-Vimal Mishra
Mumbai: August 27, 1942. The stormy and bloody days of August 9 in the form of the ‘Quit India’ movement had passed for more than two weeks. The entire top leadership of the Congress, including Mahatma Gandhi, was imprisoned, all radio broadcasting licenses operating in India were canceled and censorship imposed by the government to suppress the movement. In protest, 96 newspapers had suspended their publications. In such a situation, a low voice echoed from a secret radio station in the form of ‘This is the radio of the Indian National Congress from an unknown place on the 41.72 meter band’ and in the meantime waved all over Mumbai. This was the voice of Usha Mehta. That Usha Mehta who became the survey-serve of Mani Bhawan, the most prominent legacy of Mahatma Gandhi in Mumbai. She was a 22-year-old student studying in college at that time. This broadcast also made her India’s ‘first radio woman’ in this way.
In the evening of the main day of August 9, the young supporters of Congress considered in a secret meeting that when all the Congress leaders leading are in jail, then what steps should be taken to reach the right news along with instructions, appeals and information to the public. want. One of these ideas was to bring out newspapers. The fear of limiting the reach of the newspaper due to the suppression of the British government decided to start the radio. In such a situation, on August 14, Usha Mehta, along with her colleagues, repaired an old transmitter of 10 kilowatts on the top floor of the Sea View building in Chowpatty area and secretly established this radio, the first episode of which became on August 27. This is the broadcast.
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The place of broadcast used to change daily
Due to being away from the grip of the British, the place of radio broadcast was changed daily. One of these places was Ajit Villa Bungalow on Laburnum Road in Gaondevi. The reach of the transmitter soon increased as it reached 100 kW and ‘Congress Radio’ was widely heard without any fear. The program used to start with ‘Saare Jahan Se Achcha’ and end with ‘Vande Mataram’. Apart from speeches by Mahatma Gandhi and other prominent Congress leaders, news of the continuing atrocities on Indians and the deaths of 300 soldiers in Meerut – which the British government had censored in its broadcasts – were broadcast.
Usha Ben sentenced to four years in jail
Due to the constant monitoring of 14 British officers, this radio could run for a total of 88 days. On November 12, when Usha Mehta was hosting a show, a technician betrayed her. The Intelligence Branch of the Mumbai Police raided and arrested Chandrakant Babubhai Zaveri and Vithaldas Zaveri along with Usha along with equipment related to radio broadcasting. He was tried in a special court for five weeks. Usha Ben was sentenced to four years in prison. His health deteriorated in prison and he had to be admitted to the hospital. The British government tempted them to study abroad instead of giving information about their companions, but they did not budge. He was released in 1946.
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Also mentioned in the book of historian Gautam Chatterjee
Historian Gautam Chatterjee has written in his book ‘Secret Congress Broadcast and Storming Railway Tracks During Quiet India Movement’ that ‘when the voices of revolution were zero and darkness was everywhere, this intelligence radio of Congress gave courage and inspiration to the people. Not provided, but also spread the spirit of secularism, internationalism, brotherhood and freedom among the countrymen.