He Had Refused To Poison Mahatma Gandhi. His Grandchildren Have A Request

Batak 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.

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.