The Significance of the Title

The single word "Indigo" names the crop that lies at the very centre of the peasants' suffering, and so the title points straight to the heart of the chapter. Indigo is a plant grown to produce a blue dye, and for the tenant farmers of Champaran it was not a source of profit but a badge of bondage. Under the oppressive arrangement imposed on them, they were forced to plant indigo on three-twentieths of their land and hand the whole crop to the British landlords as rent. When cheaper synthetic dye from Germany ruined the market for the natural product, the same crop became the pretext for a fresh injustice, as the landlords demanded money to release the peasants from the obligation they had themselves imposed. …