Page 1 : hort Answer Type Questions [3 Marks], Why do you think Gandhi considered the, Champaran episode to be a turning point in, his life?, Ans( Gandhiji considered the Champaran episode to, be a turning point in his life because it was the, first successful civil disobedience movement for, him. Though it began as an ordinary attempt to, free the poor peasants from injustice and, exploitation,)it was important in the sense that it, wiped out the mortal fear of the Britishers from, the hearts of the simple farmers. ( The, spontaneous support of thousands of people, proved that the episode had ignited courage and, patriotism amongst the Indians.), (1 Why did Gandhiji feel that taking the Champaran, case to the courtwas useless? Delhi 2014 (Modified), NCERT; All India 2011, Ans When Gandhiji got to know about the plight of, the peasant groups in Champaran from his, discussion with the lawyers, he came to the, conclusion that the poor peasants were so crushed, and fear-stricken that law courts were useless in, their case. Going to courts overburdened the, sharecroppers with heavy litigation expenses., What really needed to be done was to make them, free from fear., How did the Champaran peasants react when, they heard that a Mahatma had come to help, them?, Compartment 2014, Ans Gandhi received a summon to appear in court. The, next day thousands of peasants had assembled in, Motihari. They didn't know much about Gandhi., But they knew that he had come there only to take, up their cause. Thousands of them held a, demonstration. The officials felt powerless., Gandhi helped the authorities to regulate the, crowd., 6.) Why did Gandhiji decide to go to Muzaffarpur, before going to Champaran?, Ans Muzaffarpur was en route to Champaran., Gandhiji decided to first go to Muzaffarpur, because he wanted more complete information, about the conditions in Champaran than, Shukla was capable of imparting. It did prove, helpful as the lawyers in Muzaffarpur, who, frequently represented the peasant groups in, ' the courts, briefed Gandhiji about their cases., Foreign 2011, 3 What made the Lieutenant-Governor drop the, case against Gandhiji?, Ans The peasants held a spontaneous demonstration, in thousands in Motihari. The officials felt, Compartment 2014, What did the peasants pay to the British, landlords as rent?, Foreign 2011, helpless and the government was baffled. The, judge was requested to postpone the trial. The, pressure of the people was mounting. The judge, didn't want to aggravate the situation. He held up, the sentence for several days and finally released, Gandhi without bail, thus dropping the case, against Gandhiji., Ans Under an ancient arrangement, the peasants of, Champaran were sharecroppers. Most of the, arable land belonged to the Englishmen and, Indian tenants worked on them. The English, landlords compelled the Indian tenants to plant, 15% of their holdings with indigo and surrender, the entire indigo produce as rent., did Gandhiji oppose when his friend, Andrews offered to stay in Champaran and help, the peasants?, The battle of Champaran is won!' What led, Gandhiji to make this remark?, Ans Gandhiji asked the lawyers what they, would do if he was arrested. The lawyers first, replied that they would return home, but when, Gandhiji asked them for a solution about the, injustice to the sharecroppers, they realised, their mistake. They thought that when a total, stranger was ready to go to jail for the poor, peasants, their going home would be utterly, shameful. They decided to follow Gandhiji into, jail. This made Gandhiji exclaim, 'The battle of, Champaran is won,' as he was happy to have, convinced the lawyers and won their trust., HOTS, Foreign 2010, Foreign 2014, or, Why did Gandhiji object to CF Andrews' stay in, Champaran?, Ans CF Andrews wanted to stay in Champaran and, help the peasants, but Gandhiji objected to it, because he wanted to mould 'a new free Indian'., He wanted Indians to stand on their own feet. He, didn't want Indians to take the help of an, Englishman in their struggle for freedom. So, he, taught a lesson in self-reliance., Foreign 2009, Scanned with CamScanner, PROSE

Page 2 : Why did Rajkumar Shukla want w ur-, to Champaran?, Ans Rajkumar Shukla, impoverished sharecroppers of the Champaran, district. He had gone to the Lucknow session of, the Indian National Congress to complain about, the injustice of the landlord system in Bihar. He, was probably told to speak to Gandhiji who, would certainly help him. So, he wanted to take, Gandhiji to Champaran to fight the injustice and, the exploitation of the sharecroppers., Oor tatIci WH, Since Gandhiji, the indigo sharecroppers., accompanied Shukla and was dressed simply,, they mistook him for a peasant. Gandhiji's, modesty and unassertiveness also led to the, assumption that he was a peasant., Delhi 2008, of the poor, was, one, 10 Why did Gandhi agree to a settlement of 25%, NCERT, refund to the farmers?, or, Why did Gandhi agree to the planter's offer of a, 25% refund to the farmers?, Ans When the landlords agreed to pay a refund, they, thought that Gandhi would ask for a full, rерayment. But, planters then offered to pay only 25% as they, wanted to create a deadlock which would prolong, the dispute. To everybody's surprise, Gandhi, accepted the offer. According to him, the amount, of refund was less important than the fact that, the landlords had been obliged to surrender part, of their money and with it, part of their prestige., Delhi 2009, 15 Why is Rajkumar Shukla described as being, resolute?, NCERT, asked only 50%. The shrewd, Ans Rajkumar Shukla has been described as, being 'resolute' because he was adamant to take, Gandhiji with him to Champaran to fight against, the injustice done to the poor sharecroppers. He, came all the way to Lucknow to speak to, Gandhiji. As Gandhiji was busy, he remained by, his side for weeks, following him wherever he, went. Impressed by his tenacity, Gandhiji, decided to help him., HOTS, 11. How did Gandhiji help the peasants of, Champaran?, Ans The peasants of Champaran were crushed, and fear-stricken. Gandhiji freed them from, exploitation. He taught them that they had, rights and defenders to support their cause., Gandhiji also worked against the social and, cultural backwardness in the Champaran, villages. Primary schools were opened and a, doctor was also appointed. People were made, aware of the significance of personal cleanliness, and community sanitation., All India 2009, HOTS, 16. 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 British landlords forced all tenants to plant, 15% of their holdings with indigo and surrender, the entire indigo harvest as rent. This was done, on a long term contract., NCERT, When the landlords learned that Germany had, developed synthetic indigo, they wanted to, dissolve the agreement. However, they asked the, sharecroppers to pay them compensation for, being released from the 15% arrangement., Obviously, synthetic indigo would be cheaper, and more readily available and thus would bring, down the price of natural indigo., How was Gandhi able to influence the lawyers?, Give reasons., NCERT; All India 2009, 2008, Ans Gandhiji first chided the lawyers for charging big, fees from the emaciated farmers for representing, them in the court. His willingness to court, imprisonment for the cause of the peasants, to, whom he was a total stranger, inspired the, lawyers to follow him to jail., (17How did the episode change the plight of the, 13. How do we know that ordinary people too, contributed to the freedom movement?, peasants?, Ans The episode of Champaran helped the peasants, immensely. It removed their mortal fear of the, British. They were made aware of their rights, and had courage to fight for them. Within a few, years the British planters abandoned their, estates, which reverted to the peasants. Slowly, indigo sharecropping disappeared from the, district of Champaran., NCERT, NCERT; Delhi 2008, Ans The ordinary people stood by and supported, Gandhiji in their own little ways. Rajkumar, Shukla and Professor Malkani defied all odds to, contribute in the fight. Professor JB Kriplani, motivated a large number of students and, welcomed Gandhiji at the Muzaffarpur railway, Scanned with CamScanner

Page 3 : g"after which he returned to his ashram near, ong Answer Type Questions [6 N, is the Champaran episode considered, to be the beginning of the Indian struggle for, Independence?, Ans The Champaran episode was one of the major, events in the struggle for Independence. It, was in the course of this small but significant, movement that Gandhiji decided to urge the, departure of the British from India. A close, examination, Champaran peasants opéned Gandhiji's eyes, to the unjust policies of the British., He realised that people had to be made free, from fear and only then could they be freed, from foreign oppression. The spontaneous, demonstration of the people proved that, Gandhiji had the nation's support in his fight, against the Britishers., The triumph of the civil disobedience at, Champaran motivated the launching of the, movement on a large scale during the, freedom movement. Gandhiji's winning the, case of the sharecroppers proved that British, authority could be challenged. Hence, the, Champaran episode served as a stepping, stone to Indian struggle for Independence., All India 2014 (Modified), of, the problem, of, the, Scanned with CamScanner

Page 4 : peasants., role in resolving the issue., "Civil disobedience had triumphed the first time, in modern India". How? Explain with reference, to the chapter "Indigo.", Ans When Gandhiji visited Champaran to look into, the grievances of the peasants, he was served, with an official notice to quit Champaran, immediately. Gandhiji returned the notice with, the remark that he would disobey the order. This, was the beginning of civil disobedience., As a result, Gandhiji was ordered to appear in the, court next day. Thousands of peasants put up a, demonstration at the courthouse. The powerless, officials appealed to Gandhiji to help them, manage the crowd, which he, no doubt, did., The magistrate demanded Gandhiji to furnish, bail, but Gandhiji did not comply with, orders. Then he released Gandhiji without bail., After several days, the case was dropped by the, Lieutenant- Governor himself. This was the start, of the triumph of civil disobedience in India., the, Scanned with CamScanner

Page 5 : 3. Self-reliance, Indian independence and help to, sharecroppers were all bound together." How did, Gandhiji manage to do this? Explain in the context, of the chapter 'Indigo'., Ans Self-reliance was a virtue which was of utmost, importance to Gandhiji. He wanted to “mould a new, free Indian who could stand on his own feet and thus, make India free". During the Champaran episode,, when the lawyers wanted to take CF Andrews, an, Englishman, into their fold to uphold their cause,, Gandhiji 'vehemently opposed' the move. He made, them understand that they should rely on, themselves to win the battle. In this way Gandhiji, taught them a lesson in self-reliance., Gandhiji proved that the British authority, hitherto, dreaded and unquestioned, could be challenged by, Indians. The success of Champaran marked the, triumph of civil disobedience in India. It was another, stepping stone to the beginning of India's freedom, movement., In a similar manner, the sharecroppers episode in, Champaran was interconnected to the above two, themes. Gandhiji went to Champaran to fight for the, cause of the peasants who were deceived and, cheated by the British landlords. Thus, Louis Fischer, has rightly put in that self-reliance, Indian, independence and help to sharecroppers were all, bound together., Scanned with CamScanner