Champaran Satyagraha, 1917: Gandhi's first satyagraha in India

Champaran, in north-west Bihar, was where Mahatma Gandhi led his first satyagraha in India, in 1917.

The problem: tinkathia

European planters forced farmers to grow indigo on 3 kathas out of every 20 (³⁄₂₀ of their land). This was the tinkathia system. When German synthetic dye made indigo less profitable, planters demanded higher rent or lump-sum payments to release farmers from the obligation.

How Gandhi came

• Raj Kumar Shukla, a local farmer, met Gandhi at the Lucknow Congress (1916) and convinced him to come.
• Gandhi reached Champaran in April 1917. The district magistrate ordered him to leave. He refused and was ready to go to jail; the order was withdrawn.
• Local leaders who joined him included Rajendra Prasad, Brajkishore Prasad, Anugrah Narayan Sinha, Mazharul Haque and J. B. Kripalani.

The result

The government set up an inquiry committee with Gandhi as a member. Its findings led to the Champaran Agrarian Act, 1918, which ended the tinkathia system and returned part of the money taken from farmers.

Why it matters for the exam

• First of Gandhi's three early movements: Champaran (1917), Ahmedabad mill strike (1918), Kheda satyagraha (1918).
• It brought future leaders of Bihar, such as Rajendra Prasad, into national politics.
• 2017 marked its centenary, so it still appears in current-affairs linked questions.