Usha Mehta (25 March 1920 – 11 August 2000)was a 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.
Early Life
Usha Mehta was born in Saras village near Surat in Gujarat.When she was just five years old, Usha first saw Gandhi while on a visit to his ashram at Ahmedabad. Shortly afterwards, Gandhi arranged a camp near her village in which little Usha participated, attending sessions and doing a little spinning.
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.” She and other children participated in early morning protests against the British Raj and picketing in front of liquor shops. During one of these protests marches, the policemen charged the children, and a girl carrying the Indian flag fell down along with the flag. Angry at this incident, the children took the story to their parents. The elders responded by dressing up the children in the colours of the Indian flag (saffron, white and green) and sending them out in the streets a few days later. Dressed in the colours of the flag, the children marched again, shouting: “Policemen, you can wield your sticks and your batons, but you cannot bring down our flag.”
Usha’s father was a judge under the British Raj. He therefore did not encourage her to participate in the freedom struggle. However, this limitation was removed when her father retired in 1930. In 1932, when Usha was 12, her family moved to Bombay, making it possible for her to participate more actively in the freedom movement. She and other children distributed clandestine bulletins and publications, visited relatives in the prisons, and carried messages to these prisoners.
Usha grew up highly influenced by Gandhi and became one of his followers. She made an early decision to remain celibate for life and took up a spartan, Gandhian lifestyle, wearing only Khadi clothes and keeping away from luxuries of all types. Over time, she emerged as a prominent proponent of Gandhian thought and philosophy.
Usha’s initial schooling was in Kheda and Bharuch and then in Chandaramji High School, Bombay. She was an average student. In 1935, her matriculation examinations 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 began studying law, but ended her studies in 1942 to join the Quit India Movement. Thereafter, beginning at age 22, she participated in the freedom movement full-time.
Her words,
In an interview she recalls, that during the Salt Satyagraha she would bring sea water to her home and produce salt out of that. Dr. Usha Mehta’s father was vehemently critical of her participation in such movements as he was a judge under the British Raj. However, after his retirement in 1930, she was allowed to do as she pleased.
Dr. Usha Mehta’s subsequent shift to Bombay, gave her the opportunity to fully participate in the freedom struggle.
As a young child, she would protest in front of liquor shops, secretly distribute various publications and be a messenger for those who were imprisoned in jail. In 1939, Usha Mehta completed her graduation in philosophy from Wilson College, Bombay and began to prepare to study for law. However, with the announcement of The Quit India Movement, she decided to halt her studies and join the freedom struggle.
On 14th August 1942, Dr. Usha Mehta, along with her associates launched the first announcement of “Congress Radio”. In this show, she would deliver the news bulletin in both English and Hindi. They would commence the show with the song “Hindustan Hamara” and close it with “Vande Matarm”. Despite the strict vigil maintained by the British authorities, her station fearlessly reported the atrocities committed by them
Fueling the Quit India Movement
In 1942, in an All India Congress Committee (AICC) session, Dr. Usha Mehta was privy to the powerful speeches given by Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Maulana Azad and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. This gave her the impetus to organise a secret radio station and help deliver news to the remotest corners of the world.
She ardently believed that the radio could be used as tool to help deliver facts and inform the people of the world about the events taking place in her country. This, she believed, would also give us the opportunity to put forth our side of the story, as against that of the coloniser’s.
During the imprisonment, Dr. Usha Mehta was kept in solitary confinement and enticed by the government with offers to study abroad in exchange for information about her fellow freedom fighters. However, she remained adamant and did not disclose any information. When she was released Dr. Usha said, ”I came back from the jail happy and proud because I had the satisfaction of carrying Bapu’s message, ‘Do or Die’ and having contributed my humble might to the cause of freedom.”
On 14th August 1942, Dr. Usha Mehta, along with her associates launched the first announcement of “Congress Radio”. In this show, she would deliver the news bulletin in both English and Hindi. They would commence the show with the song “Hindustan Hamara” and close it with “Vande Matarm”. Despite the strict vigil maintained by the British authorities, her station fearlessly reported the atrocities committed by them.
To remain underground, they needed to frequently change their positions as to remain anonymous and hidden from the British radar. In the duration of the Quit India Movement, they changed around 7-8 stations. On 12th November 1942, as they were hosting a show from Girgaon, the police arrested Usha Mehta along with her associates. She was tried in a special court for five weeks and sentenced for four years of rigorous imprisonment. She was released in 1946, the first political prisoner to be released in Bombay.
During the imprisonment, Dr. Usha Mehta was kept in solitary confinement and enticed by the government with offers to study abroad in exchange for information about her fellow freedom fighters. However, she remained adamant and did not disclose any information. When she was released Dr. Usha Mehta said, ”I came back from the jail happy and proud because I had the satisfaction of carrying Bapu’s message, ‘Do or Die’ and having contributed my humble might to the cause of freedom.”
Usha Mehta vocalised her thoughts regarding post independence India in a book called “Freedom Fighters Remember”, complied by Naveen Joshi.
In this book, she talks about the division of power between the rich and the poor that has caused divisions in society. She says, “This was not the freedom for which we sacrificed our all. Still, it is our duty to have faith in our nation.” In 1998, she was awarded the Padma Vibhushan from the government of India.
On 11th August 2000, Dr. Usha Mehta passed away peacefully at age of 80. Her zeal and enthusiasm to fight for her country is a true inspiration.
