1946 Royal Indian Navy Mutiny: Last War of Independence

Pramod Kapoor

Description

In 1946, 20,000 non-commissioned sailors of the Royal Indian Navy mutinied. They were inspired by the heroism of the Azad Hind Fauj. But their anger was sparked by terrible service conditions, racism, and broken recruitment promises. In less than 48 hours, 20,000 men took over 78 ships and 21 shore establishments and replaced British flags with the entwined flags of the Congress, the Muslim League, and the communists.


The British panicked and announced a Cabinet Mission to discuss modalities of transfer of power. By this time, Indian troops had refused to fire on the ratings, and the mutiny sparked revolts in other branches of the armed forces. The young ratings presented a charter of demands, even as they fought pitched battles against British troops. People thronged the streets in support, and hartals were followed by street fights between civilians and British soldiers resulting in over 400 deaths and 1,500 injured.

To quell the rebellion, British commanded their powerful warship HMS Glasgow to sail rapidly from Trincomalee and ordered low sorties by the Royal Air Force fighter planes. In retaliation, the ratings trained the guns mounted on the captured ships towards the shore, threatening to blow Gateway of India, Yacht Club, and the dockyards.

As violence escalated, telegrams flew between the Viceroy’s office and the British Cabinet. The British realized they could no longer hold India by force. While the communists continued to support the rebellious ratings, the Congress and the Muslim League persuaded them to surrender, promising they would not be victimized. Shamefully, years later, the governments of India and Pakistan refused to honour those promises after Independence.

The mutiny caused public disagreements between Gandhiji and Aruna Asaf Ali, and between Sardar Patel and Nehru. Historians say it accelerated the transfer of power. But this seminal event, which inspired songs, art and theatre has been edited out of the popular narratives of the Freedom Movement.

Sujets

• 20th Century
• Histoire
• Armada de los Estados Unidos
• Sri Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru
• Mahatma Gandhi
• INA
• Colaba
• Mutiny
• Mumbai
• British
• Great Britain
• Navy
• History
• Independence
• Muhammad Ali Jinnah
• Bose
• Jawaharlal Nehru
• INA (homonymie)
• Bombay
• Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi
• 1946
• Europe

Informations

• Publié par: Roli Books
• Date de parution: 25 février 2022
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9789392130281
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 9 Mo

Extrait

In February 1946, sailors or ratings of the Royal Indian Navy mutinied. They were inspired by the heroism of the Azad Hind Fauj. But their anger was sparked by terrible service conditions, racism, and broken recruitment promises. In less than 48 hours, 20,000 men took over 78 ships and 21 shore establishments, and replaced British flags with the entwined flags of the Congress, the Muslim League, and the communists.
The British panicked and announced a Cabinet Mission to discuss modalities of transfer of power. Indian troops refused to fire on the ratings, and the mutiny sparked revolts in other branches of the armed forces. People who thronged the streets in support were incessantly fired upon resulting in over 400 deaths and 1,500 injured.
To quell the rebellion, British commanded powerful warship HMS Glasgow to sail rapidly and ordered low sorties by the RAF fighter planes. In retaliation, the ratings trained the guns mounted on the captured ships towards the shore, threatening to blow Gateway of India, Yacht Club, and the dockyards.
As violence escalated, angry telegrams flew between the British PM and Viceroy’s office. While the communists flamed the ratings, the Congress and the League pushed them to surrender, promising they would not be victimized. Shamefully, even after Independence the governments of India and Pakistan refused to honour those promises.
The mutiny caused public disagreements between Gandhiji and Aruna Asaf Ali, and between Sardar Patel and Nehru. As last war of independence it hastened the transfer of power.Yet, this seminal event, which inspired songs, art and theatre has been edited out of the popular narratives of the Freedom Movement.
 
Also by Pramod Kapoor
Gandhi: An Illustrated Biography
OTHER LOTUS TITLES Amarinder Singh The Last Sunset:The Rise and Fall of the Lahore Durbar Amarinder Singh Honour and Fidelity: India’s Military Contribution to the Great War 1914–1918 Anil Dharkar The Romance of Salt Ashis Ray Laid to Rest:The Controversy over Subhas Chandra Bose’s Death Bertil Falk Feroze:The Forgotten Gandhi Deepak Gupta The Steel Frame: A History of the IAS E. Jaswant Paul The Greased Cartridge:The Heroes and Villains of 1857–58 H.L.O. Garrett The Trail of Bahadur Shah Zafar Harinder Baweja (Ed.) 26/11 Mumbai Attacked Javier Moro The Red Sari Khushwant Singh with photographs by Margaret Bourke-White Train to Pakistan Kuldip Nayar Beyond the Lines: An Autobiography Lt Gen. JFR Jacob An Odyssey in War and Peace M.J. Akbar India:The Siege Within Maj. Gen. Ian Cardozo Param Vir Chakra: Our Heroes in Battle Maj. Gen. Ian Cardozo The Sinking of INS Khukri Manohar Malgonker The Men who Killed Gandhi Manoj Mitta & H.S. Phoolka When a Tree Shook Delhi:The 1984 Carnage and its Aftermath Mohammed Hyder October Coup: A Memoir of the Struggle for Hyderabad Moin Mir Surat: Fall of a Port, Rise of a Prince Defeat of the East India Company in the House of Commons Sharmistha Gooptu & Boria Majumdar Revisiting 1857: Myth, Memory, History Shrabani Basu The Spy Princess:The Life of Noor Inayat Khan Sunil Raman & Rohit Agarwal Delhi Durbar 1911:The Complete Story Thomas Weber Going Native: Gandhi’s Relationship with Western Women Thomas Weber Gandhi at First Sight Vappala Balachandran A Life in Shadow:The Secret Story of ACN Nambiar
FORTHCOMING TI Maj. Gen. Ian Cardozo Cartoos Saab: A soldier’s journey in serving his country wit hope in the face of adversity
 
DEDICATED TO
Bhai Sahab, Bhabhiji and Nimmo Bhabhi
Who we lost within a day of each other during
the second COVID wave
Their fond memories remain entwined with
the writing of the book
 
INPRAISE OF
1946 LAST WAR OF INDEPENDENCE:
ROYAL INDIAN NAVY MUTINY
‘The Naval Mutiny of 1946 was the last serious rebellion against the Raj in British India, but it did not receive as much scholarly analysis and critical scrutiny as it deserved. Like Pramod Kapoor, I still remember seeing Utpal Dutt’s play Kallol , a brilliant but stridently ideological – what at the time looked blatantly partisan – interpretation of the event in the 1960s. Yet, the play did convince me that this was one spontaneous rebellion waiting to be liberated from those who would like it to remain a marginal or forgotten episode in our freedom struggle. We should be beholden to Pramod Kapoor for telling the story from the perspective of the humble “ratings” who fought their battle, abandoned by some of our best-known freedom fighters who, like hard-boiled politicians ready to take on the responsibility of ruling India, were unwilling to stall the transfer of power. This book is a challenge to us to take a second look at our revered political figures whose charismatic public presence often hid their insecure ruthlessness and narcissism, both leavened with a touch of hypocrisy.’
DR ASHIS NANDY
‘The Naval Mutiny of 1946 which spread like wildfire from Bombay to various other naval bases in India on the eve of India’s Independence, was an unprecedented and extraordinary uprising against the British colonial power much like the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857.
‘Soon the mutineers allied themselves with the Freedom Movement that was fighting to free India from the shackles of colonial rule.
‘Among the leaders of the Naval Mutiny was a young Balai Dutt barely out of his teens. Later in his career, he served as an advertising executive in Lintas. I got acquainted with him when I joined the agency as a copywriter. It was then that I read his account of the Naval Mutiny which was later published under the title Mutiny of the Innocents .
‘Pramod Kapoor’s book is a comprehensive account of the Naval Mutiny. Thoroughly researched, it is an exciting account of what is commonly seen as a footnote in the history of the Freedom Movement. It may have been a footnote, but it certainly was the last straw that broke the colonial camel’s back.’
SHYA M BENEGAL
‘Pramod Kapoor has transformed a footnote into a book. This book is a major achievement based on incredible research. A mustread for anyone interested in the history of twentieth-century India and how common people made that history.’
RUDR ANGSHU MUKHERJEE
‘Could 1946 have turned into a rerun of the Great Uprising of 1857? Pramod Kapoor’s remarkable research has shed important new light on a thrilling and critically important but partly forgotten story, and does so with great flair and panache.’
WILLIAM DALRYMPLE
‘Pramod set out to unearth a forgotten and ignored chapter in our nationalist history and what an excellent job he has done. Meticulous research and fact-checking and digging out facts that are hidden and long forgotten. Our historians just brushed it aside… Pramod has once again brought it to the attention of the public, especially younger Indians. This is a document that fills a vital gap in our history.’
SIDHARTH BHATIA
 
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CONTENTS

Prologue 1946: Last War of Independence
1946: Ships and Sailors, Rebellion and Raj
1. Naval Clashes: Indian Prowess at Sea
2. Gallantry and Betrayal at Sea
3. The Gathering Storm
4. Planning the Mutiny: The Secret Heroes
5. Sparks in the Tinderbox
6. The Revolt Begins
7. Hurricane Spreads: British Ensign Downed, Indian Flags Unfurled
8. Eyeball to Eyeball: FOCRIN Flies In
9. Blood and Betrayal
10. Royal Indian Airforce and Army Joins the Naval Mutiny
11. The Political Divide
12. Blood, Tears and Heartbreak
13. Surrender: Betrayal and Broken Promises
14. The Lone Warriors Akbar and Kathiawar
15. Karachi: Unity Not Mutiny
16. The Commission of Enquiry
Epilogue
Select Bibliography
Index
About the Author
 

Charged with slogans of ‘Jai Hind’ and ‘Swaraj is my birthright’, young Indians rejoiced the success of Azad Hind Fauj and Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, who was able to unite the people of India as never before.The trial of INA officers in the Red Fort was a watershed moment, bringing together the Congress, Muslim League and the Communist Party of India.
 
PROLOGUE
1946: LAST WAR OF INDEPENDENCE

I stumbled onto references to the 1946 Naval Uprising quite by accident. While researching for my book Gandhi: An Illustrated Biography, I speed-read all the 98 volumes of The Complete Works of Mahatma Gandhi and made my own five-volume selection. In volumes 89 and 90, I came across some statements and letters relating to the Royal Indian Navy (henceforth RIN) mutiny which I took note of, but could not fit into that book. After the draft of the Gandhi book was done, I re-read the RIN mutiny episodes and realized the magnitude of the event.The more I read, the more I was convinced that the courageous actions of these young men deserved a full narrative. I felt there was certainly more to it than what I was reading in passing.
I discovered hundreds of reports made by the British admirals, commanding officers of ships and shore establishments, cables and letters exchanged between London and Delhi, proceeding