INDIGO PYQS
Short Qs 2 marks
1. What can be inferred from Rajendra Prasad's recorded upshot of the lawyer consultations,
at Motihari?
[Reference - The senior lawyer replied, they had come to advise and help him; if he went to
jail there would be nobody to advise and they would go home. What about the injustice to
the sharecroppers, Gandhi demanded.] [CBSE SQP 2023]
ANS. Rajendra Prasad's recorded upshot of the lawyer consultations, at Motihari suggests
that looking at Gandhi's conviction to help the local sharecroppers, even after being a
stranger for the region brought shame to the lawyers and so, they wanted to continue their
support. The lawyers wanted to help Gandhi after seeing his determination for the poor
peasants.
2. Describe the role of Rajkumar Shukla in Indigo. [CBSE 2023]
OR
How did Shukla convince Gandhiji to come to Champaran? [CBSE SQP 2022]
OR
Why has Rajkumar Shukla been described as being resolute? [CBSE 2020, 15]
ANS. Rajkumar Shukla is characterised as being tenacious since he accompanied Gandhiji
everywhere until Gandhiji consented to assist him. He was the struggling farmer who
persuaded Gandhiji to look at the issues of the indigo farmers and followed him everywhere.
When Gandhi saw that Shukla was adamant, he decided to take him up on the offer.
3. What does Gandhi refer to as a conflict of duties? [CBSE 2023]
ANS. Gandhi explained before the court that he was in a "conflict of duties," meaning that he
wanted to perform the humanitarian and national service for which he had travelled to
Champaran while also not wanting to set a negative example by breaking the law (by
refusing to comply with the eviction order).
4. As the host of a talk show, introduce Rajkumar Shukla to the audience by stating any two
of his defining qualities.
You may begin your answer like this.
Meet Rajkumar Shukla, the man who played a pivotal role in the Champaran Movement.
He.............. [CBSE SQP Term 2 2022]
ANS. Meet Rajkumar Shukla, the man who played a pivotal role in the Champaran
Movement. He is the steadfast man who remained by Gandhiji's side as he knew that no one
else could improve the situation of the farmers. He is a tenacious, devoted, and preserving
individual who was always around wherever he was needed.
5. In the Motihari court, what caused the delay in the trial?
ANS. When Gandhi was summoned by the court at Motihari, a crowd of peasants flooded
the town, protesting against the court. The British was unable to control the crowd and was
compelled to stop the prosecution. The prosecutor requested the judge to postpone the trial.
This caused the delay in the trial.
6. Why did Gandhi chide the lawyers? [CBSE Term 2 2022]
OR
How is Gandhi critical of the lawyers? [CBSE 2015]
ANS. Gandhi chided the lawyers for charging the poor sharecroppers a high price. He
believed that taking these matters to court did little to help the terrified and oppressed
peasants. The relief for them, according to Gandhi, was to be free from fear.
7. How did the settlement of 25% refund to the farmers change the plight of the peasants?
[CBSE Term 2 2022]
ANS. The settlement of a 25% refund forced the British planters to give up their estates and
permanently hand them back to the peasants. Additionally, the farmers no longer feared the
British and were confident in their ability to defend their rights.
8. Why did Gandhi tell Prof. Malkani, a teacher in a government school, "It was an
extraordinary thing in those days for a government professor to harbour a man like me"?
[CBSE Term 2 2022]
ANS. Gandhi said to Professor Malkani that it was unusual in those days for a government
professor to harbour a person like him because Indians in smaller towns were reluctant to
express sympathy for proponents of home rule.
9. What prompted Gandhi to readily agree to a settlement of 25 per cent refund to the
farmers? [CBSE Term 2 2022]
OR
Why did Gandhiji agree to a settlement of mere 25%? [CBSE 2016]
ANS. In order to end the dispute between landowners and peasants, Gandhiji consented to
a settlement of 25% refund to the farmers. The fact that the landlords had surrendered a part
of their reputation along with the money gave a moral triumph to the farmers.
10. 'The settlement given to the sharecroppers was symbolic.' Justify why Gandhi thought
[CBSE Term 2 2022]
OR
The peasants got only a compensation of 25% from the British landlords. Yet Gandhi
considered it a victory. Why? [CBSE 2018, 16, 15]
ANS. Gandhi explained that the amount of the refund was less important than the fact that
the landlords had been obliged to surrender part of the money and, with it, part of their
prestige. Hence, the settlement represented not only the wealth but also the status of the
landlords.
11. When Gandhi got the whole hearted support of the lawyers he said, "The battle of
Champaran is won." What was the essence behind his statement? [CBSE SQP 2019]
OR
After initial reluctance, why did the lawyers tell Gandhiji that they were ready to follow him
into jail? [CBSE 2016]
ANS. Gandhi's main point was that he had made. lawyers aware of their responsibility
towards the peasants. If they, not only being the residents of the adjoining districts but also
those who claimed to have served these peasants, should go home, it would be shameful
desertion. They accordingly went back to Gandhi and told him they were ready to follow him
into jail.
12. Though the sharecroppers of Champaran received only one-fourth of the compensation,
how can the Champaran struggle still be termed a huge success and victory? [CBSE 2018]
ANS. The Champaran incident started as an effort to lessen the hardships experienced by
the villagers. Gandhiji acknowledges that what he had done was a very ordinary thing. He
claimed that he could not be told what to do in his own nation by the British. Thousands of
people came out in support of him outside the court. Gandhiji's efforts and the support of the
villagers turned the Champaran struggle into a huge success.
13. At Champaran what did the British landlords want from the sharecroppers? [CBSE 2016]
ANS. The landlords compelled all the tenants to plant three twentieths or 15 per cent of their
holdings with indigo and surrender the entire indigo harvest as rent. This was done thought a
long-term contract.
14. Why was Gandhi opposed to Charles F. Andrews helping him in Champaran? [CBSE
2016]
ANS. Gandhi was opposed to Charles F. Andrews helping him in Champaran because he
believed that Indians should be self-reliant. Any help from the English, however well-
intentioned, was a sign of weakness.
15. What were the terms of the contract between British landlords and the Indian
sharecroppers? [CBSE 2015]
ANS. British landowners forced Indian sharecroppers to grow indigo on 15% of the land and
took that harvest as rent. But since synthetic indigo was created in Germany, they forced the
sharecroppers to pay the landlords compensation for it.
16. How was Gandhiji treated at Rajendra Prasad's house? [CBSE 2015]
ANS. The servants knew Shukla as a poor yeoman who pestered their master to help the
indigo sharecroppers. So they let him stay on the grounds with his companion, Gandhi,
whom they took to be another peasant. Gandhi was not permitted to draw water from the
well lest some drops from his bucket pollute the entire source.
17. How did the Champaran peasants react when they heard that a Mahatma had come to
help them? [CBSE 2014]
ANS. The news of Gandhi's advent and of the nature of his mission spread quickly through
Muzaffarpur and to Champaran. Sharecroppers from Champaran began arriving on foot and
by conveyance to see their champion.
18. What made the Lieutenant Governor drop the case against Gandhiji? [CBSE 2014]
ANS. When Gandhiji appeared in court at Motihari, thousands of peasants held a
demonstration. The officials felt helpless and the trial was postponed, Gandhiji was released
without bail. After a few days, he received a written communication from the magistrate
informing him that the Lieutenant-Governor of the province had ordered the case to be
dropped.
Long Qs 5 marks
1. Why is the Champaran episode considered to be the beginning of the Indian struggle for
independence? [CBSE 2023, 14]
ANS. The Champaran episode was one of the major events in the struggle for
independence. Gandhiji first became aware of the unfair British practices after closely
examining the issues of the peasants of Champaran. He came to the realisation that in order
to be emancipated from foreign oppression, people had to be made fear-free. The
spontaneous demonstration of the people proved that he had the nation behind him in his
fight against the British. It also aroused patriotism in the hearts of the Indians.
The triumph of civil disobedience at Champaran motivated the launching of the movement
on a large scale during the freedom struggle. Gandhiji's victory in the sharecroppers' case
demonstrated that the British government could be overthrown. Consequently, the
Champaran incident acted as a stepping stone in the Indian independence struggle.
2. The prose selections, Deep Water and Indigo, bring out the importance of overcoming
fear, in order to be able to lead our lives successfully.
Imagine yourself to be a motivational speaker who has to address high school students.
Write this address in 120 - 150 words elaborating on occurrences from the two texts to
inspire your audience and to convince them about the importance of overcoming fear.
You may begin like this...
Good morning, students!
We all know what it's like to be afraid. Fear is our body's natural response to a perceived
threat or danger.
But when ...
[CBSE SQP 2022]
ANS. Good morning, students!
We all know what it's like to be afraid. Fear is our body's natural response to a perceived
threat or danger. But when, once and for all, we decide to face it, it is eradicated. It
disappears. In the story, 'Deep Water', William Douglas tells how terrified he was with water
after a dreadful incident of drowning. However,
he trained himself under a veteran to get rid of his fear and finally, he became a great diver
and a swimmer.
In a similar way, the Indian sharecroppers. were petrified of the British. So much so that they
couldn't even take stand for their rights. However, one day, after getting the support of
Gandhiji, the peasants gathered in Motihari to protest against the British. That day marked
the start of their liberation from oppression and fear.
We all must learn from these two instances that the day we take a step towards facing our
fear, we eventually get over it. Hence, we should always try to fight our fears and stop it from
preventing our growth.
3. Biographies include features of non-fiction texts-factual information and different text
structures such as description, sequence, comparison, cause and effect or problem and
solution. Examine Indigo in the light of this statement, in about 120-150 words. [CBSE SQP
Term 2 2022]
ANS. "Indigo' by Louis Fischer is an excerpt from a biography. However, it contains
elements of both fiction and nonfiction writings. It includes factual information. In 1942, Louis
Fischer paid a visit to Gandhiji at his ashram in Sevagram, where he learned about the
Indigo Movement that Gandhiji had established. Additionally, we are aware of the Indian
National Congress Party's annual convention that took place in Lucknow in December 1916.
Almost everything is stated completely and without room for speculation. We know clearly
what the sharecropping agreement in Champaran was. We also get a brief background from
people like Rajkumar Shukla to J.B. Kripalani. Further, the entire episode is presented in
chronological order. We know when Gandhiji went to Champaran and why. We are aware of
how Gandhiji's action gained the support of the farmers and how it led to an investigation
and resolution in the proper order.
Therefore, we can say that Indigo has elements of both a fictional and non-fictional book.
4. How did Civil Disobedience triumph for the first time in India? [CBSE Term 2 2022]
OR
When and why did the author say that Civil Disobedience had triumphed for the first time in
modern India? [CBSE 2019]
OR
Elaborate on the success of Civil Disobedience at Motihari. [CBSE 2019]
ANS. Gandhi reached Motihari to figure put and study the problems of the sharecropper
peasants. He was served with an official notice to quit Champaran at once. Gandhi wrote on
the receipt that he would disobey the order. So, he received summons to appear in court the
next day.
Next morning, thousands of peasants demon- started voluntarily outside the court. The pros-
ecutor requested the judge to postpone the trial. Gandhi protested against the delay. He
read a statement pleading guilty. He asked about the penalty due.
The magistrate announced that he would pronounce the sentence after a two-hour recess
and asked Gandhi to furnish bail for those 120 minutes. Gandhi refused. The judge released
him without bail. Several days later, Gandhi received a written communication from the
magistrate informing him that the Lieutenant-Governor of the province had ordered the case
to be dropped. Civil disobedience had triumphed, the first time in modern India.
5. What were Gandhi's concerns regarding the upliftment of the people of Champaran? How
did he address them? [CBSE Term 2 2022]
OR
What did Gandhiji do to remove the cultural and social backwardness in the Champaran
villages? [CBSE Term 2 2022, 19, 15]
OR
Gandhiji's loyalty was not a loyalty to abstractions; it was a loyalty to living human beings.
Why did Gandhiji continue his stay in Champaran even after indigo sharecropping
disappeared? [CBSE 2014]
ANS. Gandhiji went to Champaran to fight against the injustice of the landlord system. When
he came, he saw the cultural and social backwardness in the villages of Champaran and
wanted to do something about it. immediately. Mahadev Desai and Narhari Parikh, two
young men joined Gandhi as disciples, and their wives volunteered for the work. Devadas,
Gandhi's youngest son, arrived from the ashram and so did Mrs. Gandhi. Primary schools
were opened in six villages. Kasturbai taught the ashram rules on personal cleanliness and
community sanitation. Gandhi got a doctor to volunteer his services for six months. Gandhi
noticed the filthy state of women's clothes. He asked Kasturbai to talk to them about it.
Once, he wrote to the residents that it was time to fill in the old latrine trenches and dig new
ones; otherwise, the old ones. would begin to smell bad.
6. Why do you think Gandhi considered the Champaran episode a turning point in his life?
ANS. Gandhi considered the Champaran episode to be a turning point in his life because he
realised that Civil Disobedience, which had triumphed for the first time, could go a long way
in the freedom struggle. The Champaran incident marked the first time in modern India that
civil disobedience had succeeded. This incident helped the peasants understand their rights
and was a crucial first step in their journey away from fear. Following this incident, many
parts of society came out to offer massive amounts of voluntary assistance. Gandhi said that
the British had no right to command him in his own country. Therefore, Gandhi may have
viewed the Champaran incident as a turning point in his life.
7. Gandhi came to the conclusion that the peasants should stop going to law courts. Explain.
[CBSE Term 2 2022]
OR
Why did Gandhi feel that taking the Champaran case to court was useless? [CBSE 2014]
ANS. When Muzaffarpur lawyers called on Gandhi to brief him, they told him about their
cases and reported the size of their fee. Gandhi chided the lawyers for collecting big fee
from the sharecroppers. He said that he has come to the conclusion that they should stop
going to law courts. Taking such cases to the courts I does little good. Where the peasants
are so crushed and fear-stricken, law courts are useless. The real relief for them is to be free
from fear. Further, the poor peasants were in no position to pay for the court proceedings.
8. How did Gandhiji succeed in getting justice for the Indigo sharecroppers?
[CBSE SQP 2020]
OR
How did Gandhiji help the Champaran peasants? [CBSE 2019]
ANS. While travelling to Champaran with Rajkumar Shukla, Gandhiji stayed in Muzaffarpur.
There, he spoke with lawyers and came to the conclusion that going to court would not help
the poor sharecroppers of Champaran. He proclaimed that their freedom from fear was the
true source of relief for them. He travelled to Champaran with this goal in mind and got in
touch with the British Landlords Association Secretary. He was given no information by the
secretary. Gandhiji then visited the Commissioner of the Tirhut division, who gave him notice
to leave Tirhut right away. Gandhiji said that he would disregard the order.
After four rounds of talks with the governor, an official commission of inquiry was
established. Gandhiji succeeded in getting 25% of the compensation for the poor
sharecroppers from the British landowners.
9. How did Gandhiji use Satyagraha and non- violence at Champaran to achieve his goal?
[CBSE 2020]
ANS. Gandhiji was interested in learning more about the circumstances in Champaran than
Shukla could provide. He went to Muzaffarpur to speak with the lawyer there about the
situation. When he met the commissioner, he was told to leave Champaran. Gandhiji
remained because he was battling for the truth and made the decision to start a non-violent,
non-Satyagraha movement.
Next morning, there was a spontaneous demonstration of the peasants, in thousands,
around the courthouse. The officials felt powerless without Gandhi's cooperation. He helped
them regulate the crowd. He was polite and friendly. He was giving them concrete proof that
what had, hitherto been dreaded and unquestioned, could be challenged by Indians.
Gandhiji was able to persuade the landlords to agree to return 25% of the compensation
based on the facts gathered after a careful inquiry. Gandhiji's nonviolent Civil Disobedience
and Satyagraha enabled him to accomplish his mission.
10. How did the court scene at Motihari change the course of India's struggle for freedom?
[CBSE 2020]
ANS. There was spontaneous demonstration of the peasants, in thousands, around the
courthouse. The officials felt powerless without Gandhi's cooperation. The government was
baffled. The prosecutor requested the judge to postpone the trial. Gandhi protested against
the delay. He read a statement pleading guilty. He disregarded the order to leave and asked
for the penalty due.
The magistrate asked Gandhi to furnish bail for those 120 minutes. Gandhi refused. The
judge released him without bail. When the court reconvened, the judge said he would not
deliver the judgement for several days. Meanwhile, he allowed Gandhi to remain at liberty.
Several days later, Gandhi received a written communication from the magistrate informing
him that the Lieutenant-Governor of the province had ordered the case to be dropped. Civil
disobedience had triumphed, the first time in modern India. As a result of this, the phase of
India's struggle for freedom took a revolutionary turn with the people marching for
Satyagraha.
11. Gandhiji said, "Freedom from fear is more important than legal justice for the poor." How
does it become clear from the lesson Indigo' that freedom from fear is an essential condition
for justice? [CBSE 2019]
ANS. When Gandhiji learned about the conditions of the peasants of Champaran, he
concluded that the peasants were so crushed and fear- stricken that going to the law courts
was useless. The real relief for them is to be free from fear. While modern-day bureaucrats,
moneylenders, and dishonest politicians victimise India's poor, foreign rulers explore the
peasants of Champaran. All of the poor people's ambitions and dreams have been crushed
by years of exploitation. So, they don't try to challenge injustice as they fear that the
oppressors will find some way to prove them guilty. They are unable to do anything out of
fear that would assist them obtain justice. They need a leader who can inspire people to fight
against those who oppress them. Until people are free of fear itself, they will continue to lead
miserable lives.
12. Describe how, according to Louis Fischer, Gandhiji succeeded in his Champaran
campaign. [CBSE 2014]
ANS. The Champaran campaign aimed to protect the poor peasants of Champaran from
British oppression and exploitation. Gandhiji's strategy of non-violence and Satyagraha
helped him win this struggle. He visited Muzaffarpur to obtain complete information about the
actual condition of the sharecroppers. After making his initial request to the relevant
authorities and receiving no reaction, he organised a large-scale Civil Disobedience
movement with the help of the peasants. Gandhiji's main goal was to make a new, free
Indian who could take part in the nation's freedom movement by removing the terror of the
British landowners. He gave the peasants newfound confidence and made them aware of
their rights. He also taught them to be self-reliant by refusing to take the help of CF Andrews,
his English friend.
