Question

Gandhiji started his first mass movement in India in ________.
A. Champaran
B. Wardha
C. Sabarmati
D. Bardoli

Answer 1

Hint: The first mass movement started by Mahatma Gandhi was in 1917. This movement is considered one of the most important mass movements in the struggle for India’s freedom struggle.

Complete answer:
The farmer’s rebellion in Champaran in 1917 was the first mass movement started by Mahatma Gandhi in India. This uprising took place in the Indian state of Bihar during the British rule. The farmers were protesting against the oppression of the British who forced them to grow indigo without any incentives. The Champaran movement is regarded as the first satyagraha in India which influenced many youths and guided the national freedom struggle. Gandhiji returned to India from South Africa and visited the peasants in Champaran. He was ordered by the British officials to leave to which he paid no heed and began a satyagraha. The British Government promised to create a commission which also included Gandhiji to look into the conditions of the indigo farmers. Thus it was a victory for him.

The British paid extremely poor prices to the farmers and exploited them which left the farmers in great poverty. Most tenant farmers were forced to grow indigo on a given portion of the land which was then exported to Great Britain. After the invention of much cheaper indigo by the Germans, the demand in India fell. A lot of farmers had to suffer in poverty because of being unable to pay their dues to the British. This created dissatisfaction and anger among the farmers in Champaran.

Looking at the options:
Option A: Champaran gave birth to Mahatma Gandhi’s first mass movement in India. This is the correct answer.
Option B: Gandhiji stayed in his ashram at Wardha until his death in 1948.This is the wrong option.
Option C: Sabarmati is the place from where Gandhi began his salt march.This is the wrong answer.
Option D: Bardoli satyagraha took place in 1928. This is an incorrect answer.

Option A is the correct answer.

Note: The Champaran movement was a major victory for the farmers as well as Gandhiji. It was the first example of an organised satyagraha. It was an inspiration for many and a lead point for other nationalist struggles.