An Elementary School Classroom in a Slum-Qs-ans- Stephen Spender

 2.       An Elementary School Classroom in a Slum Stephen Spender

(Notes Prepared by Shish Pal Chauhan)

Summary: ‘An Elementary School Classroom in a Slum’

          The children of the elementary school of a slum area live miserable life. Their faces are pale. Their bodies are weak and ill-fed. They suffer from poverty, hunger, filth, and diseases. The pictures hung on the walls of the classroom are meaningless to them. Their world is small and limited. They see this world through the windows of their classroom. It is far from the rivers, capes and stars of the world. The poet calls Shakespeare’s bust wicked and the map a bad example. These may corrupt and tempt them to steal. In the end, the poet makes an appeal to the civilized world to improve the lot of those poor children. They should be taken out of poverty and slum. Only then education will be meaningful to them.

Short Ans/questions :

Q.1    How does the poet describe the faces of the children in the classroom?

Ans.   The poet says that the faces of the slum children are pale. Their hair is untidy and hung over their pale face like rootless weeds.

Q.2    How does the poet describe some of the children in the classroom?

Ans.   First, the poet describes a tall girl. She is sitting with her head bent down. Then he describes a boy who is very weak - as thin as a paper. His eyes are like those of a rat. Another boy has twisted bones Lastly, at the back of all,  a sweet little boy is sitting. His eyes are dreamy.

Q.3    What is there on the walls of the classroom?

Ans.   There are some donated pictures on the walls. These are of Shakespeare’s head (bust), of cloudless dawn, a cathedral (church’s) dome, and a flowery valley. There is also a map of the world.

Q.4    What does the poet say about the ‘open-handed map’?

Ans    It is called open-handed because it shows all the seas and lands of the world But the poet says that the world of these poor children is very small.

Q.5    What does the poet say about the world of the poor children?

Ans.   The world of poor children is very small. They see their limited world from the windows of their classroom. It is just a narrow street, far from the open world of rivers, capes, and golden sands. It is blocked in their foggy streets.

Q.6    Why does the poet say that ‘Shakespeare is wicked’?

Ans.   The pictures, the map, and Shakespeare’s bust are meaningless for the poor children of the slum. Shakespeare has been called wicked because it will corrupt them. They will be tempted to steal it.

Q.7    What has the map been said to be ‘a bad example’?

Ans.   The map of the world for the poor children is also meaningless. They live in a small world, which has only hunger, poverty, dirt, a disease for them. ‘The open-handed map’ for them is quite useless.

Q.8    How has the life of children living in slums been described?

Ans.   The homes of these poor children are very small. They are weak and skinny as they suffer from poverty and hunger. Their life is miserable.

Q.9    What does the poet want the governor, the inspector, and the visitor to do?

Ans.   The poet wishes that these people should come forward to improve the condition of the poor children. They should be taken out of the slum in which they live. They should be taken in a world where they can study and play in the lap of nature.

Q.10  What message does Stephen Spender want to convey in his poem ‘An Elementary School classroom in a slum’?

Ans.   The poet gives a message to the governments and the people of all countries that no child should live a miserable life. They should be taken out of poverty and slum. Then the education will have some meaning to them.

For Brilliant Students: Some more Qs & Ans.

Q1. Why did the poet call the children’s faces like ‘rootless weeds’?

 Ans. The rootless weeds become yellow in colour as they become dead. So the poet used the phrase ‘rootless weeds’ to describe the paleness on the children’s faces because they are cut off from the mainstream of life.

 Q2. What poetic device has the poet used in the line “Like rootless weeds, the hair torn around their pallor.”

 Ans. The poet has used a simile.

 Q3. What has been said about the tall girl?

 Ans. The tall girl has been described with her head bent because it was too heavy for the girl’s neck to bear its weight.

 Q4. How has the poet called the boy ‘paper-seeming’?

 Ans. The poet has called the boy paper-seeming because it was ill-fed and weak.

 Q5.Which poetic device has been used to describe the boy in the line “The paper-seeming boy, with rat's eyes.”

 Ans. Simile and metaphor. “The paper-seeming …boy” is a simile and ‘with rat’s eye’ is a metaphor that also creates imagery.

Q6.Explain: ‘unlucky heir of twisted bones’

 Ans. The boy is unlucky because he has inherited a disease (arthritis-type)  from his father. That is why his bones are not normal. These are twisted.

Q7.Why do you think the class was dim?

 Ans. There was no proper light inside the classroom because the last boy was not visible to the poet.

Q 8. Who was sitting at the back of the class?

  Ans. A charming boy having dreamy eyes was sitting at the back of the class. 

Q9.What was the little one dreaming of?

 Ans. He was dreaming of a squirrel’s game.

 Q10. Explain the words: ‘other than this’

Ans. The boy wished to have a room like that of a squirrel to have the freedom to play like it. He did not like his classroom.

Q11.What type of walls has been referred to in these lines?

 Ans. The walls are dirty and give out a foul smell like that of sour cream.

 Q12.What is meant by ‘sour cream walls’?

 Ans. The walls gave out a foul smell like that of sour ice cream. Ice cream becomes sour due to heat. There was suffocation in the classroom. So suffocation and dampness of the walls were creating a foul smell inside the room. 

Q13.What donations are there on the walls?

Ans. The donations are the pictures like the scenery of dawn without clouds, a picture of the main church of a district, of the Austrian Tyrol valley with bell-shaped flowers and the map of the world, Shakespeare’s head, etc.

Q14.Why has the map been called to be ‘open-handed’?

 Ans. The map has been drawn with generosity describing the world outside the ignored world of the children of the slum.

 Q15.What does the map on the wall signify?

Ans. The map presents a sharp contrast to the world of the children living in the slum areas.

 Q16.What kind of their future is seen by the poet?

 Ans. Their future is dark in which there is no ray of hope for the bright world in the near future.  

 Q17. What poetic device has been used in “Far far from rivers, capes, and stars of words.”

  Ans. Alliteration has been used here.

 Q18.Why has the map been called ‘a bad example’ by the poet?

 Ans. The map shown in the picture may be tempting to the children. It shows a very attractive world to them. It produces a sharp contrast to the world they are living in.

Q19.‘Tempting them to steal.’ What does the word ‘them’ refer to?

 Ans. ‘Them’ refer to the children living in slum area.

 Q20.What kind of their life do they live?

 Ans. They live a very miserable life.

 Q21.Why is Shakespeare described as wicked?

 Ans. He may tempt them for stealing.

 Q22. Write the synonyms of the words:

 (i) wicked (ii) slyly

 Ans. (i) bad, evil (ii) cautiously, clandestinely

Q23.Explain: ‘From fog to endless night.’

 Ans. Their days are full of fog. It means their future is dim and their days are foggy. Their nights are endless because they do not sleep properly. Here the nights may symbolize sufferings for them. These are endless as there is no ray of hope for their betterment in near future,

    

Stanza 1 - Far far from gusty waves ........ from his desk

Q.1    Name the poet and the poem.

Ans.   The poet is Stephen Spender. The poem is ‘An Elementary School Classroom in a Slum”

Q.2    How are the children’s faces described here?

Ans.   i) Their faces looked very pale

     ii) Their untidy hair hung around their pale faces.

     iii) Their untidy hair looked like rootless weeds.

     iv) All the above

Ans.   iv) All the above

Q.3    What has been said about the tall girl? Ans.        She was sitting with her head weighed down.

Q.4    What is said about the unlucky little boy?  Ans.  The boy had swollen joints as his father had. He had inherited the disease from his father. He had twisted bones.

Q.5    What does ‘with rat eyes, ‘paper seeming boy’ mean?

Ans.   The paper seeming boy means that the boy was weak and underweight. ‘Rat-eyes’ means his eyes were bulging out due to his weak body and had terror in them.

Stanza -2    “At the back of the dim class ........... other than this.”

Q.1    Why do you think the class was dim?  Ans.         It was because it had no windows and ventilators. It was situated in a dark corner,   having no electric light.

Q.2    Who was sitting at the back of the class?  Ans.   A sweet and young boy.

Q.3    What was the little one dreaming of?  Ans.        He was dreaming of the game that a squirrel could be playing in her tree room.

Q.4    What does ‘other than this’ mean?  Ans.   It means that the boy dreams not only about the classroom but also about the ‘tree room.’

Stanza -3    “On sour cream walls ........... its world’

Q.1    Which walls?  Ans.        The wall of a classroom is an elementary school in a slum.

Q.2    What does sour cream walls’ signify?  Ans.        It signifies that the walls gave out a four smell like that of ‘sour cream’ There were damp.

Q.3    What pictures are there on the walls?

Ans.   i) Of Shakespeare’s bust

     ii)  of a cloudless down

     iii) of a cathedral dome and of a flowery valley

     iv) all the above

Ans.   iv) all the above

Q.4    Why has the map been said to be ‘open-handed’?

Ans.   i) It gives the knowledge about all the seas and lands of the world

     ii)  it shows all the world

     iii) It tells us about the world free of cost

     iv) All the above

Ans.   iv) All the above

Stanza -4    “And yet, for these ........... stars of words”

Q.1    Who do these children refer to? Ans.         The children who are poor. They live in a slum of an elementary school in a slum

Q.2    Which is their world?  Ans.    The narrow street under the dull sky.

Q.3    What has been said about their future? Ans.      It is painted with fog. It is hopelessly dim.

Q.4    What does the poet mean by - ‘Stars of the world’ ?

Ans.   It means the tall promises made by politicians to the slum-dwellers.

Stanza 5      “Surely, Shakespeare is wicked,

          From fog to endless night

Q.1    What does the poet mean by ‘Surely Shakespeare is wicked’ ?

Ans.   It means that Shakespeare’s bust is out of place in that classroom (useless).

Q.2    Why has the map been said to be a bad example?  Ans.         Because it shows a world that is fully different from the world of poor children.

Q.3    ‘Tempting them to steal’ who are ‘them’ here?

Ans    Here ‘them’ refers to the poor children of an elementary school in a slum.

Stanza 6 -   On their slag heap ........ as big as doom.”

Q.1    What has been referred to as ‘slag heap’? Ans.  Bloodless bodies of the poor children.

Q.2    What peeps through their skin? Ans.         Their bones

Q.3    Their spectacles look like ........... An          .         They look like bottle bits on stones.

Q.4    Why does the poet want to remove the maps of the world from the classrooms of the poor children?

Ans.   It is because the poor children do not know about the outside world.

 Stanza-7     Unless, governor, inspector ............ they break the town’

Q.1    What is meant by ‘this map’? Ans.   The map of the world hung in the classroom.

Q.2    What are these windows which the poet talks of?  Ans.         These are the windows of the classroom.

Q.3    What has been referred to as ‘catacombs’?  Ans.         These are the small houses of the slum-dwellers.      

Q.4    What does the poet wants from the governor, inspector, visitor, etc.?

Ans.   .... to improve a lot of the slum dwellers.

Stanza-8     “And show the children to green fields ...... in the sun.”       

     -    The poet wants to take the poor children to the green fields and make them play on golden sands.

     -    ‘Green leaves’ means the leaves of the trees not these of the books.

     -    According to the poet, history belongs to those whose language is the sun-who are free to enjoy anything under the sun.

     -    Who can move freely on the earth.

 

My Mother at Sixty-six-Qs-Ans-Explanation- Kamala Das-Summary-English for Class XII

 Poem 1: Book: Flamingo: Class XII (Notes by Shish Pal Chauhan)

My Mother at Sixty-six by Kamala Das

Summary

The poetess Kamala Das is an Indian poet. She tells us about her deep love for her mother. She never thought of being separated from her not only in her childhood but also in her adulthood. She used to feel pain in her stomach due to the fear of being separated from her mother. Once she was going to Cochin airport with her mother in a car. Then she had a chance to see her mother closely. She saw that her mother’s face was as pale as death. Then she felt the same old pain. But she diverted her thoughts at once. After the security check-up, she just said ‘ See you soon Amma.’

A.     Questions & Answers

Q1. What is the kind of pain and ache that the poet feels?

Ans. It was the same kind of pain that she used to feel in her childhood. It was caused by her fear of being separated from her mother.

Q2.Describe why the young trees are described as sprinting?

                                        Or

What does the poet want to convey to us when she describes the merry children ‘spilling out of their homes’?

Ans. The poetess wants to create contrast between the old age and the young age. The mother is pale and weak. But the children are joyful and full of energy. Childhood period is full of joy and energy while the old age lacks in all this.

Q3. Why has the mother been compared to the ‘late winter’s moon’?

Ans. The poetess compares her mother’s face to a waning winter moon. The late winter’s moon looks pale and it suggests decay and death.

Q4. Where was the poet going? Who was with her? What did she observe about the person who was going with her in the car?

Ans. The poetess, Kamala Das was going to Cochin airport. Her mother was with her. She observed that paleness was spread on it. She also thought that her mother was not going to live for more time. She feared separation from her mother.

Q5. What were Kamala Das’ fears as a child? Why did they surface when she was going to the airport?

Ans. Kamala Das did not want to be separated from her. The idea about her mother’s separation from her always pained her. She looked at her closely and found paleness on her face. She feared that her mother would not survive for more time.

Q6. What painful thoughts come to the poet’s mind? How does she drive them off?

Ans. The poetess noticed (saw) her mother’s face closely. She found paleness on her face. Such paleness is found on a dead body’s face. Then she looked outside the car to change her thoughts.

Q7.  What does the poetess see when she looks outside the car while going to the Cochin airport in a car?

Ans. She looked at the young trees. They were young. It seemed they were running fast in the opposite direction.  She also saw the happy children. They were also running out of their homes.

Q8. What happens when the poetess reaches the airport?

Ans. The poetess reaches the airport. After the security check, the poet looked again at her mother’s face. It was still pale. She again had the pain that comes out of the fear of losing her mother. Then she uttered hopefully “see you soon, Amma”.

Facts to learn

1.  The poet is ‘My Mother at Sixty-six the poetess is ‘Kamala Das.

2.         The poetess was going to Cochin Airports.

3.         The poetess’s mother looked as pale as death.

4.         She realised that she won’t live long.

5.         The poetess looked out at young trees.

6.         She put away the thoughts about her mother’s pale and aged face.

7.         The young sprinting trees signify here -vitality of youth / young age.

8.         Sprinting means running very fast.

9.         The poet compares her mother’s pale face to ‘late winter’s moon’.

10.       The poet feels pain/ache to see her mother’s pale face.

11.       The poetess say ‘See you soon Amma’ to her mother.

12.       The poet feels regret that she could utter a few words to her grandmother. She did only smile, smile and smile .....                                 

Stanzas for Comprehensions:  Stanza 1.

“…but after the airport’s/ Security check, standing a few yards

Away, I looked again at her, wan,/ Pale/ As late winter’s moon and felt that/ Old/ Familiar ache, my childhood’s fear/ But all I said was, see you soon,/ Amma,/ All I did was smile and smile and/Smile…”

Questions:

Q1.Name the poem and its poet. Ans. The poet is Kamala Das and the title of the poem is ‘ My Other at Sixty-six’.

Q2. Who is ‘I’ in the above stanza?   Ans. The poetess/poet Kamala Das.

Q3.What was the familiar childhood ache the poet felt now?

Ans. That pain troubled her again when she thought that her mother would not survive for more time.

Q4. What were the parting words spoken by the poet. What did they suggest?

Ans. She said, “See you soon, Amma,”. These words suggested hope.

 Q5. What poetic device has been used in the line, I looked again at her, wan, Pale /As late winter’s moon’?    Ans. Simile has been used here.

Q6. Give a synonym for the word ‘wan’.   Ans. Pale

Stanza 2

“…but soon/ put that thought away, and/looked out at young/ trees sprinting, the merry children spilling/ out of their homes,…”

Q1. Which thought does the poet put away?  Ans. She puts away the thought that her mother would not survive for long time.

Q2. What poetic device does the expression ‘sprinting trees’ stand for? What do the sprinting trees add to the poet’s description of her mother?

Ans. The device used in the expression ‘sprinting trees’ is personification. This expression adds contrast to the poet’s description about her mother’s old age.

Q3. What do the “…the merry children spilling
out of their homes…” symbolize?   Ans. ‘The merry children’ symbolize energy and youth. The word ‘spilling’ signifies the flow of energy.

Q4. What do you mean by ‘sprinting’?   Ans. It means ‘running fast’

Stanza 3  but after the airport's/ security check, standing a few yards
away, I looked again at her, wan,/ pale/ as a late winter's moon and felt that/ old familiar ache, my childhood's fear,/ but all I said was, see you soon,/Amma,/all I did was smile and smile and/ smile.

Q1. Who is “I” in the above stanza?  Ans. “I” is the poet Kamala Das.

Q2. Who is ‘you’ in the above lines?   Ans. ‘You’ is the poet’s grandmother.

Q3, Where are both of them standing?  Ans. They are standing at the Cochin airport.

Q4. Which poetic device has been used in “wan, pale as a late winter's moon”?

Ans. Simile has been used here.

Q5. Explain the words: ”… old familiar ache, my childhood's fear…”

Ans. In her childhood, the poet used to feel some pain when her mother was away from her. Now, she suffers the fear of losing her mother as she is in her extreme old age.

Q6. What does the word ‘all’ suggest in the lines “all I said was, see you soon, Amma,/all I did was smile and smile and smile.”?

Ans. The word ‘all’ suggests that she could not express all her feelings to her mother.

Q7. Why did the poet repeat the word smile in the line ‘smile and smile and smile’?

Ans. It shows a long smile.

 

 

 

 

Indigo-Questions-Answers-Lous Fischer-English for Class XII

                                  Indigo by Louis Fischer

(I)                             Short Answer-type Questions (word Limit 30-40 words)

Q1. Who was Rajkumar Shukla? What impression do you make about him from the text?

Ans. Rajkumar Shukla was one of the sharecroppers from Champaran. He was illiterate but his determination was par excellence. It was his strong will- power that brought him to Lucknow to meet Gandhiji and it was his patience that forced Gandhiji to give him a fixed date to reach Champaran

Q2. Why did Rajkumar Shukla want to meet Gandhiji? How would you prove that he was a man of strong willpower?

Ans. The condition of the sharecroppers in Champaran was not good. So Rajkumar Shukla came to meet Gandhiji to acquaint him with the injustice done to the poor peasants by the landlords in Bihar. Gandhi ji did not agree to go with him immediately. But Rajkumar Shukla followed Gandhiji wherever he went until he got a fixed date. It showed his great patience and willpower.

Q3.How did Rajkumar Shukla succeed in persuading Gandhiji to visit Champaran?

Ans. Gandhiji had no time to accompany Raj Kumar Shukla to Champaran at once as he had several prior appointments. Rajkumar Shukla was not in a mood to go back, so he followed Gandhiji wherever he went. Then he requested Gandhiji for a fixed date for his visit. Such determination, patience, and willpower impressed Gandhiji. After that Gandhi ji gave him a date for his arrival in Calcutta and made further line of action on reaching there.

Q4. What happened when Rajkumar took Gandhiji to the house of Rajender Prasad in Patna?

Ans. The servants in Dr. Rajender Prasad’s house knew Rajkumar Shukla as a poor sharecropper, who used to come to visit their master. So they also thought Gandhiji was one of the sharecroppers like Rajkumar Shukla. They let Rajkumar Shukla stay and pass the night on the grounds with his companion. Gandhiji was also not permitted to draw water from the well so that it might not get polluted.

Q5.  Why was Gandhiji not allowed to draw water from the well of Dr. Rajender Prashad?

Ans. In those days,  untouchability, one of the social evils, was spread.  Dr. Rajender Prasad was out of the station and the servants in the house could not recognize Gandhiji. They thought him to be a companion of Rajkumar Shukla. So they did not permit Gandhiji to draw water from the well.

Q6.Why did Gandhiji decide to go to Muzzafarpur? Where did he stay there?

Ans. Muzzafarpur was on the way to Champaran. So Gandhiji thought of first going to Muzaffarpur. He wanted to get the full and real information about the sharecroppers of Champaran. He stayed there at Professor Malkani, a teacher in a Govt. school.

Q7. Why did Gandhiji call his staying at Mr. J.B. Kripalani’s house an extraordinary affair?

Ans. Gandhiji says that it was an extraordinary thing for a professor to harbor (stay) a man like Gandhi, an advocate of home rule in India. People in small localities were afraid of showing sympathy.

Q8. What did the lawyers do Mujaffarpur till Gandhiji about themselves? Why did Gandhiji chide them?

Ans. The lawyers at Mujaffarpur told Gandhi that they frequently represented the peasants in courts. They also told him about the size of fees they took from the peasants. Gandhiji chided them for taking hefty fees from the poor peasants.

Q9. What did Gandhiji advise the lawyers of Mujaffarpur about the peasants?

Ans. Gandhiji told the lawyers that taking the peasants’ cases to courts would not serve any purpose because the peasants were very crushed and fear-stricken. The real relief to them would come when they became free from fear.

Q10. What was the ‘long-term’ compromise between the sharecroppers and the English landlords?

Ans. There were large estates of Englishmen in the Champaran district. The main commercial crop was indigo. There was a long-term contract between the tenants and the Englishmen. According to the contract, the landlords forced the tenants to plant indigo in three twentieths or 15 percent land as rent for the land. That was according to a long-term agreement.

Q11. What was the dispute between the sharecroppers and the English landlords at present? What thing was irksome for the peasant?

Ans. Presently, Germany had developed synthetic indigo. So the landlords obtained agreements from the sharecroppers to pay them compensation for releasing them from the agreement of the 15 percent arrangement. That agreement was irksome to the peasants because it was not justifiable for them to pay any money to them as they were not breaking the contract.

Q12. Describe Gandhiji’s meeting with the secretary of the British landlord’s association.

Ans. First of all, Gandhiji visited the secretary of the British Landlords’ Association. The secretary told Gandhi ji that they could not give information to an outsider. Gandhiji answered emphatically (by laying stress) that he was not an outsider.

Q13. Describe Gandhiji’s meeting with the commissioner of the Tirhut division.

Ans. After meeting the secretary of the British landlord’s association, Gandhi ji met the commissioner of the Tirhut division in which the district of Champaran lay. The commissioner tried to bully (terrorize) Gandhi ji and advised him to leave Tirhut.

Q14. When did the police superintendent’s messenger say to Gandhiji on his way to Champaran receive a notice from? What did Gandhiji write on the notice?

Ans. Gandhiji was on his way to a village when a messenger overtook him and ordered him to return to the town in his carriage. Gandhiji did not resist and sat in the carriage and came to his place. Then the messenger served him with an official notice to quit (to leave) Champaran immediately. On its receipt, Gandhiji wrote that he would disobey it.

Q13. How was the situation went out of control at the court where Gandhiji was to appear for disobeying the orders of the district administration?  How did Gandhiji help them? What did it all show to the British officials?

Ans. People in thousands crowded around the courthouse. The officials felt powerless without Gandhiji’s cooperation. He helped them regulate the crowd. He was polite and friendly. Gandhiji showed to the British officials that their might (power) although it was absolute (complete/full/unquestioned) could be challenged by the Indians.

Q14. What did the British officials think about Gandhiji while serving him notices to leave the place or bullying him?

Ans. They thought Gandhiji was an ordinary Mahatma, who had come to create troubles for the authorities. They did not know Gandhiji’s track record in South Africa.

Q15. What homework did Gandhiji at Motihari before appearing in the court?

Ans. At night Gandhiji remained busy. He telegraphed Dr. Rajendra Prasad to come from Bihar with influential friends. He also sent instructions to the Ashram and a full report to the Viceroy.

Q16. How did the people come to support Gandhiji in front of the court at Motihari? What was its result?

Ans. People in thousands thronged (crowded) around the courthouse. Its result was manifold. First, the officials felt powerless and they had to take Gandhiji’s help in regulating the crowd. Second, the prosecutor requested the judge to postpone the trial.

Q17. What did the Judge speak when Gandhiji read a statement pleading himself guilty of breaking the law?

Ans. The judge said that he would pronounce the judgment after a two-hour recess and asked Gandhi to furnish (supply) bail for those 120 minutes. Gandhiji refused and the judge released him without bail. Later on, the case against Gandhiji was dropped.

Q18. What did Gandhiji do when he understood that the judge was delaying the proceedings in the court?

Ans. Gandhiji protested against the delay. So he read a statement pleading himself guilty. He also told the court that he did not want to set a bad example by breaking the law, but he had come to Champaran to render the ‘humanitarian and national service’. He disregarded the order to leave Champaran and, so, he asked for the penalty due.

Q19. What did the local advocates decide to do after consulting separately among themselves?

Ans. The lawyers held a separate meeting among themselves. They also decided to help Gandhiji in his struggle. They also decided to go to jail along with Gandhiji.

Q20. How was the first civil disobedience won in Champaran? How did it start?

Ans. Gandhiji started the first civil disobedience in Champaran. He was being bullied and forced by the local administration to leave the place immediately. But Gandhiji wrote on the receipt of the orders that he will disobey it. After that, the people from nearby places also reached the courthouse to build pressure on the authorities. As a result, the case against Gandhiji had to be dropped. Thus the first civil disobedience won in Champaran.

Q21. What arrangements did the lawyers do in preparation for the Official inquiry into the grievances of the sharecroppers?

Ans. Now the lawyers proceeded to conduct an inquiry into the grievances of the farmers. Depositions (Affidavits) by about ten thousand peasants were written down. Documents were collected. The whole area was full of the activity of the investigators and the protests of the landlords.

Q22. Who did the Commission of Inquiry consist of?

Ans. The commission consisted of landlords, government officials, and Gandhi as the sole representative of the peasants.

 Q23. Initially, Gandhiji was adamant about getting 50% of the refund of money for the sharecroppers. But, later on, he agreed to accept only 25% of the refund? Why?

Ans. Gandhiji explained later on that the amount of the refund was not so important as the fact that the landlords had to surrender the part of the money which had become their prestige issue. As a result, the peasants got the courage and came to know that they had their defenders.

(II) Long Answer-type Questions & Answers (Essay type Qs.)

Q1. Why did Gandhiji consider the Champaran episode to be a turning point in his life? (Sample Paper and 2011)

Ans. : In Champaran,  Gandhiji had a new experience. He came to know the real problems of the peasants there. He became the spokesperson of thousands of the sharecroppers at Champaran. He raised the issue of injustice done to the poor farmers to the British high officials. He was given the orders to leave the place Tirhut. But, he defied them. Again he received the orders to leave Champaran immediately. But he wrote on the notice that he would disobey the orders. In the court, in front of the judge, he gave sound reasons as to why he disobeyed the orders. He said that he had to disobey in protest of the injustice being done to the poor farmers of Champaran. Thousands of the people assembled there in support of Gandhiji. The situation became out of control for the British officials and they had to take Gandhiji’s help in controlling them. The Govt. had to drop the case against Gandhiji as they understood Gandhiji’s power. Thus, the whole episode of Champaran proved to be a turning point because the dread of the Britishers started declining in the minds of the Indians after it. Thus, for the first time, civil disobedience had won in modern India.

Q2. What did Gandhiji do in respect of the cultural and social backwardness in the Champaran villages?

Ans. Gandhiji saw cultural and political backwardness in the villages of Champaran district. He wanted to do something immediately. Several teachers like Mahadev Desai and Narhari Parikh and two young had joined Gandhiji as his disciples and their wives volunteered (came forward themselves) for work. Several more came from the other parts of the country. Gandhiji’s youngest son, Devadas, arrived from the Ashram and so did Mrs. Gandhi. Primary schools were opened in six villages. Kasturba Gandhi taught the ashram rules about personal cleanliness and community sanitation to the village folk.

In the villages of the district Champaran, the health conditions were miserable. Gandhi Ji engaged a doctor to volunteer his services for six months. Three medicines like castor oil, quinine, and sulfur ointment were made available and distributed to people suffering from malaria and skin diseases.

The women of the villages were not aware of their personal hygiene. Gandhi ji told Kasturbai to talk to them about washing clothes also.

Q3. What do you know about Rajkumar Shukla? How did he take Gandhiji to Champaran and why?

Ans. Rajkumar Shukla was one of the sharecroppers from Champaran. The condition of the sharecroppers in Bihar was very bad. Someone told him to meet Gandhiji in this regard. So he came to Gandhiji to make a complaint about the injustice done to the sharecroppers by the landlord system in Bihar.

Raj Kumar Shukla was illiterate but his determination was par excellence. It was his strong will- power that brought him to Lucknow to meet Gandhiji. Gandhiji had not heard about Champaran before. It was in the foothills of the towering Himalayas, near the kingdom of Nepal.

Rajkumar Shukla requested Gandhiji to visit his district Champaran. Gandhiji told him that he had an appointment in Cawnpore (now Kanpur) and after that, he would have to go to some other places of the country. Shukla was resolute to get a fixed date from Gandhiji. So he did not return to Champaran. Rather he went with Gandhiji everywhere he went. He also accompanied Gandhiji to his Ashram, near Ahmedabad. Here he requested Gandhiji to give him a fixed date of his visit to Champaran. Gandhiji was very much impressed with Shukla’s patience and strong willpower He told Shukla that he would come to Calcutta on a certain date and then he would accompany him to Champaran.

After some months, Gandhiji came to Calcutta and Rajkumar Shukla accompanied Gandhiji to Patna by train.

Value-based Question: It is said that cleanliness is next to God. Gandhiji started a cleanliness drive in the villages of Champaran. In the same way, suggest the ways to make it practicable today in your village of city. What contribution the youth can give to the movement like ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.

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Q. Why do you think Gandhiji considered the Champaran episode to be a turning point in his life?

Ans.

1.      How was Gandhiji able to influence lawyers? Give reasons.

2.      What was the attitude of the average Indian in smaller localities towards advocates of ‘home rule’?

3.      How do we know that ordinary people too contributed to the freedom movement?

4.      Why did Rajkumar Shukla go to meet Gandhiji?

                                         Or

Why did Rajkumar Shukla want to take Gandhiji to Champaran?

5.      How did Rajkumar Shukla succeed in persuading Gandhiji to visit Champaran?

6.      Why did Gandhji agree to the planters’ offer of a 25 per cent refund to the farmers?

7.      How was Gandhiji able to influence the lawyers?

8.      How did Gandhiji help the peasants of Champaran?

A.      Some other Questions:

Q2. Why did the servants at Rajender Prasad’s house think Gandhiji to be another peasant?

Q3. Why did Gandhiji decide to go to Muzzafarpur? Where did he stay there?

Q4. Why did Gandhiji chide the lawyers and what conclusion did he come to?

Q5. What did the landlords compel the peasants to do as per the terms of a long term contract?

Q6. What did the British planters try to do when they came to know that synthetic indigo had been developed by Germany?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A.     Essay type Qs.

Q1. Why did Gandhij consider the Champaran episode to be a turning point in his life? (Sample Paper and 2011)

1.      Ans. : In Champaran,  Gandhi ji had a new experience. He came to know about the real problems of the peasants there. He became the spokesperson of the thousands of the sharecroppers at Champaran. He raised the issue of injustice done to the poor farmers to the British high officials. He was given the orders to leave the place Tirhut. But, he defied the orders. Again he received the orders to leave Champaran immediately. But he wrote on the notice that he would disobey the orders. In the court, in front of the judge, he gave sound reasons as to why he disobeyed the orders. He said that he had to disobey in protest of the injustice being done to the poor farmers of Champaran. Thousands of the people assembled there in support of Gandhiji. The Govt. had to drop the case against Gandhiji. Thus, the whole episode of Champaran proved to be a turning point because the dread of the Britishers started declining in the minds of the Indians after it. Thus, for the first time civil disobedience had won in modern India.

 

Q2. What did Gandhiji do in respect of the cultural and social backwardness in the Champaran village?

Ans. Gandhiji saw cultural and political backwardness in the villages of Champaran district. He wanted to do something immediately. Several teachers like Mahadev Desai and Narhari Parikh and two youngmen had joined Gandhiji as his disciples and their wives volunteered for work. Several more came from the other parts of the country. Gandhiji’s youngest son, Devadas, arrived from the Ashram and so did Mrs. Gandhi. Primary schools were opened in six villages. Kasturba Gandhi taught about the ashram rules about personal cleanliness and community sanitation to the village folk.

In the villages of the district Champaran, the health conditions were miserable. Gandhi ji engaged a doctor to volunteer his services for six months. Three medicines like castor oil, quinine and sulphur ointment were made available and distributed to the people suffering from malaria and skin diseases.

The women of the villages were not aware about their personal hygiene. Gandhi ji told Kasturbai  to talk to them about washing clothes also.

Q3. What do you know about Rajkumar Shukla? How did he take Gandhiji to Champaran and why?

Ans. Rajkumar Shukla was one of the sharecroppers from Champaran. The condition of the sharecroppers in Bihar was very bad. Someone told him to meet Gandhiji in this regard. So he came to Gandhij to make a complaint about the injustice done to the sharecroppers by the landlord system in Bihar.

Raj Kumar Shukla  was illiterate but his determination was par excellence. It was his strong will- power that brought him to Lucknow to meet Gandhiji. Gandhiji had not heard about Champaran before. It was in the foothills of the towering Himalyas, near the kingdom of Nepal.

Rajkumar Shukla requested Gandhiji to visit his district Champaran. Gandhiji told him that he had an appointment in Cawnpore (now Kanpur) and after that he would have to go to some other places of the country. Shukla was resolute to get a fixed date from Gandhiji. So he did not return to Champaran. Rather he went with Gandhiji  everywhere he went. He also accompanied Gandhiji to his Ashram, near Ahamdabad. Here he requested Gandhiji to give him a fixed date of his visit to Champaran. Gandhij was very much impressed with Shukla’s patience and strong will-power He told Shukla that he would come to Calcutta on a certain date and then he would accompany him to Champaran.

After some months, Gandhiji came to Calcutta and Rajkumar Shukla accompanied with Gandhiji to Patna by a train.