Champaran Satygraha
Gandhi's campaign
What is Satygraha ?
Satygraha was a term coined and developed by Mahatma Gandhi. It was translated as insistence on truth or truth but it is generally known as nonviolent resistance or civil resistance. This word was used for the first time in the Anti Rowlatt agitation.
What was the problem ?
In a district of Champara in Bihar. Tens of thousands of landless serfs, indentured labourers and poor farmers were forced to grow Indigo and other cash crops instead of food crops which were necessary for their survival. These goods were bought from them at a very low price. Suppressed by the ruthless militias of the landlords ( mostly British ), they were given measly compensation, leaving them in extreme poverty. Now in the throes of a devasting famine, the British levied a harsh tax which they insisted in increasing the rate. Without food and without money the situation was growing progressively unliveable and the peasants revolted against conditions in indigo plant cultivation in 1914 ( at Pipra ) and in 1916 ( at Turkaulia ) and later Raj Kumar Shulka, a indigo cultivator persuaded Gandhi to go to champaran and the champaran Satyagraha began.
Gandhi's solution
Many people proposed several ideas for freedom struggle in India. But none of those ideas were like Gandhi's, the idea of Satyagraha was his own. Non-violence, mass civil desobedience. While the process of Satygraha was absolutely non-violent, Gandhi was proposing real action a real revolt that the oppressed people of India were waiting to undertake. Gandhi also proposed that neither the protestors in Gujarat or in Bihar allude to or to try and spread the concept of independence or swaraj. This was actually not about political freedom but a revolt against the miserable tyranny in the middle of appaling humanitarian disaster. While accepting various participants and help from other part of the world, Gandhi also insisted that no province of district would revolt against the government and also that the Indian national Congress not get ascociated apart from issuing resolutions of support to prevent the British from giving it cause to use more suppressive measures and then make the revolts sedition.