In the early nineteenth century, European planters had involved the cultivators of Champaran, Bihar, in agreements that forced them to cultivate indigo on 3/20th of their holdings. It was known as the tinkathia system.
Turning point
- Towards the end of nineteenth century, German synthetic dyes forced indigo out of the market.
- European planters of Champaran wanted to release the cultivators from the obligation of cultivating indigo.
- They tried to turn their necessity to their advantage by securing enhancements in rent and other illegal dues as a price for the release.
- Resistance surfaced as early as 1908.
Emergence of M.K. Gandhi
- Since his return from South Africa in 1915, Gandhi started a pan-India tour of understanding the problems of the masses.
- In between, Raj Kumar Shukla, a native of Champaran, decided to follow Gandhiji all over the country to persuade him to come to Champaran to investigate the problem.
- Raj Kumar Shukla’s decision to get Gandhiji to Champaran is indicative of the image he had acquired as one who fought for the rights of the exploited and the poor.
Gandhiji’s defiance
- Gandhiji, on reaching Champaran, was ordered by the Commissioner to leave the district immediately. But to the surprise of all concerned, Gandhiji refused and preferred to take the punishment for his defiance.
- The Government of India did not want to make an issue of it, so ordered the local Government to retreat and allow Gandhiji to proceed with his inquiry.
Enquiry by Gandhiji
A victorious Gandhiji embarked on his investigation of the peasants’ grievances. He and his colleagues toured the villages and, from dawn to dusk, recorded the statements of peasants, interrogating them to make sure that they were giving correct information. Brij Kishore, Rajendra Prasad, and other members of the Bihar intelligentsia, Mahadev Desai and Narhari Parikh, two young men from Gujarat and J.B. Kripalani, were included in Gandhi’s colleagues.
Outcomes
- Meanwhile, the Government appointed a Commission of Inquiry to go into the whole issue and nominated Gandhiji as its member. Armed with evidence collected from peasants, he had little difficulty convincing the Commission that the tinkathia system needed to be abolished. And that the peasants should be compensated for the illegal enhancement of their dues.
- As a compromise with the planters, he agreed that they refund only 25% of the money they had taken illegally from the peasants.
- Answering critics who asked why he did not ask for a full refund, Gandhiji explained that even this refund had done enough damage to the planters’ prestige and position.
- Gandhi’s assessment was correct, and, within a decade, the planters left the district altogether.
Importance of Champaran Satyagraha
- Champaran Satyagraha was the first struggle that Gandhiji undertook on Indian soil after his great 20-year-long movement for defence of Indians’ rights in South Africa.
- Joining peasant unrest in India’s National Movement is a very significant aspect of the Champaran Satyagraha.
- It is widely regarded as the place where Gandhi did his first experiments in satyagraha and then replicated them elsewhere.
- It was followed quickly by Ahmedabad workers’ strike against indigenous mill owners and by the Kheda satyagraha against revenue enhancements, both in 1918; and then the all-India April satyagraha of 1919 against the Rowlatt Acts and, finally, the non-cooperation and Khilafat movement of 1920-22.
- Popular leaders associated with Champaran Satyagraha were Brajkishore Prasad, Anugrah Narayan Sinha, Ramnavmi Prasad, and Shambhusharan Varma.
