Correct Option
Statement 2 is correct. Acharya J.B. Kriplani was among the key associates who assisted Mahatma Gandhi during his Champaran investigation. Other prominent colleagues included Dr. Rajendra Prasad, Mazhar-ul-Haq, Mahadev Desai, and Narhari Parekh. The Champaran Satyagraha (1917) was Mahatma Gandhi's first significant act of civil disobedience in India.
Incorrect Options
Statement 1 is incorrect. Mahatma Gandhi was persuaded to visit Champaran by Raj Kumar Shukla, a local indigo cultivator, who apprised him of the exploitative 'tinkathia' system. Dr. Rajendra Prasad later became a crucial associate in the Champaran movement but was not the initial persuader.
Option (A) is incorrect as statement 1 is factually inaccurate.
Option (C) is incorrect because only statement 2 is correct.
Option (D) is incorrect as statement 2 is correct.