Indigo Chapter Summary

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### Introduction The chapter "Indigo" by Louis Fischer narrates Mahatma Gandhi's struggle for the rights of sharecroppers in Champaran, Bihar. It highlights his methods of civil disobedience and self-reliance, which ultimately led to the liberation of the peasants from the exploitative indigo landlord system. ### Gandhi's Arrival in Champaran #### Rajkumar Shukla - **Who he was:** An illiterate but resolute sharecropper from Champaran. - **His plea:** He sought Gandhi's help to address the injustice of the landlord system in Bihar. - **Persistence:** Followed Gandhi from Lucknow to his ashram, begging him to fix a date to visit Champaran. #### Initial Investigation - **Muzzafarpur:** Gandhi first went here to gather more information, meeting Professor J.B. Kripalani and staying with Professor Malkani. - **Lawyers' role:** Local lawyers frequently represented peasant groups and briefed Gandhi on their cases and fees. - **Gandhi's reaction:** He chided the lawyers for collecting large fees from the poor sharecroppers, advocating that law courts were useless for crushed and fear-stricken peasants; real relief was freedom from fear. ### The Sharecropping System - **Indigo as chief crop:** Most arable land in Champaran was divided into large estates owned by Englishmen. - **Compulsory planting:** Tenants were compelled to plant 3/20ths (15%) of their holdings with indigo and surrender the entire harvest as rent. - **Synthetic indigo:** Germany developed synthetic indigo, leading landlords to demand compensation from sharecroppers to release them from the 15% arrangement. - **Peasants' reaction:** Some signed willingly, others resisted and hired lawyers. The news of synthetic indigo and the demand for money back spread among them. ### Civil Disobedience in Motihari - **Refusal to leave:** British officials (secretary of landlord's association, commissioner of Tirhut division) tried to deter Gandhi, but he refused to leave. - **Motihari:** Gandhi went to Motihari, the capital of Champaran, to continue his investigations. - **Official notice:** He received an order to quit Champaran immediately but signed a receipt and wrote that he would disobey the order. - **Court appearance:** Gandhi was summoned to court. Thousands of peasants spontaneously demonstrated, marking the beginning of their liberation from fear of the British. - **Gandhi's statement:** He pleaded guilty, stating his "conflict of duties" – not to set a bad example as a lawbreaker, but to render humanitarian service and obey "the higher law of our being, the voice of conscience." - **Outcome:** The magistrate released him without bail and later allowed him to remain at liberty, postponing the judgment. ### Lawyers' Support - **Bihar lawyers:** Rajendra Prasad, Brij Kishor Babu, Maulana Mazharul Huq, and other prominent lawyers arrived to advise Gandhi. - **Gandhi's challenge:** He questioned what they would do if he went to jail, highlighting the injustice to the sharecroppers. - **Decision:** The lawyers realized that if Gandhi, a stranger, was willing to go to prison for the peasants, they, as residents and claimants of service, should not desert them. They decided to follow him into jail. - **Victory:** Gandhi exclaimed, "The battle of Champaran is won," as civil disobedience triumphed for the first time in modern India. ### Inquiry and Settlement - **Investigation:** Gandhi and lawyers conducted a thorough inquiry, collecting depositions from 10,000 peasants and other evidence. - **Official commission:** Lieutenant-Governor Sir Edward Gait appointed an inquiry commission consisting of landlords, government officials, and Gandhi (sole representative of peasants). - **Refund:** The commission found overwhelming evidence against the planters. They agreed to make refunds. Gandhi accepted a 25% refund, breaking the deadlock. - **Gandhi's reasoning:** The amount was less important than forcing landlords to surrender part of their money and prestige, teaching peasants that they had rights and defenders. - **End of sharecropping:** Within a few years, British planters abandoned their estates, and indigo sharecropping disappeared. ### Social Reforms in Champaran - **Beyond politics:** Gandhi never contented himself with only political or economic solutions; he aimed to address cultural and social backwardness. - **Education:** He appealed for teachers. Mahadev Desai, Narhari Parikh, and their wives volunteered. Primary schools were opened in six villages. - **Health:** A doctor volunteered for six months. Basic medicines (castor oil, quinine, sulphur ointment) were provided. - **Sanitation:** Kasturbai taught ashram rules on personal cleanliness and community sanitation. Gandhi also gave instructions for maintaining the ashram's hygiene. ### Self-Reliance - **Champaran as a turning point:** Gandhi considered the Champaran episode a turning point, demonstrating that Indians could challenge British authority in their own country. - **Andrews' offer:** Charles Freer Andrews, an English pacifist and follower of Gandhi, offered to stay and help. - **Gandhi's refusal:** Gandhi vehemently opposed, stating that relying on an Englishman would show weakness. He emphasized that the cause was just and Indians must rely on themselves. - **Lesson learned:** Rajendra Prasad noted that Gandhi taught them a lesson in self-reliance, linking it to Indian independence and help for sharecroppers.