Chapter 5: Indigo

Ans: Rajkumar Shukla is described as resolute because he was determined to take Gandhi to Champaran to solve the problems of the sharecroppers. He followed Gandhi everywhere—from the Congress session in Lucknow to Cawnpore, Ahmedabad, Calcutta, and finally to Patna. He did not leave Gandhi's side for weeks until a date was fixed.

Ans: The servants at Rajendra Prasad's house in Patna knew Rajkumar Shukla as a poor yeoman who pestered their master. Since Gandhi accompanied Shukla and was dressed simply in a loincloth, the servants assumed he was also a poor peasant. They even forbade him from drawing water from the well lest he pollute it, thinking he might be an untouchable.

Ans:

1. Lucknow (Annual Congress Party Session)
2. Cawnpore (Kanpur)
3. Ashram near Ahmedabad
4. Calcutta
5. Patna (Rajendra Prasad's house)
6. Muzaffarpur
7. Champaran (Motihari)

Ans: The peasants were compelled to plant 15% of their holdings with indigo and surrender the entire indigo harvest as rent. However, Germany had developed synthetic indigo, making natural indigo unprofitable. So, the British landlords now wanted the peasants to pay them compensation (money) to be released from the 15% arrangement.

Ans: 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. For the first time, the peasants realized they had rights and defenders. This moral victory was more valuable than the full money.

Ans: The episode liberated the peasants from the fear of the British. They learned courage. Within a few years, the British planters abandoned their estates, which reverted to the peasants. Indigo sharecropping disappeared from Champaran forever.

Ans: Gandhi said this when the prominent lawyers (like Rajendra Prasad and Brij Kishor Babu) agreed to follow him into jail if he was arrested. This unity meant that the fear of the British was overcome and the leadership was united, ensuring the success of the movement.

Ans: Gandhi chided the lawyers for collecting big fees from the poor sharecroppers. He believed that taking such cases to court did little good when the peasants were crushed and fear-stricken. He emphasized that real relief would come from being free from fear.

Ans: The Champaran episode was the first Civil Disobedience movement in India, and it was successful. It proved that the British could not order Indians about in their own country. It was not just a political struggle but a practical one, alleviating the distress of thousands of poor peasants. It established Gandhi's leadership and method of non-violence (Satyagraha) on a national scale.

Ans: During the trial, Gandhi's lawyer friends wanted Charles Freer Andrews (an Englishman) to stay and help them. Gandhi strongly opposed this. He said that relying on an Englishman showed the weakness of their heart. He wanted Indians to be self-reliant and win the battle on their own strength, rather than using a prop.

Ans: Gandhi realized that political freedom was not enough. He appealed for teachers, and several volunteers came forward to open primary schools in six villages. His wife, Kasturba, taught the ashram rules on personal cleanliness and community sanitation. He also arranged for a doctor to volunteer his services for six months.