The visit, undertaken casually on the entreaty of an unlettered peasant in the
expectation that it would last a few days, occupied almost a year of Gandhi’s
life
a)Who was the unlettered peasant?
b)What was the request made by the peasant?
c)How long did Gandhi’s visit last?
d)Why did Gandhi visit Champaran?
Answers
Answer:
Question 1:
How did Rajku mar Shukla establish that he Was resolute?
Or
Why is Rajkumar Shukla described as being resolute?
Answer:
Rajkumar Shukla established himself as a resolute man by going along with Gandhiji everywhere that he went until the time Gandhiji agreed to help him. He was adamant to take Gandhiji to Champaran to solve the problems faced by sharecroppers there and so he resolutely went everywhere with Gandhiji until, impressed with his tenacity, Gandhiji agreed.
Question 2:
How was Gandhi treated at Rajendra Prasad’s house?
Or
Why do you think the servants thought Gandhiji to be another peasant?
Answer:
Gandhiji came along with Rajkumar Shukla, who was a peasant, to Rajendra Prasad’s house. He was dressed very simply, so he was treated like an untouchable peasant by not being allowed to drink water from the well.
Question 3:
What were the terms of the indigo contract between the British landlords and the Indian peasants?
Or
What did the peasants pay to the British landlords as rent?
Answer:
The terms of the indigo contract between the British and the peasants were that the peasants were sharecropper tenants, had to plant 15% of the land holding with indigo and surrender the entire indigo harvest to the British landlords as rent.
Question 4:
How did Gandhi show that he cared for the cultural and social backwardness of Champaran villages?
Or
How did Gandhiji help the peasants of Champaran?
Answer:
The peasants of Champaran’s villages were culturally and socially backward, besides being crushed and fear-stricken by the British due to the sharecropper agreement. Gandhiji freed them from exploitation by teaching them that they had rights and also supporters of their cause. The backwardness was tackled by opening primary schools, improving the healthcare facilities and teaching the villagers personal cleanliness and community sanitation.
Question 5:
How is Gandhi critical of the lawyers?
Answer:
Gandhi was critical of the Muzzafarpur lawyers for charging a heavy fee from the sharecroppers, as the peasants were so crushed and fear-stricken that going to the law courts was useless. The real relief for them would be to be free from fear.
Question 6:
Why did Gandhi tell the court that he was involved in a ‘conflict of duties?
Answer:
Gandhi told the court that he was involved in a ‘conflict of duties’, i.e. he must not set a bad example by breaking the law (by refusing to comply with the eviction order), but he must also render the humanitarian and national service for which he had come to Champaran.
Question 7:
Why did Gandhiji feel that taking the Champaran case to the court was useless?
Answer:
When Gandhiji got to know about the plight of the peasant groups in Champaran from his discussion with the lawyers, he came to the conclusion that the poor peasants were so crushed and fear-stricken that law courts were useless in their case. Going to courts overburdened the sharecroppers with heavy litigation expenses. What really needed to be done was to make them free from fear.
Question 8:
How did the Champaran peasants react when they heard that a Mahatma had come to help them? Compartment 2014
Answer:
Gandhi received a summons to appear in court. The next day thousands of peasants had assembled in Motihari. They didn’t know much about Gandhi. But they knew that he had come there only to take up their cause. Thousands of them held a demonstration.
Question 9:
What made the Lieutenant-Governor drop the case against Gandhiji?
Answer:
Thousands of peasants held a spontaneous demonstration in Motihari. The officials felt helpless and the government was baffled. The pressure of the people was mounting. The judge didn’t want to aggravate the situation. He held up the sentence for several days and finally released Gandhi without bail, thus dropping the case against Gandhiji.
Question 10:
Question 11:
Why do you think Gandhi considered the Champaran episode to be a turning point in his life?
Answer:
Gandhiji considered the Champaran episode to be a turning point in his life because it was the first successful civil disobedience movement for him. Though it began as an ordinary attempt to free the poor peasants from injustice and exploitation, it was important because it wiped out the mortal fear of the Britishers from the hearts of the simple farmers.
Question 13:
The battle of Champaran is won!’ What led Gandhiji to make this remark?
Answer:
Gandhiji asked the lawyers what they would do if he was arrested. The lawyers first replied that they would return home, but when Gandhiji asked them for a solution about the injustice to the . sharecroppers, they realised their mistake. They thought that when a total stranger was ready to go to jail for the poor peasants, their going home would be utterly shameful.
They decided to follow Gandhiji into jail. This made Gandhiji exclaim, ‘The battle of Champaran is won,’ as he was happy to have convinced the lawyers and won their trust.