At the 54th anniversary of India’s Independence, Kavita Chhibber set out to talk to veterans and observers of the independence struggle and come up with a collage of impressions of the era.
The story of India’s independence struggle enjoys a special mention in the annals of world history. It is a story of how a nation with a clearly inferior military strength was able to overthrow their rulers essentially without waging a war. Never in the history of mankind had a nation of this size gained its independence through such novel weapons as ‘non violence’ and ‘civil disobedience.’
And yet… the story of India’s independence was anything but bloodless.
Following are the varied impressions from eye-witnesses that form the collage of the good, bad, and ugly.
GLIMPSES OF THE INDEPENDENCE MOVEMENT
The struggle for India’s independence movement had many different facets from the Krantikaris (agitators) like Subash Chandra Bose, Veer Bhagat Singh, Chandrashekar Azad and many more, to the more mainstream campaign of non-violent civil disobedience inspired by Mahatma Gandhi. Following are some unique accounts of activism as narrated by eye-witnesses.
The birth of ‘Quit India’ movement
“At age 12, I was a young volunteer in the 1st Haripara Congress Convention. As an active participant I have witnessed the whole independence struggle unfold during my formative years:
1942. Gowalia Tank, Bombay. The venue was a vast ocean of humanity. There was electricity in the air. The stalwarts of India’s independence movement had all gathered there – Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Patel, Nehru, Abdul Kayyum Azad, Acharya Kriplani, Rajendra Prasad, Morarji Desai, and many more. The momentum of this historic gathering was such that the concerned British government imprisoned all the leaders! Amidst heavy lathi charges, tear gas, and armed constables, the leaders were all cordoned and hauled away to jail in one truck. The intended effort of such show of force was to mellow down the rising resolve of the movement. But the result was quite the opposite. The air was filled with thunderous chants of ‘Quit India’ even as the leaders were arrested. The movement was thus launched – and it never lost steam – till independence was finally attained in 1947.
From then on, even in the midst of World Wars, India’s own battle for independence continued. Prabhat Feris (morning chants and prayers thru the streets), hartals (strikes), arrests, various nationalistic chants such as ‘Quit India’, ‘Jai Jawan’, ‘Swaraj’, ‘Jai Hind’, and many more were all a part of the daily environment. Underground nationalistic newspapers and communication channels were plentiful. – Munsukbhai Shroff
The Quit India movement rang louder than the British guns
“I was born and grew up in the northern districts of Madras Presidency of British India, namely Ganjam and Vizag districts. I was ten years old when I heard people singing the praise of Mahatma Gandhi as he conducted himself during the round table conference.
As a teenage student I joined other kids in helping sell Khadi cloth on a push cart. In the early thirties, my sister’s mother-in-law joined the ‘Salt Satyagraha’and prepared salt on the Dandi march. She was jailed. We were all very proud of her bravery. During the year 1933-34 many leaders visited my city, Visakhapatnam. I was a student in a high school. Mahatma Gandhi addressed a public meeting on the bare sands of the sea shore. There were no amplifiers or loud speakers in those meetings. There was a huge crowd around Gandhi and they maintained a strict silence so that all could hear his voice. He spoke about self rule and Swarajya and other such matters which I little understood.
At about this time in 1936, a great Indian leader appeared on the horizon. He was Jawaharlal Nehru and he represented the rising aspirations of the youth. He visited Vizag in 1936 and stayed in one of the student hostels of Andhra University. He spoke of self rule and self determination. The British officers were suspicious and soon his movements were restricted.
The British leaders offered some sort of independence if India joined the war as an ally. But the Mahatma said it was a ‘post dated check on a failing bank’ and refused to cooperate. Gandhi and all his followers were arrested. He then unleashed the slogan, ‘Quit India’ and it caught the imagination of all and spread like wild fire. Many of my fellow students were put in jail for shouting the slogans.
Around this time, Subash Chandra Bose escaped from India and reached Japan. He organized an army, composed of prisoners of war. His army was called Azad Hind Fouj and his slogan was ‘Jai Hind’. But there was no effective movement in India to overthrow the British during the war. M. K. Gandhi disliked the idea of a ‘racist’ power like Japan assisting in the liberation of India. In 1930 Bhagat Singh attempted a terrorist attack. Young Indians praised him. At that time congress caps with lockets containing Bhagat Singh’s photos were distributed free all over India. I had a cap with the shining photo attached. As I came home my father explained that the Mahatma disliked violence. Elders realized that unarmed people should not launch an armed struggle against the fully armed British.
“But in 1942, Quit India movement was more powerful than all the guns of the British army.” – P.V. Jagannatha Rao, M.D.
The year was 1942. The ‘Quit India’ movement was in full swing. The mood of the nation was turning belligerent despite Gandhi’s repeated pleas for peace and nonviolence. The spirited slogans of — ‘British Quit India,’ ‘Mahatma Gandhi ki jai,’ ‘karenge ya marenge’ (“do or die”), and ‘Jai Hind’ were in the air. Somewhere in the labyrinth of my mind come alive the ghosts of painful memories of the silent suffering of freedom fighters and the atrocities of the British rulers. In Gujarat College in Ahmedabad, to this day stands the statue of the martyred student Vinod Kinariwala, still holding an Indian flag while being gunned down by an English officer. Tens of thousands of people of all ages were all fired up by the spirit of swaraj. Lokmanya Tilak’s slogan, ‘Swaraj is my birth-right,’ was heard in every household and the spirit of sacrifice consumed every heart.” – Uma Majmudar, Ph.D.
No place for fear in the independence movement
“As a freedom fighter, I can claim that the whole campaign against the British was conducted in such manner that fear had no place in it. In spite of the superior might of the British and their severe punishments including hanging of the ‘krantikaris’ – the mood was that of entitlement; we demanded nothing short of freedom.
In the town of Dharasana in Gujarat, a team of Satyagrahis were led by noted poet and activist Sarojni Naidu. When the British officers ordered her to vacate from town, she replied bluntly, ‘I am free to move as I please in my own country. I will stay here till eternity if I so please.’
Because of the frequent jailings, the Satyagrahis had conditioned themselves to think of jails as palaces – they welcomed their imprisonment and took pride in it.
Inspired by superior leadership, the people were charged. Our top brass was an unparalleled mix of dynamic leaders such as Barristers Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Patel, and the Mahatma himself. Then there was Dr. Rajendra Prasad, Kaniyalal Munshi, Ravi Shankar Maharaj, Saint Vinoba Bhave, Swami Shradhananda, Each and every one of these great entities were ready to happily sacrifice their lives for freedom. With such momentum from top down, there was no fear among the people. The fight was on and freedom was the only outcome!” – Nanubhai Barot.
96,000 yards of yarn
“I was 6 years old and my father worked in the British government. A song that he sung frequently still haunts me. It was about Lord Rama wearing yellow and carrying a bow; Shri Krishna wearing blue and carrying the sudarshan chakra; and Gandhi wearing khadi and carrying the spinning wheel. I grew up in a household in Faisalabad, Pakistan, where our maternal grandfather Devi Chand Mohan and our mother were totally involved in the freedom movement. My mother would tell us countless stories about our leaders and the struggle for freedom. We would sleep dreaming of Pundit Nehru and Mahatma Gandhi. There were only two deep emotions in our hearts – love of God and patriotism. The atrocities of the British in the late 1930s when I was old enough to understand them, left a deep impact on my psyche. In 1942 when the Quit India movement had started, there was violence and many people were arrested. The day- to-day life was badly affected. My sister and I had the opportunity to meet all the leaders, Pt Nehru, Gandhiji, and of course Subhash Chandra Bose who caught the imagination of the people with his whirlwind 48 country tour and the Azad Hind Fouj. In 1945, I spun 96,000 yards of yarn and presented it to Gandhiji on his birthday. He patted my head and was very pleased. There was an amazing light in his eyes and I still remember, he had large, upright ears! I was ecstatic. All the other leaders were there, Acharya Kriplani, Abdul Kalam Azad, Sardar Patel who never smiled, Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, who was so endearing and who always smiled. These leaders were second to God for us. In our eyes, they were the messiahs who would give us freedom.” – Mrs. Satya Dutt.
Processions & Rallies
“My awareness of the national movement starts when I was about eleven years old. My father being in the government service was not involved in the movement but my relatives were and we took our inspiration from them. One of our relatives came to our town to address us and for the first time we saw the flag of the Indian National Congress and the feeling that we were indeed under foreign rule hit us. By 1943-44, we had started reading newspapers and though most of the reports were on dissent among various parties, it still created awareness in us. By 1945 I had joined college in Lahore and the national movement was in full swing, the Indian national army had made some dent into the British forces, many army personnel were captured, and all the news about them was being published. I had started participating in processions and saw the British face to face for the first time. At one such rally by the youth congress members, we were admonished by Abdul Kalam Azad, that this (processions) was no way to secure peace, and yet between 1945 and ‘47, the two years that I spent in Lahore, not a day went by when there wasn’t a procession or a rally.” – Air Commodore Tilak Raj (retd.)
THE PRICE WE PAID
Touted as an independence won without war, it nevertheless exalted a heavy toll for both the newly independent nations, India and Pakistan. The British strategy of ‘divide and rule’ had deep rooted and ugly repercussions that continue to dog these two nations till today. The Hindu-Muslim holocaust that resulted during the mass exodus during the partition, had deeply tarnished both nations birth as sovereign dominions. Following are some of the graphic memories from the dark recesses of observers and survivors – lest we forget the horrors of hate mongering.
Busloads and Trainloads of Bodies
“Even though I was only 12, those ghastly memories are etched in my brain. My father was a station master at a railway station on the Punjab-Pakistan border. I had the misfortune of seeing trainloads of dead bodies of Hindus of all ages coming from Pakistan. In retaliation, riots took place in East Punjab, and a large number of Muslims lost their lives and homes. As a Punjabi, I have never looked at (the events) of India’s independence struggle with cheer and joy.” – Sohan Manocha, attorney and community veteran
“We were part of a caravan of buses and I saw dead bodies scattered all around on each side of the road from Lahore to Amritsar and the vice versa. The looting and killing was conducted by miscreants whenever they found a vulnerable person.” – Maj. General R.N. Chhibber (retd).
“I think subsequent to freedom, there was a lot of sadness, the fears and doubts were about the Hindu Muslim fighting, and in the midst of celebration, there were also many riots.” – Dr. Bikram Garcha
A drink of water from river carrying dead bodies
“In 1946-47, the tensions had started mounting. Often there would be curfew and classes would be suspended and Hindu Muslim riots had begun.. The national movement was slowly being converted in to a communal one. By June 1947, it was declared that India will gain freedom and there will be partition as well. We saw our houses being looted while the entire town took refuge in two large motels . Finally all the Hindus were asked to leave. We were escorted to a traveling caravan by a Muslim friend of my older brother. We had only the clothes we wore, and while people had bullock carts and provisions, we walked with them. At night we slept in an open field with a stones for a pillow, but that was the best sleep I had had after walking for so long. There was this feeling of euphoria that we were walking towards freedom; but by the third day, hunger and thirst had dimmed some of it. We survived on channas given by some people. I would bring bitter stagnant water in my palms to quench the thirst of my mother and siblings. We could not wander away from the caravan in search of food or water for the fear of being killed. At one point we saw water before crossing a river, and as we drank, we saw dead bodies floating nearby in the same water. Another caravan coming from the opposite side to go to Pakistan was attacked by ours. There was no police escort to save them. It was sad. We were hungry and my mother managed to get some flour, knead it in her dupatta and somehow cook some coarse rotis on a piece of wood left behind. We also pulled sugarcanes from fields for food. At one point when I saw my aunt open her dupatta and receive some rice, it brought tears of helplessness in my eyes. We reached Jullundur and saw local people looting the homes of the Muslims, many were killed, and their homes given to the refugees who were coming in. The house that was allotted to us, had two dead bodies inside when we walked in. – Air Commodore Tilak Raj
Swords, Daggers, and Boiling Oil
“The country was in chaos; there was death and destruction everywhere. So much was happening. On one hand, Gandhi was repeatedly and persistently urging Indians to abandon the communal factions which were tearing the countries apart. On the other hand there were demons loose everywhere; demons who were hell bent on ignoring Gandhi’s call for peace and understanding. Humanity had taken a back seat as crude emotions took over.
I particularly remember an incident in Bombay. In a chawl (multi-unit tenements) in proper Bombay, word spread that rioters from the ‘other side’ of the communal divide were headed that way with swords and daggers. The womenfolk who found themselves alone at their homes, started boiling oil to combat the swordsmen. Soon after, the whole chawl was a madhouse of terror. Cries of pain erupted as women were stabbed to death while the attacking men were burnt by boiling oil.
Such were the horrors of the time. While we managed to overthrow the British with minimal violence and no war, we killed our own by the thousands!” – Nanubhai Parekh, Atlanta, Georgia.
What price independence?
“My husband was involved in the freedom struggle so I got involved in it as well, and went to jail twice. My husband was very disappointed at the way things turned out. He felt all the sacrifices he and others had made were wasted (due to the violence and the subsequent letdown by politicians)”- Lily Ben Desai
“On the eve of independence, I still recall Gandhiji’s speech with clarity, ‘Tomorrow Jawaharlal Nehru will get the throne, but his crown will be full of thorns; and he will have to weed each thorn out, one by one.’ The next day, as the flag unfurled atop the Red Fort, Lata Mangeshkar sang, ‘Aye mere watan ke logon.’ Not a single eye was dry. But the violence and turbulence continued. Pundit Nehru often cried, ‘Even as I manage to open one knot of hatred, ten more are formed.’” – Mrs. Satya Dutt.
SHINING EXAMPLES OF HUMANITY
Amidst the death and destruction of communal hatred, there were, thankfully, many a instances where people reached out across the communal divide, often risking their own lives.
I am alive today thanks to the courage of two Muslim girls and a Colonel.
“We lived in Rawalpindi. My father and I were the last to leave. It was a Muslim colonel in the army who delivered us safely to the airport. He hid us in an army truck full of supplies under tarpaulin. Even during our last days in Pakistan, we were virtually kept safe and alive by two Muslim girls. The girls arranged to send food and provisions to us while we were hiding. They told me that they could not take us to their home as their brother would kill us! They were so affected by what their people were doing in Pakistan that they vowed never to marry a Muslim man! When I got in touch with them in 1984, they were still single! I bow to their courage and commitment – because of which I am alive today.” – Mrs. Sumitra Bhalla
Muslim girls find protection in Hindu family
“Perhaps the one thing that stands out in my memory as a young boy, at the time of partition, was that our lands and cattle were being looked after by a Muslim family since generations. The head of the family was older than my father and we were introduced to him as our tauji (dad’s older brother). We left for India in a rush so we had really nothing much with us. After partition, Tauji sold our crops and sent us the money through a relative. Money that he could have easily pocketed In Delhi seven girls from a Muslim family were protected for several months by a Hindu family who also managed to send them safely to their parents in Pakistan.” – Maj. General R.N. Chhibber (retd).
House escapes mayhem
“We lived in Warrangal when the rioting took place. All the women and children were evacuated and sent to a safe place where we stayed for a week. My husband, Mohammed Abdul Qadir stayed behind. His relations with the Hindus were so strong, that our house and doors stayed open and in all the looting and mayhem, our house was untouched. He joined us a week later and took us back home.’ – Hafeeza Begum
Hindu-Muslim Bhai Bhai
“I was living in Gorakhpur which escaped all violence and to this day people live very peacefully. My grandfather Mohammed Ismail was very much involved in the freedom movement and creation of Pakistan. He became Pakistan’s first High Commissioner to India and after retirement in 1955, stayed on in India. He was in Pt. Nehru’s inner circle and whenever Pt. Nehru came to Gorakhpur he stayed at our house. Of course after partition, a lot of the Muslim landlords lost their lands. My father was left with barely a fourth of what he owned. Most people feel the creation of Pakistan was a mistake and people suffered and continue to suffer the consequences even now. It is sad that we look at those across the border, not as our loving neighbors but enemies, on both sides. We were their brethren then and are now. In fact forty percent of the land for the famous Baba Goraknath Temple was donated by Mr. Zahid, a Muslim” – Hassan Kamal
THE TRIUMPH OF INDEPENDENCE: CELEBRATIONS!
For all its pain and agony, the independence of a nation of over four hundred million is no small achievement. There was understandably, euphoria, optimism, joy and celebrations.
Dazzling display of lights
“August 15, 1947. I still feel the thrill of that moment in history – when at the stroke of midnight on the eve of August 14, India became ‘free at last’ of the British rule of a hundred-and-fifty years. I vividly remember people’s exuberant joy, pride, and the citywide celebrations.
That night India was adorned like a young bride. That night was filled with anticipation of a new dawn of freedom for us and for our beloved country! On that night I joined the teeming millions around the Bhadra Killa in downtown Ahmedabad to see the most dazzling display of lights on all the government buildings. The young men, women and children danced wildly in the streets as the sounds of Shehnai sweetened the air; the temple bells chimed in unison as the devotees chanted prayers in Sanskrit and offered sweets, fruits, flowers, incense and coconuts to different gods and goddesses. The decorated elephants, horses, trucks and rickshaws all vied with pedestrians to make their way through the crowded streets, but nothing moved. The traffic stood still. The desperate people, shoving and pushing one another, climbed treetops or telephone poles to catch a glimpse of the lights. Some went over to the rooftops of houses and buildings or hung out from windows, and small children were perched atop their parents’ shoulders to see the parades, the lights and the fireworks. Not an inch of space was unoccupied. As I look back on that golden day, Wordsworth’s lines again come to my mind: “Bliss was it in that dawn to be alive, but to be young was very heaven!” – Uma Majmudar, Ph. D.
The sweet ladoos of independence
“I remember the first day of the Independence of India when I was a little child. My older brother brought “ladoos” home from school; I was so jealous of him for having all the fun that I wanted to go to school too. As far as I remember, in Rajasthan, where I come from, we used to receive “ladoos” till 1955 on the Independence Day. By 1953, I was in 6th grade and a music student, and we would start preparing for the Independence Day celebrations 4-6 weeks in advance. I was eager to learn and sing a new patriotic song in addition to the regular ‘Jana gana mana’ and ‘Vande matram’.
In 1955, when I came back from a big celebration in the city, and our neighbor took me to his workplace, a bank to sing the national anthem. As a little girl, nothing could be more rewarding than all the attention showered on me by people around me.
That time I did not know the real meaning of independence. Then, it only meant celebration, joy, and lots of fun. Now I am older and I see people from nations that are not free. I am a US citizen now and I am very proud that both my countries are free. Independence is like air and water—you take it for granted until you are deprived of it, then all of a sudden you realize how lucky you are to be living in a free society. You can do whatever you want, speak your mind without any fear of being punished, travel where you like, socialize with anyone you feel comfortable with.
I’ve been in America now for years. I still feel sentimental about August 15th. I cherish the sweet memories of my childhood of this day. I feel like singing ‘Vijay Vishwa Tiranga Pyara, Jhanda Ooncha Rahe Hamara.’ – Girija Vijay
“We were slaves in chains for a hundred years, and felt such deep longing for liberty. The British tortured us, as the leaders fought for India’s freedom. Soon, dark nights of bondage were illuminated by the light of liberty. We left all our treasures behind to cross the borders as refugees, with treasures and families looted and lost, but still we walked on, knowing in our hearts that soon we shall be free. It took us time but we picked up the threads again, and lived again and for that I salute the selfless leaders.” – Vimla Khanna
Celebrating motherland’s independence from across the continents
“The weather was cloudy and I could see the fog shrouding the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco from my room at the Y.M.C.A building in Berkeley, California. I was then a post-graduate trainee at the University of California. The Indian presence was limited to the few students in the Bay area. There were not that many Indian families either. There were no TVs, and the news of Indian events broadcasted on the local stations was meager. The news about India was usually received from the Indian Embassy in Washington, and circulated through the International House in Berkeley. The Day of Independence was the most significant event for India and Pakistan, and perhaps whole of Asia, but it did not have the desired impact on the Americans and the news articles published in various local newspapers were at best a minimum coverage, considering the colossal significance of such an event.
Since we did not have any Indian communities association, some of us who were members of the loosely formed association, ‘The Indian Students Association of the University of California, Berkeley Campus’ organized a small celebration at the International House. Our close friends, Americans, Palestinians (Jewish and Arab students), West Indians, Iranians, Egyptians, and Chinese joined us for this celebration.
The setting was meager, the fan fare limited, but we the sons and daughters of India were there with pride and gratitude that India had finally received “SWARAJ” and there was nothing that could stop us from lifting the country to the greatness or at least a state of self sufficiency we were witnessing in the United States. Compared to what we were experiencing in the land of opportunity, India looked awfully poor.
It was not too long before, that I had escaped communal violence as our bus was heading towards the Bombay Harbor to board a ship for America. Deep in my heart was the fear, ‘Would this be a scourge that would befall the land very soon?’
Being born in the South, I was not truly conscious of the Hindu-Muslim conflict. As a matter of fact, one of my room mates at Berkeley was Manuf Shah Roghani, a pathan, who taught me elements of Islam and was a great followed of the late frontier Gandhi, Khan Abdul Gaffer Khan and a very close friend and class mate was Mohammed Bazlur Rahman, with whom I quarreled constantly about the division of India! Bazlur is still a close friend who lives in Bangladesh and not too long ago we shared our experiences as students.
I was thinking to myself of life in the new India. I would be going there now, not as a British-Indian subject, but as a free man in the sovereign Republic of India. That almost sounded magical. I thought of Bapuji, who gave us the self-esteem and the will to take on the mighty British. Gandhi was not only admired but adored in the States, as was freedom fighter Jawarhal Nehru whom I admired without reservation, and Rajaji, our leader from Madras. Not long ago, as a student, I was part of the ‘Quit India’ movement and yearned for our liberation, not just from the British rule but from the myriads of social evils that had kept India in poverty. On that day I was reminded of the bleakness of a future for many young men and women, who in spite of their talents and education, could not hope for a decent future. Except for a few, most of us were not pioneers wanting to take on the new cause and challenges.
As we sang “Jana gana mana”, there was a new joy, that at last we were free. May be, I did not fulfill all of the promises I made to myself on that day, but my heart is full, that today India has indeed come a long way. Her misery continues but maybe there are more resources today then ever before during her long history to solve the many insoluble problems that constantly plague her.
Freedom is a solemn obligation and all of us, whether we be Indians Pakistanis, or Bangladeshis, gained that privilege by the unique struggle…freedom through non-violence, a new social order, not known to be here before and championed by Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, the world’s Mahatma. I hail his memory today, just as I did on 15 August 1947. JAI HIND”- Giriraj Rao, community veteran and founder of Gandhi Task Force in Atlanta.
THE JOURNEY CONTINUES…
Mahadev Desai: “Having been born in Tanzania, I was indeed lucky to be studying in one of Bombay’s Commerce College around the independence period. The Independence Day finally dawned. Azadi was sweet as nectar. The country went wild with delight. There were unforgettable scenes of rejoicing and enthusiasm. The entire metropolis of Bombay was illuminated like a fairyland. Men, women and children came out on the streets, dancing, singing freedom songs, holding hands and sharing sweets. Cars, trucks, buses, loaded with excited revelers waving flags, honking, shouting ‘Jai Hind’ crawled through winding roads of the city. Temples were jam-packed with devotees offering prayers and distributing alms to the poor and needy. Similar scenes of joyous celebrations were taking place in other cities and villages throughout India. Sadly there was a flipside too. The joy was tinged with sorrow and fear. Partition was a painful reality. The vivisection of India had led to horrendous massacres, rapes, brutalities, and uprooting of millions of Hindus and Muslims. Mahatma Gandhi, the architect of India’s freedom chose not to participate in the Independence Day celebrations.
The mood of the shocked nation was echoed in the lines written on Independence Day by the famous Urdu poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz:
This dappled light is not the eagerly awaited break of day
not that clear dawn, in quest of which those comrades set out,
confident that in the vast void of heaven
somewhere, the guiding star would go and halt,
somewhere a harbor for the night’s slow lapping tides
somewhere, at last an anchorage for this young voyage of heartache.
There is no let-up yet in the burden of the dark night,
The longed-for tryst of mind and eyes is yet to unfold.
Come comrades, let’s get a move on, the destination is yet far.