INDIGO, GRADE 12 (CBSE) ENGLISH, QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

 

INDIGO, GRADE 12 (CBSE)

SHORT ANSWERS AND LONG ANSWER.

"A PLUS" NOTE

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1.Where was Champaran district situated?

Ans: Champaran district was in the foothills of the towering Himalayas, near the kingdom of Nepal.

 

2.Who was Rajkumar Shukla? Why did he want to meet Gandhi?

Ans: Rajkumar Shukla was a poor farmer who lived in Champaran. He wanted to inform Gandhi about the landlord system in Bihar where the sharecroppers were ill-treated by the British landlords.

 

3. When and where did Rajkumar Shukla meet Gandhi?

Ans: Rajkumar Shukla met Gandhi in 1916 in the annual convention of Indian National Congress party at Lucknow.

 

4.“Rajkumar Shukla was illiterate but resolute.” Explain.

Ans: Rajkumar Shukla was uneducated but firm and determined. He would not change his decision at any cost. He followed Gandhi till Gandhi fixed a date to visit his place Chambaran.

5. What do you mean by a sharecropper?

Ans: A sharecropper is a peasant. who enters an agreement with a landowner to cultivate the land and then pay a share of the crop as rent of the land. The landlord will not do any work in that land. The farmer has to do all the work. It means they are forced to share the crops to the landlords.

 

6. Why did Gandhi accept the 25% compensation to the sharecroppers?

Ans. An official commission to enquire the problems of the sharecroppers was formed by the East India Company. The commission consisted of landlords, government officials  and Gandhi as the sole representative of the peasants. The commission understood the fact that the sharecroppers were cheated. So the Commission decided to pay back the money which they had illegally extorted from the farmers. They asked Gandhi how much they had to pay. Gandhi  asked only 50%. But they offered 25% ; Gandhi agreed the proposal. Gandhi said that the amount of the refund was less important than the landlords had been surrendered a part of their prestige and money.

 

7.What was the actual problem of Champaran peasants?

Ans: Most of the arable land in the Chambaran district was divided into large estates owned by Englishmen. They leased the land to the poor Indian tenants asking them to cultivate indigo plants 15% of their total land. They had to surrender the entire indigo harvest to the estate owners as the rent. Meanwhile Germany developed synthetic indigo which was cheaper as well as better. So, the landlords decided to break the contact made with the peasants. It meant the peasants would be free; the sharecropping would come to an end. The landlords asked money to the sharecroppers for making them free. Some farmers gave them money and became free from the contract. When the peasants came to know about the synthetic indigo which was developed by Germany, they thought that they were trapped by English landlords. The peasants wanted to get back the money what they had given to the landlords. But the landlords disagreed to pay back money because they were above the laws.

  

7.Narrate briefly on the visit of Gandhi to Rajendra Prasad’s house?

Ans: Gandhi went to Patna in Bihar with Rajkumar Shukla. Shukla led him to the house of Rajendra Prasad. But he was not there. The servants of that house mistook Gandhi as a poor yeoman. Gandhi and Shukla were asked to stay on the ground. They were not given even drinking water and not allowed them to draw water from the well. The servants thought that Gandhi and Shukla were untouchables and if they would take water from the well the entire source of water in the well and the bucket would be polluted.

8.Why did Gandhi decide to go to Muzzafarpur?

Ans. Gandhi decided to go to Muzzafarpur to collect complete information of the sharecroppers' cases. He also wanted to meet J.B. Kripalini who was a professor in the Arts College at Muzzafarpur, whom he had seen at Tagore’s Shantiniketan school.

 

9.“It was an extra ordinary thing ‘in those days’ What was the extra ordinary thing?

Ans: When Gandhi reached Muzzafarpur, Professor Malkani, a teacher in a government school welcomed him and allowed him to stay in his house. It was an extraordinary thing because Gandhi was one of the members of Home Rule Movement. The people feared to show sympathy to the advocates of home rule. The East India Company would punish them if they came to know. No one should help the members of Home Rule Movement was the order of the East India Company. But Malkani didn't fear the  order and he harbored Gandhi.

10.“Taking such cases to the courts does little good.” Who is the speaker and why?

Ans. Gandhiji is the speaker. Gandhi thinks that taking sharecroppers’ cases to the law courts do little good. The peasants are crushed in the courts and law courts are useless, where judges are British people and they will not verdict against British landlords.

 

11. What was the long term contract made in between British landlords and Indian tenants?

Ans. Most of the arable land was divided into large estates owned by English men. They gave the land to Indian tenants with an agreement. The landlords compelled all tenants to plant 15% of their total land with Indigo and surrender the entire indigo harvest as rent to them.

14.Why was Gandhi satisfied with only one-fourth of the compensation?

Ans. Gandhi agreed the settlement with 25% of refund what British Landlords had collected. He thought that Landlords were forced to return the money was rather more important. He also thought that a part of their prestige was obliged to surrender in front of Indian farmers.

 

15."Civil disobedience had triumphed , the first time in modern India" Explain

Ans: Gandhi got an official notice to quit Champaran immediately. Gandhi wrote on the receipt that he would disobey the order. The East India Company wanted to arrest Gandhi. But there were a huge multitude of farmers held a demonstration around the court house. By seeing them the British officials were confused and feared. Even without bail they were forced to release Gandhi. The British landlords stopped asking the compensation from the farmers. In this way the civil disobedience triumphed for the first time in modern India.  

 

Long Answer

1. "Self - reliance , Indian Independence and help the sharecroppers  were all bound together" says Louis Fischer. Discuss.

 

 

Ans:  We all Know that success depends on self - reliance. If one is self - reliant he or she is having full of confidence. If one is having full of confidence, one can undertake many difficult tasks.

In this lesson Gandhi won a battle against the British land lords. If the people are made self reliant they can fight their own battles. They can  fight against the cruelty and the idea of launching their own freedom.

 

Gandhi helped the sharecroppers at Champaran as they were exploited by the British landlords. Gandhi wanted to learn the problem of Champaran peasants. But he was given an official order to leave Champaran. He disobeyed the order. Consequently he got a court summons.

Thousands of peasants assembled in the court yard. They did demonstrations in favour of Gandhi. The British officials baffled. Finally they sought help from Gandhi and released him even without bail.

Champaran episode became a turning point in Gandhi's life. The success of Chambaran gave him courage to open civil disobedience and Quiet India Movement.