INDIGO QUESTION BANK

1.Why is Rajkumar Shukla described as being ‘resolute’?

Answer
Rajkumar Shukla is described as being ‘resolute’ because even after being told about the prior
engagements of Gandhi at Cawnpore and other parts across the county, he does not quit. He
continues to accompany Gandhi everywhere. Furthermore, he persistently asks Gandhi to fix a
date for his visit to his native district of Champaran. His resolution and determination finally
impresses Gandhi and the latter complies with his request.

2. Why do you think the servants thought Gandhi to be another peasant?

Answer
Gandhi was a simple and humble man dressed in a plain ‘dhoti’ (loincloth). To the servants, he
must have looked like just another poor farmer in this country. Moreover, he was accompanied
by Rajkumar Shukla whom they knew to be a poor indigo sharecropper. Thus, when the servants
saw them both together, they mistook Gandhi to be another peasant.

3. List the places that Gandhi visited between his first meeting with Shukla and his arrival at
Champaran.
Answer
Gandhi first met Shukla at Lucknow. Then he was in Cawnpore and other parts of India. He
returned to his ashram near Ahmedabad. Later he visited Calcutta, Patna and Muzaffarpur before
arriving at Champaran.

4. 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?
Answer
The peasants used to pay indigo as rent to the British landlords. Germany had now developed
synthetic indigo. So the British landlords wanted money as compensation for being released from
natural arrangement. The prices of natural Indigo would go down due to the synthetic indigo.

5. The events in this part of the text illustrate Gandhi’s method of working. Can you identify
some instances of this method and link them to his ideas of satyagraha and non-violence?
Answer
There are many instances in the narrative that can be linked to Gandhi’s idea of non-cooperation
and satyagraha. One such instance is Gandhi’s refusal to obey the court order asking him to leave
Champaran immediately. Besides that, Gandhi’s protest against the delay of the court
proceedings is also an instance of his belief in civil disobedience.
Furthermore, Gandhi does not falter to plead guilty in front of the court. He accepts his guilt but
presents a rational case as to what made him disobey the law. For him, truth is above everything
and, thus, he decides to follow the voice of conscience and obey the “higher law of our being”.

6. Why did Gandhi agree to a settlement of 25 per cent refund to the farmers?
Answer
For Gandhi the amount of the refund was less important than the fact that the landlords had been
forced to return part of the money and with it, part of their prestige. So he agreed to the
settlement of 25 percent refund to the farmers.

7. How did the episode change the plight of the peasants?

Answer
The episode of Champaran brought more than one change in the plight of the peasants of that
district. These peasants gained confidence which was evident in their spontaneous demonstration
on the morning of Gandhi’s trial. After the successful refund of the compensation, the peasants,
for the first time, realised their own rights and were liberated from the fear that had plagued
them.
This episode brought an end to the fifteen percent arrangement of sharecropping. However, the
most radical change that the episode brought about was in their social and cultural standard.
Gandhi opened schools in six villages. His wife took pains to make the peasants aware of the
importance of general sanitation and personal hygiene. He even appointed a doctor.

8. 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 ease the sufferings of large number of poor
peasants. He got the whole hearted support of thousands of people. Gandhiji admitted that he had
done a very ordinary thing. He declared that the British could not order him about in his own
country. Hence he considered the Champaran episode as a turning point in his life.

9. How was Gandhi able to influence lawyers? Give instances.

Answer
Gandhi was able to influence the lawyers through his conviction, earnestness and pertinent
questioning. Gandhi reproached the lawyers of Muzzafarpur for charging a large sum of money
as fee from the peasants. Later, the lawyers from Bihar opined that they would return to their
own places in the event of his imprisonment. But, Gandhi made them realize that it would be
impudent for them, being lawyers from a neighbouring place, to return when a stranger was
ready to get himself imprisoned for the peasants. So, they agreed to follow him to jail. Gandhi
also convinced the lawyers not to seek support from an Englishman and be self-reliant.

10. What was the attitude of the average Indian in smaller localities towards advocates of ‘home
rule’?
Answer
The average Indians in smaller localities were afraid to show sympathy for the advocates of
home-rule. Gandhi stayed at Muzaffarpur for two days in the home of professor Malkani, a
teacher in a government school. It was an extraordinary thing in those days for a government
professor to give shelter to one who opposed the government.

11. How do we know that ordinary people too contributed to the freedom movement?
Answer
Professor J.B. Kriplani received Gandhi at Muzaffarpur railway station at midnight. He had a
large body of students with him. Sharecroppers from Champaran came on foot and by
conveyance to see Gandhi. Muzaffarpur lawyers too called on him. A vast multitude greeted
Gandhi when he reached Motihari railway station. Thousands of people demonstrated around the
court room. This shows that ordinary people too contributed to the freedom movement.

Discuss the following.

1. “Freedom from fear is more important than legal justice for the poor.”
Do you think that the poor of India are free from fear after Independence?
2. The qualities of a good leader.
Answer
1. In the story, Gandhi makes it possible for the sharecroppers of Champaran to shed their fear of
the British landlords. According to Gandhi, freedom from fear is the first step towards self-
reliance. However, it is unfortunate that the poor of the country are not free from fear, even
decades after the independence. Their actions, work, etc. are still under pressure; they are under
the mercy of the bureaucratic system. Furthermore, the poor live in a continual fear of the police,
 who instead of taking care, often end up maltreating them. The already poor farmers are
becoming poorer, because of globalisation and the craze for the foreign products. This leaves
them in the fear of further destitution.

2. A leader is someone who leads the minds of others and convinces them into following his set
of ideas and beliefs. As such, there are some qualities inherent in the persona of the leader that
sets him apart from the rest. One of these qualities includes dedication to one’s work. His
enthusiasm is evident in his work and life, and this inspires others to follow him. A good leader
is courageous in the face of adversity and is never a quitter. He motivates and encourages others,
bringing out the best in them. He appreciates the efforts of others and is not biased or impartial.

Gandhiji urged the return of Britishers from India. This movement started in 1917
when an illiterate peasant, Raj Kumar Shukla approached Gandhiji to ask him to
solve the problem of the poor peasants of Champaran.
Notes based on the Sequence of Events
 The Champaran Peasants
 Raj Kumar Shukla shared with Gandhiji the miseries of the people of Champaran.
He termed the landlord system in Bihar gravely unjust and wanted Gandhiji to help
the poor peasants.
 Shuklas Tenacity, Perisistance, Resolve, Determination
 Shukla visited Gandhiji in Lucknow and then in Cawnpore. He was told that Gandhi
was scheduled to visit other places in the coming days. Shukla patiently followed
him everywhere. Gandhiji agreed to accompany him to Champaran after his Calcutta
visit.
 Rajendra Prasad's House at Patna
 Gandhiji wished to meet Rajendra Prasad, a lawyer who later became the president
of the Indian National Congress. But the meeting did not take place as he was out of
town,
 Gandhiji then left for Muzzaffarpur to gather more information. Lawyers briefed
Gandhiji on the case and were chided by him for collecting high fees from the
peasants. Gandhiji decided to free the poor farmers from fear.
 Ancient Settlement
 Large Indian estates were owned by the Britishers who had put a compulsion on the
Indian tenants to grow indigo in 15% land. Farmers were deprived of the indigo
harvest. The entire indigo produce was taken as rent.
 German Synthetic Indigo
 Landlords did not want the indigo produce anymore as the coming of synthetic
indigo reduced natural crop cheap. The landlords released them from ancient
agreement but charged compensation for it. Some peasants signed the agreement
willingly, some engaged lawyers to resist it. When the news of the synthetic indigo
reached the peasants, they wanted their money back.
 Official Notice to Gandhiji
 Gandhi was ordered to leave Champaran. He took the order but signed his refusal.
He was summoned to appear in the court the next day. Rajendra Prasad arrived with
 influential friends. Peasants came in thousands and the Britishers had to take
Gandhiji's help to regulate the crowd.
 Gandhiji's Reason for Disobedience
 Gandhiji disobeyed not to break law but to render humanitarian and national service.
He professed that he did not have any disrespect for law but for greater respect for
the voice of conscience.
 Triumph of Civil Disobedience
 Gandhiji proceeded to gather testimonies about grieving farmers. The Lt. Governor
appointed a commission of inquiry comprising landlords, government officials and
Gandhiji as the sole representative of farmers.
 British planters Defeated
 When heaps of evidences were collected against landlords, they agreed to refund
the money but only 25% of it. They had assumed that Gandhiji would not come
down from his demand of 50%. Surprisingly Gandhiji agreed to 25% as he believed
that refund did not matter but that the landlords had to surrender their prestige. This
victory of peasants brought courage in them. Later on the estate holders left their
holdings and the land reverted to the peasants.
 Social, Cultural upliftment of Champaran
 To improve cultural and social lot of the people Gandhiji sought volunteers for
teaching. His own family including wife and son volunteered. Primary Schools were
opened and hygiene and health was taken care of. His politics comprised day to day
problems.
 Chamaparan, a Turning Point
 Gandhiji had learnt that he could not be ordered about in his own country.
 Peasants had learnt courage and also the fact that he could fight for his rights.
 Self-Reliance
 Charles Freer Andrew's, a pacifist and a devout disciple of Gandhiji came to bid him
farewell. The lawyer friends urged him to stay on in Champaran for the support of
Indians. But Gandhiji was against the proposal as he wanted the Indians to face the
crisis on their own.
 The Indian peasants learnt self-reliance and courage