Who invited Mahatma Gandhi to come to Champaran in 1917?

Concept

When several people participated in a historical event, identify the person tied to the precise action in the stem—not someone who received, hosted, or later assisted the central figure. Contemporary accounts and reliable chronologies distinguish an invitation or sustained persuasion from reception and local support.

Application

Raj Kumar Shukla, an indigo cultivator from Champaran, persistently urged Mahatma Gandhi to investigate the peasants’ conditions. Gandhi eventually agreed, met Shukla in Calcutta, and travelled with him toward Bihar in April 1917. Therefore, the person who invited and persuaded Gandhi to come to Champaran was Raj Kumar Shukla.

Contrast

• Raj Kumar Shukla was the Champaran cultivator whose repeated appeals brought Gandhi to investigate the district.

• J. B. Kripalani received Gandhi at Muzaffarpur railway station after Gandhi sent him a telegram about the visit.

• Dr. Rajendra Prasad was a Bihar lawyer whose Patna residence Gandhi visited; he was away when Gandhi arrived.

• “More than one of the above” would require at least two listed people to have independently performed the invitation described in the stem; the historical record assigns the listed individuals different roles.

• “None of the above” would require the inviter to be absent from the named choices; the historical accounts identify a named Champaran cultivator among them.

Cross-check

Gandhi’s autobiography records Shukla’s repeated requests and their journey, while the Gandhi Heritage Portal separately records that Gandhi travelled to Patna with Raj Kumar Shukla and was received at Muzaffarpur by J. B. Kripalani. These distinct roles confirm the result.