A few of us based in Delhi used to organise an annual programme in memory of Allah Baksh, under the auspices of the Samajwadi Manch. The first programme was organised in Queen’s Park in 1995 or 1996. The choice of the venue was deliberate. In 1940, when the Muslim League passed its Pakistan Resolution, Allah Baksh — then the premier of Sindh province — organised an anti-partition conference in Queen’s Park. Allah Baksh was not a Congressman but the leader of the United Party, and a true supporter of Indian nationalism. Maulana Abul Kalam Azad had praised Baksh’s conference in India Wins Freedom.
The Quit India Movement began in August 1942, and then British prime minister Winston Churchill delivered a speech full of contempt towards the people of India in the British Parliament on September 10. Allah Baksh returned all the honours the British Raj had bestowed upon him, writing a protest letter to Churchill. On October 16, he was removed as premier despite having the majority in the assembly and was assassinated on May 14, 1943.
It was to celebrate this remarkable person’s life that we invited Gandhian freedom fighter Usha Mehta as the chief guest. I had the opportunity to sit and talk with her for about two hours. When I came to know that the recently released film Ae Watan Mere Watan is based on Mehta’s life, I knew I had to watch it. I will discuss the film in its historical context.
First, the title of the film is written in Persian (Urdu) script along with Nagari (Hindi) and Roman (English) scripts. These days, the tradition of writing titles in Urdu has been all but abandoned. The beautiful Hindustani language of Hindi films and songs has also been on the decline.
Second, Mehta and the other characters in the movie have not been reanimated in cinema to serve any propaganda. Their portrayals are free from the hyperbolic nationalism currently prevalent in the country — a good Gandhian message.
Usha was the daughter of Hariprasad Mehta, a judge in the Raj. Trapped in a conflict between patriotism and paternal love, she dedicated herself to patriotism. In the film, it seems as if she is in competition with her close friend and staunch Lohiaite, Fahad, when it comes to patriotism. Usha, a 22-year-old student, also wants to take her love affair with Kaushik to a higher level of patriotism. Her aunt also adopts the Quit India movement mantra of “do or die” after observing her commitment and that of her companions. Overwhelmed by Usha’s sacrifice and fame, her father also starts to admire her.
Usha, Firdous Engineer, Fahad and Kaushik undertake the extremely risky task of broadcasting underground, through what is named Congress Radio, for about three months. Congress Radio becomes a phenomenon within the first few days. Ram Manohar Lohia joins the young broadcasters.
The broadcasting is done in Hindustani and English from different places in Bombay to avoid the police. Influenced by Gandhi since childhood, Usha has faith in non-violent resistance to injustice. But she does not shy away from taking risks or making sacrifices. She has been portrayed as a fearless and true Gandhian in the film. One day, she asks Lohia if they are moving away from Gandhiji’s path of non-violence? Lohia’s “philosophical” reply does not satisfy her, but she keeps mum.
Usha makes the last important broadcast of Congress Radio — Lohia’s recorded speech in which he issues a Bharat roko call, i.e., “bring everything to a halt”. Usha is arrested in the final moments of the broadcast. The police ask her about Lohia’s hideout. Despite police atrocities, she does not provide any information.
Third, the film’s team knows its focus and range very well. As the gateway to Independence, the Quit India Movement is an epic event in the history of the Indian freedom struggle. It has many complex aspects at the national and international level. Doing justice to all of them is possible only in an epic artwork. The film knows it must depict only one spark of the epic event. That spark is Usha Mehta and her young comrades. Gandhi and Lohia appear in the film. But the film belongs to the young revolutionaries, though Congress Radio emerges as an independent character. But being Usha’s brain-child, it becomes an extension of her personality.
Fourth, an objective history of the Quit India Movement has not been written so far. The movement had been a subject of controversy within the Congress itself since the days of preparations were mounted for it. When the call was given from Gowalia Tank Maidan on August 8, it wasn’t just the British that were active in suppressing the movement. There were indigenous political groups that even spied on the revolutionaries for the British. These elements though are not mentioned in the film.
Fifth, and most importantly, I felt that the film conveys the basic message of the epic event of the Quit India Movement through the portrayal of a spark. In Lohia’s words, it was “an explosion of Indians’ will to freedom” and it is even more remarkable that a young woman has become the medium of this message. It is pleasantly surprising that kujat gandhivadi (heretic Gandhian) Lohia has been given so much space in mainstream cinema for the first time.
Prem Singh is a former teacher at Delhi University and a fellow of Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla. The views expressed are personal
A spark on screen from the Quit India firestorm
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05.04.2024
A few of us based in Delhi used to organise an annual programme in memory of Allah Baksh, under the auspices of the Samajwadi Manch. The first programme was organised in Queen’s Park in 1995 or 1996. The choice of the venue was deliberate. In 1940, when the Muslim League passed its Pakistan Resolution, Allah Baksh — then the premier of Sindh province — organised an anti-partition conference in Queen’s Park. Allah Baksh was not a Congressman but the leader of the United Party, and a true supporter of Indian nationalism. Maulana Abul Kalam Azad had praised Baksh’s conference in India Wins Freedom.
The Quit India Movement began in August 1942, and then British prime minister Winston Churchill delivered a speech full of contempt towards the people of India in the British Parliament on September 10. Allah Baksh returned all the honours the British Raj had bestowed upon him, writing a protest letter to Churchill. On October 16, he was removed as premier despite having the majority in the assembly and was assassinated on May 14, 1943.
It was to celebrate this remarkable person’s life that we invited Gandhian freedom fighter Usha Mehta as the chief guest. I had the opportunity to sit and talk with her for about two hours. When I came to know that the recently released film Ae Watan Mere Watan is based on Mehta’s life, I knew I had........
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