Week 4 of 52

Memories of India’s Independence 

Father.

“1944-45. The Quit India Movement was on. Leaders like Jaiprakash Narain had been arrested. Students in schools were threatened with sedition and so students in my school were in an agitated frame of mind. Suddenly a senior student Mihirda along with a few other students rushed to the top of the school and hoisted the Congress flag - at that time the Congress flag represented our flag for India’s freedom. Seeing the unfurled flying flag, we students  got exhilarated and excited ! Very soon a convoy of police came, arrested Mihirda and took him away. Agitated, we students stepped out of our school. A large procession of students  were on their way to Gandhi Maidan  and we too joined them in their march. 

15th August, 1947.  We celebrated Independence Day by putting up pictures of Netaji and Gandhiji in each house. If I remember rightly, our eldest brother Borda was with us too that day, as we went house to house with flags and pictures. 

January,1948. The whole of Patna town was griefstricken . We did not have a radio in our house and so left for our aunt Rangamashima’s house, who had one. The young , the old, the men, the ladies, kids - each person we met on our way to her house was weeping at the news of Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination”.

Mother.

“I was very small and so I do not have a specific memory of independence day . My father was no more. We used to stay in East Bengal , which is now Bangladesh. Hindu Muslim riots were at their height and so our family decided to leave for India. We had to first take a launch to a big city, maybe Dhaka, from where we were to catch a train to Kolkata. My mother left with one of my elder brothers, my elder sister Sabita and me. My other siblings were already in India. My brother could not walk and so my mother had to carry him despite his age. My mother told Sabita and me to hold on to her saree and not let go. We followed her to the long queue for the launch . My mother crossed over the  door for the launch. But just before  Sabita and I could enter, the door was shut. We started banging on the door, crying for our mother. My mother wept inside requesting officials to let her two girls in. There was a huge crowd behind us, also in queue awaiting their turn for the launch. They got upset  and shouted aloud in support for us to be allowed to enter the launch. Soon after, the door opened just a little bit and we were pulled inside and reunited with our mother”.

With Hironmoy Mukherjee and Namita Mukherjee