Summary
In the book Indigo, the author(Louis Fischer) describes a vital event in India’s history, the first Civil Disobedience movement which started by Mahatma Gandhi at Champaran in 1916. The problem which was faced by the sharecroppers in Champaran was that all the tenants were forced to plant 15% of their land with Indigo crops. This had been a long term contract between the sharecroppers and the British planters/estate owners which had an adverse effect on the sharecroppers and their families. Gandhi then launched what is said to be the first instance of Satyagraha in India and the movement ended with a victory as the English landlords were forced to return 25% of the money which they had extorted from the sharecroppers.
Indigo is a story to glorify the struggle of Mahatma Gandhi against the Britishers for the peasants of Champaran, Bihar. This war lasted a whole year but didn’t come empty handed. Britishers agreed to meet the demands of the peasants. Gandhi didn’t stop after the victory, he took social matters in his hand. He helped them with education, personal hygiene, their health and worked to build their self confidence. In the end, he taught the peasants a very important lesson of self confidence and self sufficiency.
Timeline of Events
The Inception
Gandhi Ji tells Louis about the first time when he encountered this problem which is the year 1917. Gandhi Ji had gone to the December 1916 annual meeting of the Indian national convention of the Indian national congress in Lucknow when a poor peasant came up to him. He was sitting on his haunches waiting for Mahatma Gandhi. That man was Rajkumar Shukla from Champaran who wanted Gandhi to visit his district. It was located near the kingdom of Nepal in Bihar. Shukla was a sharecropper who was seeking justice against the injustice pulled by the English landlord’s at champaran. Someone told him that he should ask Gandhiji to help him as Gandhiji gained his reputation of fighting injustice against the britishers but in his own way, by following non violence.
Rajkumar Shukla’s Resoluteness
Rajkumar Shukla had come to the congress session to complain about the widespread injustice of the landlord system in Bihar. This is where he met Gandhi and requested him to visit Champaran to see the unjust system prevailing there. At that time Gandhi had to visit many other parts of India but Shukla was adamant and begged Gandhi to fix a date. This impressed Gandhi who in turn asked Shukla to meet him in Calcutta(Kolkata) and take him to Champaran from there. From Calcutta, both men boarded a train for Patna. There Shukla took him to the house of a lawyer named Rajendra Prasad but he was not present at that time. The news of Gandhiji’ arrival in the village of Bihar spread like wildfire. Many lawyers and groups of peasants came in large numbers to support him in his mission against injustice and inequality.
Off to Muzaffarpur
To obtain more information about the condition of Champaran, Gandhi decided to go to Muzaffarpur first. There he stayed for 2 days with professor Malkani. The news of his arrival quickly spread through Muzaffarpur and then to Champaran.
Landlords of Champaran
Most of the fertile land in Champaran was owned by Britishers while the Indian tenants worked for them. Since at that time Synthetic Indigo had been developed by Germany, the indigo plantation was not very profitable. Hence the owners obtained agreements from the sharecroppers(sharecroppers) to pay for being released from the 15% rule. Seeing that the Britishers no longer needed Indigo from these peasants, they asked for compensation in return to free them. This was not acceptable to the poor peasants of Champaran. Even though many of the peasants were illiterate, they saw through the trick of the landlords and were not ready to pay. Those who had signed before wanted their money back.
Summon to Appear in Court
The first step which Gandhi took was to meet the secretary of the British landlord association which did not yield any result. Afterward, he met the commissioner who warned Gandhi to leave but Gandhi did not leave. Gandhi then went to the capital of Champaran, Motihari. A huge crowd greeted him at the station. After a little while, he got an official notice from the authorities to leave Champaran immediately but he made it clear that he would disobey the orders. Next, Gandhi received a summon to appear in court the next day. Thereafter he prepared a full report to the viceroy. The next morning thousands of peasants demonstrated in support of Gandhi. This was the beginning of the liberation of people’s fear of the Britishers.
The Reaction of The Britishers
The government was baffled on seeing so many people backing Gandhi. The authorities wanted to postpone the trial but Gandhi himself protested against the delay. He told the judge that he was caught in a ‘conflict of duties’. It was his duty not to set a bad example as a lawbreaker but justice to the thousands of poor sharecroppers was more important. The court didn’t deliver the judgment for several days.
After seeing the support Gandhiji was getting, the British Government decided to put a halt in the satyagrah. They arrested Gandhiji on the basis of creating disturbance in the district and being the cause of unrest.
When the news reached the magistrate George Chandar, he visited Gandhi in the jail at Motihari. He told Gandhi that he will pay a fine of 100 rs to bring him out from there but Gandhi being Gandhi, dismissed this idea.
His being in the jail, revolted people. People in large numbers protested and rallied to demand his release. The British government was left with no choice but to release Gandhiji, they did it unwillingly.
Commission of Inquiry
Gandhi had many interviews with the lieutenant-governor in the upcoming days. The lieutenant-governor appointed an official commission of inquiry into the indigo sharecroppers’ situation. Gandhi was made the representative of the sharecroppers. He stayed in Champaran for almost 7 months. There were multiple pieces of evidence of the landlords and British officials for illegally taking money from the sharecroppers. Gandhi demanded back 50% but the landlords and British officials offered to refund only 25%. Gandhi finally agreed because this was the first instance that the British government had backed down.
Social and Cultural Uplifting
While staying in the Champaran village, Gandhi saw the social and cultural backwardness which was prevalent throughout. He wanted to immediately do something about it. 2 men Narhari Parikh and Mahadev Desai joined him as disciples. Many people came from other parts of the country to join the cause. As a result, Primary schools were opened in 6 villages, and many awareness programs such as cleanliness and sanitation were started by other people.
Impact of the Champaran Episode on Gandhi and India
The Champaran episode was a turning point in Gandhi's life and Indian History. It was more than just a simple victory against the Britishers, this incident showed the Britishers that the people of India were capable of standing against them. Gandhi tried to mold a new free India, thus paving a way for self-reliance.
From this experience, Gandhiji learned a lot about himself. Before this incident, he only worked for the people of Gujarat. This was the first time he won outside his native town, Gujarat. His credibility touched a massive height in Gujarat itself. People were more aware of him and he became a threat in the eyes of the British Government.
They started taking him seriously after Gandhi dismissed the appeal of leaving the district of Champaran which he signed at the time of arrival in the district. This news reached every ear of the nation but when it reached Ahmedabad, Gujarat club’s legal fraternity decided to make this great man their president.
People with whom Gandhi was Associated with.
There were many people Gandhi came across while spending time in CHamparan. Few became close to him during his stay. The first person that came in contact with Gandhi was JB Kriplani, a lawyer by profession. He met Gandhi at the station of Muzaffarpur when he arrived at the station. Kriplani and Gandhi then met Brajkishore Prasad. Later they met Rajendra Prasad, a scholar from Calcutta.
The three of them were devoted to Gandhi even after many years from the Champaran incident.
FAQs on Indigo Summary
1. What is meant by the term ‘Sharecroppers’?
Basically, Sharecropping is when the owner of the land allows another person(a tenant) to use the land in exchange for a percentage of total crops grown on the land. The person in this case is called a Sharecropper since he doesn’t own the land. This practice has a long history.
2. Why was the demand for Indigo crops so high in Britain?
The main reason is that the former markets of the crop(America and West Indies) had collapsed and the climate conditions for growing the crop were good in India.
3. What do you understand about Satyagraha?
The term ‘Satyagraha’ means to hold on to the truth. Mahatma Gandhi always believed in finding the truth. He never tolerated injustice done to anyone. As he was a strong follower of non-violence, he seeked truth and tried to bring justice in his way. One such way was the ‘Satyagrah’. The Satyagrahis, people who follow Satyagraha, seeked truth and fought injustice with love and peace. No act of violence was allowed. The practice of Satyagrah was adopted by many countries as well. To know better, look at free study material of Vedantu online.
4. What is the importance of Champaran ‘Satyagraha’?
The Satyagraha of Champaran is considered as the most important incident in the history of the freedom struggle of our nation, India. This was because it was India’s first Civil Disobedience Movement which was launched by none other than Mahatma Gandhi for fighting against the injustice done to the poor peasants of Champaran, by the British Government. The victory of this Satyagrah, baffled the Britishers. It made them realise that the people of India are revolting and Gandhi became the major threat in the smooth running of colonial rule over India.
5. How did Raj Kumar Shukla decide to meet Gandhi?
Before the Satyagraha Movement in Champaran, the farmers there followed a system known as the “Panchkathiya” system. In one bigha, five kathas of their land must plant Indigo. The local leaders of Champaran turned against this system and they succeeded to some extent. Instead of five, three Kathas of their land must plant Indigo. Raj Kumar Shukla, one of the poor peasants, was not happy with this new arrangement of land. He stepped up to break this system of agriculture labour. Ganesh Vidyarthi, educated Shukla about Gandhi's work in South Africa. Brajkishore Prasad and Rajendra Prasad made a suggestion to Shukla and encouraged him to meet Mahatma Gandhi.
