Chapter 5
INDIGO ( Louis Fischer)
Introduction of Indigo
Louis Fischer was a well known Jewish American journalist of the 1950s. He wrote Mahatma Gandhi’ s biography ‘ The Life of Mahatma Gandhi ‘, on which the Oscar- winning film Gandhi was based.
In this book Fischer details Gandhi’ s struggle for independence against the South African government and the fight against British rule in India. Gandhi helped to free the Indian people from British rule through nonviolence and truth called satyagraha. And he is honored by Indian as the Father of the nation.
Summary with explanation of Indigo
Summary of indigo:
A poor farmer from champaran met Gandhi during the 1916 Indian National Congress convention in Lucknow. He had come to the Congress session to complain about the injustice of the landlord system in Bihar and somebody had directed him to Gandhi. The Champaran presents were sharecroppers and Rajkumar Shukla was one of them. initially ,Gandhi was disinclined to take up the case due to other engagements ,but impressed by his tenacity Gandhi finally agreed to go no I with him when he would reach Calcutta for some work. On the boarded a train from Calcutta to Patna along with Rajkumar Shukla and they reached the house of Rajendra Prasad. He had gone out of town. So his servants let them stay on the grounds. They world not allowed to draw water from the well lest the water in the well should be polluted as the servants thought Gandhi too was a low class person. On the way to Champaran Gandhi riste Muzaffarpur to obtain more detailed information about the condition then Shukla was capable of imparting. Prof. Kripalani with many students was waiting for him at the station. He stayed there for two days. As the news of his arrival spread large number of poor pigeons begin reaching Muzaffarpur. He was briefed by the lawyers about the status of the case. Gandhi then and knew that taking the course of the law would be of no use for the poor people. He wanted to drive out the fear from their minds.
The British landlords in Champaran posed the tenants to cultivate 15% of their holdings with Indigo a commercial crop and surrender the entire harvest as rent. During this time the Germans came out with synthetic Indigo in the market which would being down the price of natural Indigo. Has the landlords agreed to free the peasants from Indigo cultivation provided they paid the former some money. Some agreed and those who were first were forced to to pay the money. Later Farmers too came to know the real reason why the British were not anymore interested in Indigo cultivation. Now the farmers felt that they were cheated and they demanded their money back for stop this was the IMF face that Gandhi had to resolve. He bigain collecting facts about the case. First the visited the secondary of the British landlords association and received no answer to his questions will stop then he went to the British official commissioner of the Tirhut division from where he was driven out. He then proceeded to Motihari in the the company of many lawyers but through a court notice he was asked to leave the place. When Gandhi refused to obey the order he was served summons to appear in the court the next day. Bye morning the town of Motihari was filled with large crowd. The British officials felt powerless and Gandhi helped them to control the mob. Fearing consequences the case was postponed and later the case was dropped. Thus the civil disobedience won for the first time in India.
Gandhi collected lot of facts about the injustice done by the landlords and he met sir Edward Gait, the Lieutenant- Governor who after a series of meetings, finally ordered an official inquiry. The commission assembled mounting evidence against the big planters and when they saw all these they agreed to refund the peasants. Gandhi demanded 50% refunding, but finally they upon 25% . Gandhi ji agreed and the deadlock ended. 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. Until now the planters had behaved above the law now the peasants found that they had rights and defenders. They learnt courage. With within few years the planters abandoned their estates and devoted to the peasants the fields. Indigo share cropping disappeared.
Gandhi wanted to uplift the social and economic backwardness of the people. He started many primary schools and taught people about personal cleanliness and community sanitation. He caught a doctor to volunteer for 6 month and supplied medicines that were available. Diseases like coated tongue malaria and skin eruptions were treated. The Champaran incident was a turning point in his life. He declared that the British could not order him about his country. He was a down to earth man who was very much practical. His politics were intertwined with the practical day to day problems of the millions. It was his attempt to mould an Indian who was self-reliant. When he refused to take the help of the English who offered the same. He didn’t want to depend on them to win his battle. He wanted the Indians to feel confident in their capacity and be self reliant.
Think as you read of indigo
Q.1. strike out what is not true in the following:
a). Rajkumar Shukla was
i). A share copper
ii). Politician
iii). Delegate
iv). A landlord
b). Rajkumar Shukla was
i). Poor
ii). Physically strong
iii). Illiterate
Ans. a). A share copper
b). Poor and illiterate
Q.2. why is Rajkumar Shukla described as being ‘ resolute ‘?
Ans. Rajkumar Shukla is described as being resolved it because he was determined to fight against the injustice done to the poor share croppers. Through illiterate he went to meet Gandhi in order to get his help in solving the problems of hair coppers of his area. He didn’t leave Gandhi 20 side until Gandhi agreed to help him. Even Gandhi was impressed by his tenacity.
Q.3. why do you think the servants thought Gandhi to be another peasant?
Ans. The servants thought Gandhi to be another peasant because he had gone there with Rajkumar Shukla who was a poor farmer. He was known to them as he often tested their master to help Indigo sharecroppers. They might have thought he must be another pleasent who had come to trouble their master.
Q.4. the places that Gandhi visited between his first meeting with Shukla and his arrival at Champaran.
Ans. Visited many places between his first meeting with Shukla and his arrival at Champaran. He had an appointment in cawn pore. From there he went to his ashram near Ahmedabad. It was in Calcutta finally he agreed to go with Rajkumar. Before reaching Champaran he visited Muzaffarpur which was en route to Champaran.
Q.5. what did the peasants pay the British landlords as rent? What did the British now want instead and why question mark what would be the impact of synthetic and ago on the prices of natural Indigo?
Ans. The peasants paid the British landlords the entire crops of Indigo as rent for stop it was done as long-term contract. Thereafter the British landlords wanted agreements from the sharecroppers to pay them compensation for being released from the 15% arrangement because the landlords learnt that Germany had developed synthetic Indigo. It would bring down the prices of the natural Indigo.
Q.6. the events in this part of the text illustrate Gandhi’s third and link them to his ideas of Satyagraha and non violence?
Ans. Gandhi respected the legal system and legal authority as long as the legal orders were within the norms of justice and fair play. He complied with the order of the police to return to town. But when he received an official notice to quit Champaran he declared that he would obey the order. He was ready to go to the jail for the sake of the poor. But he believed in non demonstrated around the court house. The prosecutor requested the judge to postpone the trial. Gandhi protested against the delay. He told the lawyers that the voice of conscience was above any law. These are some of the intensive that link them to his ideas of Satyagrah and nonviolence.
Q.7. why did Gandhi agree to a settlement of 25% referred to the farmers?
Ans. English landlords finally agreed to refund 25% of the money they had decide fully collected from the Indian peasants. Agreed to the offer because first of he wanted to end the deadlock. Secondly for him the amount refunded was less important then the political mileage he got from the incident he got from the incident. The landlords were forced to surrender part of the money and with it part of their prestige .
Q.8. how did the episode change the plight of the peasants?
Ans. The arrangement changed the state of things for the peasants. Earlier the planters hat behaved as lords above the law. Now the pigeon discovered that they had rights and defenders. They learnt to be courageous. Within a few years the British planters abandoned their estates which reverted to the peasants. Indigo share cropping disappeared.
Understanding questions and answers of Indigo
Q 1. How was Gandhi able to influence lawyers? Give reasons.
Ans. The lawyers had an active role to play in promoting the Champaran movement and Gandhi commitment. Muzaffarpur lawyers frequently represented present groups in the court. Gandhi chided them for collecting big fee from the share croppers. Later when there was a possibility of Gandhi being sent to prison many prominent lawyers arrived from Bihar. Gandhi asked the lawyers about the injustice done to the sharecroppers. The lawyers withdrew to concert. They came to a conclusion if Gandhi being a stranger was prepared to go to jail for the peasants it would be shameful for them to desert him. Influenced and touched by Gandhi’s sense of commitment to his cause the lawyers went back to go Gandhi. They told him that it they were ready to follow him into jail. Gandhi simply exclaimed ,” The battle of Champaran is won.”
Q.2. what was the attitude of the average Indian in smaller localities towords advocates of home rule?
Ans. Before Gandhi descended on the scene, there was no resistance, no mass movement in Indian. The average common Indian had resigned to his fate. He allowed himself to be victimized by the British landlords and the officials. The condition of the people, particularly of the poor peasants, was terrible. There was large scale exploitation of the poor by the authorities. The general attitude of the average Indian in smaller localities was that of a quiet surrender to their status. Those few, who raised their voice against the British, were tortured. Those who advocated home- rule in India were not given shelter. At times, they were threatened, humiliated and arrested. On account of this treatment, the small town people were afraid and indifferent even to show sympathy for the people demanding home- rule. If someone did , it was considered an extraordinary thing those days.
Q.3. How do we know that ordinary people too contributed to the freedom movement?
Ans. Gandhi never fought single handedly against the British. He always had the support of the common people with him. The greatest contribution of Gandhi was that he made the freedom movement a national movement — a movement of the people. He encouraged them to participate in the civil disobedient movement, satyagraha and other non- violent movements. Along with freedom movement he also used the opportunity for the social and economic reforms in the country to help the common people solve their problems. In Champaran, he helped the share croppers to get themselves released from the clutches of the landlords. He could not have done this without the help of the ordinary people. The civil authorities could not act against Gandhi ji when they saw the large number of people following him. By attracting large crowds he gave the British authorities the concrete proof that their might, hitherto dreaded and unquestioned, could be challenged by the Indians. Thus if it were not for the large followers Gandhi ji could never have contributed anything for the liberation of the country from the rule of the British.
Short answer type questions of Indigo
Q 1. ” The battle of Champaran is won.” When and why did Gandhi ji utter these inspirational words?
Ans. Gandhi uttered these inspirational words when the lawyers under the leadership of Dr Rajendra Prasad agreed to go to jail if Gandhi were to be arrested. He said so because he knew that he would win the struggle against the British landlords if he would get the support of everyone including the lawyers.
Q.2. Explain the ‘ conflict of duties’ that Gandhi ji told the court he was involved in.
Ans. Gandhi told the court that he was involved in a conflict of duties. On the one hand, he didn’t want to be a law breaker but on the other, he wanted to render humanitarian and national service as demanded by his consciousness. He told the court he finally decided to listen to the voice of his inner consciousness and help the poor farmers of Champaran.
Long Answers type questions of Indigo
Q.1. ” Truth, purity, self- control, fearlessness, humility, unity, peace and renunciation— These are the inherent qualities of a civil resister.”
How does Gandhi exhibit these qualities in him during the time when he fought for the rights of the Champaran farmers?
Ans. Gandhi was not a loyalty to abstractions; it was a loyalty to living human beings. He was very realistic and always practised what he preached. First of all Gandhi was a true seeker of truth. Instead of believing what Rajkumar Shukla told him he goes to Champaran and collects all the evidence against the British landlords. Through the incident Gandhi taught the Indians a lesson in courage. The poor peasants so that they had rights and there were people to defend those rights. Gandhi had the courage to break the law of the land he United the Indians against the British and later made the struggle for independence National movement. He could have easily turned the Champaran incident into a violent struggle. But he chose to help the British officials to control the crowd and prevented them from getting violent. Gandhi was an extra ordinary human and generations to come will scarce believe that such a one as (Gandhi )ever in flesh and blood walked upon this earth. ” (Albert Einstein)
Q.2. How did Gandhi use non violence and civil disobedience at Champaran to achieve his goal?
Ans. Gandhi Used Satyagraha and non violence to achieve his goal. Gandhi called on the British commissioner of the Tirhut division who ask him to Tirhut with immediate effect. But Gandhi refused to comply with the order. He was dance served court notice to quit Champaran but he refused to obey the in just order . He received summons to appear in the the court the next day. Thousands of peasants the most rated in protest outside the court house. Gandhi made sure that the crowd didn’t go violent and remained within his control. He only wanted a peaceful demonstration of the Indian strength. Later when the court reconvened, the judge said that he would not deliver the judgement for many days and allowed Gandhi to remain at Liberty. Several days later the case was ordered to be dropped. Letter within a few years the British planters abandoned their states which was reverted to the peasants. Indigo share cropping disappeared. Thus, Gandhi used non violence and civil disobedience movement at Champaran to achieve his political goal.
Q.3. scribe the efforts made by Rajkumar Shukla to persuade Gandhi to go to Champaran.
Ans. Rajkumar Shukla was one of the illiterate sharecroppers of Champaran. He called on Gandhi with a determined mind to make him take up the the cause of the poor peasants who were being exploited by the English landlords . But Gandhi was declined to go there initially. He try to excuse himself by saying that he had an appointment it in cawnpore and was also committed to go to other parts of India. Shukla didn’t give up. He accompanied Gandhi wherever he went. For weeks he stuck to Gandhi’s side. Finally he bagged to Gandhi to fix a date. Impressed by his tenacity Gandhi went with Rajkumar Shukla to Bihar. The two of them boarded a train for Patna in Bihar from Calcutta.
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Chapter 5 (flamingo) indigo for class Xllth summary with explanation questions and answers with full explanation for class Xllth Ncert solutions .