigo price felldue to synthetic Indigo developed in

G erma ny,the landlords obtained agreeme nt from the peasants to pay them comp ensation w hich some of the peasants resisted and fought their case
in court.

Q 4.Wh at m ade the British realize that the Indians could challenge their m ight hither to unquestioned?

Ans.The spontaneous demo nstration around the court house by the peasants of M otiharion know ing that G andhiw as in trouble w as the beginning of
their liberation from fear of the British

w hich ma de the British realize that now the Indians can challenge their might.

Q 5.H ow did G andhim ake the peasants fearless and self-reliant?

Ans.G andhima de the peasants fearless by letting them know about their rights, ghting their case and by obtaining the refund of comp ensation ma de
to the British landlords w ho w ere behaving as lords above the law .

Q 6.Wh y is RajK um ar Shukla described as being ‘resolute’?

Ans.RajK uma r Shukla w as a poor,illiterate sharecropper from Champ aran w ho having heard of G andhicame to Lucknow to seek his assistance.H e w
as illiterate but resolute.H e w ished to bring the plight of the sharecroppers of Champ aran to the notice of G andhiand follow ed him everyw here tillhe
nally agreed to go to Champ aran.

Q 7.Wh y do you think the servants thought G andhito be another peasant?

Ans.G andhiw as commi tted to accomp any RajK uma r Shukla to Champ aran to address the tribulations of the sharecroppers of that area.En route to
Champ aran from Calcutta,RajK uma r Shukla ma de G andhistop in Patna to me et a law yer called Rajendra Prasad w ho later on becam e the rst
President of India.The servants thought that G andhiw as another peasant as he had come w ith an illiterate peasant.

Q 8.Wh y did G andhiagree to a settlem ent of 25 per cent refund to the farm ers?

Ans.G andhiagreed to a settleme nt of 25 per cent refund to the farme rs just to break the deadlock.G andhifelt that the amo unt w as less imp ortant
than the fact that the landlords had been obliged to surrender a part of the mo ney and along w ith it a part of their pride.

Q 9.H ow w as G andhiable to in uence the law yers? G ive instances.

Ans.G andhi’s sincerity of purpose,convincing argume ntation and a logicalapproach deeply in uenced the law yers.Chiding them for over-charging the
peasants,he encouraged them to court arrest for the poor peasants’cause,if he hims elf got imp risoned.

Q 10.Wh at w as the attitude of the average Indian in sm aller localities tow ards advocates of ‘hom e rule’?

Ans.In the sma ller localities,Indians w ere afraid to show

symp athy w ith advocates of ‘H ome Rule’.Thus it w as surprising for G andhithat he received support from Professor J.B.

K ripalaniof the A rts College of M uzzafarpur.H e me t him at the station w ith a large group of students and also housed him for a couple of days.

Q 11.H ow do w e know that ordinary people too contributed to the freedom m ovem ent?

Ans.Freedom mo veme nt is the story of the contribution and sac ri ces of countless unknow n and unsung heroes like RajK uma r Shukla and other
Champ aran sharecroppers.But for their active support and show of solidarity,the rst victory of Civil

D isobedience in India w ould not have been possible.

Long A nsw er Type Q uestions

Q 1.Wh y w as the share-cropping arrangem ent irksom e? W hat w as its fate?

Ans.M ost of the cultivating land of Chaniparan district w as divided into large estates ow ned by the Englishme n.It w as w orked by Indian tenant
peasants,for w hich they paid rent. Indigo w as the chief comme ricalcrop.The English planters

comp elled allpeasants to grow indigo in three-tw entieths or 15 per cent of their land holdings.The entire indigo harvest w as to be surrendered as rent
to the British landow ners.The landlords came to know that G erma ny had developed synthetic indigo.

Thereupon they obtained agreeme nt,from the share-croppers to pay them the comp ensation.This share-cropping arrangeme nt w as irksome to the
peasants.Some signed it

w illingly and those w ho opposed engaged law yers.The landow ners hired thugs w ho forcefully collected the comp ensation amo unt.

It w as at this point G andhireached Champ aran.G andhi’s civil disobedience and peasants’spontaneous demo nstration
comp elled the Lieutenant G overnor to appoint a commi ssion of inquiry into the share-croppers situation.The o cialinquiry concluded that the
landlords had to refund the part of the

mo ney to the peasants.A fter a few years they abandoned their estates.The indigo share-cropping disappeared comp letely.

Q 2.H ow did G andhijiw in the battle of Cham paran?

Ans.A fter his arrivalat M otihari,G andhijiused a house as the headquarter so that he can have com plete investigation for the sharecroppers.At that
time there came a report about ma l-treating a peasant.N ext mo rning G andhijiw ent to see him but he w as overtaken by the police superintendent’s
me ssanger

w ith an order to come back.W hen he reached home ,G andhiji w as asked to quit Champ aran at once.G andhijisigned the order but w rote to disobey
the order.N ext day G andhiappeared in the court.That night G andhijitelegraphed Rajendra Prasad to come w ith the in uentialfriends.W hen the
peasants knew that

G andhijiw as in trouble w ith the authorities,the court ground of M otiharibecame black w ith peasants.The o cials felt

pow erless and they had to seek his help.The trialw as postponed but G andhijiprotested the delay.In betw een he w as left at liberty.N ow G
andhijiasked the prominent law yers w hat they w ould do in case he w as sent to jail.They told that they
w ould follow G andhijiand give the court arrest.G andhiji exclaime d:“The battle of Champ aran is w on”.

Q 3.H ow did a visit to Cham paran becom e a turning point in G andhi’s life? H ow does this show G andhi’s love and concern

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for the com m on people of India?

Ans.A fter having clues from RajK uma r Shukla,G andhireached Champ aran to understand the appalling conditions of share-croppers.H e found that the
large estates w ere ow ned by the Englishme n w here Indians w orked there as their tenant

farme rs and they paid 15% of their land yield.A fter great tussel, G andhiand the law yers ma de the Britishers agree to refund 25 percent of the mo
ney.Thus farme rs became bold and got their rights.W ithin few years,the landlords left chains over the
estates and the farme rs became the ow ners.O n nding

backw ardness of the people there,he appointed volunteers to

teach the villagers.K asturba taught the ashram rules and

personalhygiene and commu nity sanitation.A doctor helped the villagers in their health problem s.The people realized the value of self-reliance.The
countryme n emb arked on the task of nationalfreedom mo veme nt.It w as a turning point in G andhi’s life.A llhis activities w ere expressing his love
and concern for the Indians.

Q 4.Wh at w ere the steps taken by G andhijito solve the

problem s of socialand culturalbackw ardness in the villages of Cham paran?

Ans.G andhijisaw the culturaland socialbackw ardness in the Champ aran villages.In order to educate them he ma de an appealfor teachers.H is tw o
new young pupils M ahadev D esai, N arhariParikh and their w ives o ered to w ork.Severalmo re teachers came from Bomba y (M umb ai),Poona and
other distant parts of India.H is youngest son D evdas and M rs.G andhi

(K asturba) also arrived from the A shram. Prima ry schools w ere also opened in six villages to teach children.K asturba taught the ashram rules on
personalcleanliness and commu nity sanitation.In order to imp rove the m iserable health conditions, G andhijigot a doctor.H e volunteered his services
for six
mo nths.K asturba talked to the w om en to get rid of their lthy state of clothes.D uring his long stay at Champ aran,G andhiji

taught people self- reliance and freedom from the fear of the

British.Thus he paved the path for the freedom of India.

Q 5.“Freedom from fear is m ore im portant than legaljustice for the poor.” D o you think that the poor of India are free from fear after Independence?

For the m otion

I think that in the present day,the poor in India have been relatively free of fear for the follow ing reasons:

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(a) O urs is a demo cratic country encouraging the values of individualfreedom.

(b) The Constitution of India guarantees freedom to every citizen in India and this ma kes a ma n fearless in his attitude comp ared to the situation that
had prevailed in this country under British domination.

(c) The legalsystem in the country is imp artialand symp athetic tow ards people’s rightfulprivileges and dema nds.This gives the poor in India a voice
and a sense of fearlessness.

(d) The Press in India is ever vigilant and ma kes it a point to report instances of the abuse of freedom. It is a w idely w atched me dium amo ng both the
urban and ruralpoor and gives them the mo ralcourage to resist curbs on their freedom.

(e) A sound system of administration ensures that the poor in India are given legaland personalprotection.

Against the m otion

(a) D espite being the w orld’s biggest demo cracy,the poor in India live in denialof fundame ntalfreedoms because they are afraid to raise their voices
against injustices commi tted against them.

(b) Economic suppression and the lack of socialsecurity

me asures ma ke the poor live in abject fear of falling a prey to disease and death or of being a victim of state and police atrocities.

(c) W ome n are in constant fear of their personalsafety in both cities and villages irrespective oftheir age,their education and other emp ow ering tools.

(d) Corrupt practices and ma le dom inance ma ke their lives oppressive and fearful,for they are denied their basic right to existence if they raise their
voices against acts that are commi tted by their superiors.

(e) The poor are soft targets for vote bank politics and they dare not oppose the localma a for fear of the fallout and ack that w illcome upon him, his
villages and his family me mb ers.

Q 6.Exploitation is a universalphenom enon.The poor indigo farm ers w ere exploited by the British landlords to w hich

G andhijiobjected.Even after our independence w e nd exploitation of unorganized labour.W hat values do w e learn from G andhi’s cam paign to
counter the present day problem s of exploitation?

Ans.Exploitation is a universalphenome non.It exists since the origin of the society.The mighty rules the poor.It ma kes a strata of society slaves and the
other one rule them. Since the British rule,this phenome non is on.They exploited Indians in each and every possible w ay.M ost noticeable w as the
exploitation of the poor Indigo farme rs.They had been getting nothing for their hard w ork.G andhijitaught them to speak against it using the pow er of
truth,education,peace and non-violence.The condition is even same in today’s scenario.Labourers are still being exploited in unorganized sectors.They
W ork for long hours but do not get paid according to labour law s.They need to rema in united,come ahead and ght for their rights.Legalpaths should
be follow ed to get w hat they deserve.N o one should be ready to w ork in unhygienic and imp roper w orking conditions. Togetherness,strength and
self-determination w illde nitely bring fruitfulresults to the labourers in every eld.