Who persuaded Mahatma Gandhi to come to Champaran to do something for the indigo planters ?

Question

Accepted Answer

The correct option is 1:

The Champaran Satyagraha of 1917 marked Mahatma Gandhi's first major civil disobedience movement in India. The underlying cause was the exploitative system known as 'Tinkathia,' under which indigo planters (peasants) were forced by British landlords to cultivate indigo on 3/20th of their land and sell it at fixed, often meager, prices. This oppressive system led to severe distress among the peasants. The person who tirelessly championed their cause and ultimately persuaded Gandhi to visit the troubled district was **Rajkumar Shukla**. Shukla, a local indigo cultivator, met Gandhi at the Lucknow session of the Indian National Congress in 1916. Despite facing initial reluctance from Gandhi due to his busy schedule, Shukla followed him persistently, urging him to come and witness the planters' plight firsthand. Gandhi’s eventual agreement to visit Champaran was a direct result of Shukla’s unrelenting persuasion and dedication to obtaining justice for his fellow farmers. This visit led to the successful Champaran Satyagraha and established Gandhi as a major leader in India.

The incorrect options are:

The incorrect option is 2 (Mahadev Desai): Mahadev Desai was Gandhi's personal secretary, joining him around the time of the Champaran movement (1917). He was a key associate who documented the movement, but he was not the person who initially persuaded Gandhi to come to Champaran.

The incorrect option is 3 (Gopal Krishna Gokhale): Gopal Krishna Gokhale was Gandhi’s political guru. He passed away in 1915, before the Champaran event, and thus could not have been the one to persuade Gandhi in 1916/1917. Gandhi did, however, follow Gokhale’s advice to spend a year touring India before actively engaging in politics.

The incorrect option is 4 (Ravindranath Tagore): Rabindranath Tagore was a Nobel laureate, poet, and philosopher who shared a profound mutual respect with Gandhi. While he gave Gandhi the title 'Mahatma,' he was a major intellectual figure, not the peasant representative responsible for bringing Gandhi to Champaran to address the indigo issue.