Indigo

About the Author

Name – A Short Biography
Louis Fischer (1896 — 1970) was a Jewish-American journalist. Among his works were a
contribution to the ex-Communist treatise The God that Failed (1949), Life of Mahatma Gandhi
(1982), as well as Life of Lenin, which won the 1965 National Book Award in History and
Biography. The following is an excerpt from his book the life of Mahatma Gandhi. The book has
been reviewed as one of the best books ever written on Gandhi by Times Educational
Supplement
Theme / Central Idea of the Lesson. Analysis of Indigo
Theme
The leadership is shown by Mahatma Gandhi to secure justice for oppressed people through
convincing argumentation and negotiation.
Justify the title of Indigo
Justification of Title
The title ‘Indigo’ focuses our attention on the issue of exploitation of indigo sharecroppers at the
hands of cruel British planters. The British compelled them through a long-term agreement to
plant indigo on 15 per cent of their land and surrender the entire harvest as rent. After the
development of synthetic indigo by Germany, the British planters extracted money from the
peasants as compensation for being released from the 15 per cent agreement. The peasants
who wanted their money back filed civil suits. Rajkumar Shukla persuaded Gandhi to take up the
case of Indigo sharecroppers. So indigo sharecropping exemplifies the injustice of the British and
the Indians’ submission to British authority.
The Champaran movement that centred on indigo sharecropping led to the social and cultural
upliftment of the peasants. Thus the title ‘Indigo’ is highly suggestive and appropriate.
Moral/ Message of the lesson – Indigo
Message
The story ‘Indigo’ highlights the unequal economic system that existed during colonial British
rule. It resulted in Indian peasants suffering, while the British planters exploited them. It also
highlights the importance of Gandhi’s decision to take up their case, which exposed the unjust
system.
CHAPTER NUTSHELL
Role of Rajkumar Sukla
1. Poor, emaciated peasant from Champaran.
2. Contacted Gandhi in 1916 in Lucknow.
3. Gandhi dismissed him.
4. Shukla came to complain about the injustice and the landlord system in Bihar.
5. Shukla followed Gandhi to Cawnpore Later at Calcutta.
6. Impressed by the sharecropper’s tenacity and story Gandhi relented.
The Issue
1. Arable land in Champaran divided into estates owned by Englishmen, worked by Indian
tenants.
2. Chief commercial crop indigo.
3. Tenants to plant on 15% indigo.
4. To surrender entire indigo as rent.
5. Synthetic indigo in the market.
6. Landlords force new agreements.
7. Ask for 15% compensation.
8. Peasants resist, widespread unrest.
How Gandhi reached Champaran
1. Went to Muzaffarpur with Shukla.
 2. Obtained complete information.
3. Discussed with Kriplani.
4. Met lawyers, chided them, understood legal angle.
5. Met peasants sensed unrest.
6. Realised peasant fear-strikes.
7. Feels he should arm them with the tool of courage, fearlessness.
Role of Lawyers
1. They represented cases in courts, collected fee.
2. Gandhi criticised them for being duping/misguiding the peasants.
3. They gave legal support.
4. However, they were non-committal if he was arrested.
5. Gandhi appealed for justice for sharecroppers when arrested.
6. Lawyers feel guilty of desertion.
7. They supported Gandhi’s Civil Disobedience Movement.
8. They helped him file grievances against landlords.
Steps were taken by Gandhi
1. Approached British landlord association.
2. Commissioner, cold-shouldered.
3. Proceeded to Motihari, got mass support from peasants, continued investigation.
4. Served official notice to leave Champaran.
5. Signed, said would disobey the order.
6. Served summons, Motihari black with peasants.
7. Peasants demonstrate outside the courtroom.
8. Officials powerless, Government baffled.
9. Gandhi was encouraged by mass support.
10. Court arrest, says obeying the voice of conscience.
11. Convinces lawyers to join the movement.
12. Continues to collect legal evidence.
13. The government forced to set up the Inquiry Commission.
14. Meeting, the deadlock overcompensation.
15. Agrees to 25%, landlords learned they were not above the law, peasants got courage.
16. Battle of Champaran won.
Qualities of Gandhi
1. Appreciates loyalty/commitment.
2. Understands the issue e.g., meets Kriplani/lawyers/peasants.
3. Connect with masses.
4. Organised e.g., civil disobedience plan.
5. Fairleader e.g. won lawyers’ support.
6. Visionary e.g., improves social, the cultural backwardness of Champaran.
Short and Simple Summary of the lesson in English– (Lesson Name)/ Summary in simple
Words/ Critical appreciation of the lesson – (Lesson Name)
Summary
Indigo is written by Louis Fischer, who narrates Gandhiji’s struggle at Champaran for the poor
people. The peasants at Champaran were sharecroppers with the British planters. The peasants
produced Indigo on 15% of the land area and according to an old agreement, they had to give it
as rent to the landlords. It was around 1917, the Germans started developing synthetic Indigo
and this mitigated the requirement of Indigo for British planters. In order to release the peasants
from the 15 per cent old agreement, the British landlords demanded compensation from them.
Most of the illiterate peasants agreed to it except a few. During that period, Gandhiji appeared in
Champaran.
He looked into the matter, stood by the side of the poor peasants and fought a long battle of one
year, managing to get justice for them. This made the peasants courageous and made them
aware of their fundamental rights. Gandhiji’s work at Champaran wasn’t just confined to political
or economic struggle. He also worked on social issues like arrangements for education, health
and hygiene for the families of the poor peasants. He taught them lessons of self-reliance and
self-dependence.
Following is the complete question bank for -Indigo
 MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS
MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS (MCQ – TEST)
1. When did Gandhiji go to Lucknow?
(a) December 1917 (b) October 1916
(c) February 1917 (d) December 1916
2. What did he go to Lucknow for?
(a) to attend the annual convention of the INC
(b) to meet Rajendra Prasad
(c) to look into the sharecropper’s problems
(d) to go to Champaran via Lucknow
3. What was the full name of the peasant from Champaran?
(a) J.B Shukla (b) Rajkumar Shukla
(c) Ramkumar Shukla (d) Roopkumar Shukla
4. In 1917, Gandhi and Shukla boarded a train in Calcutta for
(a) Patna (b) Ahmedabad
(c) Cawnpore (d) Champaran
5. Shukla led Gandhi to the house of a lawyer who later became the President of India.
He was
(a) J.B Kriplani (b) Rajendra Prasad
(c) Zakir Hussain (d) Mahadev Desai
6. Gandhi decided to— to obtain complete information about the go first to conditions
of Champaran
(a) Patna (b) Calcutta
(c) Muzaffarpur (d) Lucknow
7. Who received Gandhi at the Muzaffarpur station?
(a) Shukla (b) J.B Kriplani
(c) Rajendra Prasad (d) Nehru
8. Gandhi —–the lawyers for collecting big fees from the sharecroppers
(a) condoned (b) rebuffed
(c) chided (d) admired
9. What were the places visited by Gandhi between his first meeting with Shukla and
his arrival at Champaran?
(a) Cawnpore, Ahmedabad, Calcutta, Patna, Muzaffarpur
(b) Calcutta, Patna, Gaya, Muzaffarnagar
(c) Cawnpore, Ahmedabad, Gaya, Calcutta, Patna, Muzaffarpur
(d) Cawnpore, Ahmedabad, Patna and Muzaffarnagar
10. What did the peasants pay the British landlords as rent?
(a) 25% of the crop (b) Indigo
(c) 50% of their produce (d) 10% of their indigo produce
11. What did the British landlords and from the peasants after synthetic indigo was
developed?
(a) indigo as rent (b) 15% of produce
(c) money as compensation (d) a new settlement
12. What would be the impact of synthetic indigo?
(a) prices of natural indigo would go down
(b) sharecroppers would lose their land
(c) british landlords would trouble them further
(d) demand for natural indigo would increase
13. Where is Champaran district situated?
(a) in the south-west of Orissa
(b) in the foothills of the Himalayas in Bihar
(c) in the northeast of Orissa (d) in the south of Bihar
14. What did the peasants of Champaran grow?
(a) Wheat (b) Rice
(c) Cotton (d) Indigo
15. Why was Gandhi not permitted to draw water from Rajendra Prasad’s well?
(a) the servant thought Gandhi was another peasant
(b) as Rajendra Prasad was not at home
(c) Gandhi looked like a vagabond
(d) Gandhi was a Harijan
16. How did Gandhi begin his mission in Champaran?
(a) he chided the lawyers (b) he tried to get the facts
(c) he met the peasants (d) he met the commissioner
17. What happened when Gandhi visited the secretary of British landlord’s association?
(a) the secretary proceeded to bully him
(b) the secretary advised him forthwith to leave Tirhut
(c) the secretary said that they could not give any information to an outsider
(d) the secretary was very helpful
18. What did the British Official commissioner advise Gandhi?
(a) to leave Tirhut (b) to proceed to Motihari
(c) to go to the Secretary of British Landlords Association
(d) to consult lawyers
19. After Tirhut, where did Gandhi go?
(a) Lucknow (b) Motihari
(c) Cawnpore (d) Ahmedabad
20. Who accompanied Gandhi to the Capital of Champaran9
(a) Rajendra Prasad (b) Shukla
(c) several lawyers (d) crowd of peasants
21. Why did Gandhi start out on the back of an elephant?
(a) a peasant had been maltreated in a village nearby
(b) he set out to meet the secretary of British Landlords Association
(c) he set out to meet British official commissioner
(d) he was summoned by Sir Edward Gait, the Lt. Governor
22. What did the police superintendent’s messenger serve Gandhi?
(a) an invitation (b) an official notice
(c) summon to appear in court (d) an arrest warrant
23. How did Gandhi behave with the officials outside the court?
(a) demonstrated his power (b) was firm and resolute
(c) he said that he would disobey the order
(d) cooperated with them
24. What was the beginning of liberation from fear of the British?
(a) the people gathered in large numbers
(b) the support of lawyers
(c) Gandhi’s presence (d) the prevailing laws
25. The magistrate asked Gandhi to furnish bail for—— minutes
(a) 30 (b) 60
(c) 90 (d) 120
26. Gandhi was informed by the magistrate that the case
(a) had been dropped (b) had been postponed
(c) was a weak one (d) would be heard immediately
27. Who were ready to follow Gandhi into jail?
(a) peasants (b) lawyers
(c) Shukla (d) J.B. Kriplani
28. How many peasants deposed?
(a) about a hundred (c) about ten thousand
(b) about a thousand (d) about hundred thousand
29. Gandhi was summoned by—— the Lt. Governor
(a) Sir Edward Gait (b) Sir Henry Gait
(c) Sir Richard Andrews (d) Sir Freer Andrews
30. How many times did Gandhi meet the Lt. Governor?
(a) four times (b) six times
(c) eight times (d) ten times
31. What amount of repayment did the big planters think Gandhi would demand?
(a) repayment in full (b) double the amount
(c) fifty percent of the amount (d) no payment, just an apology
32. What was the result of Gandhi’s meetings with the Lt. Governor?
(a) the Lt. Governor rejected Gandhi’s plea
(b) an official commission of inquiry was appointed
(c) a compensation of 25% was set
(d) the Lt. Governor dropped the cases against Gandhi
33. For how long did Gandhi remain in Champaran?
(a) seven weeks (b) three months
(c) one and a half year (d) seven months
34. Gandhi asked the big planters for—– percent refund to the peasants.
(a) 10 (b) 25 (c) 50 (d) 65
35. The representative of the planters offered to refund—– percent to the peasants
(a) 5 (b) 10 (c) 20 (d) 25
36. Why did Gandhi appeal for teachers?
(a) to remove the cultural and social backwardness
(b) to increase the literacy standard
(c) he did not trust teachers of Champaran
(d) he contented himself with large political and economic solutions
37. Who volunteered to work in Champaran?
(a) two disciples of Gandhi and their wives
(b) Kasturba and the eldest son of Gandhi
(c) Mahadev Desai and his wife
(d) Narhari Prasad and his wife
38. Kasturba taught rules of——
(a) basic learning (b) mathematics
(c) personal cleanliness (d) civil disobedience were
39. Health conditions in Champaran
(a) miserable (b) tolerable
(c) under control (d) fairly good
40. What lesson did Gandhi teach by opposing Andrew’s stay in Champaran? equals
(a) British could not be trusted (b) self-reliance
(c) civil disobedience (d) a fight should always be amongst
ANSWERS
1.(d) December 1916
2.(a) to attend the annual convention of the INC
3.(b) Rajkumar Shukla
4. (a) Patna
5.(b) Rajendra Prasad
6. (c) Muzaffarpur
7.(b) J.B. Kriplani
8. (c) chided
9.(a) Cawnpore, Ahmedabad, Calcutta, Patna, Muzaffarpur
10.(b) indigo
11. (c) money as compensation
12.(a) prices of natural indigo would go down
13. (b) in the foothills of the Himalayas in Bihar
14.(d) indigo
15. (a) The servant thought Gandhi was another peasant
16.(b) he tried to get the facts
17.(c) the secretary said that they could not give any information to an outsider
18.(a) to leave Tirhut
19. (b) Motihari
20.(c) several lawyers
21.(a) a peasant had been maltreated in a village nearby
22.(b) an official notice
23. (d) cooperated with them
24. (a) the people gathered in large numbers
25.(d) 120
26.(a) had been dropped
27. (b) lawyers
28.(c) about ten thousand
29. (a) Sir Edward Gait
30.(a) four times
31. (a) repayment in full
32.(b) an official commission of inquiry was appointed
33.(d) seven months
34. (c) 50
35.(d) 25
36.(a) to remove the cultural and social backwardness
37.(a) two disciples of Gandhi and their wives
38.(c) personal cleanliness
39. (a) miserable
40.(b) self-reliance
SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS
Q1. Why is Rajkumar Shukla described as being ‘resolute’?
Ans. Rajkumar Shukla was a man with a strong willpower and determination. He had come all
the way from Champaran district to Lucknow to speak to Gandhiji. He accompanied Gandhiji
everywhere, even to the Ashram near Ahmedabad. For weeks he never left Gandhiji’s side till the
latter asked him to meet him at Calcutta.
Q2. Why do you think the servants thought Gandhiji to be another peasant?
Ans. Shukla took Gandhiji to Rajendra Prasad’s house. Gandhi was dressed in a simple dhoti
and was accompanying a poor peasant. Hence the servants mistook him to be a peasant and
forbade him to draw water from well.
Q3. List the places that Gandhi visited between his first meeting with Shukla and his
arrival at Champaran.
Ans. 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.
Q4. What did the peasants pay the British landlords as rent? What did the British now
want instead and why?
Ans. 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 the natural arrangement. The prices of natural Indigo would go down due to
production synthetic indigo which was better and much cheaper.
Q5. The events of 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?
Ans. Gandhiji opposed unjust laws. His politics were intermingled with the day to day problems
of millions of Indians. He was willing to oppose the unjust laws and go to jail. The famous Dandi
March is an example of his law-breaking action. He broke the Salt Law. His disobedience was
always peaceful and a fight for truth and justice. This had a direct link to his ideas of Satyagraha
and non-violence.
Q6. Why did Gandhi agree to a settlement of 25 per cent refund to the farmers?
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. So he agreed to the
settlement of 25 per cent refund to the farmers.
Q7. 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 were now reverted to the
peasants, and indigo sharecropping disappeared.
Q8. Why do you think Gandhi considered the Champaran episode to be a turning point in
his life?
Ans. The Champaran episode began as an attempt to ease the sufferings of a 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.
Q9. How was Gandhi able to influence lawyers? Give instances.
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 return. Then Gandhi asked them
about the injustice to the sharecroppers. The lawyers held consultations. They concluded that it
would be a shameful desertion if they returned home. So they told Gandhi that they were ready
to follow him into jail.
Q10. What was the attitude of the average Indian in smaller localities towards advocates
of ‘home rule’?
Ans. 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.
Q11. How do we know that ordinary people too contributed to the freedom movement?
Ans. Gandhi was received by Professor J.B Kriplani at Muzaffarpur railway station at midnight.
He had a large body of students with him. Sharecroppers from Champaran came on foot and by
transport to see Gandhi. The lawyers at Muzaffarpur also called on him. A vast multitude greeted
Gandhi when he reached Motihari railway station. Thousands of people demonstrated around
the courtroom. This shows that ordinary people also contributed to the freedom movement.
Q12. How did the development of synthetic indigo affect English estate owners?
Ans. Most of the arable land in Champaran belonged to the English landlords who had signed a
long-term contract with the peasants. The farmers planted 15% of their holdings with indigo and
surrendered it as rent. With the development of synthetic indigo, its cultivation was no longer
profitable. The landlords wanted to release the peasants of the contract and take money from
them as compensation.
Q13. Why did Gandhi meet the Secretary of the British Landlords Association on arriving
in Champaran? What was the secretary’s response?
Ans. When Gandhi arrived in Champaran, he first set out to ascertain the facts. He wanted the
viewpoints of the landlords and the peasants. He visited the secretary of the British Landlords
Association to get to know their point of view. The secretary told Gandhi that he could give no
information to an outsider. Gandhi’s efforts proved futile.
Q14. Why did Gandhi meet the British official commissioner of the Tirhut division?
Ans. To understand the situation at Champaran, Gandhi wanted to understand the of the
landlord’s point of view. The secretary of the British Landlords Association refused to impart any
information. Gandhi then called on the British official commissioner of the Tirhut division. The
commissioner bullied Gandhi and advised him to leave Tirhut.
Q15. What was the conflict of duties in which Gandhi was involved?
Ans. In court, Gandhi pleaded guilty for having disobeyed the official notice to quit Champaran.
He read out a statement claiming he was involved in a conflict of duties. He clarified that he
disobeyed not to break the law and set a bad example but to render the humanitarian and
national service for which he had come to Champaran.
Q16. Why did Gandhi stay on in Champaran even after the sharecropper’s problems were
solved?
Ans. Gandhi aimed at improving Champaran culturally and socially. The problems were many.
Health conditions were miserable. There were poverty, illiteracy and lack of sanitation. So he
stayed on even after the sharecropper’s problems were solved.
Q17. How did Gandhi teach his followers a lesson in self-reliance?
Ans. Charles Freer Andrews, the English pacifist and follower of Gandhi came to bid him
farewell. Gandhi’s lawyer friends asked Andrews to stay on and support them. Gandhi
vehemently opposed the suggestion and asked them to face the crisis independently. If their
cause was just, Gandhi said, they would win the battle by relying on themselves.
Q18. Why did Gandhi feel that taking the Champaran case to count was useless?
Ans. The Muzzafarpur lawyers called on Gandhi and brief him as he represented peasant
groups in court. They also told him about their cases and reported the size of their fees. Gandhi
chided them as the poor peasants were already so crushed and fear-stricken that saw courts
were useless in their case. The real relief for them would be to make them free from fear.
Q19. How did the Champaran peasants react when they heard that a Mahatma had come
to help them?
Ans. When the Sharecroppers heard that a Mahatma had come to help them, they assembled in
Motihari in large numbers to see their champion. Their spontaneous demonstration, in
thousands, around the courthouse was uncontrollable that the officials felt powerless, and
Gandhiji himself helped the authorities to regulate the crowd.
Q20. What made the Lieutenant Governor drop the case against Gandhi?
Ans. When Gandhi was asked to appear in the court in Motihari, thousands of peasants held a
demonstration around the court. The officials were baffled and the trial was postponed. The
judge said he would not deliver the judgement for several days. Gandhi was allowed to remain at
liberty. Subsequently, the Lieutenant-Governor ordered the case to be dropped.
Q21. What did the peasants pay the British Landlords as rent?
Ans. The British landlords had entered into a long-term contract with the farmers. The landlords
compelled all tenants to plant three-twentieths or 15 per cent of their holdings with indigo, the
chief commercial crop, and surrender the entire indigo harvest as rent.
Q22. Why did Gandhi decide to go to Muzaffarpur before going to Champaran?
Ans. Raj Kumar Shukla had apprised Gandhi about the injustice meted out the indigo
sharecroppers in Champaran. Gandhi wished to obtain corn.
Q23. Where is Champaran situated?
Ans. Champaran district in Bihar is situated in the foothills of the Himalayas, near the kingdom
of Nepal. Raj Kumar Shukla was a poor peasant from the Champaran district. He had come to
meet Gandhi in Lucknow to complaint about the injustice of the landlord system in Bihar.
Q24. How did Gandhi work for the upliftment of education in Champaran villages?
Ans. Gandhi 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.
Q25. How did the woman respond when Kasturba talked to her about her filthy clothes?
Ans. Kasturba taught the Ashram rules on personal cleanliness and hygiene. Gandhi notices the
filthy state of women’s clothes. He asked Kasturbai to talk to them about it. One woman took
Kasturbai into her but and pointed out that there was no box or cupboard there for clothes. The
sari she was wearing was the only one she had.
Important Long/ Detailed Answer Type Questions- to be answered in about 100 -150 words
each Value based questions-
ESSAY TYPE QUESTIONS
Q1.Why did Gandhi consider freedom from fear more important than legal justice for the
poor peasants of Champaran?
Ans. The poor peasants were ruthlessly exploited by the landlords of Champaran. Germany had
developed synthetic indigo which resulted in a steep fall in indigo prices. The landlords had a
long-term contract by which peasants grew indigo in 15% land and handed it over as rent. The
landlords no longer needed indigo and very cleverly wished to give up this arrangement for
compensation. When the news of synthetic indigo reached the peasants, they demanded their
money back and engaged lawyers to fight their battles. There was no respite for the farmers
under the unjust system. When Gandhi came to Champaran, he realised that the fear-stricken
peasants got no help from courts. The real relief for them was to be free from fear of the British.
Gandhi was summoned to appear in court for having refused the official notice to quit
Champaran. The news of Gandhi being in trouble with the authorities spread fast. The peasants
gathered in thousands around the courthouse. They shook off their fear and held
demonstrations. The officials were baffled and helpless.
This voluntary uprising of the peasants was their liberation from fear. For them, the British power
was no longer unchallengeable. This was more important than legal justice as revealed in future
events.
Q2. Civil disobedience had triumphed the first time in modern India. Relate the events
during Gandhi’s stay in Champaran that led to the triumph.
Ans. Gandhi visited Champaran to look into the problems of the poor peasants. At Motihari, he
was greeted by thousands of peasants. This was the beginning of the peasant liberation from
fear of the British. A peasant had been maltreated in a nearby village. Gandhi set out to see him.
The police superintendent’s messenger overtook him and ordered him to return. Gandhi
complied. At home, he was served an official notice to quit Champaran. Gandhi signed the
receipt and wrote on it that would disobey the order. This was the beginning of Civil
disobedience.
Gandhi received a summons to appear in court the next day. The peasants thronged the
courtroom. They wanted to help the ‘Mahatma’ who was in trouble with the authorities for trying
to help them. The officials were powerless. Gandhi helped them regulate the crowd. This baffled
the officials.
The magistrate postponed announcing the sentence by two hours and asked Gandhi to furnish
bail. Gandhi declined. The judge released him without bail. The judge said he would not deliver
the judgment for several days. Later, the case was dropped by the Lt. Governor himself. Civil
disobedience had triumphed.
Q3. What idea do you get about Gandhiji from the lesson ‘Indigo’?
Ans. The lesson ‘Indigo’ highlights the greatness of Gandhiji who was simple, unassuming and
yet a force to be reckoned with. His humility is revealed by his comment on the victory of civil
disobedience ‘What I did was a very ordinary thing’. He was even mistaken as a peasant by Dr
Rajendra Prasad’s servants. He was a simple and unassuming man.
At the same time, Gandhi was firm and resolute. He faced the officials with boldness and with
conviction. He also disregarded the orders to leave Champaran. The case against him had to be
dropped.
He fearlessly faced four protracted interviews with the Lt. Governor for the justice of the indigo
sharecroppers. Even though he was the sole representative of the peasants, he proved his point.
He broke the deadlock settling for only a 25% refund. He was wise and judicious. He agreed
because the refund instilled courage in the peasants as the landlords were obliged to surrender
part of their money and prestige.
Gandhi demonstrated by his actions an important lesson of self-reliance in the freedom struggle.
He refused the help of Mr Andrews and claimed that if the cause was just one must rely on
oneself.
VALUE BASED QUESTIONS
Answer the following questions
Q1. What values do we learn from Gandhi’s campaign (Indigo) to combat the present day
problems of exploitations? (120-150 words)
Ans. The Indigo share-croppers were exploited at the cruel hands of the British planters.
Rajkumar Shukla persuaded Gandhi to take up the case of the Indigo sharecroppers. When
Gandhi came to Champaran, he realised that the fear-stricken peasants got no help from courts.
He was firm and broke the deadlock. He instilled courage in the peasants.
The lesson learnt from the Champaran episode is that if the cause is just, one must rely on
oneself. In the face of exploitation, in society or in professional life, one must be resolute and
confront the problem. Gandhi gathered information before going to the governor. With evidence
and determination, exploitation can be dealt with.
Q2. What qualities helped Shukla and Gandhi, respectively, to initiate one of the most
powerful movements in the history of our freedom struggle?
Ans. Rajkumar Shukla was a man with a strong willpower and determination. He came all the
way from Champaran to Lucknow to speak to Gandhi. He followed Gandhi everywhere till
Gandhi relented to go to Champaran.
Gandhi himself opposed the unjust laws and first made the British officials hear their side of the
story. He felt that if their cause was right, they did not need the help of a British man in the form
of Charles Freer Andrews giving proof of self-reliance. Gandhi gathered all the information and
could, therefore, prove to the British administration that the sharecroppers had been wronged.
These qualities can assist each of us to lead a fulfilling life and to combat the problems that come
our way.