Question

Consider the following statements in the context of the satyagrahas under Gandhiji :
A) In the name of Gandhiji, at Champaran, the peasant leaders organized the peasantry into violent actions.
B) It was during Kheda Satyagraha that Gandhiji first used the weapon of hunger strike in India‟s struggle for freedom.
C) The immediate reason for Kheda Satyagraha was the withdrawal of plague bonus.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

1. Only A
2. A and B
3. B and C
4. A, B, C

Answer 1

Correct Answer - Option 1 : Only A

The correct answer is Only A.

Champaran Satyagraha-

• In Champaran (1917) in the early nineteenth century, the European planters had involved the cultivators in agreements that forced them to cultivate indigo on 3/20th of their holdings (known as the tinkathia system).
• Towards the end of the nineteenth century, German synthetic dyes forced indigo out of the market and the European planters of Champaran decided to release the cultivators from the obligation of cultivating indigo, tried to turn their necessity to their advantage by securing enhancements in rent and other illegal dues as a price for the release.
• Resistance against this had surfaced in 1908 as well, but the exploitation of the planters continued till Raj Kumar Shukla persuaded Gandhiji to come to Champaran to investigate the problem.
• The peasant masses at Champaran spontaneously rallied behind Mahatma Gandhi.
• In Gandhiji‘s name, but without his knowledge, the rich peasant leaders organized the lesser peasantry into violent actions. Hence statement A is correct.

 

Kheda Satyagraha-

• In the middle of the Kheda Satyagraha (1918), Gandhi also got involved in the Ahmedabad textile mill strike.
• Here his adversaries were the Gujarati millowners.
• The immediate reason for the industrial conflict was the withdrawal of plague-bonus, which was being given to dissuade workers from leaving the city in the face of mounting plague-related deaths.
• Also, it was during Ahmedabad textile mill strike that Gandhiji for the first time during the Indian National Movement took fast unto death( to strengthen the workers‘ resolve).
• Hence his first hunger strike was during Ahmedabad Strike and not at Kheda. Hence the statement B is not correct.
• The cause for Kheda Satyagraha was that the peasants of Kheda district were in extreme distress due to a failure of crops and that their appeals for the remission of land revenue were being ignored by the Government.
• Discontinuation of the Plague bonus was the immediate cause for Ahmedabad textile mill strike. Hence statement C is not correct.