Indigo

byLouis Fischer

SYNOPSIS1. What did the peasants pay the British landlordsas rent ? What did the British now want insteadand why? What would be the impact of syntheticindigo on the prices of natural indigo?The British landlords compelled all peasants in theChamparan district to plant three-twentieths or 15per cent of their holdings with indigo (the chief com-mercial crop) and surrender the entire indigo harvestas rent. This was done by long-term contract.Now, the landlords learned that Germany had devel-oped synthetic indigo. So, prices of natural indigo wo-uld fall. The British planters then obtained agreemen-ts from the sharecroppers to pay them compensation

for being released from the 15 per cent arrangement.Many peasants signed willingly. Those who resisted,engaged lawyers. Meanwhile, the information aboutsynthetic indigo reached the illiterate peasants whohad signed, and they wanted their money back.

2. Why is Rajkumar Shukla described as being ‘re-solute’?Rajkumar Shukla was illiterate but resolute. In spiteof being a poor and illiterate peasant, he wanted tostruggle for the peasants’ rights and save them fromclutches of British landlords.Gandhiji had gone to the December 1916 annual con-vention of the Indian National Congress party in Luc-know. There were 2,301 delegates and many visitors.Rajkumar Shukla went to meet Gandhiji in Lucknowto complain about injustice of the ‘landlord system’ inBihar. Shukla requested Gandhiji to visit his place Ch-amparan, a place in the foothills of the towering Him-alayas, near the kingdom of Nepal.

Gandhiji told Shukla he had an appointment in Caw-npore and also committed to go to other parts of Ind-ia. Shukla was resolute. He accompanied Gandhiji eve-rywhere. Then Gandhi returned to his ashram nearAhmedabad. Shukla followed him to the ashram. Forweeks he never left Gandhi’s side. He begged Gandhijito fix a date. Impressed by Shukla’s tenacity, Gandhijiasked him to meet him in Calcutta and take him toChamparan from there. Shukla’s tenacity of resolutionbore fruit as Indigo sharecropping disappeared fina-lly.

3. Why do you think the servants thought Gandhito be another peasant? How was there the existe-nce of a rigid caste system?In the city of Patna in Bihar, Shukla led Gandhiji to thehouse of a lawyer named Rajendra Prasad who laterbecame President of the Congress party and of India.Rajendra Prasad was out of town, but the servantsknew Shukla as a poor yeoman who pestered theirmaster to help the indigo sharecroppers. So, they tookGandhiji to be another peasant as he was Shukla’scompanion. They let him stay on the grounds with Sh-ukla.

Gandhiji was not permitted to draw water from thewell lest some drops from his bucket pollute the enti-re source. They considered him an ‘untouchable’. Thisshowed Gandhiji the existence of a rigid caste system.

4. Why did Gandhiji decide to go first to Muzzafa-rpur? Why was it an extraordinary thing in thosedays for a government professor to harbour a manlike him? What was the attitude of the averageIndian in smaller localities towards advocates of‘home rule’?Gandhiji decided to go first to Muzzafarpur, which wa-s en-route to Champaran, to obtain more complete in-formation about conditions than Shukla was capableof imparting. He accordingly sent a telegram to Prof-essor J.B. Kripalani, of the Arts College in Muzzafarpu-r, whom he had seen at Tagore’s Shantiniketan school.

Gandhi stayed there for two days in the home of Prof-essor Malkani, a teacher in a government school. Gan-dhi commented that it was an extraordinary thing inthose days for a government professor to harbour aman like him. In smaller localities, the Indians wereafraid to show sympathy for advocates of home-rule.

5. “Freedom from fear is more important than leg-al justice for the poor.” Explain with reference tothe lesson ‘Indigo’. / Why did Gandhiji feel thattaking the Champaran case to the law courts wasuseless?According to Gandhiji, where the peasants were socrushed and fear-stricken, law courts were useless. T-he real relief for them was to be free from fear. Seco-ndly, Gandhiji chided the lawyers for collecting big feefrom the sharecroppers. Moreover, there was littlehope of getting justice in law courts as the case wasagainst the British landlords.

6. “Civil disobedience had triumphed, the firsttime in modern India. Explain. • How did theChamparan peasants react when they heard that aMahatma had come to help them? • How wasGandhiji able to influence lawyers? • “The battleof Champaran is won.” When and why did Gandhijisay so? • When and why did the British officialsrealise that their might, hitherto dreaded and un-questioned, could be challenged by Indians? • “Ga-ndhi read a statement pleasing guilty. He was in-volved, he told the court, in a “conflict of duties”.Explain.Gandhiji was appalled at the miserable condition of t-he sharecroppers in Champaran. He decided to fight

against the injustice of the British landlords.First he visited the secretary of the British landlord’sassociation, who refused to give him any information.Next, he met the British official commissioner of thedistrict, who gave him an official notice to quit Cha-mparan immediately. Gandhiji signed a receipt for thenotice and wrote on it that he would disobey the ord-er. He did not leave. In consequence of civil disobe-dience, Gandhiji received a summons to appear incourt the next day. All night Gandhi remained awake.He telegraphed Rajendra Prasad to come from Biharwith influential friends. He sent instructions to theashram. He wired a full report to the Viceroy.

In the morning, thousands of peasants came out anddemonstrated around the Court house to support the-ir messiah. They did not know Gandhiji’s record in So-uth Africa. They had merely heard that a Mahatmawho wanted to help them was in trouble with the aut-horities. They were enthused by the presence of Gan-dhiji. They demanded their leader to set free. The Br-itish officials felt powerless without Gandhiji’s coope-ration. He helped them regulate the crowd. He waspolite and friendly. He was giving them concrete proofthat their might hitherto could be challenged by Ind-ians. The government was baffled. The prosecutor re-quested the judge to postpone the trial.

Gandhiji protested against the delay and asked the pe-nalty due. He told the court, in a “conflict of duties” onthe one hand, not to set a bad example as a lawbreak-er; on the other hand, to render the humanitarian andnational service for which he had come to champaran.He disregarded the order to leave not for want ofrespect for lawful authority, but in obedience to thehigher law of the voice of conscience.The magistrate announced that he would pronouncethe sentence after a two-hour recess and asked Gan-dhiji to furnish bail for those 120 minutes. Gandhijirefused. The judge released him without bail. Whenthe court reconvened, the judge said he would notdeliver the judgment for several days. Meanwhile he

allowed Gandhiji to remain at liberty.Rajendra Prasad, Brij Kishor Babu, Maulana MazharulHuq and several other prominent lawyers had arrivedfrom Bihar. Gandhiji asked them what they would doif he was sentenced to prison. The senior lawyer rep-lied that they had come to advise and help him; if hewent to jail they would go home.Gandhiji made the lawyers realise their duty towardsthe distressed peasants. They thought, among thems-elves, that Gandhiji was totally a stranger, and yet hewas prepared to go to jail for the sake of peasants.On the other hand, being residents of the adjoining d-istricts, it would be shameful desertion on their part ifthey left the peasants if Gandhiji was arrested.

allowed Gandhiji to remain at liberty.Rajendra Prasad, Brij Kishor Babu, Maulana MazharulHuq and several other prominent lawyers had arrivedfrom Bihar. Gandhiji asked them what they would doif he was sentenced to prison. The senior lawyer rep-lied that they had come to advise and help him; if hewent to jail they would go home.Gandhiji made the lawyers realise their duty towardsthe distressed peasants. They thought, among thems-elves, that Gandhiji was totally a stranger, and yet hewas prepared to go to jail for the sake of peasants.On the other hand, being residents of the adjoining d-istricts, it would be shameful desertion on their part ifthey left the peasants if Gandhiji was arrested.

So the lawyers approached Gandhiji and said they wo-uld accompany him to jail. Getting support of educat-ed Indians like lawyers, Gandhiji gained confidencethat now they would win against the British. So, heexclaimed, “The Battle of Champaran is won.”Several days later, Gandhiji received a written comm-unication from the magistrate informing him that thelieutenant Governor had ordered the case to dropped.Thus, Civil disobedience had triumphed, the first timein modem India.

What made the Lieutenant Governor drop thecase against Gandhiji? Gandhiji was fighting for ajust cause — to alleviate the distress of large num-ber of poor peasants. So he had the support of thepeasants. The British officials felt powerless whenthousands of peasants demonstrated around the c-ourt house and demanded their leader to set free.The British realised that their might hitherto couldbe challenged by Indians. So, the Lt. Governor or-dered the case to be dropped.

7.Why did Gandhiji agree to a settlement of 25 percent refund to the farmers? How did the episodechange the plight of the peasants?Gandhiji tried to alleviate the distressed peasants. Hehad four interviews with the Lieutenant-Governor, SirEdward Gait, who, as a result, appointed an official co-mmission of inquiry into the indigo sharecroppers’ s-ituation. The commission consisted of landlords, gov-ernment officials, and Gandhi as the sole representat-ive of the peasants.The official inquiry assembled many evidences agai-nst the British planters, and they agreed to make ref-unds to the peasants. They asked Gandhiji how muchthey must pay. They thought he would demand repay-

ment in full of the money which they had illegally anddeceitfully extorted from the sharecroppers.He asked only 50 per cent. He seemed adamant accor-ding to Reverend J. Z. Hodge, a British missionary inChamparan who observed the entire episode at closerange. The representative of the planters offered torefund to the extent of 25 per cent, and to his amaz-ement Gandhiji agreed to a settlement of 25 per centrefund to the farmers, thus breaking the deadlock.Gandhi explained that the amount of the refund wasless important than the fact that the landlords had be-en obliged to surrender part of the money and, withit, part of their prestige. Now the peasant saw that hehad rights and defenders. He learned courage. Events

justified Gandhi’s position. Within a few years the Br-itish planters abandoned their estates, which revertedto the peasants. Indigo sharecropping disappeared.

8. “Gandhiji never contented himself with large p-olitical or economic solutions”. Why did Gandhiji’scontinue his stay in Champaran even after indigosharecropping disappeared? How did he keep lo-ng distance watch on his ashram during his longstay in Champaran?Gandhiji saw the cultural and social backwardness inthe Champaran villages. Conditions of health, hygiene,sanitation and education were miserable. Gandhiji w-anted to do something about it immediately. Theref-ore, he continued his stay in Champaran.Gandhiji appealed for teachers. Mahadev Desai, Narh-ari Parikh and several more joined Gandhiji as discip-les.

Gandhiji’s wife, Mrs. Kasturbai and his youngest sonalso arrived from the ashram. Primary schools wereopened in six villages. Mrs Gandhi taught the ashramrules on personal cleanliness and community sanit-ation. Gandhiji got a doctor to volunteer his servicesfor six months. Three medicines were available — ca-stor oil, quinine and sulphur ointment. Anybody whoshowed a coated tongue was given a dose of castoroil; anybody with malaria fever received quinine pluscastor oil; anybody with skin eruptions received oin-tment plus castor oil.During his long stay in Champaran, Gandhiji kept a lo-ng distance watch on the ashram. He sent regular ins-tructions by mail and asked for financial accounts. O-

nce he wrote to the residents that it was time to fill inthe old latrine trenches and dig new ones otherwisethe old ones would begin to smell bad.

9. “Gandhiji’s was not a loyalty to abstractions; it was a loyalty to living, human beings.” Explain.The Champaran episode did not begin as an act of de-fiance. It grew out of an attempt to alleviate the dist-ress of large numbers of poor peasants. This was thetypical Gandhi pattern — his politics were intertwine-ed with the practical, day-to-day problems of the mil-lions. Thus, Gandhiji’s was not a loyalty to abstractio-ns; it was a loyalty to living, human beings.

10. Why did Gandhiji oppose when his friend And-rews offered to stay in Champaran and help the-m?/How did Gandhiji teach the people a lesson inself-reliance?Charles Freer Andrews was the English pacifist whohad become a devoted follower of Gandhiji.Gandhiji did not want his help because he was an Eng-lishman. It would be the weakness of their heart tohave an Englishman on their side in the freedom fight.They were fighting for a just. So their victory was ce-rtain. They must rely upon themselves to win the bat-tle. Gandhiji wanted the Indians to be self-reliant.

nce he wrote to the residents that it was time to fill inthe old latrine trenches and dig new ones otherwisethe old ones would begin to smell bad.

11. ‘The Champaran episode was a turning pointin Gandhiji’s life.’ Explain how.The Champaran episode was the beginning of the Ind-ian struggle for independence. It was a land mark inGandhian style of fighting against the British – a longdrawn out but patient and peaceful agitation. It was aturning point in Gandhiji’s life because it was duringthis struggle that he decided to urge the departure ofthe Britishers. It did not begin as an act of defiancebut it grew out of an attempt to alleviate the distressof large number of poor peasants.In Champaran episode civil disobedience had triump-hed, the first time when Gandhiji was released witho-ut bail, and Lieutenant Governor of the province orde-

red the case to be dropped. Spontaneous demonstrat-ion, in thousands of peasants, around the court housewas the beginning of their liberation from fear of theBritish. Then, the British landlords were obliged tomake 25 per cent refund to the farmers.In Champaran episode, help to sharecroppers self-rel-iance and freedom struggle went hand in hand.

How, according to Louis Fischer, Gandhiji suc-ceeded in Champaran Campaign?Gandhiji’s campaign was to provide justice to thesharecroppers of Champaran. He got unstinted sup-ort of the common man (peasants), his followers a-nd other leaders to fight the case of sharecroppers.Secondly, Gandhiji’s moral courage to fight injustice,his leadership qualities, convincing argumentationand negotiations and Charismatic personality werethe factors which attributed success in Champarancampaign.