Indigo

by Louis Fischer

About the Author

Louis Fischer (1896-1970) was born in Philadelphia in 1896. He served as a volunteer in the British Army between
1918-1920. Fischer made a career as a journalist and wrote for The New York Times, The Saturday Review and for
European and Asian publications. He was also a member of the faculty of Princeton University.

Indigo Introduction
The story is based on the interview taken by Louis Fischer of Mahatma Gandhi. In order to write on him he had
visited him in 1942 at his ashram- Sevagram where he was told about the Indigo Movement started by Gandhiji. The
story revolves around the struggle of Gandhi and other prominent leaders in order to safeguard sharecroppers from
the atrocities of landlords.

Indigo Summary
Louis Fischer met Gandhi in 1942 at his ashram in Sevagram. Gandhi told him that how he initiated the departure of
the British from India. He recalled that it in 1917 at the request of Rajkumar Shukla, a sharecropper from
Champaran, he visited the place. Gandhi had gone to Lucknow to attend the annual meeting of Indian National
Congress in the year 1916. Shukla told him that he had come from Champaran to seek his help in order to safeguard
the interests of the sharecroppers. Gandhi told him that he was busy so Shukla accompanied him to various places till
he consented to visit Chaparan. His firm decision impressed Gandhiji and he promised him that he would visit
Calcutta at a particular date and then Shukla could come and take him along to Champaran. Shukla met him at
Calcutta and they took a train to Patna. Gandhi went to lawyer Rajendra Prasad’s house and they waited for him. In
order to grab complete knowledge of the situation, he reached Muzzafarpur on 15th April 1917. He was welcomed
by Prof. J.B Kriplani and his students. Gandhi was surprised to see the immense support for an advocate of home rule
like him. He also met some lawyers who were already handling cases of sharecroppers. As per the contract, 15
percent of the peasant’s land holding was to be reserved for cultivation of indigo, the crop of which was given to the
landlord as rent. This system was very oppressive. Gandhi wanted to help the sharecroppers. So he visited the British
landlord association but he was not given any information because he was an outsider. He then went to the
commissioner of Tirhut division who threatened Gandhi and ask him to leave Tirhut. Instead of returning, he went to
Motihari. Here he started gathering complete information about the indigo contract. He was accompanied by many
lawyers. One day as he was on his way to meet a peasant, who was maltreated by the indigo planters, he was stopped
by the police superintendent’s messenger who served him a notice asking him to leave. Gandhi received the notice
but disobeyed the order. A case was filed against him. Many lawyers came to advise him but when he stressed, they
all joined his struggle and even consented to go to jail in order to help the poor peasants. On the day of trial, a large
crowd gathered near the court. It became impossible to handle them. Gandhi helped the officers to control the crowd.
Gandhi gave his statement that he was not a lawbreaker but he disobeyed so that he could help the peasants. He was
granted bail and later on, the case against him was dropped. Gandhi and his associates started gathering all sorts of
information related to the indigo contract and its misuse. Later, a commission was set up to look into the matter.
After the inquiry was conducted, the planters were found guilty and were asked to pay back to the peasants.
Expecting refusal, they offered to pay only 25 percent of the amount. Gandhi accepted this too because he wanted to
free the sharecroppers from the binding of the indigo contract. He opened six schools in Champaran villages and
volunteers like Mahadev Desai, Narhari Parikh, and his son, Devdas taught them. Kasturbai, the wife of Gandhi used
to teach personal hygiene.Later on, with the help of a volunteer doctor he provided medical facility to the natives of
Champaran, thus making their life a bit better. A peace maker, Andrews wanted to volunteer at Champaran ashram.
But Gandhi refused as he wanted Indians to learn the lesson of self reliance so that they would not depend on others.
Gandhi told the writer that it was Champaran’s incident that made him think that he did not need the Britisher’s
advice while he was in his own country.

Indigo Lesson Explanation

When I first visited Gandhi in 1942 at his ashram in Sevagram, in central India, he said, “I will tell you how it
happened that I decided to urge the departure of the British. It was in 1917.”
The author explains about his first interaction (meeting) with Mahatma Gandhi. He says that he first met Gandhi in
1942 at his ashram which was in Sevagram. It was located in central India. Gandhi said that he would tell him about
his struggle against the British which first took place in the year 1917.
He had gone to the December 1916 annual convention of the Indian National Congress party in Lucknow. There
were 2,301 delegates and many visitors. During the proceedings, Gandhi recounted, “a peasant came up to me
looking like any other peasant in India, poor and emaciated, and said, ‘I am Rajkumar Shukla. I am from Champaran,
and I want you to come to my district’!’’ Gandhi had never heard of the place. It was in the foothills of the towering
Himalayas, near the kingdom of Nepal.
Convention: agreement
Delegates: Representatives
Peasant: small farmer
Emaciated: thin
Champaran: A place in Bihar
He says that in the month of December, in the year 1916, Mahatma Gandhi went to attend the annual meeting of the
Indian National Congress at Lucknow. There were about 2,301 representatives and visitors. Gandhi recalled that a
small farmer named Rajkumar Shukla came to him who was poor and thin. He requested Gandhi to visit Champaran,
a place in the foothills of the Himalaya mountain range, near the Kingdom of Nepal.
Under an ancient arrangement, the Champaran peasants were sharecroppers. Rajkumar Shukla was one of them. He
was illiterate but resolute. He had come to the Congress session to complain about the injustice of the landlord
system in Bihar, and somebody had probably said, “Speak to Gandhi.”
Sharecroppers: a tenant farmer who gives a part of each crop as rent.
Resolute: determined
He told Gandhi that he was a sharecropper. A sharecropper is a farmer who gives a part of the crop as rent to the
owner of that piece of land that he cultivates. He told him that because of an old agreement, many of the peasants in
Champaran were sharecroppers. He had come to meet Gandhi on someone’s suggestion as he was determined to find
a solution for the sharecroppers who were facing hardships due to this agreement. He sought Gandhi ji’s help.
Gandhi told Shukla he had an appointment in Cawnpore and was also committed to go to other parts of India. Shukla
accompanied him everywhere. Then Gandhi returned to his ashram near Ahmedabad. Shukla followed him to the
ashram. For weeks he never left Gandhi’s side. “Fix a date,” he begged.
Committed: dedicated
Accompanied: go somewhere with (someone) as a companion or escort
Cawnpore: British name for the city of Kanpur
After hearing his problem, Gandhiji told him that he had to visit Cawnpore and some other parts of India due to prior
appointments. Shukla went with him everywhere. After this Gandhi returned to his ashram near Ahmedabad. Shukla
was always there with him for several weeks, begging him to fix a date tio visit Champaran.

Impressed by the sharecropper’s tenacity and story Gandhi said, ‘‘I have to be in Calcutta on such-and-such a date.
Come and meet me and take me from there.”
Months passed. Shukla was sitting on his haunches at the appointed spot in Calcutta when Gandhi arrived; he waited
till Gandhi was free. Then the two of them boarded a train for the city of Patna in Bihar. There Shukla led him to the
house of a lawyer named Rajendra Prasad who later became the President of the Congress party and of India.
Rajendra Prasad was out of town, but the servants knew Shukla as a poor yeoman who pestered their master to help
the indigo sharecroppers. So they let him stay on the ground with his companion, Gandhi, whom they took to be
another peasant. But Gandhi was not permitted to draw water from the well lest some drops from his bucket pollute
the entire source; how did they know that he was not an untouchable?
Tenacity: determination
Haunches: thighs
Boarded: get on, enter
Yeoman: a man who cultivates a small piece of land
Pestered: bother, harass
Permitted: allowed
As Gandhi was impressed with the determination of the peasant, he said that he would be visiting Kolkata after a few
months and that Shukla should meet him there. On the day that had been fixed, Shukla was eagerly waiting for
Gandhiji. When Gandhi got free, they both took a train to Patna. Then they went to the house of a lawyer- Rajendra
Prasad who later became the President of India. When they reached there, he was not at home. But the servants
allowed both of them to stay at the grounds because they knew Shukla. They all knew him because Shukla used to
assist their master in helping indigo sharecroppers. They didn’t allow Gandhi to draw water from their well as they
took him to be an untouchable and didn’t want to pollute the entire water source.
Gandhi decided to go first to Muzaffarpur, which was en route to Champaran, to obtain a more complete information
about conditions than Shukla was capable of imparting. He accordingly sent a telegram to Professor J.B. Kripalani, of
the Arts College in Muzaffarpur, whom he had seen at Tagore’s Shantiniketan School. The train arrived at midnight,
15 April 1917. Kripalani was waiting at the station with a large body of students. Gandhi stayed there for two days in
the home of Professor Malkani, a teacher in a government school.
En route: on the way
Imparting: pass on, giving
As Shukla was not able to provide Gandhi with adequate information, therefore, he decided to go to Muzaffarpur
which was on the way to Champaran to obtain the complete information. He sent a telegram to Professor J.B
Kriplani who was a teacher at Arts College in Muzaffarpur. Gandhi had seen him at Tagore’s Shantiniketan School.
Gandhi took a train to Muzaffarpur that arrived at midnight on 15th April 1917. Kriplani was already waiting there
with his students. Gandhi stayed there for two days at Professor Malkani’s home who was a teacher in a government
school.
‘‘It was an extraordinary thing ‘in those days,’’ Gandhi commented, “for a government professor to harbour a man
like me”. In smaller localities, the Indians were afraid to show sympathy for advocates of home-rule.
The news of Gandhi’s advent and of the nature of his mission spread quickly through Muzzafarpur and to
Champaran. Sharecroppers from Champaran began arriving on foot and by conveyance to see their champion.
Muzzafarpur lawyers called on Gandhi to brief him; they frequently represented peasant groups in court; they told
him about their cases and reported the size of their fee
Extraordinary: exceptional, remarkable
Harbour: here, entertain
Sympathy: support, pity
Advocate: supporter, protector
Advent: arrival
Conveyance: transportation
According to Gandhi, it was a remarkable thing that a government professor was entertaining him because in those
days people in small localities were afraid of supporting those who supported home rule. The news of Gandhi’s
arrival and the purpose of his mission spread through Muzaffarpur and Champaran, very fast. Sharecroppers started
to visit him. Muzaffarpur lawyers informed Gandhi about the whole situation as they represented various peasants in
the court. They explained to him about their cases and the fee that they charged them.
Gandhi chided the lawyers for collecting big fee from the sharecroppers. He said, ‘‘I have come to the conclusion
that we should stop going to the law courts. Taking such cases to the courts does litte good. Where the peasants are
so crushed and fear-stricken, law courts are useless. The real relief for them is to be free from fear.’’
Most of the arable land in the Champaran district was divided into large estates owned by Englishmen and worked by
Indian tenants. The chief commercial crop 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. This was done by long-
term contract.
Chided: criticize, scold
Conclusion: result, end of something
Fear stricken: afraid
Arable: land suitable for farming
Tenants: occupants paying rent in cash or kind
Estate: property
Compelled: forced
Surrendered: to give in
Contract: agreement
Indigo: plant that produces a blue color
Gandhi scolded the lawyers for charging such high fee from the poor sharecroppers. He decided that it was useless
to go to the courts as the judiciary was not doing anything good for the peasants. He said that as long as the
peasants were suppressed and full of fear, it was useless to visit the courts. He wanted to set them free from fear.
Most of the cultivable land in the Champaran district was owned by Englishmen who had divided them into various
estates (property). The peasants were the occupants of these lands. Englishmen forced the peasants to cultivate
indigo on 15 percent of their land and to give the crop to them as rent. All this was done through a long term
agreement.
Presently, the landlords learned that Germany had developed synthetic indigo. They, thereupon, obtained agreements
from the sharecroppers to pay them compensation for being released from the 15 percent arrangement.
The sharecropping arrangement was irksome to the peasants, and many signed willingly. Those who resisted,
engaged lawyers; the landlords hired thugs. Meanwhile, the information about synthetic indigo reached the illiterate
peasants who had signed, and they wanted their money back.
Learned: come to know
Synthetic: Chemical based, artificial
Compensation: payments
Arrangement: Process
Irksome: irritating
Resisted: opposed, to be against something
Thugs: cheats
Illiterate: uneducated
While all this was going on, the landlords came to know about the chemical indigo being prepared in Germany. It
was a blue color dye made with chemicals. They started demanding money from the poor peasants in order to cancel
their agreements as they no longer required the indigo plantations. The sharecropping system was very annoying, so
many of the peasants paid for the cancellation of the agreements. But as the news about synthetic indigo spread and
reached the uneducated peasants, they started demanding their money back.
At this point Gandhi arrived in Champaran. He began by trying to get the facts. First he visited the secretary of the
British landlord’s association. The secretary told him that they could give no information to an outsider. Gandhi
answered that he was no outsider.
Next, Gandhi called on the British official commissioner of the Tirhut division in which the Champaran district lay.
‘‘The commissioner,’’ Gandhi reports, ‘‘proceeded to bully me and advised me forthwith to leave Tirhut.’’
Proceeded: begin a course of action
Bully: trying to harm others considering them to be weak
Forthwith: immediately, at once
When Gandhi arrived at Champaran, he decided to gather the facts. For this, he visited the secretary of the British
landlord’s association. The secretary didn’t answer him because he could not give any information to an outsider.
After this, he went to the commissioner of the Tirhut division. Champaran district was under Tirhut division. The
commissioner not only threatened Gandhi but also suggested him to leave Tirhut immediately.

Gandhi did not leave. Instead he proceeded to Motihari, the capital of Champaran. Several lawyers accompanied him.
At the railway station, a vast multitude greeted Gandhi. He went to a house and, using it as headquarters, continued
his investigations. A report came in that a peasant had been maltreated in a nearby village. Gandhi decided to go and
see; the next morning he started out on the back of an elephant. He had not proceeded far when the police
superintendent’s messenger overtook him and ordered him to return to town in his carriage. Gandhi complied. The
messenger drove Gandhi home where he served him with an official notice to quit Champaran immediately. Gandhi
signed a receipt for the notice and wrote on it that he would disobey the order.
Accompanied: go along with someone
Multitude: a large number of people
Investigations: inquiries
Maltreated: ill treat
Superintendent: Manager, supervisor
Overtook: went ahead of him
Complied: followed or obeyed
Though Gandhi was threatened by the commissioner, he didn’t leave the place. He then went to Motihari which was
the capital of Champaran. He was joined by several lawyers. When they reached the station, they were welcomed by
a large number of people. He then went to a house which was later converted into his headquarters. He started his
inquiry into the matter. Gandhi decided to visit a nearby village when he came to know about an incident of ill
treatment with a peasant. He was on his way, on an elephant, when the superintendent’s (Supervisor) messenger stop
him and ordered him to return back to the town. Gandhi followed him and the messenger took him back to his home.
He was then served a notice which ordered him to quit his movement and return back. Gandhi received the notice
and signed a receipt on which he wrote that he would not obey the order.
In consequence, Gandhi received the summons to appear in court the next day.
All night Gandhi remained awake. He telegraphed Rajendra Prasad to come from Bihar with influential friends. He
sent instructions to the ashram. He wired a full report to the Viceroy.
Morning found the town of Motihari black with peasants. They did not know Gandhi’s record in South Africa. They
had merely heard that a Mahatma who wanted to help them was in trouble with the authorities. Their spontaneous
demonstration, in thousands, around the courthouse was the beginning of their liberation from fear of the British.
Consequence: result
Influential: powerful
Wired: Telegraphed
Merely: only
Authorities: officials, power
Spontaneous: voluntary, unforced
Demonstrations: protest
Courthouse: court building
Liberation: release

As a result, Gandhi got summons to appear in court next day.Gandhi wasn’t able to sleep the whole night. He
telegraphed Rajendra Prasad and asked him to come to Bihar and get some powerful people along. He sent some
guidelines to the Ashram and also telegraphed the whole matter to the viceroy. Next morning, Motihari was full of
peasants as they wanted to support Gandhi. None of them knew about his works in South Africa. They only knew that
there was a Mahatma who wanted to help them and was in trouble due to the officials. They started gathering in
front of the courthouse. This incident was their attempt of setting themselves free from the fear of the British.
The officials felt powerless without Gandhi’s cooperation. He helped them regulate the crowd. He was polite and
friendly. He was giving them concrete proof that their might, hitherto dreaded and unquestioned, could be challenged
by Indians.
The government was baffled. The prosecutor requested the judge to postpone the trial. Apparently, the authorities
wished to consult their superiors.
Concrete: solid
Hitherto: Earlier, Previously
Dreaded: regarded with great fear or apprehension
Unquestioned: not examined or inquired into
Baffled: confused
Prosecutor: Lawyer or barrister
Postpone: delay
Apparently: seemingly, evidently
As the crowd had gathered in front of the court building, it became difficult for the officers to control the mob. They
had to take Gandhi’s help to regulate the crowd. Gandhi politely told the officials that if they would misuse their
power, then there were chances that they would have to face a revolt from the Indians. As the situation was getting
tougher, the lawyer requested the court to postpone the trial by some days. The authorities decided to first consult the
higher authorities.
Gandhi protested against the delay. He read a statement pleading guilty. He was involved, he told the court, in a
“conflict of duties”— on the one hand, not to set a bad example as a lawbreaker; on the other hand, to render the
“humanitarian and national service” for which he had come. He disregarded the order to leave, “not for want of
respect for lawful authority, but in obedience to the higher law of our being, the voice of conscience”. He asked the
penalty due.
The magistrate announced that he would pronounce sentence after a two-hour recess and asked Gandhi to furnish bail
for those 120 minutes. Gandhi refused. The judge released him without bail.
Protested: objected, disapproved
Pleading: the action of making an emotional or earnest appeal to someone
Guilty: at fault
Conflict: to be against someone
Humanitarian: Concerned with human welfare
Conscience: sense of right and wrong
Magistrate: civil officer who administers law
Pronounce: declare or announce
recess: break
bail: an amount of money that a person who has been accused of a crime pays to a law court so that they can be
released until their trial.
Gandhiji objected against the delay in the proceedings of the case. He read a statement in front of the court in which
he accepted his fault in a very humble manner. He said that he was not a lawbreaker and didn’t want to go against
the law but his duty towards humanity has a greater influence on him and it forced him to do so. He refused to leave
the town because he wanted to help the sharecroppers as it was his moral duty. The magistrate asked him to arrange
for bail because he was going to give his judgement after the 2 hour long break. Gandhiji refused to seek bail and
later on, he was released without it.
When the court reconvened, the judge said he would not deliver the judgment for several days. Meanwhile he
allowed Gandhi to remain at liberty.
Rajendra Prasad, Brij Kishor Babu, Maulana Mazharul Huq and several other prominent lawyers had arrived from
Bihar. They conferred with Gandhi. What would they do if he was sentenced to prison, Gandhi asked. Why, the
senior lawyer replied, they had come to advise and help him; if he went to jail there would be nobody to advise and
they would go home.
Reconvened: to start again after a small break
Liberty: free
Prominent: Important, well known
Conferred: granted
When the court proceedings restarted, the judge refused to deliver any judgement for many days to come. He allowed
Gandhi to remain free. Some well known lawyers like Rajendra Prasad, Brij Kishor Babu and Maulana Mazharul
Huq came from Bihar to help and advice Gandhi. Gandhi asked that if he was sentenced to jail, then what would be
their course of action. One senior lawyer replied that they were there to help him out and if he was sentenced to jail,
then they would return back.
What about the injustice to the sharecroppers, Gandhi demanded. The lawyers withdrew to consult. Rajendra Prasad
has recorded the upshot of their consultations — “They thought, amongst themselves, that Gandhi was totally a
stranger, and yet he was prepared to go to prison for the sake of the peasants; if they, on the other hand, being not
only residents of the adjoining districts but also those who claimed to have served these peasants, should go home, it
would be shameful desertion”
They accordingly went back to Gandhi and told him they were ready to follow him into jail. ‘‘The battle of
Champaran is won,’’ he exclaimed. Then he took a piece of paper and divided the group into pairs and put down the
order in which each pair was to court arrest.
Injustice: unfairness
Withdrew: left
Upshot: result, conclusion
Consultations: discussion
Desertion: action of leaving a place, organization etc
When Gandhi came to know about their decision, he asked them to help the sharecroppers who were facing
unfairness. Rajendra Prasad and other lawyers concluded that if Gandhi could go to jail for the people of their area,
although he was a stranger, then they should also follow him as they had always claimed to serve the peasants and
fought their legal battles too. They decided that if Gandhi went to jail, then they would follow too. On hearing this,
Gandhi assured them that their struggle for Champaran’s peasants had been won. He divided the group into pairs of
two and made a sequence in which they had to voluntarily surrender in the court.
Several days later, Gandhi received a written communication from the magistrate informing him that the Lieutenant-
Governor of the province had ordered the case to be dropped.
Civil disobedience had triumphed, the first time in modern India.
Gandhi and the lawyers now proceeded to conduct a far-flung inquiry into the grievances of the farmers. Depositions
by about ten thousand peasants were written down, and notes made on other evidence. Documents were collected.
The whole area throbbed with the activity of the investigators and the vehement protests of the landlords.
Lieutenant-Governor: deputy governor
Province: region, territory
Civil Disobedience: peaceful form of political protest
Triumphed: won
Grievances: complaints
Depositions: a formal written statement
Evidence: proof
Throbbed: produced a lot of vibrations due to a huge crowd
Investigators: the inspectors
Vehement: showing strong feeling; forceful, passionate, or intense.
After some days, the Magistrate sent a letter to Gandhiji in which it was written that as per the orders of deputy
governor, the case against him had been taken back. It was for the first time in modern India that a peaceful protest
against the government had been won. Gandhi and other lawyers carried on with an in – depth investigation into the
injustice with the farmers. Statements of about ten thousand peasants were recorded and various documentary proofs
were collected. The whole area vibrated with activity- the investigators and the protesting landlords.
In June, Gandhi was summoned to Sir Edward Gait, the Lieutenant-Governor. Before he went he met leading
associates and again laid detailed plans for civil disobedience if he should not return.
Gandhi had four protracted interviews with the Lieutenant- Governor who, as a result, appointed an official
commission of inquiry into the indigo sharecroppers’ situation. The commission consisted of landlords, government
officials, and Gandhi as the sole representative of the peasants.
Summoned: called
Leading: prominent, popular
Associates: supporters
Protracted: lasting for a long time or longer than expected or usual.
Representative: spokesperson, agent
In June, Gandhi was called up to be present before deputy governor Sir Edward Gait. Before meeting him, he met his
chief supporters and made plans for civil disobedience, in case he did not return. Gandhi had four long interviews
with the deputy commissioner which led to the formation of a commission that inquired into the indigo
sharecroppers’ situation. The commission had landlords, government officials and Gandhi who was the only
spokesperson for the peasants.
Gandhi remained in Champaran for an initial uninterrupted period of seven months and then again for several shorter
visits. The visit, undertaken casually on the entreaty of an unlettered peasant in the expectation that it would last a
few days, occupied almost a year of Gandhi’s life.
The official inquiry assembled a crushing mountain of evidence against the big planters, and when they saw this they
agreed, in principle, to make refunds to the peasants. “But how much must we pay?” they asked Gandhi.
Initial: at the start
Uninterrupted: continuous
Entreaty: an earnest or humble request
Assembled: gathered
Gandhi remained in Champaran for seven months. He also made several short visits later. His visit on the request of
a peasant was presumed to last a few days but it took a year. The official enquiry didn’t favor the planters, hence,
they agreed to pay back to the peasants. But they questioned Gandhi regarding the amount to be repaid.
They thought he would demand repayment in full of the money which they had illegally and deceitfully extorted
from the sharecroppers. He asked only 50 per cent. “There he seemed adamant,” writes Reverend J. Z. Hodge, a
British missionary in Champaran who observed the entire episode at close range. “Thinking probably that he would
not give way, the representative of the planters offered to refund to the extent of 25 per cent, and to his amazement
Mr. Gandhi took him at his word, thus breaking the deadlock.
”This settlement was adopted unanimously by the commission. Gandhi explained that 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 it, part of
their prestige. Therefore, as far as the peasants were concerned, the planters had behaved as lords above the law. Now
the peasant saw that he had rights and defenders. He learned courage.
Deceitfully: dishonestly
Extorted: took forcibly
Adamant: firm
Amazement: surprise
Obliged: required, made legally bound to do something
Deadlock: a situation in which no progress can be made
Unanimously: without opposition
Prestige: honour, esteem
Defenders: protector
The moneylenders had thought that Gandhi would ask for the full payment of the money which they had taken from
the peasants forcefully and fraudulently. But he asked for only fifty percent and his decision was firm. A missionary,
Reverend J. Z. Hodge who had a close watch on the matter reported this. The planters offered to pay only 25 percent
as they thought it would be rejected by Gandhi. He immediately accepted it. Gandhi said that the amount of money
was not important but by giving money, the planters had bowed down to the peasants and had given away their
honour too. The planters who earlier behaved as if they were above the law, now had to abide by it. This made the
peasants realize their rights and give them courage to fight for them.
Events justified Gandhi’s position. Within a few years the British planters abandoned their estates, which reverted to
the peasants. Indigo sharecropping disappeared.
Gandhi never contented himself with large political or economic solutions. He saw the cultural and social
backwardness in the Champaran villages and wanted to do something about it immediately. He appealed for teachers.
Mahadev Desai and Narhari Parikh, two young men who had just joined Gandhi as disciples, and their wives,
volunteered for the work. Several more came from Bombay, Poona and other distant parts of the land. Devadas,
Gandhi’s youngest son, arrived from the ashram and so did Mrs. Gandhi. Primary schools were opened in six
villages. Kasturbai taught the ashram rules on personal cleanliness and community sanitation.
Justified: marked by a good or legitimate reason
Abandoned: deserted, inhibited
Estates: property
Reverted: returned
Contented: willing to accept something, satisfied
Events had proven Gandhi’s position. The British planters had to leave their property within the next few years.
These properties were returned back to the peasants. Indigo sharecropping soon came to an end. Gandhi was not
satisfied by achieving political or economic solutions – he sought to remove the cultural and social backwardness of
Champaran. Gandhi wanted to do something to remove the backwardness in the villages of Champaran. He
requested teachers such as Mahadev Desai and Narhai Parikh and their wives to teach the villagers. Both of them
were followers of Gandhi. Many other volunteers came from Bombay and Poona to join them. Mrs. Gandhi and their
youngest son Devdas arrived from the ashram for their help. Primary schools were opened in six villages where
Kasturbai used to teach the ashram rules on cleanliness and community sanitation.
Health conditions were miserable. Gandhi got a doctor to volunteer his services for six months. Three medicines
were available — castor oil, quinine and sulphur ointment. Anybody who showed a coated tongue was given a dose
of castor oil; anybody with malaria fever received quinine plus castor oil; anybody with skin eruptions received
ointment plus castor oil.
Gandhi noticed the filthy state of women’s clothes. He asked Kasturbai to talk to them about it. One woman took
Kasturbai into her hut and said, ‘‘look, there is no box or cupboard here for clothes. The sari I am wearing is the only
one I have.”
Miserable: unhappy, sad
Volunteer: a person who offers his service free of cost
Eruptions: here, a spot, rash, or other mark appearing suddenly on the skin.
The health conditions of the people of Champaran were very poor. So, Gandhi got a doctor who offered his services
free of cost for six months. There were only three medicines- castor oil, quinine and sulphur ointment available. A
patient with a coated tongue was given Castor oil, a malaria patient was served a dose of quinine and a patient with
a skin disorder was given ointment and castor oil. The women of the area used to wear dirty clothes. When Gandhiji
tried to know the reason through his wife, he was told that those were the only saris each of the women had.
During his long stay in Champaran, Gandhi kept a long distance watch on the ashram. He sent regular instructions by
mail and asked for financial accounts. Once he wrote to the residents that it was time to fill in the old latrine trenches
and dig new ones otherwise the old ones would begin to smell bad.
The Champaran episode was a turning-point in Gandhi’s life. ‘‘What I did,” he explained, “was a very ordinary
thing. I declared that the British could not order me about in my own country.”
Instructions: orders, commands
Residents: locals
While Gandhiji was in Champaran, he kept a long distance vigil on the ashram. He used to send letters of orders
regarding financial matters. Once, he wrote to the locals that it was time to dig new latrines as the old ones had
started giving foul smell. The Champaran incident changed Gandhi’s life. He said that he had done a regular thing-
he had put his point across that the Britishers could not order him in his own country.
But Champaran did not begin as an act of defiance. It grew out of an attempt to alleviate the distress of large numbers
of poor peasants. This was the typical Gandhi pattern — his politics were intertwined with the practical, day-to-day
problems of the millions. His was not a loyalty to abstractions; it was a loyalty to living, human beings.
In everything Gandhi did, moreover, he tried to mould a new free Indian who could stand on his own feet and thus
make India free.
Defiance: opposition
Alleviate: uplift
Distress: torture
Intertwined: twisted, braided, knitted
Abstractions: something which exists only as an idea.
The Champaran satyagraha was not an act of opposition. It was an attempt to help out the poor and tortured
peasants. This was Gandhi’s way to solve issues. His politics was knitted up with the everyday problems faced by the
 millions of people. He did not aim at the fulfilment of ideas, rather, he was concerned for the people. The basic idea
was to serve humanity and make a free Indian who could stand for his rights.
Early in the Champaran action, Charles Freer Andrews, the English pacifist who had become a devoted follower of
the Mahatma, came to bid Gandhi farewell before going on a tour of duty to the Fiji Islands. Gandhi’s lawyer friends
thought it would be a good idea for Andrews to stay in Champaran and help them. Andrews was willing if Gandhi
agreed. But Gandhi was vehemently opposed. He said, ‘‘you think that in this unequal fight it would be helpful if we
have an Englishman on our side. This shows the weakness of your heart. The cause is just and you must rely upon
yourselves to win the battle. You should not seek a prop in Mr. Andrews because he happens to be an Englishman’’.
‘‘He had read our minds correctly,’’ Rajendra Prasad comments, “and we had no reply… Gandhi in this way taught
us a lesson in self-reliance’’.
Self-reliance, Indian independence and help to sharecroppers were all bound together.
Pacifist: Peace maker
Vehemently: in an intense manner
Self Reliance: self sufficiency, self support
prop: support
Charles Freer Andrews who was a peacemaker, visited Gandhi before going on a tour of duty to the Fiji islands.
Gandhi’s lawyer friends wanted Andrews to stay at the Ashram and help them but Gandhi refused. He said that they
did not need the help of Britishers as it showed a lack of trust in their own abilities. He asked them not to seek any
help from Mr. Andrews as he was an Englishman. Rajendra Prasad later on stated that Gandhi had read their
thoughts and his reply served as a lesson of self sufficiency for them. Being self dependant, free and helping the
peasants – all these acts of Gandhi were inter connected.

Indigo Question Answers

Q1- Why do you think Gandhi considered the Champaran episode to be a turning-point in his life?
A1- The Champaran event had solved various problems faced by the poor peasants. They were relieved from the
torture they had to face at the hands of the landlords. Thousands of people supported him. This was considered as a
turning point in the life of Gandhi. He once said that what he did was an ordinary thing as he didn’t want the
Britishers to order him in his own country.

Q2- How was Gandhi able to influence lawyers? Give instances.

A2- Gandhi asked the lawyers about their course of action if he was sentenced to jail. They answered that they would
return back. He then asked them about the plight of the peasants. This made them realize their duty towards the social
issue and they decided to go to jail with Gandhi.

Q3- What was the attitude of the average Indian in smaller localities towards advocates of ‘home rule’?
A3- The average Indians in smaller localities did not support the advocates of Home Rule as they feared to go against
the British government. For Gandhi it was surprising that Professor Malkani allowed him to stay at his home even
though he was a government teacher.

Q4-How do we know that ordinary people too contributed to the freedom movement?
A4- Ordinary people too contributed to the freedom movement. This can be justified by the following events:
 A large number of students accompanied Prof. J.B Kriplani to welcome Gandhi at Muzzafarpur railway station.
 Peasants also came to see him either on foot or by conveyance.
 A large number of people gathered to demonstrate around the courtroom.