Gandhi waged a year-long struggle for justice for poor sharecropping peasants in Champaran, Bihar who were forced to grow indigo and surrender their harvest as rent to British landlords. The peasants suffered under an unfair system and injustice. After meeting with a sharecropper named Raj Kumar Shukla, Gandhi visited Champaran to investigate and championed the peasants' cause, gaining their support. Through non-violent protest, Gandhi eventually achieved justice for the peasants and worked to improve their education, health, and living conditions.
2. Louis Fischer(1896-1970)
Fischer made a career as a
journalist and wrote for The New
York Times. The following is an
excerpt from his book- The Life of
Mahatma Gandhi. The book has
been reviewed as one of the best
books ever written on Gandhi by
Times Educational Supplement.
3. The story is based on the interview taken by Louis Fischer of
Mahatma Gandhi. In order to write on him he had visited him in
1942 at his ashram- Sevagram where he was told about the Indigo
Movement started by Gandhiji. The story revolves around the
struggle of Gandhi and other prominent leaders in order to
safeguard sharecroppers from the atrocities of landlords.
4. Introduction
In this story, Louis describes
Gandhi’s struggle for the poor
peasants of Champaran who
were the sharecroppers with the
British planters.
5. Peasants- a poor smallholder or agricultural
labourer of low social status
19. One of the sharecroppers named Raj Kumar
Shukla met Gandhi in this regard and compelled
him to visit Champaran because of the long term
injustice of landlords.
20. Shukla and Gandhiji went to Patna from Bihar From there
Shukla take Gandhi to the house of a lawyer named
Rajendra Prasad.