Mitra's play Nil Darpan was about the plight of indigo farmers.
Indigo revolt (1858) in Bengali was the revolt of the indigo farmers against the indigo planters.
It was one year after the Sepoy Revolt, Bengal saw one more important revolt in its history.
The play was published from Dhaka and soon after its publication it ignited a major argument in the newspapers.
His first hand experience of the indigo cultivators, while on the job as the postmaster in rural Orissa and Bengal, were reflected in the drama.
Michael Madhusudan Dutt translated the play into English immediately after it was published.
and Reverend James Long published it.
The play got wide publicity in Europe where it was translated into other languages.
No other Bengali book at that time got so wide publicity at such large scale.
It was so emotionally motivating that when the play was staged, the notable educator and reformer Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar was so taken in by the realism of the performance of Ardhendushekhar Mustafi (the actor playing the role of the indigo planter Mr Wood) that he threw a shoe at the actor.
The actor accepted the shoe as a compliment.
 
A lawsuit was filed against Rev. Long on 19 July 1861 for libeling the editor of the Englishman and libeling the indigo planters.
Rev. Long was fined a sum of 1000 Rs.
and a month of time in jail, the fully packed court house were full with sympathy towards the Rev. and the dramatist.
The fined sum was paid at the spot by author Kaliprasanna Singha.
The court hearing against the indigo planters went for the next four years.
Bankimchandra Chattopadhyay compared Nil Darpan to Uncle Tom's Cabin for its role in arousing people's awareness of the evils of indigo plantations.
Mitra's play Nil Darpan was about the plight of indigo farmers. Indigo revolt (1858) in Bengali was the revolt of the indigo farmers against the indigo planters. It was one year after the Sepoy Revolt, Bengal saw one more important revolt in its history. The play was published from Dhaka and soon after its publication it ignited a major argument in the newspapers. His first hand experience of the indigo cultivators, while on the job as the postmaster in rural Orissa and Bengal, were reflected in the drama. Michael Madhusudan Dutt translated the play into English immediately after it was published. and Reverend James Long published it. The play got wide publicity in Europe where it was translated into other languages. No other Bengali book at that time got so wide publicity at such large scale. It was so emotionally motivating that when the play was staged, the notable educator and reformer Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar was so taken in by the realism of the performance of Ardhendushekhar Mustafi (the actor playing the role of the indigo planter Mr Wood) that he threw a shoe at the actor. The actor accepted the shoe as a compliment.  
A lawsuit was filed against Rev. Long on 19 July 1861 for libeling the editor of the Englishman and libeling the indigo planters. Rev. Long was fined a sum of 1000 Rs. and a month of time in jail, the fully packed court house were full with sympathy towards the Rev. and the dramatist. The fined sum was paid at the spot by author Kaliprasanna Singha. The court hearing against the indigo planters went for the next four years. Bankimchandra Chattopadhyay compared Nil Darpan to Uncle Tom's Cabin for its role in arousing people's awareness of the evils of indigo plantations.
Dinabandhu Mitra