Saturday, August 18, 2007
India's Independence
I was reading an article about India's Independence. The writer mentioned what a British High Commissioner said back in the 60s about it. He referred to a mutiny by the Indian Royal Navy in 1946. The writer said that many in the audience that time including himself were surprised at the mention because none of them had heard about it. I dont remember reading about it either. The British High Commissioner said that this mutiny rattled the British because they thought it was going to be a repeat of the 1857 mutiny. Their fear also stemmed from the fact that they had trained many Indian soldiers for the World War II. They feared that they will now rise against the British slaughtering them down to the last man. That's the reason they finally left India. I dont know how much water does theory hold.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
1 comment:
I had the privilege of watching history being made: I was a spectator when the naval personnel, both ratings and their Indian officers were firing at the Brithish troops from behind the the wall near the Lion Gate. The British troops were firing from behind the rear fence of the Museum at Mumbai. With a few friends I came out of the Chemistry practical exam at the Indtitute of Science when we heard shots. We watched both sides firing from a distance we considered safe. This unnerved the British and they soon sent a negotiating team led by their "First Lord of the Admiralty" Lord Alexander. They negotiated with the Congress & Muslim League leaders and Independence followed very soon. The Royal Indian Navy (R.I.N.)started calling itself the "Indian National Navy (I.N.N." They were exhibiting prominently photos of Subhash Bose of the I.N.A. from whom they got inspiration. Inspired by this mutiny some units of the Air Force and Army in north India also rebelled. If the British had not reacted fast enough, it would have been arepeat of the "Mutiny" of 1857, which was really the First War of Independence!
Post a Comment