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Question 30 of 66 · Gandhian Era & Struggle for Independence
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In Champaran, the system under which peasants were forced to grow indigo on 3/20th of their land was known as the:

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Answer: Option D — Tinkathia system

Detailed Solution

In Champaran (north Bihar), the system under which peasants were forced by the European planters to grow indigo on 3 out of every 20 kathas of their land (3/20th of their holding) was known as the "tinkathia" system.

Meaning of the term:

  • "Tin" means three, and "katha" is a local unit of land measurement; 20 kathas made one bigha.
  • So "tinkathia" meant that the peasant had to grow indigo on three kathas in every bigha of his land.

How the system worked:

  • The peasants had to grow indigo under contracts with the planters, on their best land, and sell it to the planters at prices fixed by the planters, which were very low.
  • Indigo exhausted the fertility of the soil, and the peasants could not grow food crops on that land.
  • The peasants who refused were beaten, fined, or had their cattle seized.

Changes in the early 20th century:

  • When synthetic (artificial) indigo from Germany reduced the demand for natural indigo, the planters wanted to give up indigo cultivation.
  • But they demanded heavy compensation from the peasants for releasing them from the tinkathia obligation, in the form of higher rents (sharahbeshi) and lump-sum payments (tawan).
  • They also imposed many illegal cesses (abwabs), for weddings, festivals and other occasions.

Gandhi in Champaran:

  • The peasants' grievances led to Gandhi's Champaran Satyagraha (1917), his first satyagraha in India.
  • After an inquiry, in which Gandhi was a member of the official committee, the system was abolished by law, the enhanced rents were reduced, and part of the illegal collections was refunded.

Earlier resistance:

  • There had been earlier protests by the peasants of Champaran against the planters in 1908.
  • The Indigo Revolt in Bengal (1859-1860) was an earlier rebellion of indigo peasants.

Why not the other options?

  • ✗The nij system was the cultivation of indigo by planters on their own land.
  • ✗The Mahalwari system was a revenue system.
  • ✗Begar was forced unpaid labour.

Quick tip

Remember: tinkathia = indigo on 3/20th of the land (3 kathas per bigha) in Champaran; abolished after Gandhi's satyagraha (1917).

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Gandhian Era & Struggle for Independence — Preparation

This question tests your understanding of Gandhian Era & Struggle for Independence, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.

This topic covers the freedom struggle from Gandhi's return to India in 1915 to independence in 1947: the Champaran, Kheda and Ahmedabad movements, the Rowlatt Act and Jallianwala Bagh, the Non-Cooperation, Civil Disobedience and Quit India movements, the Round Table Conferences, the Cripps Mission, the Cabinet Mission and the partition of India. Most questions ask about the year, cause or result of a movement, or the event that ended it. For example, the Chauri Chaura incident (1922) led Gandhi to call off the Non-Cooperation Movement, and the Dandi March (1930) started the Civil Disobedience Movement. Learning these events on a timeline is the best way to avoid confusion. Practise the Gandhian era questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.

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