Indigo: HS Class 12 AHSEC Flamingo: Important Questions-Answers

Flamingo

HS 2nd Year

HS Exam Questions: 2012-2020

Important Questions-Answers:

1. Who is Sir Edward Gait? HS 2012, 2015

Ans: Sir Edward Gait is the Lieutenant-Governor who appointed an official commission of inquiry into the indigo sharecroppers' situation.

2. Who was Rajkumar Shukla? HS 2012, 2016

Ans: Rajkumar Shukla was one of the poor sharecropper peasants from Champaran, Bihar.

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

Ans: Gandhi and Shukla proposed to meet Rajendra Prasad, a lawyer at Patna.

4. Why was Gandhi visiting Lucknow in 1916? HS 2013, 2020

Ans: Gandhi was visiting Lucknow to attend the annual convention of the Indian National Congress party in December 1916.

5. Where is Champaran situated? HS 2014, 2018

Ans: Champaran is situated in the foothills of the towering Himalayas in Bihar, near the kingdom of Nepal.

6. What did Shukla want Gandhi to do? HS 2015

Ans: Shukla wanted Gandhi to visit his home district Champaran.

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

Ans: Gandhi's politics was intertwined with the practical, day-to-day problems of the millions.

8. Which country has developed synthetic indigo? HS 2019

Ans: Germany has developed synthetic indigo.

9. Where did Gandhi stay in Muzaffarpur? HS 2019

Ans: Gandhi stayed for two days in the home of Professor Malkani in Muzaffarpur.

10. Why do you think Gandhi considered the Champaran episode to be a turning point in his life? HS 2012

Or

Why was the Champaran episode so significant in Gandhi's life? HS 2016

Ans: The Champaran movement that Gandhi led was a success. He could mobilise the masses there very successfully. The landlords who exploited the sharecropper peasants had to reach a settlement with Gandhi on behalf of the peasants. He was able to alleviate the distress of large numbers of poor peasants. So he considers this episode as a turning point in his life.

11. What was the incident that prompted Gandhi to raise his voice of protest against the British? HS 2013, 2017

Ans: Gandhi visited Champaran in 1917. The mass movement he led there against the cruel landlords met with success. This episode prompted him to raise his voice of protest against the British rule later.

12. Why did Gandhi choose to go to Muzaffarpur first before going on to Champaran? HS 2018

Ans: Gandhi chose to go to Muzaffarpur first before going on to Champaran to obtain more complete information about the conditions of the sharecropper peasants.

13. How was a solution to the problem of indigo share croppers of Champaran found? HS 2019

Ans: The landlords agreed to make refunds to the peasants. They were obliged to surrender part of the money and their prestige. The peasants were now entitled to their rights.

14. Why was Professor Malkani's action of offering shelter to Gandhi 'extraordinary'? HS 2020

Ans: Government employees were afraid to show sympathy for advocates of home-rule in those days. So, he calls Professor Malkani's action of offering shelter 'extraordinary'.

Essay Type Questions:

1. Describe the exploitation of the indigo sharecroppers by the English landlords. Did Gandhi help them to get an honourable settlement? HS 2013, 2017, 2020

Ans: Most of the arable land in the Champaran district was divided into large estates owned by Englishmen and worked by Indian tenants. The chief commercial crop was indigo. The landlords compelled all tenants to plant 15 percent of their holdings with Indigo and surrender the entire harvest as rent. This was done by long-term contract. Presently, the landlords learnt that Germany had developed synthetic indigo. They, thereupon, obtained agreements from the sharecroppers to pay them compensation for being released from the 15 percent arrangement. Many peasants signed unwillingly. Those who resisted, engaged lawyers. The landlords hired thugs. Meanwhile, the information about synthetic indigo reached the illiterate peasants. They wanted their money back.

Yes, Gandhi helped them to get an honourable settlement. The landlords agreed to make refunds to the peasants. They were obliged to surrender part of the money and their prestige. The peasants were now entitled to their rights.

2. Describe the efforts made by R. K. Shukla to persuade Gandhi to go to Champaran? HS 2014

Ans: R. K. Shukla was one of the poor sharecropper peasants of Champaran, Bihar. He met Gandhi at the Lucknow annual convention of Indian National Congress in 1916. He requested Gandhi to visit his home district Champaran to rescue the indigo peasants from the exploitation of their cruel landlords. Gandhi had to visit several places in India for months before going to Champaran. All these months, Shukla followed Gandhi wherever he went. Impressed by the sharecropper's tenacity and story, Gandhi told Shukla to take him from Calcutta on a particular date. Finally, Gandhi and Shukla met Calcutta and started for Champaran.

3. 'The battle of Champaran is won', Gandhi exclaimed. Explain the context in which this was said. HS 2015, 2016

Ans: Gandhi reached Champaran to fight against the injustice done to the peasants there by their landlords. He was summoned to court for protesting against the landlords who were British. Rajendra Prasad, Brij Kishor Babu, Maulana Mazharul Huq and several other prominent lawyers had arrived from Bihar to help and advise Gandhi. Gandhi asked them what they would do if he was sentenced to prison. The lawyers consulted among themselves and thought that if a stranger like Gandhi was prepared to go to prison for the sake of the peasants, it would be shameful on their part to desert him as they were the residents of Bihar. They went back to Gandhi and told him that they were ready to follow him to jail. At this, Gandhi exclaimed, "The battle of Champaran is won".