Chapter- 5            Indigo      


Question: Who is the author of the lesson “Indigo”?
Answer: The author of the lesson “Indigo” is Louis Fischer.

Question: When was Louis Fischer born?
Answer: Louis Fischer was born in the year 1896.

Question: When did Louis Fischer die?
Answer: Louis Fischer died in the year 1970.

Question: Where was Louis Fischer born?
Answer: Louis Fischer was born in Philadelphia.

Question: In which army did Louis Fischer serve as a volunteer?
Answer: Louis Fischer served as a volunteer in the British Army.

Question: Between which years did he serve in the British Army?
Answer: He served between 1918 and 1920.

Question: What profession did Louis Fischer choose later in life?
Answer: He made a career as a journalist.

Question: Which famous newspapers and magazines did he write for?
Answer: He wrote for The New York Times, The Saturday Review, and European and Asian publications.

Question: At which university was Louis Fischer a faculty member?
Answer: He was a faculty member at Princeton University.

Question: From which book is the lesson “Indigo” taken?
Answer: The lesson is an excerpt from his book The Life of Mahatma Gandhi.

Question: How has The Life of Mahatma Gandhi been reviewed by the Times Educational Supplement?
Answer: It has been reviewed as one of the best books ever written on Gandhi.

Question: When did Louis Fischer first visit Mahatma Gandhi?
Answer: He first visited Mahatma Gandhi in 1942.

Question: Where did Louis Fischer meet Gandhi?
Answer: He met Gandhi at his ashram in Sevagram in central India.

Question: What important decision did Gandhi talk about during the meeting?
Answer: Gandhi talked about his decision to urge the departure of the British from India.

Question: In which year did Gandhi decide to urge the British to leave India?
Answer: Gandhi decided this in the year 1917.

Question: Which important political event did Gandhi attend in December 1916?
Answer: He attended the annual convention of the Indian National Congress in Lucknow.

Question: How many delegates attended the Lucknow Congress session?
Answer: There were 2,301 delegates at the session.

Question: Who came to meet Gandhi during the Congress session?
Answer: A peasant named Rajkumar Shukla came to meet Gandhi.

Question: How did Rajkumar Shukla look?
Answer: He looked poor, emaciated, and like any ordinary Indian peasant.

Question: From where did Rajkumar Shukla come?
Answer: He came from the district of Champaran.

Question: What request did Rajkumar Shukla make to Gandhi?
Answer: He requested Gandhi to come to his district, Champaran.

Question: Had Gandhi heard of Champaran before?
Answer: No, Gandhi had never heard of Champaran before.

Question: Where is Champaran located?
Answer: Champaran is located in the foothills of the Himalayas near Nepal.

Question: What was the system followed by Champaran peasants?
Answer: They were sharecroppers under an ancient arrangement.

Question: What does sharecropping mean in this context?
Answer: It means peasants had to grow crops on landlords’ land and share the produce.

Question: Was Rajkumar Shukla educated?
Answer: No, Rajkumar Shukla was illiterate.

Question: Despite being illiterate, what quality did Rajkumar Shukla possess?
Answer: He was resolute and determined.

Question: Why did Rajkumar Shukla come to the Congress session?
Answer: He came to seek Gandhi’s help for the peasants of Champaran.

Question: What does the expression “urge the departure” mean in the context?
Answer: It means strongly demanding that the British leave India.

Question: What impression do we get of Rajkumar Shukla from the passage?
Answer: We get the impression of a poor but determined peasant fighting for justice.

Answer by Dimpee Bora