12th Eng. CBSE Ch-5. INDIGO Flamingo Summary/ Questions answers Theme Message Characters CBSE/ NCERT Based

Ch-5. Indigo    by            Louis Fischer

       

INTRODUCTION TO THE 

LESSON. The British ruled over India for nearly 150 years. Their reign was a mixed blessing for the country. On the one hand, the white rulers exploited the economic resources and also killed our cottage industry. They pulled the people down below the poverty line. But on the other hand, they proved much superior, sensible and less tyrant than the Mughals. They gave us bridges, rail tracks, telegraph and political unity.                           Indigo by a British anthor, pays a glowing tribute to Gandhiji. It recalls the days when the British planters were harassing the Indian farmers in Champaran, Bihar. They forced the farmers to grow indigo and deliver all of it to them as land rent. The Germans blew the whistle and ended the monopoly of the British planters. They developed artificial indigo, a raw material for making colours. The synthetic indigo being cheap, the indigo plantation became meaningless. The planters demanded huge amounts for the release of the land. The Champaran farmers resented it. Once Rajkumar Shukla persuaded Gandhiji to visit Champaran. Gandhiji persuaded a host of lawyers to fight against the injustice to Champaran farmers. Gandhi's disobedience was successful. The white landlords agreed to refund 25 per cent of the amount and they left the country. It was a great achievement. It marked the beginning of freedom struggle. Gandhi's mantra was to overcome fear and fight non-violently for one's rights.

 DETAILED SUMMARY.                     Louis Fischer first met Gandhiji in 1942 at Sevagram. He was told by the Mahatma the incident that happened in 1917 when he urged the British to leave India. Gandhiji had gone in 1916 to Lucknow to attend the annual conference. A peasant went up to him. He was Rajkumar Shukla from Champaran. Under an old agreement, the Champaran peasants were share-croppers or tenants. Shukla complained about the injustice of the landlord system in Bihar. Gandhiji had no time to visit Bihar. But Shukla accompanied him wherever he went. Impressed by his persistence Gandhiji agreed to visit Champaran from Kolkata. Months passed, and Shukla contacted Gandhiji in Kolkata. Then the two of them left for Patna. They stayed in the house of a lawyer, Rajendra Prasad, who was out of town. The servant did not permit Gandhiji to draw water from the well. He mistook Gandhiji for an untouchable.

Gandhiji wanted complete information about the problem. He sent a telegram to Prof. Kriplani in Muzzafarpur. He was received on 15 April 1917 by Kriplani. He stayed there for two days in Prof. Malkani's home, a teacher in a government school. The news of Gandhi's arrival spread fast. Tenants from Champaran called on Gandhiji to brief him. They also told about the size of fees being charged by the lawyers. Gandhiji chided the lawyers for overcharging. He said that taking cases to the courts would do no good to the peasants. The real remedy for them was to be free from fear.          

Most of the agricultural land in Champaran district was divided into large estates owned by the Englishmen who compelled the Indian tenants to grow Indigo on 15 per cent of land. The entire crop was the rent for the land. Indigo was used till then for making colours. But when Germany developed synthetic indigo, the landlords demanded compensation from the peasants for their release from the agreement. Some peasants paid the amount. But when they came to know about synthetic indigo, they demanded their money back from their English landlords. It was at this point that Gandhiji arrived in Champaran.

Gandhiji first met the secretary of the British landlords association. But the secretary refused to give any information to an outsider. Next he met the British Commissioner of the Tirhut division. The Commissioner told Gandhiji to leave Tirhut forthwith. Gandhiji proceeded to Motihari along with several lawyers. He was going to a nearby village to see a peasant who had been ill-treated. He was served with a notice by the police to quit Champaran. Gandhiji received the notice but declared that he would disobey the order. He got summons to appear in court the next day.       

Gandhiji called Rajendra Prasad, to the town, and sent a full report to the Viceroy. The next morning, the peasants gathered in thousands around the court house. The officials felt powerless. They realised that they could be challenged by the Indians. The Government wanted to postpone the trial. But Gandhiji protested and pleaded guilty. He said he was disobeying the order to leave in obedience to the voice of his conscience. The magistrate asked Gandhiji to furnish bail for 120 minutes. Gandhiji refused. So the judge released him without bail.

The court met again. The judge said he would not deliver the judgement for several days. He allowed Gandhiji to remain at liberty. The lawyers had arrived to advise and confer with Gandhiji. They wanted to go home in case Gandhiji was sent to prison. But Gandhiji raised the issue of injustice to the peasants. The lawyers realised that it would be shameful to desert the peasants. They agreed to follow him into jail. He then exclaimed The battle of Champaran is won. Several days later, Gandhiji was informed that the case against him had been dropped. The first time in modern India, civil disobedience had won the battle off

Gandhiji and the lawyer conducted in-depth enquiry into the problems of the farmers. Documents were collected. The landlords protested. In June, he was summoned by the Lieutenant-Governor who appointed a commission of inquiry to study the situation. Gandhiji acted as the sole representative of the peasants. He stayed in Champaran for seven months. The commission agreed in principle to make refunds to the peasants. They asked Gandhiji about the quantum of refund. They thought he would demand 100 per cent. But he asked for only 50 per cent. The planters offered to refund only 25 per cent. He accepted the offer and the settlement was accepted by the commission. He explained to the peasants that the refund was less important than their victory. The British planters left their estates within a few years and the indigo cropping disappeared.

Gandhiji wanted to fight the cultural and social backwardness in the Champaran villages. He appealed for teachers and got a good response. He got a doctor to serve the people from months. Only three medicines were used castor oil, quinine and sulphur ointment. From Champaran Gandhiji kept a watch on his ashram also by mail. The Champaran fight was a turning point in Gandhi's life. He declared that the British could not order him about in his own country Secondly, the people themselves should fight and win the battle for a just cause. Thus he taught the people a lesson in self-reliance.

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