The Effect of The Satyagraha
The Bihar Planters’ Association was adamantly opposed to the probe, claiming that it provided a skewed picture and could incite ryots hostility against them. They requested that Gandhi’s investigation be halted and that, if necessary, the government itself conduct an unbiased investigation. As public pressure for the government to establish a Commission of Inquiry grew, the Lieutenant Governor in Council decided to convene a Committee of Inquiry to investigate and report on the agrarian situation in Champaran. Gandhiji was named as one of the group’s members.
The Committee began working in mid-July and gave its report to the Government on October 4th, 1917, after a three-month period. Its main recommendations were as follows:
- The tinkathiya system should be abolished.
- If someone agrees to grow indigo, the agreement should be voluntary, the time should not exceed three years, and the decision to choose the field where indigo will be cultivated should be left to the ryots.
- The ryots who paid the factories tawan would receive one-fourth of it back. Fourth, abwab (illegal cesses) should no longer be implemented.
The government adopted almost all the Inquiry Committee’s recommendations. It also passed a resolution to put the suggestions into action. Based on this report, the Champaran Agrarian Bill was introduced in the Legislative Council on 29th November 1917. The Bill was eventually enacted in 1918, and it became the Champaran Agrarian Act.
What was the role of Mahatma Gandhi in the Champaran Movement?
Champaran was a district in the Indian state of Bihar, which is now divided into two districts: East Champaran and West Champaran. The first Satyagraha movement inspired by Mahatma Gandhi occurred in Champaran in 1917. The Champaran Satyagraha was the first to begin, but the term Satyagraha was originally used in the anti-Rowlatt Act movement.
Table of Content
- Indigo plantation in Champaran
- Local Agitation
- Introducing it to Gandhi
- Gandhiji’s role
- The Effect of The Satyagraha