Champaran Satyagraha (1917): BPSC Prelims Notes
BPSC Prelims Demand
BPSC explicitly includes the Indian National Movement and Bihar’s part in it. Prepare Champaran through five anchors: 1917, indigo, Tinkathia, Raj Kumar Shukla and Gandhi. Also learn the inquiry, the end of the coercive system, the 1918 Act, and the Bihar locations.
Chronology
Why did Champaran become an issue?
European indigo planters compelled many tenants to grow indigo under the Tinkathia arrangement. In the standard examination formulation, tenants had to plant indigo on three out of every twenty parts of land. The issue was therefore tied to coercive cultivation, planters’ demands and the hardship of raiyats (tenants). Raj Kumar Shukla, an indigo cultivator, brought these grievances to Gandhi’s attention.
People and Their Role
| Person / group | Role to remember |
|---|---|
| Mahatma Gandhi | Investigated peasant grievances; used non-violent resistance; served on the inquiry committee. |
| Raj Kumar Shukla | Champaran indigo cultivator who persuaded Gandhi to visit the district. |
| Indigo cultivators / raiyats | People facing coercive indigo cultivation and associated exactions. |
| Bihar volunteers and lawyers | Helped record grievances; official accounts name Rajendra Prasad, Dharnidhar Prasad, Gorakh Prasad, Ramnavami Prasad, Shambhu Sharan and Anugrah Narayan Sinha among volunteers. |
| European planters | Estate owners linked with the coercive indigo arrangement challenged by the movement. |
Terms That Are Easily Mixed Up
| Term | Correct association | Common trap |
|---|---|---|
| Tinkathia | Compulsory indigo cultivation on 3/20 of land. | Do not link it to a cotton mill or salt tax. |
| Champaran | 1917, Bihar, indigo cultivators, Gandhi. | Do not exchange it with Kheda (Gujarat) or Ahmedabad (mill workers). |
| Raj Kumar Shukla | Indigo cultivator who persuaded Gandhi to visit. | Do not confuse him with a British official. |
| Champaran Agrarian Act | 1918; followed the inquiry and the end of coercive Tinkathia. | Do not date it before the 1917 inquiry. |
Prelims Traps
- 3/20 is the key numerical clue for Tinkathia.
- Champaran belongs to Bihar; Kheda belongs to Gujarat.
- Raj Kumar Shukla was an indigo cultivator, not the Governor of Bihar.
- The inquiry committee came in 1917; the Champaran Agrarian Act is associated with 1918.
- The movement’s major agricultural target was coercive indigo cultivation.
- Do not call a reconstructed question an “official PYQ” unless an official booklet confirms it.