Meet the man who brought the Mahatma to Champaran

Raj Kumar Shukla was born in 1875 in Bheetharva village of West Champaran. Some say he was a cultivator, others claim he was a moneylender.

This is a story from Champaran when farmers used to follow the "panchkathiya" system, whereby five katthas of land in a bigha had to be planted with indigo. The zamindars were mostly British and the price of indigo was almost always low, besides it being a low-return crop.

Agitating against the "panchkathiya" system, local agitators and leaders like Sheikh Gulab, Harbans Sahay, Pir Mohammed Munsi, Sant Rawat and Lomrah Singh managed to extract some concession and the system that came to be practised was the "tinkathiya" system (three, instead of five, katthas of land was to be planted with indigo).

It so happened that Shukla had inherited some five bighas of land and he too had to cultivate indigo. Around 1907 he, along with one Sheikh Ghulam, started organising local peasants against forcible indigo cultivations. He got lawyers from Patna to file a case for him and did arrange a strike, which did not end too well with the kuthiwals (zamindars who ran the indigo house) assaulting them. Sometime in 1914, Shukla was reportedly jailed slapped with a minor charge, probably for verbally abusing an European.

Shukla used to write in a Hindi newspaper, published by Ganesh Vidyarthi. It was Vidyarthi who had mentioned about Gandhi's work in Africa to Shukla. The sympathetic lawyers of Patna that Shukla cultivated, included Brajkishore Prasad and Rajendra Prasad.

They suggested him to meet Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, who was attending the 31st Session of the Congress in Lucknow (held between December 26 and 30, 1916).

So, on a cold winter day, Shukla set out on what was to be the most important journey of his life. Little did he realise that by the time the issue at hand would get over, not only would the troubles of Champaran end, but Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi would also be on the road to become the Mahatma.

Shukla met Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Madan Mohan Malaviya. They were not too enthusiastic about the indigo agitation. However, the Congress passed a resolution on the indigo farmers of Champaran. Shukla spoke on the issue. Gandhi declined, pleading his lack of knowledge. Shukla invited him to Champaran. Gandhi refused. Shukla followed him to Kanpur, still no luck.

Gandhi returned to Ahmedabad and found Shukla waiting for him. This time Gandhi said he will be in Calcutta in April 2017, then he will visit Champaran. Gandhi then set out.

On the way, Shukla picked up JB Kripalni, then a freshly suspended law college professor (suspended for his nationalistic views of course) at Muzaffarpur. They arrived at the Motihari station on April 15, 2017, and the day after set out for the village of Jasaulipatti.

The series of events that finally led to the "tinkathiya" system being abolished on March 4, 1919, is fairly well-known.

Once the indigo planters burnt down the house of Shukla, Gandhi trekked miles to reach his village and extend support to Shukla.

Also read: Remembering Gandhi's forgotten satyagraha to free bonded labourers from the British