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Champaran Satyagraha: Significance, Gandhi's Role & Britisher's Reaction

Last Updated on Jun 26, 2025
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The Champaran Satyagraha of 1917 was the first satyagraha movement led by Mahatma Gandhi in British India and led to the beginning of experiments of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi in India. It is considered a historically important rebellion in the Indian independence movement. Gandhi and his associates went on a tour of the villages, engaging in open dialogue with the locals. He successfully asked that the Tinkathia system be abolished and that farmers be compensated for illegal dues after hearing their complaints. As a result, European planters abandoned the area in the following years. 

The Satyagraha and its ramifications are a hot topic in civil services and competitive exams like SSC, State civil services, and others. Testbook prepares the highest quality notes for civil service applicants in order to fully comprehend the material.

Examine significant issues of NCERT Modern History from the perspective of UPSC Exams. You can also register for the best coaching for history optional and begin your UPSC IAS preparation journey with Testbook.

Also, check out the Indigo Rebellion here.

What was Champaran Satyagraha?

During the British colonial era in India, the Champaran peasant movement emerged as a farmers' uprising in the Champaran district of Bihar. The Champaran peasant movement commenced in 1917-18 with the aim of galvanizing peasants to resist European planters. It was a pivotal moment that directed India's youth and the broader freedom struggle, as it was propelled by Satyagraha. European planters employed unjust and illegal methods in indigo cultivation, offering meager compensation that was unjust by any standards of fairness for the labor provided by peasants. Champaran is recognized as India's inaugural Civil Disobedience Movement, initiated by Mahatma Gandhi.

Background of Champaran Satyagraha

Several politicians from Bihar addressed Mahatma Gandhi at the first Congress gathering in Lucknow in 1916, requesting that he organize a movement against the atrocities committed against farmers in Champaran. He promised that he would visit them. On April 10, 1917, he arrived in Patna for the first time, and five days later, he arrived at Motihari, Champaran’s district headquarters, from Muzaffarpur. April 17 was the Satyagraha date. On this day, Gandhi began the satyagraha to improve the situation of Indigo planters and mark India’s First Civil Disobedience Movement to protest the British administration.

Also, check the details on the Bardoli Satyagraha for UPSC here.

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Causes of the Champaran Satyagraha
  • Many farmers in Bihar’s Champaran area were forced to produce indigo on their property under British administration, much to their chagrin. Raj Kumar Shukla was the person who convinced Mahatma Gandhi to visit Champaran, which later led to the Satyagraha.
  • There was a huge personal increase in land rent in Champaran and, indeed, in Bihar as a whole.
  • The peasants were forced to plant indigo, which limited their ability to cultivate other crops.
  • They were also expected to devote all of their time and effort to the crops chosen by the landlord.
  • The peasants were given a meagre wage. It was extremely difficult for them to make a living on these meagre wages.
  • The peasants were forced to spend the best part of their land planting specific crops that the landlord desired.

You might like to read about Bal Gangadhar Tilak for UPSC here.

Significance of the Champaran Satyagraha
  • Champaran Satyagraha was the first Satyagraha movement led by Mahatma Gandhi in India during the British colonial period.
  • It played a significant role in the Indian Independence Movement and had several important implications.
  • It marked the entry of Mahatma Gandhi into the freedom struggle. It established his method of passive and non-violent resistance known as Satyagraha.
  • Champaran Satyagraha was the first peasant movement to gain nationwide attention. It mobilized India's masses against British colonial rule.
  • It inspired the evolution of mass-based movements by bridging the gap between peasants and the middle-class intelligentsia.
  • The success of Champaran Satyagraha demonstrated that the British could be compelled to address the grievances of the Indian people through non-violent resistance.
  • It paved the way for future civil disobedience movements and protests against British rule. This led to India's eventual liberation.

Study in detail the Salt Satyagraha for UPSC here!

Outcomes of the Satyagraha
  • The Champaran Agrarian Act 1918, signed by the Governor General of India on May 1 of the same year, was a significant outcome of the movement protecting the interests of the peasants.
  • The Champaran movement was seen as a contribution to the formation of nationalism by E.M.S. Namboodiripad, the leader of India’s left movement.
  • Few academics didn’t think the Champaran movement was a success.
  • The movement failed to strike against the exploitation and discrimination that peasants were subjected to.
  • For example, Ramesh Chandra Dutt contended that the agreements reached between the government and the peasants did not include the zamindar exploitation of our villagers. He also said that the Mahatma’s agitation in Champaran did not result in a struggle against the major causes of Champaran peasants’ dreadful poverty and misery, namely, excessive rents and exorbitant debt incidence.

Study in detail the Vaikom Satyagraha here.

Gandhiji’s Role in Champaran Satyagraha
  • Rajkumar Shukla, an agriculturist from Champaran, was saddened by the situation of his fellow farmers. The Tinkathia system, which required farmers to cultivate indigo on 3/20th of their total land, was imposed by European planters. By the end of the eighteenth century, synthetic dyes from Germany had replaced indigo, and European planters were demanding hefty rents and unlawful dues from the farmers.
  • One of the major causes of instability in Champaran was the people’s subhuman lifestyle. When Gandhiji visited Cham­paran, he was disgusted by the peasants’ deplorable poverty.
  • Gandhi and his lawyers visited many villages throughout the area, visiting farmers and listening to their complaints about forced indigo production.
  • The British overlords began to keep a close eye on Gandhi’s movements as soon as he landed in Champaran. Finally, on April 15, the commissioner gave him an ultimatum to depart Champaran at Motihari.
  • Gandhi said that he would not leave but that he was willing to face “the punishment of civil disobedience.”
  • It was clear that Gandhi would be imprisoned as a result of his defiance. As a result, a large number of Champaran renters demonstrated outside the jail, police stations, and courts.
  • After being worried by this unprecedented type of nonviolent resistance, the government was forced to release Gandhi.
  • The battle continued, as did civil disobedience. The Tinkathia system, or the cultivation of Indigo, was eventually abolished as a result of the protests and hunger strikes.
  • The British government forced landlords to sign an agreement that gave farmers more discretion over what they might cultivate on their land, among other things.

Check the Modern History NCERT Notes for UPSC here.

Reaction of the British to Champaran Satyagraha
  • The Lieutenant Governor in Council chose to form a Committee of Inquiry to examine Champaran's agrarian conditions, with Gandhiji as one of its members.
  • On October 4, 1917, the Committee presented its findings to the Government, proposing the abolition of the Tinkathia system and the reimbursement of one-fourth of Tawan to ryots.
  • The Committee recommended putting an end to the collection of illegal cesses (abwab) and advocated for voluntary agreements for growing indigo, limiting the term to three years, and granting ryots the authority to choose the indigo cultivation field.
  • The Government accepted most of the Committee's suggestions, leading to the passage of the Champaran Agrarian Act in 1918. Consequently, the century-old tinkathia system was abolished.

Also, check the Causes of the Indian National Movement here.

The Tinkathia System
  • Tinkathia was a system of indigo cultivation in Champaran, Bihar during the British colonial period.
  • Under this system, the tenant farmers were compelled to grow indigo on a specific portion of their landholding. This was typically 3/20th of their land.
  • The system was introduced by European planters who took short-term leases from the Bettiah Raj. This was the second-largest zamindari in the region.
  • The planters would rent land at a low price and have the tenants grow indigo for them to earn profits.
  • The tenants would receive fixed payments per bigha of land if the crop was good. If the crop was not bumper, they would receive reduced payments.
  • If the tenants failed to grow indigo, they were liable to pay heavy damages for breaching the agreement.
  • The system resulted in economic and social exploitation of the cultivators. This caused dissatisfaction and unrest among them.

Conclusion

The Champaran Satyagraha led to Mahatma Gandhi emerging as one of the most accepted personalities in the Indian Freedom Struggle on a national basis. This ultimately led to the launching of various freedom struggle movements under the leadership of Gandhiji, which led to India’s Independence in 1947.

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Champaran Satyagraha FAQs

A farmer's rebellion occurred in the Champaran area of Bihar, India, during the British colonial period because the farmers were dissatisfied with having to plant indigo forcefully.

Mahatma Gandhi's Satyagraha was challenged by "N G Ranga". Explanation: In 1917, under Gandhiji's direction, a Satyagraha took place in the Champaran area of "Bihar."

Several leaders from Bihar approached Mahatma Gandhi at the first meeting of the Congress in Lucknow in 1916 with a request to start a movement against the atrocities committed against farmers in Champaran.

On April 10, 1917, Gandhi landed in Champaran with a group of distinguished lawyers, including Brajkishore Prasad, Rajendra Prasad, Anugrah Narayan Sinha, and Acharya Kripalani.

In 1917-18, the Champaran peasant movement was launched. Its goal was to incite a revolt among the peasants against the European planters.

Mahatma Gandhi was sent to Sabarmati Central Jail for Champaran satyagraha.
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