Congress Radio
| |
---|---|
Frequency | 7.12 MHz |
Programming | |
Language(s) | English, Hindustani |
Format | News; Indian independence movement-related messaging |
History | |
First air date | 27 August 1942 |
Last air date | 12 November 1942 |
Congress Radio, also known as Azad Radio, was an underground
The radio station broadcast from 27 August through 12 November 1942 before being shut down by the authorities, with the operators being arrested.
Background
During the
Between 5 and 8 August 1942, the
Printer assembled the radio transmission equipment and set up the broadcasting unit with equipment being supplied by Bombay based Chicago Radio's Nanik Motwane.[3] Some of the other founding members of the station included Ram Manohar Lohia, who would later go on to become a socialist leader in independent India; Chandrakant Jhaveri; and Babubai Khakhar. Khakhar was also instrumental in getting the funds for setting up the station.[3] This was not the first of the underground radio stations broadcasting in India of the time. The famous Azad Hind Radio (transl. Free India Radio) broadcast anti-British messaging by the Axis powers from locations as wide as Germany, Japan, Rangoon, Saigon, and even Singapore which was held by Japan at that time. Tanna himself had set up an amateur broadcasting set up in 1940 that he called Radio Azad Hindi (transl. Radio Free India), where he beamed messages of the Indian independence movement briefly before he was arrested by the authorities and his equipment seized.[2]
Operations
Congress Radio started with a broadcast on 27 August 1942 at 7:30 p.m. from the top floor of the Sea View building in
The staff of the station would change their location every few days to avoid the police, moving from apartment to apartment.[5] The station continued to broadcast recorded messages from prominent leaders of the Indian independence movement (including Mahatma Gandhi) from undisclosed locations. The station reported on incidents from across the country, countering the narratives from the official state broadcaster All India Radio.[5] While the station started its broadcasts from the Sea View building in Chowpatty, it moved to many locations including Ajit Villa on Laburnum Road, Laxmi Bhavan on Sandhurst road, Parekh Wadi building on Girgaum back road, and finally from Paradise bungalow near Mahalakshmi temple where it ceased operations after being detected by the police.[4] For a brief period, the radio station also moved to Nashik where it broadcast from the Shankaracharya math. Perhaps to avoid getting caught in a police raid, the transmission equipment was immersed into the nearby Godavari river.[4][7] Signals were broadcast on the then-unoccupied
Programming
The station's programming started with a broadcast of Sare Jahan se Accha, written by Muhammad Iqbal, and ended the day with a broadcast of Bankim Chandra Chatterjee's Vande Mataram, a song that would go on to become the national song of Independent India.[5] English news on the station was read by Ram Manohar Lohia, Coomi Dastur, Achyut Patwardhan, Moinuddin Harris, and Usha Mehta. Mehta also read the news in Hindustani.[5]
The station initially broadcast recorded messages and talk by leaders of the Indian independence movement. The news broadcasts included sensitive subjects that were at that time not covered by the newspapers. Speaking about the role that the station played in covering the political movement, Mehta had said, "When the press is gagged and all news banned, our transmitter certainly helps a good deal in furnishing the public with the facts of the happenings and in spreading the message of rebellion in the remotest corners of the country."[5][1]
In addition to these recorded messages, the station also broadcast messages linked to freedom, secularism, and internationalism. Congress Radio regularly spoke up on the atrocities committed by British soldiers and administrators. In one broadcast, it addressed the topic of mass rapes by British soldiers, calling them the "most bestial thing that one could imagine" and asking for citizens to stand up to rape; other broadcasts discussed the plights of one woman raped in a police van and another who had been carrying food to political prisoners before being sexually assaulted, both in the Central Provinces. Another broadcast touted the values of secularism and spoke about the need for unity between the Hindu and Muslim communities. The station also carried messages to workers and peasants, Indian soldiers, and students, directing their participation in the Quit India Movement. The station also took the message of the Indian movement beyond the country and preached internationalism.[2]
Detection and shutdown
The British imperial home ministry and the local
Mehta and the operating crew were arrested and imprisoned at the end of the last broadcast.
In popular culture
Flim & Web Series
- Quit India movement.[10][11] It is written and directed by Kannan Iyer and produced by Karan Johar, starring Sara Ali Khan as Mehta.[12][13] The film was premiered on 21 March 2024 on Amazon Prime Video.[14]
See also
References
- ^ from the original on 3 October 2021. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "The Mahatma's Hams". 28 June 2008. Archived from the original on 28 June 2008. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ a b c d Malhotra, Aanchal (26 January 2021). "The underground Congress radio during freedom struggle and 22-yr-old woman behind its voice". The Print. Archived from the original on 3 October 2021. Retrieved 3 October 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f g Chatterjee, Gautam (12 August 1989). "Quit India Movement and the 'illegal' Congress Radio" (PDF). Mainstream. Archived (PDF) from the original on 27 August 2022. Retrieved 26 August 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Congress Radio". Penguin Random House India. Archived from the original on 26 August 2022. Retrieved 26 August 2022.
- ISBN 978-81-241-1076-8. Archivedfrom the original on 27 August 2022. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
- ^ a b "Radio 1942: A story of uncensored news". The Hindu. 25 August 2004. Archived from the original on 11 September 2004. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
- ISBN 978-81-7013-050-5. Archivedfrom the original on 27 August 2022. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
- ISBN 978-81-241-1076-8. Archivedfrom the original on 27 August 2022. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
- ^ "Ae Watan Mere Watan: Sara Ali Khan Pays Tribute To Unsung Heroes Of Quit India Movement". News18. 4 March 2024. Retrieved 4 March 2024.
- ^ "'Ae Watan Mere Watan' Trailer: Sara Ali Khan Highlights The Power Of Usha Mehta's Underground Radio In 1942". The Times of India. 4 March 2024. Retrieved 4 March 2024.
- ^ "Ae Watan Mere Watan' teaser: KJo retells braveheart Usha's fight against British". India Today. 1 March 2024. Retrieved 4 March 2024.
- ^ "Ae Watan Mere Watan: Sara Ali Khan, Karan Johar, Emraan Hashmi's patriotic film gets release date". Daily News and Analysis. 13 February 2024. Retrieved 4 March 2024.
- ^ "On World Radio Day, Sara Ali Khan announces release date of her film 'Ae Watan Mere Watan' on Amazon Prime Video". Firstpost. 13 February 2024. Retrieved 4 March 2024.
Published works
- Thakkar, Usha (2021). Congress Radio: Usha Mehta and the underground radio station of 1942. OCLC 1290013990.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: date and year (link - Sengupta, Syamalendu; Chatterjee, Gautam (1988). Secret Congress Broadcasts and Storming Railway Tracks During Quit India Movement. Navrang. ISBN 978-81-7013-050-5.
- Gupta, Indra (2004). India's 50 most illustrious women (2nd ed.). New Delhi: Icon Publications. OCLC 858639936.
External links
- Programs of Congress Radio, see 'Records and Audio Tapes'
- Audio file Archived 18 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine