Which one of the following measures was not a consequence of the successful Champaran Satyagraha of 1917?
The Sharabeshi rent was reduced by 26 percent
The Abwabs were declared illegal
The Thekedari system was allowed to continue as it was
The Tawan, a fine on peasants, was abolished
Answer is Wrong!
Answer is Right!
This question was previously asked in
UPSC CBI DSP LDCE – 2023
While the Champaran Satyagraha brought significant reforms ending exploitative practices, it did not necessarily result in the complete abolition of the Thekedari system itself, although the practices of thekedars related to indigo were curtailed.
The Champaran Satyagraha led to the setting up of the Champaran Agrarian Enquiry Committee, whose recommendations were embodied in the Champaran Agrarian Act, 1917. As a direct consequence, the Tinkathia system was abolished, the Sharabeshi rent increase was reduced (typically stated as a 25% refund on illegal increases, effectively reducing the rent burden), Abwabs (illegal cesses) were declared illegal, and Tawan (fines for not planting indigo) was abolished. The Thekedari system was a system of land leasing and management, often involving European planters as thekedars (lessees of land revenue from zamindars), under which the exploitative indigo cultivation took place. While the Act dismantled the *exploitative indigo system* and curtailed the *power* of thekedars/planters, it did not abolish the Thekedari system itself as a land tenure arrangement. Therefore, statement C, that the Thekedari system was allowed to continue as it was, is the most accurate description of a measure *not* resulting from the Satyagraha, as the Satyagraha’s focus was on the *abuses* associated with indigo planting under this system, not the system’s structure itself.