Solution of Chapter 5. Indigo (Flamingo Book)

Chapter Exercises

Think as you read Pg-47
Think as you read Pg-49
Think as you read Pg-51
Think as you read Pg-53
Understanding the text
Talking about the text
Working with words
Thinking about language
Things to do

Think as you read Pg-47

1

Strike out what is not true in the following.

Rajkumar Shukla was


(i) a sharecropper.


(ii) a politician.


(iii) delegate.


(iv) a landlord
1

Strike out what is not true in the following.

Rajkumar Shukla was


(i) poor.


(ii) physically strong.


(iii) illiterate.
2

Why is Rajkumar Shukla described as being ‘resolute’?
3

Why do you think the servants thought Gandhi to be another peasant?

Think as you read Pg-49

1

List the places that Gandhi visited between his first meeting with Shukla and his arrival at Champaran.
2

What did the peasants pay the British landlords as rent? What did the British now want instead and why? What would be the impact of synthetic indigo on the prices of natural indigo?

Think as you read Pg-51

1

The events in this part of the text illustrate Gandhi’s method of working. Can you identify some instances of this method and link them to his ideas of satyagraha and non-violence?

Think as you read Pg-53

1

Why did Gandhi agree to a settlement of 25 per cent refund to the farmers?
2

How did the episode change the plight of the peasants?

Understanding the text

1

Why do you think Gandhi considered the Champaran episode to be a turning-point in his life?
2

How was Gandhi able to influence lawyers? Give instances.
3

What was the attitude of the average Indian in smaller localities towards advocates of ‘home rule’?
4

How do we know that ordinary people too contributed to the freedom movement?

Talking about the text

1

“Freedom from fear is more important than legal justice for the poor.”

Do you think that the poor of India are free from fear after Independence?
2

The qualities of a good leader.

Working with words

1

• List the words used in the text that are related to legal procedures.

For example: deposition


• List other words that you know that fall into this category.

Thinking about language

1

Notice the sentences in the text which are in ‘direct speech’.

Why does the author use quotations in his narration?
2

Notice the use or non-use of the comma in the following sentences.

(a) When I first visited Gandhi in 1942 at his ashram in Sevagram, he told me what happened in Champaran.


(b) He had not proceeded far when the police superintendent’s messenger overtook him.


(c) When the court reconvened, the judge said he would not deliver the judgment for several days.

Things to do

1

(i) Choose an issue that has provoked a controversy like the Bhopal Gas Tragedy or the Narmada Dam Project in which the lives of the poor have been affected.

(ii) Find out the facts of the case.


(iii) Present your arguments.


(iv) Suggest a possible settlement.