Select Documents on Mahatma Gandhi's Movement in Champaran 1917-18

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It is matter of pride and honour to me to be asked to write the Foreword to this publication. Work on this book has been a labour of love on the part of Dr. B.B. Misra. Not only has he contributed a valuable and erudite introduction which gives the reader a clear knowledge of the agrarian conditions in Champaran at the time of Gandhiji's arrival there, but in the selection, compilation and editing of these documents he has displayed such diligence and insight that a work of art has been produced. The effect of the book on the reader will not be, as one might expect, of glancing at a number of disjointed official letters, reports and documents only connected in space and time, but rather of an extremely graphic and authentic picture of the events in Champaran from the time of Gandhiji's arrival there until the magical transformation in the spirit of the people within a few weeks. Here there is no narrative account of the developments by an outsider, but the actors speak for themselves in the drama. The great qualities of Gandhiji's technique in Satyagraha, his uncompromising search for truth, his abhorence of secrecy, his readiness to trust and his courage without bluster, -all stand self revealed by his letters and in the reports of the harassed and confused officials who had to deal with this strange man. So also, the people in charge of Government at different levels, some petty tyrants and a considerable number also of good and reasonable men reveal themselves in their writings and show the impact of Gandhiji's personality upon them.

The Select Documents on Mahatma Gandhiji's Movement in Champaran is the first of a series of selections which the Government of Bihar, especially at the instance of Sri L.P. Singh, I.C.S., then Chief Secretary, planned in 1956 to publish as part of their scheme to promote research for administrative and historical purposes. I took over as the Director of Archives with a number of research assistants appointed to help me in the execution of the scheme.

This publication was, however, delayed. It took time before selection could begin; and once the process was started I was recalled by the D.A.V.College, Siwan, of which I had been Principal. Even so, the work continued under my own direction and supervision. With the help of Sri Aditya Prasad Jha, Senior Research Assistant, I did the Introduction and the editing of the documents. The manuscript was almost ready for the press. But I was in the meantime obliged to proceed to the University of London to complete another project of research on the Indian Middle Classes.

Moreover, in the course of my absence abroad certain files containing original correspondence on Mahatma Gandhi's enquiry came to the notice of Government and it was considered appropriate that these be studied and scanned on my arrival before being finally incorporated in the Champaran documents. Their publication had thus to wait.

During my studies abroad I had the opportunity of looking into the printed and manuscript records of the old India Office, especially the Collections to the Revenue Despatches of the Secretary of State for India and the private papers of a number of Viceroys who had presided over Indian administration. These showed that the impression about British agrarian policy which had emerged from a study of documents at a local level in Bihar, applied equally to their land policy in India as a whole. It was a pro-tenant policy, particularly from 1870 onwards, a policy which the leading members of the Civil Service often advocated, except in Oudh where political considerations and the experiences of 1857 had dictated the expediency of reconciling the big proprietors of land.

The foreign origins of European planters made their interest a little distinct from that of Indian landholders. They had the advantage of imperial backing and political superiority.

The object of this work is to present in select documents an authentic and unopinionated account of Mahatma Gandhi's movement in Champaran, an outlying district of Bihar. Though immediately connected with a subject matter local in importance, these documents are indeed of immense historical value, not only because the person around whom these documents grew later became the Father of Free India, but also because they thro considerble light on the agrarian problems of Bihar as well as on the character and policy of the local administration, especially the Indian Civil Service. These documents are, in addition, illustrative of Mahatma Gandhi's inherent regard for truth and non-violence as the basic principles of public conduct, of his emphasis on the purity of means to achieve a noble end, and, finally, of his stress on constructive programmes to prepare a community for collective action.

The documents included in this volume are for the most part selected from the records of the Government of Bihar. The relevant files of the Government of India have also been consulted.

The Archives of the Government of Bihar undertook the work at the instance of the President, Dr. Rajendra Prasad. His suggestion was in conformity with the plan of the State Government to publish select documents on subjects of public and national interest with the object of ensuring a proper balance in history writing and administrative policy. It is true that the selection is mostly from official documents, but since these are not exclusive of the views of different interests involved, it may not be difficult for any intelligent to know where the truth lies. For a clear appreciation of this work an attmept has been to preface it by a historical narrative indicating the background of the Champaran Movement.

The indigo matters of Champaran which precipitated the crisis in 1917 in the form of a mass movement under Mahatma Gandhi's leadership, differed but little in their effects from those of other plantations. Indeed, the planters acted as the agents of imperialist exploitation wielding considerable influence on the local administration to preserve their economic power.