Grandchildren of Batak Mian, a cook who defied the orders of a British officer to poison Mahatma Gandhi during Champaran Satyagraha in 1917, still await the entire land promised later by independent India's first President Rajendra Prasad in 1952.
Mian, who had to endure brutal torture and eviction from his land at the hands of the British for his patriotic act, died in 1957. According to popular accounts of the 1917 event, the incident took place when Mahatma Gandhi visited Motihari, the then headquarters of undivided Champaran district, to enquire about the appalling condition of indigo farmers.
Erwin (known only by his first name), the British manager of an indigo plantation, had invited Mahatma Gandhi for dinner and asked his cook, Batak Mian, to serve him milk laced with poison. However, he refused to carry out the order and exposed the plot, saving Gandhiji's life. The movement of the indigo farmers, which came to be known as Champaran Satyagraha, became a historic event in the Indian freedom struggle and finally, the British were forced to accept the demands of agitating peasants.
