India’s first civil noncompliance movement was initiated by Mahatma Gandhi to protest against the injustice meted out to lessee farmers in Champaran district of Bihar. It is far and wide regarded as the place where Gandhi made his first experiments in Satyagraha.

During British Era, many tenant farmers were forced to cultivate indigo on part of their land, often working under harsh conditions. This indigo was used to create the dye. But the demand for indigo went down when the Germans invented a cheaper artificial dye. However, during the First World War, the German dye came to an end to be available and indigo once more became money-making for the British. Many tenants were forced again into indigo growing--required by their lease under British rule.

This led to rage and anger among the tenants, with a number of alleging the landlords were using strong-arm diplomacy A farmer named Raj Kumar Shukla appealed to Gandhiji to organize the struggle to save the agricultural estate of workers. Shukla’s arguments paid off and Gandhi visited the district in April 2017.

Gandhi’s arrival upset the British and he was ordered to run off the district. When Gandhi said no, he was detained by the police on the charge of creating disturbances, leading to substantial non-violent protests and rallies, which ultimately led to his discharge from bars.

Consequently, the civil noncompliance movement continued and Gandhiji has been successful in shaping public disappointment into a viable political tool. The protests and strikes against the landlords in due course came to an end with the ending of indigo cultivation. Worth mention here it is known then as the Tinkathia system. Testimonies collected of over 8,000 peasants by Gandhi and his colleagues contributed in large measure to the stop the practice. The landlords inked an agreement, with the guidance of the British regime, granting farmers more compensation and control over farming, along with other benefits.