INDIGO answered by Mr. Rupjyoti Goswami, PGT (English)

1. Why do you think Gandhi considered the Champaran episode to be a turning point in his life?  Marks 2/3
Ans:- The champaran episode was a turning point in Gandhi's life because it was his first landmark achievement in ensuring social justice. It was the first mass movement in India.
Gandhi's fight against the injustices of the cruel landlords on behalf of the poor peasants and his formidable victory marked the first victory of the Civil Disobedience Movement in India. The English landlords who behaved as lords above the law, were forced to surrender part of the money.

2. Why did Gandhiji decide to go first to Muzaffarpur before going to Champaran?

(Or) Why did Gandhi choose to go to Muzzaffarpur before going on to Champaran? HS-2018
Ans:- Gandhi decided to go first to Muzaffarpur because it was en route to Champaran. Moreover he wanted to collect more information about conditions prevailing there. Therefore he sent a telegram to Professor J.B. Kripalini. He stayed with Professor Malkani for two days. Even Muzaffarpur lawyers called on Gandhi to brief him.

3. Why did Gandhi chide the lawyers of Muzaffarpur?
Ans:The Muzaffarpur lawyers who frequently represented peasants in courts ,called on Gandhi to brief him. Gandhi chided them for collecting big fees from the poor sharecroppers.It was inhuman to charge heavy fees from these poor peasants.

4. How was Gandhi treated at Dr Rajendra Prasad's house?
(OR) How were Shukla and Gandhiji received in Rajendra Prasad's house?
(OR) What did the servants at Rajendra Prasad's house take Gandhi to be? Why was he not allowed to draw water from the well?
Ans:- Shukla and Gandhiji were received rather unceremoniously in Rajendra Prasad's house in his absence. The servants were familiar with Shukla as a poor peasant who troubled their master to help the indigo sharecroppers. They also took Gandhiji to be another peasant. Gandhiji was prevented from drawing water from the well as they thought him to be an untouchable. There was a chance of his bucket polluting the entire source of water.

5. Who was Rajkumar Shukla? (HS-2016, 2012) Why did he go to meet Gandhiji?

Ans:- Rajkumar Shukla was a poor sharecropper from Champaran in Bihar. He had come to the Congress session to meet Gandhiji. He wanted Gandhi to stand for the economic rights of the poor sharecroppers exploited by the British indigo planters. He approached Gandhi for his intervention in their fight for economic justice.

6. How did Shukla succeed in persuading Gandhiji to visit Champaran?
(OR)How did Rajkumar Shukla establish that he was resolute?
Ans:- Rajkumar Shukla wanted Gandhiji to visit Champaran and vouch for the rights of the sharecroppers exploited by the British indigo planters. Gandhiji spoke of his appointments in Kanpur and other parts of India. Shukla followed him wherever he went. Gandhiji was mesmerized by his tenacity, devotion and resolution. Then both of them boarded a train for Patna.

7. What was the incident that prompted Gandhi to raise his voice of protest against the British?  HS-2017
(OR)When and where did Gandhi decide "to urge the departure of the British" and why?
Ans:- The idea of raising his voice of protest against the British came to Gandhi's mind in 1917.He took up the cause of the poor peasants in Bihar in 1916. Gandhi later on went to Champaran to wage a struggle against the cruel British landlords. The Champaran episode made him think that the British must quit India sooner or later.

8. How did Gandhiji react to the Commissioner's advice and where did he go?
Ans:The Commissioner of Tirhut tried to bully Gandhiji and advised him to leave Tirhut immediately. Gandhi ignored his advice and didn't leave.Instead ,he proceeded to Motihari, the capital of Champaran. He was received by a huge crowd. A report came in that a peasant had been maltreated in a nearby village. Gandhiji started out on the back of an elephant to go there.

9. Describe the efforts made by Rajkumar Shukla to persuade Gandhi to go to Champaran.                          Marks--5
(OR)Who was Rajkumar Shukla and why did he meet Gandhi? What made Gandhi board a train with him to Patna?
Ans:- Rajkumar Shukla was a poor peasant and sharecropper from Champaran. He met Gandhi in Lucknow at the December 1916 annual convention of the Indian National Congress.He was a representative image of any other peasant in India, poor, weak and thin. He wanted to apprise Gandhi of the economic injustice of the landlord system prevalent in Bihar. The British landlords monopolized the ownership of most of the arable lands in Champaran and compelled the sharecroppers to grow indigo on the land. Shukla came to meet Gandhi on somebody's advice.
Gandhi had never heard of Champaran and he seemed to be not much interested in Shukla's issue. So he spoke of his engagements and commitments in Kanpur and other parts of India. But Shukla was too obstinate to leave Gandhi. He accompanied him wherever he went.Shukla was with Gandhi when he came to his ashram. He begged Gandhi to fix a date. Gandhi was impressed by Shukla's tenacity and honesty. Gandhi asked Shukla to come and meet him in Calcutta. Shukla was sitting on his haunches when Gandhi arrived at Calcutta. Then both of them boarded a train for Patna.

10. Describe the exploitation of the indigo sharecroppers by English landlords in Champaran. How did Gandhi help them to get an honourable settlement?
(OR)'The Champaran episode was an attempt to alleviate the distress of thousands of poor peasants'. How did Gandhiji become the saviour of the sharecroppers of Champaran?
Ans:- According to a long term contract  between the British landlords and Indian sharecroppers, Indian tenants were bound to plant 15% of their holdings with indigo. They had to part with the entire indigo harvest as rent to the landlords. Meanwhile synthetic indigo was developed by Germany and it badly affected the commercial prospects of natural indigo. The landlords decided to free the Indian sharecroppers from the 15%contract on the condition that they must pay compensation to the landlords for this freedom. The peasants could see through the trick and fraud of the landlords.They refused to pay the compensation and many others demanded their money back.
At this juncture Gandhi emerged as the saviour of the sharecroppers. He went to Bihar and a huge demonstration of thousands of peasants was organized. The government was baffled and a commission of enquiry was set up. Gandhi was the leader to vouch for the economic rights of the peasants. The landlords agreed to refund the money at a settlement of 25%.The amount of refund was less important. What mattered most was the victory of the peasants and the triumph of the Civil Disobedience in India.

11.'The battle of Champaran is won,' Gandhi exclaimed. Explain the context in which this was said.

(OR) Explain the statement: "The Battle of Champaran is won."    HS-2024
Ans:- Gandhiji came to Champaran to vouch for the economic rights of the poor peasants exploited by the British landlords. He was determined to alleviate their distress. Gandhiji wanted to consolidate the Champaran movement including people from every section of the society. He could garner full support of the peasants. Their spontaneous demonstration in thousands, around the courthouse shook the British government. It was the presage of their liberation from fear of the British rule. However the lawyers were reluctant to help Gandhiji, fearing imprisonment. Gandhi made them feel sympathetic for the oppressed peasants. They expressed solidarity with Gandhi in the cause and became resolute to follow him into jail. Gandhiji was satisfied at this positive outcome and declared 'The battle of Champaran is won'.Dividing the group into pairs, he put down the order in which each pair was to court arrest.

12. When and where did the author/Louis Fischer visit Gandhi?
Ans:- The author visited Gandhi in 1942 at his ashram in Sevagram located in central India.

13. How did Gandhi manage his ashram in Sevagram when he was in Champaran?
Ans:- When Gandhi was in Champaran ,he continued to keep a vigilant watch on the ashram in Sevagram. He sent regular instructions by mail and asked for financial accounts.To maintain hygiene of the ashram he asked the residents to fill in the old latrines and dig new ones.

14. What did Gandhi do to improve the health condition in the Champaran villages? HS-2023
Ans:- Gandhi made some arrangements for addressing the health condition in the  Champaran villages.He got a doctor to volunteer his services for six months. Patients were given access to three medicines-castor oil, quinine for malaria and sulphur ointment for skin eruptions.Sometimes a combination of the medicines was also prescribed.

15.Why did Gandhi feel that taking the Champaran case to the court was useless?
Ans:Gandhi felt that taking the Champaran case to the court was useless because the lawyers used to charge heavy fees from the oppressed sharecroppers. The need of the hour was to liberate the peasants from the fear of the British rulers.

16. Why did Gandhi object to CF Andrews stay in Champaran?
Ans:- C.F Andrews was a stalwart follower of Gandhiji. Gandhi objected to taking his help in the Champaran battle because it would be nothing more than showing the weakness of Indian people.The British rulers would come to a humiliating conclusion that Indians could not stand against the exploitation of the British without the help of another British. So, Gandhi objected to his stay in Champaran.

17. What was the idea that Gandhi's lawyer friends suggested about CF Andrews?
Ans:- CF Andrews was a stalwart follower of Gandhiji. The lawyers suggested that they should take help from Andrews in the battle of Champaran.

 18. Who is Sir Edward Gait? HS-2012, 2015
Ans:- Sir Edward Gait is the Lieutenant Governor of Bihar.

19. Whom did Gandhi and Shukla propose to meet at Patna? HS-2013, 2017, 2022

Ans:- Gandhi and Shukla proposed to meet a lawyer named Rajendra Prasad who later became the President of India.

20. Why was Gandhi visiting Lucknow in 1916 ? HS-2013, 2022
Ans:- Gandhi was visiting Lucknow in 1916 to attend the annual convention of the Indian National Congress party.

21. Where is Champaran situated/located ? HS-2014, 2018

Ans:- Champaran,a district in Bihar,is situated in the foothills of the towering Himalayas bordering Nepal.

22. What did Shukla want Gandhi to do ? [HS-2015]
Ans:- Shukla wanted Gandhi to help the poor sharecroppers in their fight against the injustice of the landlord system in Bihar.

23. What was Gandhi's politics intertwined with ? [HS-2016]
Ans:- Gandhi's politics were intertwined with the practical, day-to-day problems of the masses.

24. Name the eminent lawyer who later became the President of India.
Ans:- Dr Rajendra Prasad.

25. Name the Professor of the Arts College in Muzaffarpur, whom Gandhi had seen at Tagore's Shantiniketan school.
Ans:- J.B.Kripalini.

26. From which famous book the chapter "Indigo"is extracted?
Ans:- 'The Life of Mahatma Gandhi' by Louis Fischer.

27. Which country had developed synthetic Indigo?
Ans:- Germany.

28.Where did Gandhi and Shukla board a train to?
Ans:- Gandhi and Shukla boarded a train to Patna in Bihar.

29. Name the Lieutenant Governor who summoned Gandhi in June.
Ans:- Sir Edward Gait.

30. Where was Rajkumar Shukla from?
Ans:- Rajkumar Shukla was from Champaran district of Bihar.
31. Name the two disciples of Gandhi who volunteered for the work as teachers.
Ans:- Mahadev Desai and Narhari Parikh.
32. What ashram rules did Kasturbai teach in the Champaran villages?
Ans:- Kasturbai taught ashram rules on personal cleanliness and community sanitation in the Champaran villages.
33. Where did Gandhi decide to go first from Patna?
Ans:- Gandhi decided to go first to Muzaffarpur from Patna.
34. What was the "extraordinary thing" as mentioned by Gandhi?
Ans:- As mentioned by Gandhi the "extraordinary thing" was sheltering a man like him by a government school teacher (Malkani).
35. How did the British Official Commissioner of Tirhut treat Gandhi ?
Ans:- The British Official Commissioner of Tirhut proceeded to bully Gandhi and advised him to leave Tirhut immediately.
36. Name the capital of Champaran.
Ans:- Motihari.
37. What did the Official Commission of inquiry consist of ?
(OR) Who were the members of the Official Commission of inquiry?
Ans:- The Official Commission of inquiry consisted of landlords, government officials and Gandhi.
(OR) The members of the Official Commission of inquiry were landlords, government officials and Gandhi.
38. What did the Official inquiry assemble?
Ans:- The Official inquiry assembled a crushing mountain of evidence against the big planters.
39.Who is J.Z. Hodge ?
Ans:- J.Z. Hodge is a British missionary in Champaran.
40. Which events justified Gandhi's position in the Champaran episode ?
Ans:- The events that justified Gandhi's position in the Champaran episode, were the abandonment of the estates by the British landlords and disappearance of Indigo sharecropping.
41. Who is Devadas ?
Ans:- Devadas was Gandhi's youngest son.
42.In how many villages of Champaran did Gandhi open Primary schools?
Ans:- Gandhi opened Primary schools in six villages of Champaran.
43. Which medicines were available for health services in Champaran villages ?
Ans:- Castor oil, quinine and sulphur ointment.
44. What message did Gandhi want to convey through the Champaran episode?
Ans:- Through the Champaran episode Gandhi wanted to convey the message that the British could not order him about in his own country.
45. What did the Champaran episode grow out of ?
Ans:- The Champaran episode grew out of an attempt to alleviate the distress of a large number of poor peasants.
46. Name the English pacifist who had become a devoted follower of the Mahatma.
Ans:- Charles Freer Andrews.
47. Where did C.F.Andrews decide to go after meeting Gandhi?
Ans:- C.F. Andrews decided to go to Fiji Islands after meeting Gandhi.
48. "He has read our minds correctly".-Who says this?
Ans:- Dr Rajendra Prasad says this.
49. What type of an Indian did Gandhi try to mould ?
Ans:- Gandhi tried to mould a free Indian who could stand on his own feet and make India free.
50. How long did Gandhi stay in Champaran ?
Ans:- Gandhi stayed in Champaran for a period of seven months.
51. What was the chief commercial crop in Champaran?
Ans:- Indigo.
52. How long did Gandhi stay in Malkani's home?
Ans:- Gandhi stayed for two days in Malkani's home.
53. According to Gandhi what was the "real relief" for the peasants instead of going to law courts?
Ans:- According to Gandhi, the "real relief" for the peasants was to be free from fear, instead of going to law courts.

54. What news spread quickly through Muzaffarpur and to Champaran?
Ans:- The news of Gandhi's advent and of the nature of his mission spread quickly through Muzaffarpur and to Champaran.
55. What was the written communication that Gandhi received from the magistrate?
Ans:- The written communication that Gandhi received from the magistrate was about dropping the case against him by the Lieutenant governor.

 56. Why was Gandhi impressed with Shukla? HS-2022

Ans:- Gandhi was not able to visit Champaran as he was committed to visit other parts of India. Shukla was quite resolute and did not leave Gandhi's side. He followed Gandhi everywhere and even reached his Ashram Gandhi was thus impressed by Shukla's tenacity and determination.

57. Why was Champaran episode so significant in Gandhi's life? HS-2016

Ans:- Champaran episode was significant in Gandhi's life. Moreover it was also a turning point of his life. As a result of this episode the sharecroppers got 25% refund from their landlords. According to Gandhi, the amount of refund was less important than the fact that the landlords were humiliated for the first time. The peasants understood that they had rights and defenders. It gave a message that the British who were dreaded and unquestioned could be challenged by the Indians. It was the victory over civil disobedience. Thus the Champaran episode influenced Gandhi to be strong in the Freedom Movement of India.

58. Which country had developed synthetic indigo?  HS-2019

Ans:-German had developed synthetic indigo.

59. Where did Gandhi stay in Muzzafarpur?   HS-2019

Ans:- Gandhi stayed at Professor Malkani's house in Muzzafarpur.

60. Describe the exploitation of the indigo sharecroppers by the English landlords. How did Gandhi help them to get an honourable settlement? HS-2013, 2017, 2019

Ans:- The British landlords in Champaran compelled all the sharecroppers to plant 15% of their holding with indigo. They had to surrender the entire production of indigo to the landlords as rent. That was done on the basis of a long term contact. As soon as Germany produced synthetic indigo, the plantation of indigo became unprofitable. The landlords wanted to free the peasants from the 15% agreement and they demanded huge compensation from them. Even the illiterate peasants could see through the trick and dirty game of the landlords. They refused to pay compensation. Some of them demanded their money back. In this respect, Shukla met Gandhi and requested him to visit Champaran to find out a way to save the poor peasants from the exploitation of the landlords.

Gandhi went to Champaran via Muzaffarpur to find out a solution to safeguard the rights of poor peasants. Gandhiji got the support of a number of eminent lawyers of Bihar. There was a huge demonstration of thousands of peasants. The lawyers prepared cases for about ten thousand peasants and collected relevant documents and evidence. The government was baffled. A commission of enquiry was constituted by the British Government. Gandhiji was the only member representing the poor peasants of Champaran. At last the landlords agreed to refund 25% of the money to the peasants. According to Gandhi the amount which was refunded was less important than the fact that the landlords were humiliated for the first time. It also brought courage to the hearts of the peasants that they could defy the government. It was the victory of the Civil Disobedience in India.

61. What was Gandhi's politics intertwined with?  HS-2016

Ans:- Civil disobedience was the typical pattern of Gandhian politics. His ways and means were non-violent. Gandhi's politics was intertwined with the political, day-to-day problems faced by millions. He identified himself with the lot of poor and exploited peasants in Champaran.

Syllabus of HS Second year English (Prose)

1. The Lesson Lesson (Click here for Questions' Answers of this chapter)

    1.1. The Lesson Lesson (Click here for Translated version of this chapter)

2. Lost Spring (Click here for Questions' Answers of this chapter)

    2.1 Lost Spring (Click here for Translated version of this chapter)

3. Indigo (Click here for Questions' Answers of this chapter)

    3.3 Indigo (Click here for Translated version of this chapter)

4. Going Places (Click here for Questions' Answers of this chapter)

    4.1 Going Places (Click here for Translated version of this chapter)

5. Memories of a Chota Sahib (Click here for Questions' Answers of this chapter)

 

Syllabus of HS Second year English (Poetry)

1. A Thing of Beauty

2. Keeping Quiet

3. My Mother at Sixty-six

4. A Roadside Stand

Syllabus of HS Second year English (Supplementary Reader : Vistas)

1.  Memories of Childhood

2. The Enemy

    2.1 The Enemy  (translated by Mr. Rupjyoti Goswami)

3. The Tiger King

    3.1 The Tiger King (translated by Mr. Rupjyoti Goswami)

4. On The Face of It

5. Magh Bihu or Maghor Domahi

Mr. Rupjyoti Goswami
Post Graduate Teacher (English)
Bhogeswar Hazarika Girls' Higher Secondary School, Bebejia, Nagaon, Assam.
Email: rupjyotigoswami983@gmail.com
Mobile: 9864425896.
Contact us (whatsapp no-7020477396) for free notes on English, Political Science, Logic & Philosophy, MIL Assamese, Advanced Assamese, Swadesh Adhyayan, Economics, Education, History.

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