CHAPTER: 5
Indigo Louise Fischer
SUMMARY
This
chapter is an excerpt from the book “The Life of Mahatma” written by Louise
Fischer. It involves three issues such as- self reliance, help to
sharecroppers and Indian independence. It begins with the problem of
sharecropping in Champaran. A peasant named Rajkumar Shukla goes to Mahatma
Gandhi and requests him to visit Champaran and solve the problem of the
sharecroppers. Gandhi ji goes to Champaran with him and first he visits Dr.
Rajendra Prasad’s house. But he is not treated well by his servants and even
not allowed to draw water from the well. Prof. G. B. Kriplani of Arts College
and Prof. Malkani help him. Gandhi ji chides the lawyers who represent
peasants’ cases in the law courts, for collecting big fee from the peasants.
He meets the secretary of British Landlords’ association and the British
official commissioner of Tirhut Division. He is asked to quit Tirhut but he
disobeys. He is summoned to court but with the support of the villagers he
comes out of the court without being punished and the case against him is
dropped which proves to be the first victory of Civil Disobedience in Modern
India. Later he meets Sir Edward Gait, the Lt. Governor of the province. The
meeting results in setting up of an enquiry commission which brings out
evidences against the big planters. The landlords agree to pay the refund
thus indigo sharecropping disappears and lands are reverted to the peasants.
Gandhi
ji worries about the social and cultural backwardness of Champaran villages.
He appeals to his disciples. Several people volunteers. His son Devdas and
Kasturba Gandhi also come to volunteer. They open primary schools in six
villages. Gandhi ji seeks the help of a doctor also. Moreover, when the
lawyers thinks of taking Charles Freer Andrews to their side, Gandhi ji
chides them and asks them to be rely on themselves. Thus he teaches them self
reliance as well. Thus self-reliance,
Indian independence and help of sharecroppers were all bound together.
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Theme
This story revolves around the issues of help to
sharecroppers, Indian independence and self-reliance. Gandhi ji visited
Champaran at the entreaty of a peasant named Rajkumar Shukla to remove
sharecropping system from Champaran. In his attempt to do this Gandhi ji taught
them self reliance as well. Moreover, he also had the first victory of Civil
Disobedience Movement in this process.
Setting
Champaran is the locale where most of the action
takes place. Apart from this, some other parts of Bihar also find a mention in
it.
Characters
1. Rajkumar Shukla - He is a peasant in Champaran and is troubled
by the sharecropping system. He was illiterate but resolute. He never left
Gandhi ji’s side until he agreed to visit Champaran.
2. Gandhi ji - He visited Champaran on the request of Rajkumar Shukla. He
spent almost a year of his life there. During his stay there, he removed the problems of sharecropping, contributed in the Indian Independence struggle and
also taught them self-reliance.
3. Edward Gait - He was Lt. Governor of the province. He ordered to drop
the case against Gandhi ji. Later as a result of his meetings with Gandhi ji,
an enquiry commission was set up to find out the problems.
4. Rajendra Prasad- He was a lawyer who later became the President of Indian
National Congress and also of India.
5. C. F. Andrews - He was an English pacifist and devoted
follower of Gandhiji. He was ready to stay at Champaran and help Gandhi ji but
Gandhiji opposed it.
Main Points
1. Ganhi ji went to attend December 1916
Annual Convention of Indian National Congress in Lucknow.
2. During the proceedings, a peasant from
Champaran, named Rajkumar Shukla met him.
3. Under
an ancient arrangement, Champaran peasants were sharecroppers.
4. Rajkumar
Shukla was one of them. He was illiterate but resolute.
5. He
didn’t leave Gandhiji until he agreed to visit Champaran.
6. Gandhi ji was to be in Calcutta on a
certain date. Shukla received him from there and then they boarded the train to
Patna.
7. Shukla first took Gandhi ji to the
house of a lawyer named Rajendra Prasad
who later became the President of Indian Natinal Congress and India.
8. Rajendra Prasad was out of town and his
servant didn’t allow Gandhi ji to draw water from the well thinking him to be
an untouchable.
9. Gandhi ji first decided to go to
Muzzafarpur. He was received by Prof. J. B. Kriplani of Arts College, at the
railway station.
10. Gandhi
ji stayed at the house of Prof. Malkani for two days.
11. It was an extraordinary thing for Prof.
Malkani to harbor Gandhi ji because in smaller localities people were afraid to
show sympathy for the advocates of home rule.
12. As
soon as Gandhi ji reached Champaran, people went to see him.
13. The lawyers told Gandhi ji that they
represented peasant groups in the court and also reported the size of their
fee.
14. Gandhi ji chided the lawyers for
collecting such a big fee and told them its no use taking their cases to the
law courts.
15. The chief commercial crop in Champaran
was Indigo. The landlords compelled all tenants to plant three twentieths or 15
percent of their holdings with indigo and surrender the entire indigo harvest
as rent.
16. Meanwhile Germany developed synthetic
Indigo. The landlords asked the peasants to pay them compensation for being
released from the 15% agreement.
17. Later when the peasants came to know
about the synthetic Indigo, they wanted their money back.
18. Gandhi
ji reached Champaran at this stage.
19. Gandhi ji first went to the Secretary of
the British Landlord’s association and then to the British Official
Commissioner of Tirhut Division. None of them helped Gandhi ji instead he was
asked to leave Tirhut.
20. But
Gandhi ji, instead of leaving Tirhut, went to Motihari.
21. There again he got an official notice to
quit Champaran. Gandhi ji signed a receipt for the order but he wrote on the back
that he would disobey the order.
22. In
consequence, he got summons to appear in the court.
23. Gandhi ji informed all about it and the
next morning all the people gathered in the court premises.
24. The
officials felt powerless without Gandhi ji’s cooperation.
25. Gandhi ji helped them to regulate the
crowd but he had given them proof that their might could be questioned.
26. Gandhi ji told the court that he was
caught in a conflict of duties. On the one hand, he didn’t want to set a bad
example as a law breaker and on the other hand, he wanted to do national and
humanitarian service.
27. When the court was reconvened, the judge
said the he would deliver the judgement several days later and meanwhile he
allowed Gandhi ji to be at liberty.
28. Later the Lt. Governor ordered the case
to be dropped against him and it proved to be the first victory of Civil
Disobedience in Modern India.
29. In June Gandhi ji was summoned by Sir
Edward Gait. They had four protracted meetings as a result of which an enquiry
commission was set up.
32. The
enquiry brought crushing mountain of evidences against the big planters.
33. Gandhi
ji asked 50% refund but the planters wanted to pay only 25%.
34. Gandhi ji agreed even to that. He said
the amount of refund was less important than the fact that the landlords had
been obliged to surrender part of the money and with it part of their prestige.
35. Gandhi ji was also concerned about the
social and economical backwardness of Champaran villages.
36. He
appealed to the people to volunteer their services.
37. Primary schools were opened in six
villages. Kasturbai taught the ashram rules on personal cleanliness and
community sanitation.
38. Health conditions were also miserable.
Three medicines were available- castor oil, quinine and sulphur ointment.
39. Gandhi ji’s politics was intertwined with
the practical day to day problems of the millions. His was not a loyalty to
abstractions; his was the loyalty to living human beings.
40. Gandhi ji’s lawyer friends wanted Charles
Freer Andrews who was Gandhi ji’s devoted follower to stay in Champaran and
help them but Gandhi ji was vehemently opposed. He told them to rely on
themselves instead of seeking a prop in Mr. Andrews.
GLOSSARY
Urged - Pressed, Prompted
Departure - Exit, Withdrawal
Convention - Meeting, Assembly
Delegates - Representatives, Deputes
Emaciated - Thin, Skinny
Resolute - Determined, Firm
Tenacity - Stubbornness, Obduracy
Yeoman - Attendant, Farmer
Impart - Give, Render
Harbour - Shelter, Shield
Brief - Inform, Report
Arable - Cultivable, Productive
Bully - Threaten, Intimidate
Maltreated - Illtreated, Abuse
Complied - Obeyed, Agreed
Summons - Order to appear in the court of law
Spontaneous - Natural, Instinctive
Liberation - Freedom, Emancipation
Hitherto - So far, Till now
Baffled - Confused, Puzzled
Apparently - Clearly, Evidently
Confer - Discuss, Consult
Sentenced - Penalized, Condemned
Disregarded - Ignored, Overlooked
Upshot - Result, Outcome
Adjoining - Nearby, Neighbouring
Desertion - Abandonment, Withdrawal
Far-flung - Remote, Distant
Deposition - Evidence, Testimony
Protracted - Long, Extended
Entreaty - Request, Appeal
Deadlock - Stalemate, Impasse
Contented - Satisfied, Happy
Disciple - Pupil, Student
Trench - Ditch, Pit
Pacifist - Peace lover, Disarmer
Vehemently - Strongly, Fiercely
Prop - Support, Help
SHORT
ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS
1. What was the
sharecropping system in Champaran?
Ans: The
chief commercial crop in Champaran was indigo. The landlords compelled all tenants
to plant three twentieths or 15 percent of their holdings with indigo and
surrender the entire indigo harvest as rent.
2. What
was the conflict of duties Gandhi ji found himself caught in?
Ans: On
the one hand he did not want to set a bad example as a law breaker and on the
other hand he wanted to render national
and humanitarian service for which he had come. But he couldn’t do one without
violating the other. This was the conflict, Gandhi ji found himself caught in.
3. Which
incidence points to the first victory of civil disobedience?
Ans: When
Mahatma Gandhi disobeyed the order to leave Tirhut, he was summoned to court. But when the people came to know about this,
they gathered around the court in thousands. The judge allowed Gandhi Ji to
remain at liberty and even the case against him was dropped. This was the first
victory of civil disobedience.
4. How
did Gandhi Ji’s meeting with Sir Edward Gait help?
Ans: After
Gandhi Ji’s meeting with Sir Edward Gait, he appointed an official commission
of enquiry into the grievances of sharecroppers’ situation. The enquiry brought
out a lot of evidences against the big planters and they agreed to make refund.
5. Why
did Gandhi Ji accept twenty five percent refund?
Ans: According
to Gandhi Ji, the amount of the refund was less important than the fact that the landlords had been obliged
to surrender part of the money and with that part of their prestige. He wanted to
give the peasants courage and to teach them that they also have rights and defenders.
6. How
was the health condition in Champaran?
Ans: The
health condition in Champaran was very poor. Only three medicines were
available. If anybody showed a coated tongue, he would be given a dose of
castor oil; anybody with malaria fever received quinine plus castor oil; and
anybody with skin eruptions received sulfur ointment plus castor oil.
7. What
was typical Gandhi pattern?
Ans: Gandhi
Ji’s politics was intertwined with the practical day-to-day problems of the
millions. His was not a loyalty to abstractions but to living human beings.
This was typical Gandhi pattern.
8. Why, according to Gandhi ji, was it
extraordinary for Prof. Malkani to harbour Gandhi Ji?
Ans: In
smaller localities people were afraid to show sympathy to the advocates of
home-rule and in case of Prof. Malkani, it was more risky as he was a govt.
servant and he could lose his job. That’s why it was extraordinary for Prof.
Malkani to harbour Gandhi Ji.
9. How
was Gandhi ji able to influence the lawyers?
Ans: Though
Gandhi Ji was a stranger at Champaran yet he was ready to go to prison for
their sake. He spent one whole year of his life just at the entreaty of a
peasant. Seeing his dedication and sacrifice, the lawyers also were influenced.
LONG
ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS
1. “Self-reliance, Indian independence and
help to sharecroppers were all bound together.”
Explain.
Ans: Gandhi
Ji’s visit to Champaran was intended to solve the problem of sharecroppers.He
went to Champaran at the request of a peasant named Rajkumar Shukla, fought against
the injustice to the sharecroppers as a result the sharecropping disappeared
and the lands were reverted to the peasants. All this contributed to Indian
independence as well as due to his defiance for government order, he was
summoned to court but with the support ofall the peasants, the case against him
was dropped and the civil disobedience won for the first time in modern India.
Finally when Gandhi Ji’s lawyer friends wanted Charles Freer Andrews to be on
their side, Gandhi Ji opposed and asked them to rely on themselves. Thus he
taught them self-reliance.
2. “Freedom from fear is more important
than legal justice for the poor.” Explain with reference
to the story “Indigo.”
Ans: Freedom
from fear is more important than legal justice for the poor as until one is
free from fear one cannot use law for one’s benefit. On the contrary, the
enemies can use one’s fear to serve their interests. The weak are always
bullied and their possessions are captured by the enemies. In Indigo, the
peasants were very much afraid of the British who bullied them, beat them and
captured their lands, and the peasants could not do anything. They never had the courage to rebel and
protest. It was only because of the courage which Gandhi Ji’s presence passed
on to them, the peasants came out in thousands and protested against the
British.
PREVIOUS YEARS' QUESTIONS
(2018) Though the sharecroppers of Champaran
received only one-fourth of the compensation, how can the Champaran struggle
still be termed a huge success and victory? [3 Marks]
(2015) How did the visit to Champaran become a
turning point in Gandhi ji’s life? How does this show Gandhi ji’s love and
concern for the people of India? [6 Marks]
(2015) How did RajkumarShukla
establish that he was resolute? [3 Marks]
How
was Gandhi treated at Rajendra Prasad's house? [3 Marks]
What
were the terms of the indigo contract between the British landlords and the
Indian peasants? [3 Marks]
(2014) Why is the Champaran
episode considered to be the beginning of the Indian struggle for Independence? [5 Marks]
Gandhiji's
was not a loyal to abstractions; it was a loyalty to living, human beings. Why
did Gandhiji continue his stay in Champaran even after indigo sharecropping
disappeared? [5 Marks]
(2013) Why did Gandhiji agree to
a settlement of 25 percent refund to the farmers? How did it influence, the
peasant-landlord relationship in Champaran ? [10 Marks]
(2011) Why do you think Gandhiji
considered the Champaran episode to be a turning point in his life? [10 Marks]
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