The Gandhian movements were a series of mass movements led by Mahatma Gandhi during India’s struggle for independence. Gandhi’s philosophy of nonviolence (Ahimsa) and truth (Satyagraha) formed the cornerstone of these movements, aiming to achieve independence through peaceful resistance, mass mobilization, and civil disobedience. His movements not only challenged British colonial rule but also transformed the Indian National Congress into a mass organization and introduced millions of Indians to the freedom struggle.

Champaran Satyagraha

Champaran Satyagraha of 1917 was the first civil disobedience movement of India. Champaran district is a historic region in Bihar, India, that is now divided into the East Champaran district and the West Champaran district. Farmers in this region revolted against the British in 1914 and 1916 over the conditions imposed on indigo cultivation. Earlier, similar conditions existed in Bengal, but as a result of a major uprising in 1859-61, the peasants there won their freedom from the indigo planters.

Background

• Champaran is a district in the state of Bihar where tens of thousands of landless serfs, indentured laborers, and poor farmers were forced to grow indigo and other cash crops instead of food crops.
• The European planters had forced the peasants to grow indigo on 3/20 of the total land area (called tinkathia system).
• When German synthetic dyes replaced indigo at the end of the nineteenth century, European planters demanded high rents and illegal dues from the peasants in order to maximize their profits before the peasants could switch to other crops.
• Furthermore, the peasants were forced to sell their produce at European-determined prices.
• These items were purchased from farmers at a very low cost.
• They were oppressed by the landlords’ brutal militias and were given negligible compensation, leaving them in extreme poverty.
• Even though they were in the grip of a devastating famine, the British government imposed a heavy tax on them and insisted on raising the rate.
• Without food and money, the situation became increasingly unbearable, and peasants in Champaran revolted against the government in indigo plant cultivation in 1914 (at Pipra) and 1916 (Turkaulia).

Features

• Gandhi was asked by Rajkumar Shukla, a local, to investigate the problems of farmers in the context of indigo planters in Champaran, Bihar.
• When Gandhi arrived in Champaran, accompanied by Rajendra Prasad, Mazharul-Haq, Mahadev Desai, Narhari Parekh, and J.B. Kripalani, the authorities ordered him to leave immediately.
• Gandhi defied the order and chose to face the consequences. This method of passive resistance or civil disobedience in the face of an unjust order was novel at the time.
• Finally, the authorities relented and allowed Gandhi to conduct an investigation.
• Gandhi was able to persuade the authorities to abolish the tinkathia system and compensate the peasants for the illegal dues extracted from them.
• As a compromise with the planters, he agreed to compensate them for only 25% of the money taken.
• Within a decade, the planters had abandoned the area. Gandhi had won India’s first battle of civil disobedience.
• Brajkishore Prasad, Anugrah Narayan Sinha, Ramnavmi Prasad, and Shambhusharan Varma were also prominent leaders associated with the Champaran Satyagraha.