Question

The Indigo revolt of the peasants in 1859-60 happened in the state of _____.
a. West Bengal
b. Andhra Pradesh
c. Maharashtra
d. Madhya Pradesh

Answer 1

Hint:
The farmers who planted the indigo were not able to make the profit out of it and were given only 2.5% of the amount instead of marked price. The famous newspaper called “The Hindi Patriot” consists of the stories of the planters described by the Bengali intellectual Harish Chandra Mukherjee.

Complete solution:
The Indigo revolt is also called as “ Nil Bidroha ''. It was a peasant movement and arose in Chaugacha Village of Nadia in Bengal in 1859. The first Indigo planter of Bengal was Lois Bonnard. He was a Frenchman. He began his cultivation of Indigo at Taldanga and Goalpara near Chandannagar of Hooghly river. The plantation of Indigo became more and more profitable under the Nawabs of Bengal that were ruling under British power. The demand for the plantation increased rapidly due to the demand for indigo dye. So, in the areas of Burdwan, Bankura, Bribhum, and Jessore that is nowadays present in Bangladesh were the important major centres for the plantation of Indigo for the purpose of the demand of Indigo dye. The peasants were forced to plant indigo instead of planting food crops or cereals. The middle-class people that belonged to Bengal supported this plantation in a broader way.

Hence, the correct answer is option A.

Note:
The scientific name of indigo is “ Indigofera”. It belonged to the family of Fabaceae. There are a total of 750 species of this plant at present and the major hub of indigo is Afghanistan county.