Champaran (1917)
Loading map…
Overview
Champaran in Bihar was the scene of Gandhi's first satyagraha in India, in 1917. Peasants there were forced under the tinkathia system to grow indigo on 3/20 of their land for European planters.
Gandhi came at the invitation of Rajkumar Shukla. The struggle led to an enquiry committee with Gandhi as a member and is remembered as the first civil disobedience in India. The earlier indigo revolt and the Indigo Commission of 1860 were its forerunners.
Geography and key facts
- Year: 1917
- Issue: indigo cultivation under the tinkathia system (3/20 of the land)
- Gandhi was invited by Rajkumar Shukla
- Gandhi's first satyagraha in India
Why it matters for UPSC
One of the most asked freedom-struggle places: Gandhi's first satyagraha in India (2000, 2007), the significance of Champaran (2018) and movement–place pairs (2005).
Note for UPSC
Bihar; Gandhi's first satyagraha in India, against indigo planters.
Questions link places with movements, sessions and years of the national movement.
Asked in PYQs
- UPSC Prelims 2025 · Q71"Sedition has become my religion" was the famous statement given by Gandhiji at the time of…
- UPSC Prelims 2018 · Q69Which one of the following is a very significant aspect of the Champaran Satyagraha ?…
- UPSC Prelims 2010 · Q84Consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?…
- UPSC Prelims 2007 · Q57At which one of the following places did Mahatma Gandhi first start his Satyagraha in India?…
- UPSC Prelims 2005 · Q55Which one of the following pairs are correctly matched? Movement / Satyagraha Person Actively Associated With Select the correct answer using the codes given below:…
- UPSC Prelims 2000 · Q50“In this instance we could not play off the Mohammedans against the Hindus”. To which one of the following events did this remark of Aitchison relate?…
- UPSC Prelims 2000 · Q80After returning from South Africa, Gandhiji launched his first successful Satyagraha in…
- UPSC Prelims 1999 · Q9The first venture of Gandhi in all-India politics was the…
Questions from our Prelims bank whose text names Champaran (1917).
Key facts
- Type
- Freedom-struggle site
- State / UT
- Bihar
- Year
- 1917
- Coordinates
- 26.650°N, 84.917°E
- Asked in Prelims
- 8 questions · 2025, 2018, 2010, 2007, 2005, 2000, 1999
From the Map Explorer data; positions are for orientation.
In the lessons
- British Expansion, the Revolt of 1857 and Social Reform
- The National Movement: 1885 to 1919
- The Gandhian Era and Independence (1920–1947)
- Gandhi's Arrival, Rowlatt Satyagraha, Jallianwala Bagh and the Non-Cooperation–Khilafat Movement
- Mahatma Gandhi: Truth, Non-violence and Trusteeship
- Swarajists to Civil Disobedience: Simon Commission, Purna Swaraj, Salt March and the Round Table Conferences (map lesson)
More freedom-struggle sites nearby
Other places in Bihar
All freedom-struggle sites · Revision list · Most asked in PYQs