Indigo (Louis Fischer) — NCERT Solutions

The peasants paid the British landlords as rent by giving three twentieths, or 15 per cent, of their holdings in indigo and surrendering the entire indigo harvest. Later, when Germany developed synthetic indigo, the British wanted to be released from this arrangement and instead offered the peasants compensation for being freed from the 15 per cent condition, because synthetic indigo had made natural indigo less profitable. The arrival of synthetic indigo would bring down the demand for natural indigo, so its price would fall.

Gandhi’s method is shown in several ways. He first gathered facts before acting: he went to Muzzafarpur to obtain more complete information and then carried out a detailed inquiry in Champaran. He used peaceful civil disobedience: when ordered to leave, he refused, signed the notice, and wrote that he would disobey it. He also showed non-violence and self-control in court by pleading guilty politely, explaining the conflict of duties, and refusing bail. He inspired others by fearlessness, and he asked the lawyers to stand with him, not as violent fighters, but as people ready to accept arrest. All this reflects satyagraha: truth, courage, persuasion, and non-violent resistance to injustice.

Gandhi agreed to a 25 per cent refund because the real victory was not the exact amount of money but the fact that the landlords had been forced to surrender part of the money and part of their prestige. He wanted to break the deadlock and make the settlement acceptable so that the peasants could gain courage and the issue could be settled quickly in their favor.

The episode changed the peasants’ plight in a major way. The landlords were made to refund part of the money, and the peasants realized that the planters were not lords above the law. They learned that they had rights and defenders, and they gained courage. Within a few years, the British planters abandoned their estates, the land went back to the peasants, and indigo sharecropping disappeared. Gandhi also improved village life by opening schools and improving health and sanitation.