NCERT Solutions - Indigo

Q: Notice these expressions in the text. Infer their meanings from the context.
urge the departure: insist on the going away of the British from India
conflict of duties: clash of obligation or responsibility
harbor a man like me: give shelter to an advocate of home-rule
seek a prop: try to find support or assistance

Q1: Strike out what is not true in the following.
a. Rajkumar Shukla was
(i) a sharecropper.
(ii) a politician.
(iii) a delegate.
(iv) a landlord.
Ans:
(i) a sharecropper. (True)
(ii) a politician. (Strike out - not true)
(iii) a delegate. (True)
(iv) a landlord. (Strike out - not true)

b. Rajkumar Shukla was 
(i) poor.
(ii) physically strong.
(iii) illiterate.
Ans:
(i) poor. (True)
(ii) physically strong. (True)
(iii) illiterate. (True)

Q2: Why is Rajkumar Shukla described as being 'resolute'?
Ans: Rajkumar Shukla is described as resolute because he refused to give up when Gandhi was busy and had prior engagements. He kept following Gandhi from place to place and continued to press him to visit Champaran. His persistent and determined behaviour finally persuaded Gandhi to agree to go to Champaran.

Q3: Why do you think the servants thought Gandhi to be another peasant?
Ans: Gandhi was simply dressed in a plain dhoti and carried himself modestly, so he looked like an ordinary poor farmer. He was also accompanied by Rajkumar Shukla, whom the servants knew to be a poor indigo sharecropper. Seeing them together, the servants assumed Gandhi was another peasant.

Q4: List the places that Gandhi visited between his first meeting with Shukla and his arrival at Champaran.
Ans: Gandhi first met Shukla at Lucknow. After that he went to Cawnpore and various other places in India, returned to his ashram near Ahmedabad, and later travelled to Calcutta, Patna and Muzaffarpur before finally arriving at Champaran.

Q5: What did the peasants pay the British landlords as rent? What did the British now want instead and why? What would be the impact of synthetic indigo on the prices of natural indigo?
Ans: The peasants usually paid a share of their produce in the form of indigo to the British landlords as rent. After Germany developed synthetic indigo, the landlords began to demand cash compensation instead of indigo because the market value of natural indigo was falling. The introduction of synthetic indigo would reduce the demand and price of natural indigo.

Q6: The events in this part of the text illustrate Gandhi's method of working. Can you identify some instances of this method and link them to his ideas of satyagraha and non-violence?
Ans: Several incidents show Gandhi's method and how it connects to satyagraha and non-violence. He refused to obey the court order to leave Champaran immediately, demonstrating civil disobedience carried out without violence. He accepted responsibility and pleaded guilty in court, but then explained the moral reasons for his disobedience, showing his belief in truth and conscience as higher laws. He also used persuasion rather than force to win support from lawyers and villagers and relied on moral pressure, patience and peaceful protest to achieve justice for the peasants.

Q7: Why did Gandhi agree to a settlement of 25 per cent refund to the farmers?
Ans: For Gandhi, the principle mattered more than the amount. The settlement forced landlords to return part of the money and, in doing so, reduced their prestige. This public acknowledgment of the peasants' grievance and the partial recovery of their dues were more important to Gandhi than pressing for a larger refund.

Q8: How did the episode change the plight of the peasants?
Ans: The Champaran episode brought several important changes for the peasants. They gained confidence and realised they could demand their rights, as shown by the large, spontaneous demonstrations at Gandhi's trial. The oppressive fifteen percent sharecropping arrangement was ended, and the peasants were freed from some of their economic burdens. Beyond legal and economic changes, there were social improvements: schools were opened in six villages, health and sanitation were promoted, and a doctor was appointed, all of which raised their social and cultural standards.

Understanding the Text

Q1: Why do you think Gandhi considered the Champaran episode to be a turning-point in his life?
Ans: This episode began as an effort to relieve the suffering of many poor peasants, and it won the wholehearted support of thousands of people. Gandhi felt that by standing up to unjust authority in his own country he had crossed a personal threshold; he declared that the British could not order him about in his own land. The success and the new role he acquired among the people made Champaran a turning point in his life.

Q2: How was Gandhi able to influence lawyers? Give instances.
Ans: Gandhi influenced the lawyers by his sincerity, moral conviction and the force of his arguments. He criticised the Muzaffarpur lawyers for charging high fees from poor peasants, which shamed some into rethinking their position. When faced with the prospect of his imprisonment, neighbouring Bihar lawyers said they would return home, but Gandhi pointed out that it would be wrong for them to desert people who were being defended; many then agreed to stand by him and even prepared to go to jail. He also persuaded them not to rely on English support but to act on their own responsibility.

Q3: What was the attitude of the average Indian in smaller localities towards advocates of 'home rule'?
Ans: People in smaller towns were generally afraid to show sympathy for advocates of home rule because that could bring official displeasure. For example, it was highly unusual for a government school professor to offer shelter to someone who opposed the government; yet Professor Malkani did so for Gandhi, which shows how exceptional such support was at the time.

Q4: How do we know that ordinary people too contributed to the freedom movement?
Ans: Many ordinary people took part in the events at Champaran: Professor J. B. Kriplani and his students received Gandhi at Muzaffarpur; sharecroppers travelled long distances by foot or cart to see him; Muzaffarpur lawyers visited him; vast crowds greeted him at Motihari station; and thousands demonstrated around the courtroom. These instances show that ordinary people actively contributed to the freedom movement.

Talking about the Text

Discuss the following.
Q1: "Freedom from fear is more important than legal justice for the poor."
Do you think that the poor of India are free from fear after Independence?
Ans: Gandhi's work in Champaran helped peasants shed their fear of landlords, and he believed that freedom from fear was the first step towards self-reliance. However, even after Independence many poor people continue to live under different kinds of fear: fear of bureaucratic hurdles, irregular or unjust treatment by officials, and sometimes fear of police action. Economic pressures, such as indebtedness and market changes, also keep many poor people anxious about their future. Thus, while legal rights have improved in many ways, complete freedom from fear remains an ongoing challenge.

Q2: The qualities of a good leader.
Ans: A good leader inspires others by example and convinces them to follow through clear ideas and integrity. Key qualities include dedication, courage in adversity, the ability to motivate and encourage others, fairness, appreciation of others' efforts, and honesty. A good leader is not biased; instead, they remain even-handed and principled in their decisions.

Thinking about Language

Q1: Notice the sentences in the text which are in 'direct speech'. Why does the author use quotations in his narration?
Ans:  Below are some sentences in the text which are in 'direct speech': 

• "I will tell you how it happened that I decided to urge the departure of the British. It was in 1917."
• 'I am Rajkumar Shukla. I am from Champaran, and I want you to come to my district'!'
• "Speak to Gandhi."
• "Fix a date,"
• ''I have to be in Calcutta on such-and-such a date. Come and meet me and take me from there."
• ''It was an extraordinary thing ... for a government professor to harbour a man like me".
• ­­''The commissioner ... to bully me and advised me forthwith to leave Tirhut.''
• "conflict of duties"
• "humanitarian and national service"
• "not for want of respect for lawful authority, but in obedience to the higher law of our being, the voice of conscience"
• "But how much must we pay?"
• ''Look, there is no box or cupboard here for clothes. The sari I am wearing is the only one I have."
• ''What I did," he explained, "was a very ordinary thing. I declared that the British could not order me about in my own country."
• ''He had read our minds correctly,'' Rajendra Prasad comments, "and we had no reply... Gandhi in this way taught us a lesson in self-reliance''.

The author uses quotations to present the exact words spoken by characters. Quotation marks show memorable, significant or directly reported speech, and they help the reader hear the speaker's voice. In Indigo, quotations are used to record important statements by Gandhi and others, and to bring their feelings and attitudes directly before the reader.

Q2: Notice the use or non-use of the comma in the following sentences.
When I first visited Gandhi in 1942 at his ashram in Sevagram, he told me what happened in Champaran.
He had not proceeded far when the police superintendent's messenger overtook him.
When the court reconvened, the judge said he would not deliver the judgment for several days.
Ans: In the first sentence, a comma is used after the long introductory phrase. In the second sentence, the clause 'when the police superintendent's messenger overtook him' is essential to the meaning and therefore no comma is required. In the third sentence, the introductory clause is set off from the main clause with a comma because the second half can stand alone.

Working with Words

Q1: List the words used in the text that are related to legal procedures.
 For example: deposition
Ans: The words used in the text related to legal procedures: Deposition, notice, summon, relief, agreement, compensation, comply, investigation, appear, order, record, trial, postpone, pleading, guilty, penalty, lawful, sentence, bail, reconvene, judgment, inquiry, statement, evidence, prosecutor, magistrate, document, illegal, appeal, defiance, imprison, jail, lawyer, advocate, inquiry, commission, deceitful, extorted, case, law-breaker, documents, official notice, sole member, unanimous, settlement, rights, associate, to brief, facts, delay, protest and duty, etc.

Q2: List other words that you know that fall into this category.
Ans: The other words that fall in this category: Cross examination, witness, prosecution, adjourn, accused, conviction, ruling, violation, disregard, law authority, procedure, proceeding, suit, offence, crime, violation, judge, justice, inspection, exhibit, objection, over-ruled, sustained, official appointment, official member, rule, victim, accused, convict, behind bars.