INDIGO Notes

 

INDIGO Notes

1. How did Rajkumar Shukla establish that he was resolute? (Delhi 2015)

Answer : Rajkumar Shukla established himself as a resolute man by going along with Gandhiji wherever he went until Gandhiji agreed to go to Champaran with him to solve the problems of the peasants there.

 

2. How was Gandhiji treated at Rajendra Prasad’s house? (Delhi 2010, Delhi 2012, All India 2015)

Answer : The servants at Rajendra Prasad’s house took Gandhiji to be another untouchable person. So, he was not allowed to draw water from the well lest some drops from his bucket pollute the entire source of water.

 

3. What did the peasants pay to 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? (Foreign 2011, (All India 2015))
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. Now Germany had developed synthetic indigo. So, the British landlords wanted money as compensation for being released from the 15 per cent arrangement. The prices of natural indigo would go down due to the synthetic Indigo.

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

(Delhi 2014)
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.

 

5. How did the Champaran peasants react when they heard that a Mahatma had come
to help them? (Compartment 2014)
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.

6. What made the Lieutenant Governor drop the case against Gandhiji? (Compartment 2014)
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.

7. What was the conflict described by Gandhiji in the court?

Gandhiji’s conflict was of discharging the duties. On one hand ,he did not want to set a bad example by breaking the law. On the other hand he was to listen to the voice of his conscience and serve the human beings.

8. Why did Gandhiji say: “The battle of Champaran is won”?

The lawyers had decided to  go home, if Gandhiji went to prison. But Gandhiji asked them what would become of the injustice to the sharecroppers. The lawyers thought over it and decided that they too would follow Gandhiji. This was the time that Gandhiji said that the battle of Champaran was won.

9. How did Gandhi and the lawyers try to secure justice for the sharecroppers?

Ans: Gandhiji and the lawyers  started conducting a detailed enquiry into the grievances of the peasants. Depositions by about ten thousand peasants were written down. Notes were made on other evidence. Documents were collected. The whole area came alive with the activities of the investigators. The landlords raised loud protests. Later, an official commission was appointed to enquire into the matter which presented a crushing mountain of evidences against the landlords. Thus, landlords were ready for a settlement which gave justice to the sharecroppers.

10. Why did Gandhi agree to a settlement of 25 per cent refund to the farmers? (2009, All India 2011, All India 2012, All India 2015, 2016)

Ans: 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 too. So, he agreed to settlement of 25 per cent refund to the farmers.

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

Ans: The peasants were saved from spending time and money on court cases. After some years the British planters gave up control of their estates. These now reverted to the peasants. Indigo sharecropping disappeared.

12.Why do you think Gandhi considered the Champaran episode to be a turning- point in his life? (All India 2009)

Ans: The Champaran episode is considered to be Gandhi’s entry into Indian politics which lacked a good leadership until Gandhi’s arrival. It began as an attempt to ease the sufferings of large number of poor peasants. He got spontaneous support of thousands of people. Gandhi admits that what he had done was a very ordinary thing. He declared that the British could not order him about in his own country. It established the effectiveness of non-cooperation as a means of fighting for justice. The Champaran episode revealed Gandhiji’s principles in the political field. Hence, he considered the Champaran episode as a turning- point in his life.

13. How was Gandhi able to influence lawyers? Give instances. (All India 2009)

Ans: Gandhi asked the lawyers what they would do if he was sentenced to prison. They said that they had come to advise him. If he went to jail, they would go home. Then Gandhi asked them about the injustice to the sharecroppers. The lawyers held consultations. They came to the conclusion that it would be shameful desertion if they went home. So, they told Gandhi that they were ready to follow him into jail.

14. While at Champaran how did Gandhiji keep a long distance watch on his ashram? (Comptt. All India 2012)

Answer: During his long stay in Champaran, Gandhiji kept a long distance watch on his Ashram. He sent regular instructions by mail and asked for financial accounts. He even wrote to the residents that it was time to fill in the old latrine trenches and dig new ones.

15. Why was Gandhiji opposed to C.F. Andrews helping him in Champaran? (Delhi 2016)

Answer: Though Gandhiji’s lawyer friends thought it would be a good idea for C.F.Andrews to stay in Champaran and help them, Gandhiji vehemently opposed it. He said that if they had an Englishman on their side it would show the weakness of their heart. They should not attempt to seek a prop in Andrews just because he happened to be an Englishman. Gandhiji wanted Indians to be self-reliant.

16. How do we know that ordinary people too contributed to the freedom movement?

Ans: 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 when they came to know that their champion was in trouble. This shows that ordinary people too contributed to the freedom movement in India.

17. How did Gandhi work for rural uplift during his stay in Champaran?

Gandhi wanted to remove the cultural and social backwardness in Champaran villages. He appealed for teachers. Two young disciples of Gandhi, Mahadev Desai and Narhari Parikh and their wives volunteered themselves for work. Several others responded from distant parts of the country. Mrs. Kasturba Gandhi and Devdas, Gandhi’s youngest son, arrived from the Ashram. Primary schools were opened in six villages. Kasturba taught the ashram rules on personal cleanliness and community cleanliness.

Health conditions were miserable. Gandhi got a doctor to volunteer his services for six months. They managed all the possible diseases with three available medicines, Castor oil, quinine and sulphur ointment. Thus, Gandhi never contented himself with large political or economic solutions  worked for total uplift of villages and the poor sections of the society.