Sara Ali Khan’s film Ae Watan Mere Watan will be released on 21 March. The film revolves around Usha Mehta, known for starting the Congress Radio, also referred to as the Secret Congress Radio.
The freedom fighter was an integral part of India’s struggle for Independence against the British Raj and helped amplify Mahatma Gandhi’s message for rebellion against the colonisers.
Although Mehta was 22 years old when she, with the help of other activists, secured a ghost transmitter to start an underground radio, she was only a child when she was influenced by Gandhi’s messaging and ideology.
When Gandhi called upon Indians to rebel against British Rule with his rousing speech on 8 August 1942, ‘Do or Die’, Mehta promptly heeded the call. On 14 August, Mehta and her colleagues, broadcasting from a secret location, went live.
As per a report by New York Times, Mehta and her colleagues gave updates, patriotic speeches, and appeals to those she referred to as "participants in the struggle" — including students, lawyers, and police officers.
In continuation of the report, the broadcasts were originally once a day but swiftly shifted to twice daily: once in the morning and once in the evening, in both English and Hindustani.
The group spent the next few months broadcasting news about India's fight for freedom. And although her stint was short-lived its impact was powerful.
Early Years
Mehta was born in a village called Saras, located in Gujarat. Coincidentally, it was Gandhi's home state as well as the site of his iconic salt march in 1930.
She was just eight years old when she took part in her first protest. It was against a committee of Englishmen led by Sir John Simon that was tasked with recommending reforms in India.
In an interview in Naveen Joshi's book, 'Freedom Fighters Remembered', she recalls:
"The first slogan I shouted against the British was 'Simon Go Back',"
She also took part in civil disobedience movements in her teenage years - from picketing to spinning cotton as a way of rejecting British goods she was prompt to heed Gandhi's call to defy the salt tax.
Underground Radio
Later, she moved to Bombay, now Mumbai, after her father retired as a judge and it was during this time that she started the Congress Radio.
Gandhi was arrested after his rousing 'Do or Die' speech. However, despite the setback, Mehta took it upon herself to amplify his message.
The broadcasts would start with the statement:
"This is the Congress Radio calling on 42.34 from somewhere in India."
She managed to get the station running with the help of two other activists, Chandrakant Babubhai Jhaveri and Vithaldas K Jhaveri, along with Nanka Motwane, whose family owned a telephone company called Chicago Radio. Nariman Printer, an amateur radio operator, was also part of the initiative.
However, the group had to change their location at least six to seven times so that they could continue with the broadcasts.
In one of the interviews, Mehta said:
"When newspapers dared not touch upon these subjects under the prevailing conditions, it was only the Congress radio which could defy the orders and tell the people what actually was happening."
The Last Broadcast
In November 1942, the police raided radio shops in Bombay. When the police raided Babubhai Khakkhar's office, where she was present, she took the broadcast material and rushed to the recording studio, which was somewhere else, she revealed in an interview, as per BBC.
Mehta said they set up a new transmitter for a final broadcast.
"We played Hindustan Hamara, then we relayed some news bulletins and a speech. Just when we were at the end of the program, playing 'Vande Mataram', we heard hard knocks on the door, '' she revealed in the interview.
Adding, "They ordered us to stop playing 'Vande Mataram'. We did not oblige them."
Later Years
She was sentenced to four years in jail and released in April 1946. Pressured to reveal the names of other people who were involved she recalled the experience to be torturous. However, she did not give in to their demands.
Later, after her release, she completed her PhD and went on to teach at Wilson College in Bombay University for 30 years.
She received the Padma Vibhushan, one of India's highest civilian honours, in 1998
She passed away on 11 August 2000 after a brief illness. She was 80.
(With inputs from BBC and New York Times.)
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