Raj Kumar Shukla (23 August 1875 – 20 May 1929) was the person who convinced

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...

to visit

Champaran Champaran is a region of Bihar in India. It is now divided into an East Champaran district and a West Champaran district. Notable people * Manoj Bajpai – Indian film actor * Dinesh Bhramar – poet and noted figure in Hindi and Bhojpuri l ...

which later led to the

Champaran Satyagraha The Champaran Satyagraha of 1917 was the first satyagraha movement led by Mahatma Gandhi in British India and is considered a historically important rebellion in the Indian independence movement. It was a farmer's uprising that took place in Ch ...

. Shukla at the time worked under Hafiz Din Mohammad and was sent to meet Gandhi.

Early life

Raj Kumar Shukla was born in 1875 in a Bhatt (Brahmin) family in Satwaria village near Narkatiaganj in West Champaran.

History

During the 31st session of the Congress in Lucknow in 1916, Gandhiji met Raj Kumar Shukla, a representative of farmers from Champaran, who requested him to come and see for himself the miseries of the indigo ryots (tenant farmers) there. Gandhi later wrote in his autobiography “I must confess that I did not then know even the name, much less the geographical position, of Champaran, and I had hardly any notion of indigo plantations.” Shukla thus met Gandhi to make him aware of the plight of the cultivators in Champaran and persuaded him to go there. He was a known Indigo cultivator of the area as he was a money lender from village Murli Bharahwa near Narkatiyaganj in West Champaran, earning, according to his own statement before the enquiry committee set up by the provincial government, a sum of two thousand rupees a month from interest.

Honour

To commemorate his 125th birth anniversary, the

Department of Posts India Post is a government-operated postal system in India, part of the Department of Post under the Ministry of Communications. Generally known as the Post Office, it is the most widely distributed postal system in the world. Warren Hastings ha ...

released a stamp in his honour in 2000. On the occasion of 100 years of Champaran Satyagrah Govt. of Bihar established a Statue of Pt. Rajkumar Shukla at Gandhi Sangrhalay (गांधी संग्रहालय) Patna. The

Gandhi Peace Foundation The Gandhi Peace Foundation is an Indian organisation that studies and develops Mahatma Gandhi's thought. History The foundation was established 31 July 1958 to preserve and spread Gandhi's thought. It began with donation of 10 million rupee ...

in Delhi has showcased a photograph of Raj Kumar Shukla.

Books on Raj Kumar Shukla

On the occasion of 100 years of Champaran Satyagraha, Arvind Mohan wrote a book on him and his other supporters titles ''Champaran : Satyagrah Ke Sahyogi. ''The book was released by Chief Minister of Bihar Nitish Kumar on 10 April 2017. In September 2017 Mohan wrote another book'', Mr. M.K. Gandhi ki Champaran Diary,'' where Raj Kumar Shukla emerged as main contributor of Mahatma Gandhi's satyagraha''.''

Gandhi in Champaran

Mahatama Gandhi arrived in Champaran with his team of eminent nationalists,

Rajendra Prasad Rajendra Prasad (3 December 1884 – 28 February 1963) was an Indian politician, lawyer, Indian independence activist, journalist & scholar who served as the first president of Republic of India from 1950 to 1962. He joined the Indian Nationa ...

Anugrah Narayan Sinha Anugrah Narayan Sinha (18 June 1887 – 5 July 1957), known as '' Bihar Vibhuti'', was an Indian nationalist statesman, participant in Champaran Satyagraha, Gandhian & one of the architects of modern Bihar, who was the first Deputy Chief Minis ...

Brajkishore Prasad Brajkishore Prasad (1877–1946) was a lawyer inspired by Mohandas Gandhi during the Indian Independence Movement. Early life and education Born in a Kayastha family in Srinagar, Siwan district, Prasad gained his early education in Chhap ...

, after which the Champaran Satyagraha began.

References

External links

Amolwa will be Ideal Village
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shukla, Raj Kumar Indian independence movement People from Bihar 1861 births 1946 deaths