Indigo-prose

What key transformation occurred in the mindset of the Champaran peasantry as a direct result of Gandhi's intervention?

1. They abandoned agriculture entirely to pursue commercial trades in nearby cities.
2. They shed their fear of British authority and realized they had rights and defenders.
3. They formed a political party to contest local government elections across Bihar.
4. They adopted Western education models to qualify for civil service positions.

How did Mahatma Gandhi demonstrate his commitment to practical sanitation while staying in Champaran villages?

1. He commissioned municipal engineers from Patna to construct modern drainage systems.
2. He instructed villagers on digging new latrine trenches and covering old ones systematically.
3. He issued strict administrative fines to households that neglected daily waste disposal.
4. He requested financial grants from the British Governor specifically for public health works.

What was the long-term economic outcome of the Champaran movement for the indigo plantation system?

1. The British government nationalized the indigo estates and appointed Indian managers.
2. The landlords abandoned their estates within a few years, ending sharecropping in the region.
3. Synthetic indigo factories were built locally to replace natural indigo farming.
4. Sharecroppers were forced to pay higher annual land taxes directly to the provincial government.

What fundamental connection does Louis Fischer draw between the Champaran episode and Gandhi's overall approach to politics?

1. Gandhi's politics were tied to everyday practical human problems rather than abstract theories.
2. Gandhi prioritized theoretical political doctrines over local economic issues.
3. Gandhi focused primarily on international diplomacy to pressure colonial powers.
4. Gandhi used regional peasant revolts solely to strengthen his personal political standing.

Why did Gandhi strongly oppose hiring Charles Freer Andrews, an English pacifist, to assist in the Champaran campaign?

1. He suspected Andrews was secretly reporting information to the British Intelligence Bureau.
2. He believed relying on an Englishman revealed an underlying self-weakness in their cause.
3. He felt Andrews lacked practical experience in agrarian legal matters.
4. He wanted to keep foreign activists out of local political affairs entirely.

Why did Gandhi place greater emphasis on social, educational, and medical reforms in Champaran after resolving the indigo dispute?

1. He aimed to build a local political base to secure a seat in the Legislative Assembly.
2. He saw that political victory was incomplete without addressing deep cultural and social backwardness.
3. He was legally restricted by court orders from engaging in further political activism in Bihar.
4. He sought to fulfill funding requirements set by international donor organizations.

What final compromise was reached regarding the percentage of money British landlords would refund to the sharecroppers?

1. A 100 percent refund of all money collected over the past fifty years.
2. A 50 percent refund, matching the initial demand made by local peasant unions.
3. A 25 percent refund offered by landlords, which Gandhi unexpectedly accepted.
4. A 10 percent token refund paired with future tax exemptions for farmers.

Why did the British Lieutenant-Governor eventually decide to drop the charges against Gandhi and cancel his prosecution?

1. The British Crown issued a royal pardon for all political activists in Bihar.
2. Local estate owners agreed to pay all financial damages demanded by the peasants.
3. Government officials realized prosecuting Gandhi would trigger widespread civil unrest.
4. Gandhi proved that the summons served on him contained procedural errors.

What moral dilemma did prominent lawyers like Rajendra Prasad face when Gandhi asked them what they would do if he were imprisoned?

1. They debated whether to hire British barristers to argue Gandhi's appeal in London.
2. They realized it would be shameful to go home if an outsider was willing to go to jail for their peasants.
3. They worried about losing their legal licenses if they joined political demonstrations.
4. They struggled with managing the financial costs of a prolonged legal battle.

What remarkable event occurred outside the Motihari courthouse on the morning of Gandhi's scheduled trial?

1. British troops opened fire on a crowd of protesting estate workers.
2. Thousands of peasants gathered around the courthouse, demonstrating without violence.
3. The British magistrate fled the district out of fear for his personal safety.
4. Local lawyers staged a boycott of all legal proceedings across Bihar.

When served with an official summons to leave Champaran immediately by the British Police Superintendent, how did Gandhi respond?

1. He complied under protest and appealed the decision to the British Parliament.
2. He signed the order's receipt and wrote on it that he would disobey the order.
3. He organized an immediate armed strike among local estate workers.
4. He went into hiding in the nearby forests of Nepal to avoid arrest.

Why did Gandhi decline the advice of local lawyers in Muzaffarpur who were charging substantial fees to represent Champaran peasants in court?

1. He believed the local courts were corrupted by secret bribes from British estate owners.
2. He recognized that taking fear-stricken peasants to court was useless; real relief lay in freeing them from fear.
3. He intended to handle all legal proceedings personally in the Privy Council in London.
4. He argued that British judges would automatically reject cases filed by Indian legal representatives.

What was the core flaw in the "sharecropping agreement" (the 15 percent arrangement) enforced by British landlords in Champaran?

1. Peasants were forced to surrender their land deeds to British banks as loan collateral.
2. Peasants had to plant 15 percent of their land with indigo and surrender the entire indigo harvest as rent.
3. Landlords required peasants to work unpaid labor shifts at British tea estates during harvest seasons.
4. Peasants were legally obligated to buy imported German synthetic indigo at inflated market prices.

Why was Mahatma Gandhi initially treated as an untouchable or low-caste person when he visited Rajendra Prasad's house in Patna with Rajkumar Shukla?

1. He dressed in simple clothes and arrived alongside an impoverished, unkempt peasant.
2. He openly announced his rejection of traditional Hindu social customs.
3. Rajendra Prasad's servants recognized him as an activist blacklisted by the British government.
4. He refused to reveal his identity and caste background to the household staff.

Why did Rajkumar Shukla persist in following Mahatma Gandhi across various cities in India before the Champaran movement?

1. He wanted Gandhi to lead a legal team in the Patna High Court against British indigo planters.
2. He was a resolute, illiterate sharecropper determined to bring Gandhi to his district to address systemic injustice.
3. He sought a political appointment within the Indian National Congress committee.
4. He was dispatched as an official representative by the local British landlord association.