 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.” "  Now we can say that Raj Kumar Shukla met Mahatma Gandhi to make him aware of the plight of the cultivators in Champaran and persuaded him to go there.He was known Indigo cultivator of the area as he was a money lender from village Murli Bharahwa near Narkatiaganj 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  Bhatt Brahmins in Champaran had earlier revolted against indigo cultivation in 1914 (at Pipra) and 1916 (Turkaulia).