The Indigo Peasants

The sharecroppers as a group are important both as victims and, by the end, as people transformed. At first they are shown as poor, frightened and resigned, so intimidated by the landlords that they dare not resist the injustice done to them. As Gandhi's campaign gathers strength, however, they find their voice: thousands come out at Motihari to support him, and gradually they lose their fear and gain confidence and self-respect. Their development from cowed dependence to courageous solidarity — the beginning of their liberation from fear of the Bri …