A century ago, Mahatma Gandhi tested the idea of satyagraha for the first time to fight for indigo farmers in Champaran. While the crop is seeing a revival in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, Champaran in Bihar is in the throes of another peasant struggle.
100 YEARS OF STATUS QUO
It is a tragedy that the agrarian situation in the country doesn’t seem to have changed much even after a century. The plight of indigo farmers in Champaran a hundred years ago is the plight of farmers all over the country in modern-day India.
The Champaran movement, or Neel Satyagraha as it was popularly called, was a symbol of the fight for ethics and rights. There was a clear exploitation of the poorest of the poor and the motive was unbridled profiteering. It became a very emotive issue because on one side were rich landlords backed by the most powerful empire of the time, while on the other side was a completely disenfranchised and enslaved community—that of the subsistence farmer. It was assumed that they did not have any voice or pose any threat.
Terms like common market and world community that are used today were, in certain ways, also present at that time. Then, as it is now, the philosophy was to extract raw materials at the cheapest rate and to find markets to sell them at most remunerating prices. The trade was loaded in favour of the manufacturer, while the seller of the raw material as well as the purchaser of the finished product were the sufferers.
This story is from the April 01, 2017 edition of Down To Earth.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the April 01, 2017 edition of Down To Earth.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
In leading role again
MOVIES AND WEB SERIES ARE ONCE AGAIN BEING SET IN RUSTIC BACKGROUNDS, INDICATING A RECONNECT BETWEEN CINEMA AND THE COUNTRYSIDE
One Nation One Subscription comes at a huge cost
As top US universities scrap big deals with top scientific publishers, India’s ONOS scheme seems flawed and outdated
Return of Rambhog
Bid to revive and sell the aromatic indigenous paddy variety has led to substantial profits for farmers in Uttar Pradesh's Terai region
Scarred by mining
Natural springs of Kashmir drying up due to illegal riverbed mining
Human-to-human spread a mutation away
CANADA IN mid-November confirmed its first human case of avian influenza, with a teenager in the British Columbia being hospitalised after contracting the H5N1 virus that causes the disease. The patient developed a severe form of the disease, also called bird flu, and had respiratory issues. There was no known cause of transmission.
True rehabilitation
Residents of Madhya Pradesh's Kakdi village take relocation as an opportunity to undertake afforestation, develop sustainable practices
INESCAPABLE THREAT
Chemical pollution is the most underrated and underreported risk of the 21st century that threatens all species and regions
THAT NIGHT, 40 YEARS AGO
Bhopal gas disaster is a tragedy that people continue to face
A JOKE, INDEED
A CONFERENCE OF IRRESPONSIBLE PARTIES THAT CREATED AN OPTICAL ILLUSION TO THE REALITY OF A NEW CLIMATE
THINGS FALL APART
THE WORLD HAS MADE PROGRESS IN MITIGATING EMISSIONS AND ADAPTING TO CLIMATE IMPACTS. BUT THE PROGRESS REMAINS GROSSLY INADEQUATE
