Mahatama Gandhi began his experiments with Satyagraha at a small scale at Champaran in Bihar in 1917. Here, the European indigo planters used to be very oppressive. The brunt of their oppression used to fall directly on the plantation workers. Besides, the planters were forcing the peasants to cultivate indigo in at least 3/20 parts of their land and also to sell their products at a very low price. All such harassment meted out to them has found vivid description in Tarashankar Bandhopathyay's novel Neel Darpan. These distressed indigo farmers had been greatly impressed by Mahatma Gandhi's successful movements in South Africa. So they invited him to hamparan to find a way out of their hardship. Mahatma Gandhi went to Champaran and himself saw the distress which the indigo farmer were undergoing. …
