Indigo Class 12 English Exam Questions

Exam Questions Class 12

Please refer to the below Indigo important questions for Class 12 English. These questions and answers have been prepared as per the latest NCERT Book for Class 12 English. Students should go through chapter wise Class 12 English Important Questions designed as per the latest examination pattern issued by CBSE. 

Chapter Summary of Indigo

  • Raj Kumar Shukla- A poor sharecropper from Champaran wished to meet Gandhiji.
  • He was illiterate but resolute, hence followed Gandhiji to Lucknow, Cawnpore, Ahmedabad, Calcutta, Patna, Muzzafarpur and then Champaran.
  • Gandi was impressed by the tenacity and the story of the farmer and boarded a train to Patna
  • Rajkumar led him to the house of Rajendraprasad where servants of Rajendra Prasad’s mistook him to be an untouchable.
  • Gandhiji considered as an untouchable because of simple living style and wearing, and due to the company of Raj Kumar Shukla.
  • Decided to go to Muzzafarpur first to get detailed information about Champaran sharecropper.
  • Sent telegram to J B Kriplani & stayed in Prof Malkani’s home -a government servant.
  • Indians were afraid of showing sympathy to the supporters of home rule.
  • The news of Gandhiji’s arrival spread – sharecroppers gathered in large number to meet their champion.
  • Gandhiji chided the Muzzafarpur lawyer for taking high fee.
  • Champaran district was divided into estate owned by English people, Indians farmers were tenant.
  • Landlords compelled tenants to plant 15% of their land with indigo and surrender their entire harvest as rent.
  • In the meantime Germany had developed synthetic indigo – British landlords freed the Indian farmers from the 15% arrangement but asked them to pay compensation.
  • Many signed, some resisted engaged lawyers, and landlords hired thugs.
  • Gandhiji reached Champaran – visited the secretary of the British landlord association to get the facts but denied as he was an outsider.
  • Gandhiji went to the British Official Commissioner who asked him to leave Tirhut , Gandhiji disobeyed, went to Motihari the capital of Champaran where a vast multitude greeted him, continued his investigations.
  • Visited maltreated villagers, stopped by the police superintendent but disobeyed the order.
  • Spontaneous demonstration by peasents, Gandhiji was released without bail, Civil Disobedience triumphed.
  • Gandhiji agreed to 25% refund by the landowners, it symbolized the surrender of the prestige.
  • Gandhiji worked hard towards social & economic reforms, elevated their distress aided by his wife, son, Mahadev Desai, Narhari Parikh and many other.
  • Gandhiji taught a lesson of self-reliance by not seeking help of an English man Mr. Andrews.

Question. List the places that Gandhi visited between his first meeting with Shukla and his arrival at Champaran.
Answer. After his first meeting with Shukla, Gandhi visited Kanpur, his ashram near Ahmedabad, Calcutta, Patna and Muzzaffarpur before he reached Champaran.

Question. Why did Gandhi agree to a settlement of 25 percent refund to the farmers?
Answer. For Gandhi, it was not the money but the principles that were of utmost importance. He believed that the very fact that the British landlords were made to surrender was of more significance than the percentage of refund. He wanted the poor farmers to realize that they too had rights and that they need not really live in fear of the British landlords. Therefore, although he had initially quoted a 50 percent refund, he later agreed to a settlement of 25 percent refund to the farmers. Gandhi was also interested in long-term solutions rather than immediate benefits. His decision was proved right when, years later, the British landlords decided to leave their estates, bringing an end to the sharecropping arrangement.

Question. ‘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.
Answer. In the story, Gandhi makes it possible for the sharecroppers of Champaran to shed their fear of the British landlords. According to Gandhi, freedom from fear is the first step towards self- reliance. However, it is unfortunate that the poor of the country are not free from fear, even decades after the independence. Their actions, work, etc. are still under pressure; they are under the mercy of the bureaucratic system. Furthermore, the poor live in a continual fear of the police, who instead of taking care, often end up maltreating them. The already poor farmers are becoming poorer, because of globalization and the craze for the foreign products. This leaves them in the fear of further destitution.

Question. How did the episode change the plight of the peasants?
Answer. The episode of Champaran is changed the plight of the peasants of that district. These peasants gained confidence as evident in their spontaneous demonstration on the morning of Gandhi’s trial. The successful refund of the compensation, made the peasants realize, for the first time that, they too had their own rights and were liberated from the fear that had plagued them. This episode also brought an end to the fifteen percent arrangement of sharecropping. The most radiacal change that the episode brought about was in their social and culture standard. Gandhi opened schools in six villages. His wife took pains to make the peasants aware of the importance of general sanitation and personal hygiene. Gandhiji even appointed a doctor.

Question. Why do you think Gandhi considered the Champaran episode to be a turning point in his life?
Answer. Gandhi considered the Champaran episode to be a turning point in his life because it had made him realize that civil disobedience, which had triumphed for the first time, could go long way in the freedom struggle. The incident had made him successful in making the peasants aware of their rights and becoming confident. This success proved the effectiveness of Gandhi’s method of non-violence and non-cooperation.

Question. How was Gandhi able to influence lawyers? Give instances.
Answer. Gandhi was able to influence the lawyers through his conviction, earnestness and pertinent questioning, Gandhi rebuked the lawyers of Muzzaffarpur for charging a large sum of money as fee from the peasants. Later, when the lawyers from Bihar opined that they would return to their own places in the event of his imprisonment, Gandhi made them realize that it would be impudent for them, being lawyers from a neighboring place, to return when a stranger was ready to get himself imprisoned for the peasants. So, they agreed to follow him to jail. Gandhi also convinced the lawyers not to seek support from an Englishman and be self-reliant.

Question. What was the attitude of the average Indian in smaller localities towards advocates of ‘home rule’?
Answer. The average Indian in smaller localities lived in fear of the British. They were afraid of the dire consequences of helping the advocates of “home-rule”. Hence, though they were supportive of people like Gandhi, they were afraid of showing it in open and only a few could actually dare to come out. In the story, we find people like Professor Malkani, who had the courage to give shelter to Gandhi on the latter’s visit to Muzzaffarpur.

Question. How do we know that ordinary people too contributed to the freedom movement?
Answer. In the chapter ‘Indigo’, Louis Fischer writes of how a small farmer Rajkumar Shukla’s (a peasant from a small district, Champaran), help bring about a very prominent change. Similarly, many other peasants from the villages fought courage-ously and contributed in their own way, to the movement. Their cumulative effort eventually resulted in their winning the battle of Champaran and finally freed them-selves of the sharecropping arrangement.

Question. 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?
Answer. According to the long-term contract, the peasants used to plant fifteen percent of their holdings with indigo and pay the entire harvest as rent. But, with the development of synthetic indigo in Germany, the British landlords who did not want indigo from these plantations, decided to release the peasants of Champaran from the fifteen percent arrangement on the payment of a huge compensation. Development of synthetic indigo would lead to an increase in the price of natural indigo.

Question. Describe the qualities of good leader.
Answer. A good leader is someone who leads the minds of others and convinces them into following his set of ideas and beliefs. As such, there are some qualities inherent in the persona of the leader that sets him apart from the rest. One of these qualities includes dedication to one’s work. His enthusiasm is evident in his work and life, and this inspires others to follow him. A good leader is courageous in the face of adversity and is never a quitter. He motivates and encourages others, bringing out the best in them. He appreciates the efforts of others and is not biased or impartial.

Question. Why did Gandhiji agree for the 25% refund by the British landlords?
Answer. Gandhiji agreed for 25% refund because amount of the refund was less important than the fact
that the landlords had been obliged to surrender part of the money and, with it, part of their
prestige. The peasants who were crushed and fear struck, learnt courage

Question. What was the important lesson taught by Gandhiji to his disciples?
Answer. Gandhiji taught the lesson of self-reliance and courage to his disciples. He declared that British could not order him in his own country. He initiated civil-disobedience but never left the path of non-violence and truth. He believed in empowering the young generation of the country by the means of education, thus making India free.

Question. What strategy did Gandhiji follow in solving the problems of sharecroppers?
Answer. Gandhiji discussed the problems with lawyers. He disregarded British order of eviction. He insisted peasants to remove their fear.

Question. Why did Gandhiji feel that it was useless for the peasants to go to law courts?
Answer. The peasants were crushed and fear stricken so winning few cases wouldn’t do any good to the farmers. For them real relief was to get rid of the fear of British.

Question. 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?
Answer. There are many instances in the narrative that can be linked to Gandhi’s idea of non-cooperation and Satyagraha. One such instance was Gandhi’s refusal to obey the court order asking him to leave Champaran immediately. Besides that, Gandhi’s protest against the delay of the court proceedings was also an instance of his belief in civil disobedience. Gandhi did not flatter to plead guilty in front of the court. He accepted his guilt and presented a rational case as to what made him disobey the law. For him, truth was above everything and he decided to follow the voice of conscience and obey the ‘higher law of our being’.

Question. Why did the British landlords free the sharecroppers from growing Indigo? What did they want compensation instead?
Answer. The British came to know that synthetic indigo was developed in Germany that would bring down the market price of natural indigo thus reduce their share of profit. So they obtained an agreement for compensation from farmers against their freedom from 15% arrangement.

Extract Based Question

The official inquiry assembled a crushing mountain of evidence against the big planters, and when they saw this they agreed, in principle, to make refunds to the peasants. “But how much must we pay?” they asked Gandhi. They thought he would demand repayment in full of the money which they had illegally and deceitfully extorted from the sharecroppers. He asked only 50 per cent. “There he seemed adamant,” writes Reverend J. Z. Hodge, a British missionary in Champaran who observed the entire episode at close range. “Thinking probably that he would not give way, the representative of the planters offered to refund to the extent of 25 per cent, and to his amazement Mr. Gandhi took him at his word, thus breaking the deadlock.” This settlement was adopted unanimously by the commission. Gandhi explained that the amount of the refund was less important than the fact that the landlords had been obliged to surrender part of the money and, with it, part of their prestige. Therefore, as far as the peasants were concerned, the planters had behaved as lords above the law.

Question. Why did Gandhiji agree to the planter’s offer of 25% refund to the farmers?
(a) because of money
(b) because of fear of loss
(c) because of fear of power
(d) because more than money prestige of farmers was important

Answer

D

Question. How much did Indigo planters offer to pay ?
(a) 30%
(b) 10%
(c) 25%
(d) 40%

Answer

C

Question. What was the condition of the Sharecroppers?
(a) were forced to give 10% of land for Indigo plantation
(b) were forced to give 20% of land for Indigo plantation
(c) were forced to give 15% of land for Indigo plantation
(d) were forced to give 5% of land for Indigo plantation

Answer

C

Question. What was Gandhiji’s demand from the British landlords ?
(a) 30% refund as repayment
(b) 40% refund as repayment
(c) 50% refund as repayment
(d) 10% refund as repayment

Answer

C

Indigo important questions