Usha Mehta
Encyclopedia
Usha Mehta was a renowned Gandhian
and freedom fighter of India
. She is also remembered for organizing the Congress Radio
, also called the Secret Congress Radio, an underground radio station
, which functioned for few months during the Quit India Movement
of 1942. In 1998, the Government of India
conferred on her Padma Vibhushan
, the second highest civilian award of Republic of India.
in the state of Gujarat, on March 25, 1920. When she was just five years old, Usha first saw Gandhi while on a visit to his ashram at Ahmedabad. Shortly thereafter, Gandhi organized a camp near her village, and she became highly influenced by him. She became one of his followers, deciding to wear clothes made of Khādī
and remain celibate for life. Over a period of time, she emerged as an active follower of Gandhi and a proponent of Gandhian thought and philosophy.
In 1928, eight-year-old Usha participated in a protest march against the Simon Commission
and shouted her first words of protest against the British Raj
: “Simon Go Back.” As a child, she did not comprehend the significance of her actions except that she was participating in a movement to free her country under the leadership of Gandhi. She and many other children participated in morning protests against the British Raj and picketing in front of liquor shops. The children also did a little spinning. These activities inspired her to remain active in the freedom movement.
During one of the protests marches against the British Raj, the policemen charged the children, and a girl carrying the Indian flag
fell down. Wanting to respond to this incident, the children sought advice from their elders, who suggested that they buy khadi clothes in the tricolors of the Indian flag (white, green and red). That night, the children got the shopkeepers to sell them cloth, and with the help of their elders, they stitched the uniforms. In the morning, they marched, shouting at the policemen: “Policemen, you can wield your sticks and your batons, but you cannot bring down our flag.”
Because her father was a judge under the British Raj, he did not encourage Usha Mehta to join the freedom struggle. However, her father retired in 1930, and in 1932, when she was 12, her family moved to Bombay, making it possible for her to join the freedom movement even more actively. For example, she and other children distributed clandestine bulletins and publications, visited relatives in the prisons, and carried the messages to these prisoners.
Her initial schooling was in Kheda and Bharuch and then in Chandaramji High School, Bombay. In 1935, her final examinations at the University of Bombay
placed her among the top 25 students in her class. She continued her education at Wilson College
, Bombay, graduating in 1939 with a first-class degree in philosophy
. She also studied law
. However, in 1942, she joined the Quit India Movement and ended her studies. Thereafter, she participated in the freedom movement full time.
to Mumbai, where she hoisted the tricolor on August 9, 1942 at Gawalia Tank Ground, which was later renamed as the "August Kranti Maidan." At that time, almost the entire leadership of the Congress Party was in prison.
On August 14, 1942, she and her close associates began the Secret Congress Radio, a clandestine radio station. The first words broadcast in her resonant voice were: “This is the Congress radio calling on [a wavelength of] 42.34 meters from somewhere in India.” Her associates included Vithalbhai Jhaveri, Chandrakant Jhaveri, Babubhai Thakkar and Nanka Motwani, owner of Chicago Radio, who supplied equipments and provided technicians.
Many leaders, including Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia
, Achyutrao Patwardhan and Purushottam Trikamdas, also assisted the Secret Congress Radio. The radio broadcast recorded messages from Gandhi and other prominent leaders across India. To elude the authorities, the organizers moved the station's location almost daily. Ultimately, however, the police found them on November 12, 1942 and arrested the organizers, including Usha Mehata. All were later imprisoned
.
Although the Secret Congress Radio functioned only for three months, it greatly assisted the movement by disseminating uncensored news and other information banned by the British-controlled government of India. Scecret Congress Radio also kept the leaders of the freedom movement in touch with the public.
The Criminal Investigation Department (CID), a wing of the Indian Police
, interrogated her for six months. During this time, she was held in solitary confinement
and offered inducements such as the opportunity to study abroad if she would betray the movement. However, she chose to remain silent and, during her trials, asked the Judge of the High Court
whether she was required to answer the questions. When the judge confirmed that she was not mandatory, she declared that she would not reply to any of the questions, not even to save herself. After the trial, she was sentenced to four years' imprisonment (1942 to 1946). Two of her associates were also convicted.
Reminiscing about those days, Usha Mehta described her involvement with the Secret Congress Radio as her “finest moment” and also as her saddest moment, because an Indian technician had betrayed them to the authorities.
She was imprisoned at Yeravda Jail in Pune
, Maharashtra
, where her health deteriorated, and she was sent to Bombay for treatment at Sir J. J. Hospital
. In the hospital, three to four policemen kept a round-the-clock watch on her to prevent her from escaping. When her health improved, she was returned to Yeravda Jail. In March 1946, she was released, the first political prisoner
to be released in Bombay, at orders of Morarji Desai
, who was at that time a home minister in the interim government and who eventually rose to become Prime Minister of India]].
, Usha Mehta was confined to bed and could not attend the official function in New Delhi. However, she remained in touch with developments through the radio. She disagreed with the partition, but her failing health prevented her from participating in politics. However, she re-commenced her education and wrote a doctoral dissertation on the political and social thought of Gandhi, earning a Ph.D. from the University of Bombay. She had a long association with the university in many capacities as a student, as a research assistant, a lecturer, a professor, and finally as the head of the department of civics and politics of the University of Bombay until her retirement in 1980.
Even after India’s independence, she continued to be socially active, particularly in spreading the Gandhian thought and philosophy. She was elected as the president of Gandhi Smarak Nidhi, a trust dedicated to the perseverance of the Gandhian heritage. The Nidhi acquired Mani Bhavan
in Mumbai, where Gandhi used to reside during his visits to the city, and converted it into a Gandhi memorial. She was a member of the Gandhi Peace Foundation, New Delhi. She also actively participated in the affairs of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
. The Government of India associated her with a number of celebrations of India’s 50th anniversary of freedom.
Over the years she had authored many articles, essays, and books in English
and Gujarati
, her mother tongue.
After India’s independence, she was unhappy with the developments taking place in the social, political, and economic spheres of independent India. Once, in an interview with India Today
, she expressed her feelings in these words: “Certainly this is not the freedom we fought for.” She added that the freedom fighters of her generation felt that “once people were ensconced in positions of power, the rot would set in." However, in her words, “we didn’t know the rot would sink in so soon.” However, she did not deny the achievements of free India since the independence: “India has survived as a democracy and even built a good industrial base,” she said. “Still, it is not the India of our dreams”.
The Republic of India conferred on her Padma Vibhushan in 1998, the second highest civilian award of India.
, a noted Bollywood
filmmaker.
The other nephew is Dr. Yatin Mehta, the famous and world renown anaesthetist, who was the Director in Escorts Hospital, and is a part of the Medicity in Gurgaon now. He is the editor of many healthcare magazines and is the President of several healthcare associations.
Gandhism
Gandhism is the collection of inspirations, principles, beliefs and philosophy of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi , who was a major political and spiritual leader of India and the Indian Independence Movement....
and freedom fighter of India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. She is also remembered for organizing the Congress Radio
Congress Radio
Congress Radio was a clandestine and underground radio station, which operated for about three months during the Quit India Movement of 1942, a movement launched by Gandhi against the British Raj for independence of India. Congress Radio was the broadcasting mouthpiece of the Indian National...
, also called the Secret Congress Radio, an underground radio station
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
, which functioned for few months during the Quit India Movement
Quit India Movement
The Quit India Movement , or the August Movement was a civil disobedience movement launched in India in August 1942 in response to Mohandas Gandhi's call for immediate independence. Gandhi hoped to bring the British government to the negotiating table...
of 1942. In 1998, the Government of India
Government of India
The Government of India, officially known as the Union Government, and also known as the Central Government, was established by the Constitution of India, and is the governing authority of the union of 28 states and seven union territories, collectively called the Republic of India...
conferred on her Padma Vibhushan
Padma Vibhushan
The Padma Vibhushan is the second highest civilian award in the Republic of India. It consists of a medal and a citation and is awarded by the President of India. It was established on 2 January 1954. It ranks behind the Bharat Ratna and comes before the Padma Bhushan...
, the second highest civilian award of Republic of India.
Early life
Usha was born in Saras village in SuratSurat
Surat , also known as Suryapur, is the commercial capital city of the Indian state of Gujarat. Surat is India's Eighth most populous city and Ninth-most populous urban agglomeration. It is also administrative capital of Surat district and one of the fastest growing cities in India. The city proper...
in the state of Gujarat, on March 25, 1920. When she was just five years old, Usha first saw Gandhi while on a visit to his ashram at Ahmedabad. Shortly thereafter, Gandhi organized a camp near her village, and she became highly influenced by him. She became one of his followers, deciding to wear clothes made of Khādī
Khadi
The term khādī or khaddar means cotton. khādī is Indian handspun and hand-woven cloth. The raw materials may be cotton, silk, or wool, which are spun into threads on a spinning wheel called a charkha. It is a versatile fabric, cool in the summer and warm in the winter...
and remain celibate for life. Over a period of time, she emerged as an active follower of Gandhi and a proponent of Gandhian thought and philosophy.
In 1928, eight-year-old Usha participated in a protest march against the Simon Commission
Simon Commission
The Indian Statutory Commission was a group of seven British Members of Parliament that had been dispatched to India in 1927 to study constitutional reform in Britain's most important colonial dependency. It was commonly referred to as the Simon Commission after its chairman, Sir John Simon...
and shouted her first words of protest against the British Raj
British Raj
British Raj was the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; The term can also refer to the period of dominion...
: “Simon Go Back.” As a child, she did not comprehend the significance of her actions except that she was participating in a movement to free her country under the leadership of Gandhi. She and many other children participated in morning protests against the British Raj and picketing in front of liquor shops. The children also did a little spinning. These activities inspired her to remain active in the freedom movement.
During one of the protests marches against the British Raj, the policemen charged the children, and a girl carrying the Indian flag
Flag of India
The National flag of India is a horizontal rectangular tricolour of deep saffron, white and India green; with the Ashok Chakra, a 24-spoke wheel, in navy blue at its centre. It was adopted in its present form during a meeting of the Constituent Assembly held on 22 July 1947, when it became the...
fell down. Wanting to respond to this incident, the children sought advice from their elders, who suggested that they buy khadi clothes in the tricolors of the Indian flag (white, green and red). That night, the children got the shopkeepers to sell them cloth, and with the help of their elders, they stitched the uniforms. In the morning, they marched, shouting at the policemen: “Policemen, you can wield your sticks and your batons, but you cannot bring down our flag.”
Because her father was a judge under the British Raj, he did not encourage Usha Mehta to join the freedom struggle. However, her father retired in 1930, and in 1932, when she was 12, her family moved to Bombay, making it possible for her to join the freedom movement even more actively. For example, she and other children distributed clandestine bulletins and publications, visited relatives in the prisons, and carried the messages to these prisoners.
Her initial schooling was in Kheda and Bharuch and then in Chandaramji High School, Bombay. In 1935, her final examinations at the University of Bombay
University of Mumbai
The University of Mumbai , is a state university located in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. It was known as the University of Bombay until 1996 when the city of Bombay was renamed as Mumbai. The affiliated colleges of the university are spread throughout the city of Mumbai and four coastal districts in...
placed her among the top 25 students in her class. She continued her education at Wilson College
Wilson College, Mumbai
The Wilson College, set up in 1832 in Mumbai, is one of India’s oldest colleges, with its foundation preceding that of the University of Mumbai by 25 years...
, Bombay, graduating in 1939 with a first-class degree in philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
. She also studied law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
. However, in 1942, she joined the Quit India Movement and ended her studies. Thereafter, she participated in the freedom movement full time.
Role in freedom movement
During the Quit India Movement, Usha quickly became a leader. She moved from New DelhiNew Delhi
New Delhi is the capital city of India. It serves as the centre of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi. It is one of the nine districts of Delhi Union Territory. The total area of the city is...
to Mumbai, where she hoisted the tricolor on August 9, 1942 at Gawalia Tank Ground, which was later renamed as the "August Kranti Maidan." At that time, almost the entire leadership of the Congress Party was in prison.
On August 14, 1942, she and her close associates began the Secret Congress Radio, a clandestine radio station. The first words broadcast in her resonant voice were: “This is the Congress radio calling on [a wavelength of] 42.34 meters from somewhere in India.” Her associates included Vithalbhai Jhaveri, Chandrakant Jhaveri, Babubhai Thakkar and Nanka Motwani, owner of Chicago Radio, who supplied equipments and provided technicians.
Many leaders, including Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia
Ram Manohar Lohia
Rammanohar Lohia was an Indian freedom fighter and a socialist political leader.-Early life:Lohia was born in a village Akbarpur in Ambedkar Nagar district, Uttar Pradesh, in India to Hira Lal, a nationalist and Chanda,a teacher. He was born to Marwari Maheshwari family. His mother died when he...
, Achyutrao Patwardhan and Purushottam Trikamdas, also assisted the Secret Congress Radio. The radio broadcast recorded messages from Gandhi and other prominent leaders across India. To elude the authorities, the organizers moved the station's location almost daily. Ultimately, however, the police found them on November 12, 1942 and arrested the organizers, including Usha Mehata. All were later imprisoned
Incarceration
Incarceration is the detention of a person in prison, typically as punishment for a crime .People are most commonly incarcerated upon suspicion or conviction of committing a crime, and different jurisdictions have differing laws governing the function of incarceration within a larger system of...
.
Although the Secret Congress Radio functioned only for three months, it greatly assisted the movement by disseminating uncensored news and other information banned by the British-controlled government of India. Scecret Congress Radio also kept the leaders of the freedom movement in touch with the public.
The Criminal Investigation Department (CID), a wing of the Indian Police
Indian Police Service
The Indian Police Service , simply known as Indian Police or IPS, is one of the three All India Services of the Government of India...
, interrogated her for six months. During this time, she was held in solitary confinement
Solitary confinement
Solitary confinement is a special form of imprisonment in which a prisoner is isolated from any human contact, though often with the exception of members of prison staff. It is sometimes employed as a form of punishment beyond incarceration for a prisoner, and has been cited as an additional...
and offered inducements such as the opportunity to study abroad if she would betray the movement. However, she chose to remain silent and, during her trials, asked the Judge of the High Court
High Courts of India
India's unitary judicial system is made up of the Supreme Court of India at the national level, for the entire country and the 21 High Courts at the State level. These courts have jurisdiction over a state, a union territory or a group of states and union territories...
whether she was required to answer the questions. When the judge confirmed that she was not mandatory, she declared that she would not reply to any of the questions, not even to save herself. After the trial, she was sentenced to four years' imprisonment (1942 to 1946). Two of her associates were also convicted.
Reminiscing about those days, Usha Mehta described her involvement with the Secret Congress Radio as her “finest moment” and also as her saddest moment, because an Indian technician had betrayed them to the authorities.
She was imprisoned at Yeravda Jail in Pune
Pune
Pune , is the eighth largest metropolis in India, the second largest in the state of Maharashtra after Mumbai, and the largest city in the Western Ghats. Once the centre of power of the Maratha Empire, it is situated 560 metres above sea level on the Deccan plateau at the confluence of the Mula ...
, Maharashtra
Maharashtra
Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...
, where her health deteriorated, and she was sent to Bombay for treatment at Sir J. J. Hospital
Grant Medical College and Sir Jamshedjee Jeejebhoy Group of Hospitals
The Grant Medical College, Mumbai is a medical school affiliated to the Maharashtra University of Health Sciences, Nashik. Founded in 1845, it is one of the premier medical institutions in India and is one of the oldest institutions teaching Western medicine in Asia.The Sir Jamsetjee Jeejebhoy...
. In the hospital, three to four policemen kept a round-the-clock watch on her to prevent her from escaping. When her health improved, she was returned to Yeravda Jail. In March 1946, she was released, the first political prisoner
Political prisoner
According to the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, a political prisoner is ‘someone who is in prison because they have opposed or criticized the government of their own country’....
to be released in Bombay, at orders of Morarji Desai
Morarji Desai
Morarji Ranchhodji Desai was an Indian independence activist and the fourth Prime Minister of India from 1977–79. He was the first Indian Prime Minister who did not belong to the Indian National Congress...
, who was at that time a home minister in the interim government and who eventually rose to become Prime Minister of India]].
Post-independence
The day India gained independenceIndependence Day (India)
The Independence Day of India is celebrated on the fifteenth of August to commemorate its independence from British rule and its birth as a sovereign nation in 1947. The day is a national holiday in India. All over the country, flag-hoisting ceremonies are conducted by the local administration in...
, Usha Mehta was confined to bed and could not attend the official function in New Delhi. However, she remained in touch with developments through the radio. She disagreed with the partition, but her failing health prevented her from participating in politics. However, she re-commenced her education and wrote a doctoral dissertation on the political and social thought of Gandhi, earning a Ph.D. from the University of Bombay. She had a long association with the university in many capacities as a student, as a research assistant, a lecturer, a professor, and finally as the head of the department of civics and politics of the University of Bombay until her retirement in 1980.
Even after India’s independence, she continued to be socially active, particularly in spreading the Gandhian thought and philosophy. She was elected as the president of Gandhi Smarak Nidhi, a trust dedicated to the perseverance of the Gandhian heritage. The Nidhi acquired Mani Bhavan
Mani Bhavan
Mani Bhavan, located at # 19, Laburnum Road in the Gamdevi precinct of downtown Mumbai, acted as the focal point of Gandhi's political activities in Mumbai between 1917 and 1934....
in Mumbai, where Gandhi used to reside during his visits to the city, and converted it into a Gandhi memorial. She was a member of the Gandhi Peace Foundation, New Delhi. She also actively participated in the affairs of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan is an Indian educational trust. It was founded on November 7, 1938 by Dr. K. M. Munshi, with the blessings of Mahatma Gandhi...
. The Government of India associated her with a number of celebrations of India’s 50th anniversary of freedom.
Over the years she had authored many articles, essays, and books in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
and Gujarati
Gujarati language
Gujarati is an Indo-Aryan language, and part of the greater Indo-European language family. It is derived from a language called Old Gujarati which is the ancestor language of the modern Gujarati and Rajasthani languages...
, her mother tongue.
After India’s independence, she was unhappy with the developments taking place in the social, political, and economic spheres of independent India. Once, in an interview with India Today
India Today
India Today is an Indian weekly news magazine published by Living Media India Limited, in publication since 1975 based in Mumbai. India Today is also the name of its sister-publication in Hindi...
, she expressed her feelings in these words: “Certainly this is not the freedom we fought for.” She added that the freedom fighters of her generation felt that “once people were ensconced in positions of power, the rot would set in." However, in her words, “we didn’t know the rot would sink in so soon.” However, she did not deny the achievements of free India since the independence: “India has survived as a democracy and even built a good industrial base,” she said. “Still, it is not the India of our dreams”.
The Republic of India conferred on her Padma Vibhushan in 1998, the second highest civilian award of India.
Death
She had participated in the anniversary celebrations related to the Quit India Movement in August Kranti Maidan (Revolution Ground) and returned home after a tiring day and suffered from fever. Two days later, She died peacefully on 11 August 2000 at the age of 80, survived by her elder brother and two nephews, one of them Ketan MehtaKetan Mehta
Ketan Mehta is an Indian film director, who has also directed documentaries and television serials.-Early life and education:Born in Navsari in Gujarat, Ketan Mehta did his schooling from Sardar Patel Vidyalaya, Delhi and later graduated in film direction from Film and Television Institute of...
, a noted Bollywood
Bollywood
Bollywood is the informal term popularly used for the Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai , Maharashtra, India. The term is often incorrectly used to refer to the whole of Indian cinema; it is only a part of the total Indian film industry, which includes other production centers producing...
filmmaker.
The other nephew is Dr. Yatin Mehta, the famous and world renown anaesthetist, who was the Director in Escorts Hospital, and is a part of the Medicity in Gurgaon now. He is the editor of many healthcare magazines and is the President of several healthcare associations.