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INDIGO SUMMARY

The author visits Sevagram

Fischer visited Sevagram, the ashram of Gandhi, in 1942. There, Gandhirevealed the reason behind the decision to urge the departure of the British, in

1917.A Champaran peasant and his request

In 1916, Gandhi attended the annual convention of the Indian National Congressin Lucknow. During the proceedings, an illiterate peasant, Rajkumar Shukla,

approached Gandhi and requested him to visit his district. He was one of thesharecroppers of Champaran, who had come to appeal against the injustice ofthe landlord system in Bihar.The peasant accompanied Gandhi everywhere he went and unrelentingly begged

him to fix a date for his visit to Champaran. In due course, Gandhi, impressedby the determination and the woeful tale of the peasant, consented to his

request and asked him to meet in Calcutta.

Gandhis visit to Rajendra Prasads houseAt an appointed time, the duo boarded a train to Patna. First, Gandhi was takento the house of Rajendra Prasad, a lawyer who later went on to become the

President of the Congress party and then the first President of India. RajendraPrasad was out of town. Though the servants allowed them stay on the grounds,

Gandhi was not allowed to draw water from the well as they mistook him for anuntouchable.

En route to ChamparanGandhi decided to halt at Muzzafarpur en route to Champaran to gather moreinformation on the sharecroppers of Champaran. Eventually, on 15 April 1917,Gandhi and Shukla arrived at Muzzafarpur station, and were received by

Professor J.B. Kripalani and a great number of students. Professor Malkani, agovernment school teacher, dared to accommodate Gandhi at his home though

it was considered quite unsafe for Indians to help advocates of home-rule.Gandhis solution - Freedom from fear

With the spread of the news of Gandhis arrival, many sharecroppers started tothrong in. The lawyers of Muzzafarpur, who often represented these farmers in

courts, conveyed to Gandhi the nature of the condition faced by the peasants.On being told the size of their fee, Gandhi reproached the lawyers. Gandhi

concluded that approaching the court was hardly the solution; the real respitewould be their freedom from fear.

Indigo sharecroppers predicament

The Englishmen owned large estates of arable land in the Champaran while theIndian tenants toiled hard. They were obliged by long-term contracts to growindigo on 15 percent of the holdings and surrender the entire indigo harvest as

rent. With the development of synthetic indigo, the landlords exempted thetenants from the 15 percent arrangement but only after they paid compensation.

When they got to know the real reason for exemption, many of those who hadsigned asked for their money to be returned. For the ones who tried to resist,

the Englishmen hired thugs.Gandhis mediation

After his arrival, in order to get the facts right, Gandhi visited the secretary ofthe British landlords association. However, he was denied any information.

Next, he visited the British official commissioner of the Tirhut division. But


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INDIGO SUMMARY

instead of providing Gandhi with the information, the commissioner bullied him

and asked him to leave the place at once.However, Gandhi did not leave; instead, accompanied by quite a few lawyers, he

went to Motihari, the capital of Champaran, from where he continued hisinvestigations.

Gandhi ordered to leaveOne day, while on his visit to a maltreated peasant, Gandhi was stopped by a

messenger from the police superintendent commanding him to return. Gandhicomplied. He was given an official notice to leave Champaran immediately.

Gandhi signed the order and wrote that he would disobey it. Consequently, hewas asked to appear before the court the next day.First step towards freedom from fearGandhi spent a busy night. First, he wired Rajendra Prasad requesting him to

come from Bihar, along with his influential friends. Then, he sent instructions tothe ashram and also wired a full report to the Viceroy.

In the morning, peasants in thousands, gathered in front of the courthouse.

This, according to Gandhi, was their first step towards emancipation from theirfear of the Englishmen. The officials turned powerless and it was Gandhi whofinally helped them to control the crowd.

The perplexed authorities sought to postpone the trial. However, Gandhiprotested against the delay.

Gandhi released without bail while the trial remains unsettledGandhi read out a statement pleading guilty. He told the court that he disobeyed

the law, not because he disregarded the law but rather because he wanted torender the humanitarian and national service ... in obedience to the higher lawof our being, the voice of conscience.The magistrate declared a two-hour recess after which the sentence was to be

pronounced. He also asked Gandhi to supply bail for those 120 minutes. Butwhen Gandhi refused, he was released without bail.

After the court reassembled, the judge announced that he would not bedelivering the judgement for several days during which Gandhi was allowed to

remain at liberty.Victory of Civil disobedience

As per Gandhi 's request, Rajendra Prasad, Brij Kishore Babu, Maulana MazharulHuq and several other prominent lawyers arrived from Bihar. These lawyers

opined that they would return to their own places in the event of hisimprisonment. But as Gandhi helped them understand their duty towards the

peasants, they agreed to follow him to the jail. Civil disobedience won for the

first time with the dropping of the case against Gandhi, following the order of theLieutenant-Governor of the province.Official commission of enquiry

Gandhi and the lawyers together noted down the statements made by tenthousand peasants. Amidst the protest of the landlords, they made

investigations and collected added evidences and documents. Gandhi alsosketched out civil disobedience plans with associates to be carried out in case of

his arrest.Gandhi was summoned to Sir Edward Gait, the Lietenant-General in June. After

a series of four interviews with him, Gandhi succeeded in making the latterappoint an official commission of enquiry into the indigo sharecroppers situation

which consisted of the landlords, government officials and Gandhi, the only onewho represented the peasants.


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INDIGO SUMMARY

Triumph over the sharecropping arrangement

Evidence was collected against the planters and it was agreed to make refundsto the peasants. Gandhi initially quoted a repay of 50 per cent, but later

approved the landlords proposal of just 25 per cent. According to him, theamount was less important than the fact that the planters were obligated to

submit their prestige. After a few years, British officials abandoned their estates.This put an end to the sharecropping arrangement.

Gandhis effort to eradicate social and cultural backwardnessUnsatisfied with just political and economic solutions, Gandhi wanted to bring

about a change in the social and cultural condition of Champaran. He opened upschools in six different villages, and several of his disciples and family membersvolunteered as teachers. His wife, Kasturbai, worked on the personal cleanlinessand community sanitation of the place. Gandhi also hired a doctor for the

improvement of the health condition.Even though living away from it, Gandhi regularly made enquiries about the

ashram, sending instructions and asking for financial accounts.

Impact of the Champaran episodeAlthough what he did was an ordinary thing, the episode was a decisive momentin his life.

According to the author, the politics for Gandhi was intricately linked with theeveryday activities. He considered it important that Indians stand on their own

feet, without any fear.Among other things, Gandhi also taught his fellow men the importance of self-

reliance rather than taking support of props. He was against using the help ofCharles Freer Andrews, an Englishman, since it showed the lack of selfconfidence.

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