Champaran is a region of Bihar in India. It is now divided into an East Champaran district and a West Champaran district. History In 1917, Gandhi lead a satyagraha movement in Champaran district against European land owners and government policies. During that time British landowners use to pressure local farmers to grow indigo and buy it in lower prices. In response British government arrested Gandhi and later released, did amendments to improve peasants situation. This was Gandhi's first movement in India. Notable people Manoj Bajpai – Indian film actor Dinesh Bhramar – poet and noted figure in Hindi and Bhojpuri literature Anuranjan Jha – Indian journalist Prakash Jha – Indian filmmaker Ramesh Chandra Jha – Indian poet, novelist and freedom fighter Abdullah Khan – novelist and screenwriter Ravish Kumar – Indian journalist Gopal Singh Nepali – Indian poet of Hindi literature, Bollywood lyricist George Orwell – English novelist, essayist, journalist and critic Kedar Pandey – Congress leader and ex-Chief Minister of Bihar Afroz Alam Sahil – Indian journalist Raj Kumar Shukla – indigo cultivator, activist Radha Mohan Singh – Indian politician Sanjeev K Jha – Indian script writer, filmmaker References Further reading Singh, Shankar Dayal. Gandhi's first step: Champaran movement, by B.R. Pub. Corp., 1994. . Chakrabarti D.K. (1996b). From Purnea to Champaran: The distribution of sites in the north Bihar plains. South Asian Studies, 12:pp. 147–158 Historical regions History of Bihar Regions of Bihar Mithila