Question map
Which of the statements given below about the Champaran Satyagraha is/are correct ? 1. It was related to Indigo plantations. 2. It started because the European planters oppressed the Zamindars. Select the correct answer using the code given below :
Explanation
The Champaran Satyagraha of 1917 was Mahatma Gandhi's first major experiment with Satyagraha in India [1]. Statement 1 is correct as the movement was fundamentally related to the grievances of indigo cultivators in the Champaran district of Bihar [1]. Under the exploitative 'Tinkathia' system, peasants were legally compelled by European planters to grow indigo on 3/20th of their landholdings [1][t1][t10]. Statement 2 is incorrect because the oppression was directed at the peasantry and tenant farmers, not the Zamindars [1][t3]. In fact, European planters often took over cultivation rights from local Zamindars and thekedars, subsequently subjecting the poor tenants to high rents, illegal cesses, and fixed low prices for indigo [t3][t7]. The movement eventually led to the abolition of the Tinkathia system through the Champaran Agrarian Act of 1918 [t5].
Sources
- [1] Modern India ,Bipin Chandra, History class XII (NCERT 1982 ed.)[Old NCERT] > Chapter 15: Struggle for Swaraj > Champaran Satvagraha (1917) > p. 266