Champaran Satyagraha

Champaran Satyagraha India’s First Civil Disobedience Movement, led by Gandhiji in 1917, is considered as the Historically important rebellion in India's struggle. It was a farmers' rebellion that took place in the Champaran district of Bihar during the British Colonial Period.  The tenant farmers were pressured to grow indigo with barely any payment for it. When Gandhiji returned to India from South Africa in 1915 and observed peasants in Northern India exploited by Indigo farmers, he tried to use the same method of Satyagraha that he had used in South Africa to organise the mass rebellion by people to protect against injustice. 

Champaran Satyagraha was the first Satyagraha and the first non-violence action initiated by Gandhiji in India.  Let us read in detail about the First Civil Disobedience Movement of India in the following topics.

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Historical Background of First Civil Disobedience Movement of India - Champaran Satyagraha

Champaran Satyagrah India’s First Civil Disobedience Movement was led by Gandhiji in the 20th century to delegate determined but passive defiance to the British Raj. Indigo, a cash crop that needed a high amount of water and which made the soil infertile, local farmers were usually against its cultivation, rather preferring to grow daily crops such as rice and pulses. Therefore, the British government pressured farmers to grow Indigo, often by making this condition for providing loans and through collusion with local nawabs, kings, and landlords. The trade was highly profitable and led to the wealth of several Asians and European traders.

As production of Indigo was made illegal in China in 1900 and restricted in the USA in1910, indigo traders forced the indigo planters of Champaran to increase their production. Many tenant farmers professed that the landlord had used strong harassment to extort them in other ways. The issue has been highlighted by several lawyers/politicians, and there has also been a Commission of inquiry. Gandhiji was persuaded by  Raj Kumar Shukla and Sant Raut, a moneylender who owned some land, to visit Champaran, and hence, Champaran Satyagraha began.  On April 10, 1917, Gandhi arrived at Champaran with eminent lawyers and stayed at the house of Sant Raut in Amolwa village.

On his arrival at Champaran, the District Magistrate served him with a notice by saying he is not allowed to stay in the district of Champaran but must leave the place by the first available train. Gandhi did not follow the order. He was called up to appear in court. The District Magistrate said, “ if you leave the Champaran now and assure not to return, the case against you will be withdrawn”.

Gandhi replied ‘ This cannot be”. I came to Champaran to render humanitarian and national service. Gandhiji further said, “ Cahmaparian is my home, and I will work here for the suffering of people”. The crowd peacefully dispersed, and the Police stared at Gandhiji in administration as he went inside the court. The case was withdrawn against Gandhiji as he was permitted to remain in the district. Gandhi stayed here to study the issues faced by peasants.

Gandhiji stayed at Hazarimal Dharamshala in Bettiah village. He then visited several villages to know the injustice of the peasants. To understand the issues faced by peasants, Gandhiji approached almost 8000 Indigo peasants to record their statements and testimonies.  He derived the conclusion that the ignorance of the cultivators was the main reason why European traders can pressurise them.

An organized event and strike against the Landlord was undertaken by Gandhiji, who with the assistance of the British Government, signed an agreement offering more compensation and control over farming for the tenant farmers of the region, and also the cancellation of revenue hikes and collection until the feminine ending. It was during this agitation, Gandhi was called Bapu ( Father) for the first time by Sant Raut and Mahatma ( Great Soul).

The Champaran movement ended with the introduction of the “Champaran  Agrarian Bill '' by the Government of Bihar and Orissa, which consisted of almost all the recommendations that were made during the Gandhiji mission and it further became the "Champaran Agrarian Law (1918: Bihar and Orissa Act I)". This was the first time that the civil disobedience movement of India compelled the Britishers to adjust their egoistic attitude. The suggestions of the committee were moderately employed by the Champaran Agrarian Act of 1917 and partially by the executive orders, which included several concessions and prescription of limit for the increment of rents

What Was the Significance of Champaran Satyagraha India First Civil Disobedience Movement?

The Champaran Satyagraha movement gave direction to the Indian youth and freedom fighters, which was wavering between moderates who suggested Indian Participation within the British Colonial system and revolutionaries from Bengal who recommended the use of constraint methods to collapse the British colonists in India.

Also, it was at Champaran during which transformation from Mohandas to Mahatma began. This is the wonderful and little story of Gandhiji's first Satyagraha, the movement that initiated a new chapter in India's first independence struggle.

This was the first time Gandhiji was able to persuade the administration that Tinkathia was an exploitative system and needed changes. He became part of the committee to analyse the issue. The suggestions of the committee were in support of the peasants and suggested curbing Tinkathia System and asked peasants to reimburse for the illegal collection of taxes and rents.