Bihar Freedom Movement

Champaran Satyagraha (1917): Tinkathia System, Raj Kumar Shukla & BPSC MCQs

State Civil Services Academic Board (Gandhian Studies Faculty) • 10 min read • Published: 2026-10-31

A deep-dive analysis of Mahatma Gandhi’s first civil disobedience experiment in India at Champaran. Tinkathia system (3/20 indigo cultivation), Raj Kumar Shukla’s invitation, European planters, and Agrarian Committee findings.

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1. Understanding the Tinkathia System & Planter Exploitation

Under the oppressive Tinkathia system enforced by European indigo planters in Champaran, tenant farmers were legally obligated to cultivate indigo on 3/20th of their best agricultural land (3 kathas out of every 20 kathas or 1 bigha).

With the advent of synthetic German chemical dyes in the late 19th century, indigo demand crashed. European planters demanded exorbitant illegal exactions (Tawan, Sharahbeshi, and Bhet) to release farmers from their contracts, plunging the peasantry into extreme debt.

Direct BPSC Question Fact

BPSC has asked multiple times: "Who persuaded Mahatma Gandhi to visit Champaran?" Answer: Raj Kumar Shukla, who met Gandhi at the 31st session of the Indian National Congress in Lucknow (December 1916).

2. The Champaran Agrarian Enquiry Committee & Outcome

Lieutenant Governor Sir Edward Gait appointed the Champaran Agrarian Committee with F.G. Sly as President and Mahatma Gandhi as a prominent member representing ryots.

The committee recommended the total abolition of the Tinkathia system and refunded 25% of the illegal exactions collected by European planters, marking Gandhi’s first decisive Satyagraha victory on Indian soil.