The 2nd World War changed Geopolitics.
The war had caused rapid expansion of the Royal Indian Navy [RIN] In 1945, it was 10 times larger than its size in 1939.
But, the end of the war also meant demobilization and the anxiety of unemployment. Worse, crude British racism knew no end.
The formation of the INA by Subhas Chandra Bose had been kept under wraps during the war.
But the Red Fort Trials of the key surviving Indian protagonists propelled the INA into the national consciousness & ignited long-suppressed passions in the breasts of their countrymen.
In the last months of 1945, police firing killed 63 protestors in Bombay & Calcutta. These were turbulent times & young Indian soldier was deeply affected.
Balai Chand Dutt (BC Dutt) was the man who triggered the 1946 Royal Indian Navy (RIN) Mutiny.
Today BC Dutt has been erased from Indian History
In early 1946, a series of incidents of “strikes” occurred within units of the Indian Armed Forces.
The strikes or mutinies, which began in units of the Royal Indian Air Force (RIAF) quickly spread to the other Services as well including the Royal Indian Navy ( RIN)
The beginnings of the Naval Ratings Mutiny were in an event that occurred on 16 January 1946 when a contingent of naval ratings arrived at the Castle Barracks on Mint Road of Mumbai’s Fort Area.
RIN mutiny - The sparks – The Azad Hind Boys on HMIS Talwar
On February 17, when the ratings reiterated their demand for decent food, British officers sneered that ‘beggars cannot be choosers’. This was the last straw.
On 18 February 1946, Naval Rating MS Khan led a revolt on HMIS Talwar, and a strike committee was formed.
On February 18 morning, 1,500 ratings walked out of the mess hall in protest, a clear act of mutiny.
Yet they also declared that ‘this is not a mere food riot. [We] are about to create history…
a heritage of pride for free India.’
It was at this time that a colleague returned from Burma secretly carrying letters from INA men addressed to Nehru & Sarat Bose – an incident that ignited their latent patriotism.
The ‘strike committee’ decided their task was to take over the RIN and place it in the command of national leaders.
A formal list of demands called for the release of all Indian political prisoners including INA POWs & Naval detainees & The British to Quit India.
By 19 February 1946, ratings from Castle and Fort Barracks had joined the revolt. Ratings left their posts and traveled around Bombay in trucks, carrying pictures of Netaji Subash Chandra Bose who by now had become their inspiration & also pulled Down The Union Jack.
The next morning, 60 RIN ships harbored at Bombay – including the flagship HMIS Narbada, HMIS Madras, Sind, Mahratta, Teer, Dhanush, Khyber, Clive, Punjab, Gondawana, Berar, Moti, Jamna, Kumaon, Oudh & 11shore establishments.
Within 48 hrs British had lost control of its Navy.
A newly-formed Naval Central Strike Committee (NCSC) included 12-36 representatives from all the ships and barracks of Bombay.
Later NCSC declared the RIN renamed as the ‘Indian National Navy’.
Probably This is The Possible Birth of the Modern Indian Navy.
Battle at Castle Barracks :
British Sent Maratha Regiment to Attack on Barracks.
The next morning, the British officers discovered that the Maratha soldiers were sympathetic to the ratings. They were replaced with British troops.
The ‘Hartal’ – Bloodbath at Bombay :
The Bombay Students’ Union and the CPI had called for a general strike and the NCSC had asked people to make it a success. But End up with indiscriminate firing from British Troops
Gandhi was clearly unsupportive of the unplanned uprising and Sardar Patel even asked people to ‘go about their work as usual’. For once, the people rejected the great leaders. The strike was ‘total’ and processions rolled across the city.
At Karachi harbor, HMIS Hindustan had resisted British small arms throughout the February 21
The next day British had positioned artillery around the ship, and as the tide ebbed, the Hindustan’s levels dropped and made it difficult for the ratings to aim their guns.
RIAF Bombers were delayed because an entire squadron from Jodhpur, piloted by Indians, had mysteriously developed engine trouble.
Instead, a British squadron of bombers flew over the Mumbai Harbor while Admiral Arthur Rullion issued an ultimatum to surrender unconditionally
The Betrayal of Indian National Congress & Gandhi :
The mutineers got no support at all from the Indian National Congress. Far from it, Mahatma Gandhi issued a statement criticizing the mutineers for revolting without any guidance from a political party.
On February 23, at 6am, all ships surrendered. At the Thane-based HMIS Akbar, 3500 ratings and 300 sepoys refused to surrender but had to capitulate in the face of bayonets.
With no assistance from either the Congress or the Muslim League, the mutineers were doomed.
Such is the story of the great betrayal of the Royal Naval Mutiny of 1946 by India’s political leaders. When 100s of ratings suffered in Mulund camp, nobody spoke up for them.
In conjunction with the INA trials & the people's unity during the mutiny had loosened the last pillars of the Raj. British knew that their days were over.
On March 15, Prime Minister Attlee accepted that ‘The tide of nationalism is running very fast in India .....
In An Letter Written By Justice PB Chakravartti to historian RC Majumdar - Chakravartti recalled his talk with former British PM Clement Attlee, who admits that he set India free because of Subhas Bose & The Fire of Nationalism ignited by INA Not Because of Quit India Movement.
Clement Attlee cited the Main Reason Behind the British Leaving India is the INA activities of Bose, which weakened the very foundation of the British Empire in India, and the RIN Mutiny which made the British realize that the Indian armed forces could no longer be trusted to prop up the British.
INA, Bose, and RIN Mutiny is The Main Reason Why India Got Independence.
But None of Our School Books Teach us this...
No Politician Speak About This Nor Govt of India
In Amritmahotsav Web page Govt only glorified A Flop Show Called Quit India Movement...
