Quit India Movement; A Case Study of Samastipur District in Bihar

              Quit India Movement ; A case Study of Samastipur District in Bihar

                                                                                       Dr.Ravin Samdarsi                                   

                        The Movement launched for Indian independence in 1942, popularly known as August Kranti or Quit India Movement in the annals of Indian History was stronger in Bihar in comparison to other parts of India. During that period , the present day Samastipur district was a sub-divisional area under Darbhanga district and like all places of Bihar, people of all castes and classes of this area had also actively participated in highly sung revolution. This paper is an effort to highlight the local centres of revolution, police atrocities committed on local people and leadership of Quit India Movement in the Samastipur district.

                     With the broadcast of the news regarding the arrest of Gandhi and other leaders of Indian National Congress on the  morning of August 9 , students and young people of Bihar who were waiting to launch a movement began to organize meetings to chalk out their plan of actions ¹. The lead was taken by students of CHE School , Dalsingsarai. On the following day Samastipur also joined the fray where a joint meeting of students of Tirhut Academy and King Edward English School resolved to do something for the nation ². However,Patna in Bihar was the first to witness a massive movement of students who boycotted schools and collegesand took out processions and organized public meetings in different parts of the city. Meanwhile,  these processionists were also being apprised of the programmes of the congress detailing what to do and what not to do. Many of the students in order to acquaint people of their areas of that programmes started leaving for their homes. Newspapers  on August 10, had carried a report in which govt. Officials had criticized the programmeof the Indian National Congress and apprised the people of the programme of the congress party and thus helped the spread of the movement ³.

                On the other hand , servants and other staff working at the residences  of different  Indigo planters had passed the news regarding the arrest of popular leaders to students and local congress leaders ⁴. This news spread like wildfire and as a result, the  atmosphere at Dalsingsarai, Samastipur , Rosera and Singhia got charged. Students who had returned from Patna were apprising people of congress programs and instigated them to act on the two word mantra of Mahatma Gandhi, “Do or Die’’⁵.

                   Therefore, under this situation meetings began to be organized at Dalsingsarai, Samastipur and other places. But the firing incident of August  11 , near Patna secretariat building resulting in the death of seven students sparked a strong resentment among local masses leading to an attack on police stations, post- offices and government buildings. They also gheraoed residences of Indigo Planters, asked them to wear khadi and chant ‘ Bharat Mata Ki Jai ’, hoisted tricolor atop government buildings, disrupted means of transport ,and   boats at different Ghats lying in the district were sunk.

                    There were only six police stations under this district area then , namely Tajpur, Dalsingsarai, Mohiud-din-nagar, Rosera, Warisnagar and Singhia. Indigo factories and residential buildins of their British owners were at Keota (the 2^nd oldest in North Bihar), Daulatpur, Hathauri, Mau, Harsingpur, Hasauli, Jitwarpur, Sahbajpur, Gangauli, Mangalgarh, Birauli etc. A Govt. Agricultural Institute and a Flex Godown  were located at Pusa. A screw pipe bridge was at Jatmalpur across the Bagmati river . Samastipur was an important railway junction from where railway lines originated into four directions connecting Muzaffarpur, Darbhanga, Khagaria and Barauni(Begusarai).  Telegraph lines also used to run parallel to these railway tracks. Besides , Dalsingsarai had a cigarette factory of ILTD Company while at Samastipur important offices like that of SDO, CID and judiciary including a railway workshop were also situated. Similarly, a sugar factory of Birla was also in operation at Hasanpur Road under Rosera police station.

                    So acting on the programmes  of the congress party people gheraoed  Hathauri, Keota, Birauli Daulatpur and its sub-ordinate Meghaul Kothi and forced its occupants to wear khadi, and speak loudly- Bharat Mata Ki Jai. Tricolor was hoisted at all police stations including the indigo factory at Hathauri, Keota and Birauli. Similar act was performed at SDO office , Railway Workshop and Rameshwaram Jute Mill at Muktapur near Samastipur. Following this, hoisting of tricolor was also organized at Patori, Mohiud-din nagar, and Rosera railway stations . Rail properties were damaged  and looted away  from Mohiud-din-nagar, Dalsingsarai and Bajidpur railway stations.  Screw pipe bridges were damaged at Jatmalpur over Samastipur- Darbhanga Road and Kolhua Ghat over  Rosera- Singhia Road. Following these incident boats at Gudar Ghat and Singhia Ghat were sunk. Railway tracks were uprooted at Dalsingsarai, Angarghat , Kishanpur , Mohiud-din-nagar and agitators gathered at Patori manhandled one Britisher. Agitators also damaged telegraph lines at these places. People also took control over Singhia police station where Janata Raj was proclaimed and run for several days⁶ .

                  An strong mob of students tried to barge into the main office of the ILTD Company at Dalsingsarai whereas the office of the K E School ,Samastipur was set on fire⁷ and its printing machine was also taken away. Similar attempt was also made at Pusa High School, but revolutionary could find nothing there.The flex godown at Pusa was also set ablaze and water supply system standing near the godown was also damaged. Tricolor was also unfurled at Halai, Khalispur and Senari  village markets. The District Board bridge at Phulhara village was raised to ground near Kolhua Ghat. Roads running between Pusa- Darbhanga, Pusa- Muzaffarpur were damaged at several points. Bomb was hurled at CID office at Samastipur and railway signals were damaged again at Angarghat and Mohiud-din-nagar respectively.

                These incidents began to take place since August 13, 1942 and continued upto 29th of September, 1942. Incidents resurfaced in the month of February- March 1942 under the aegis of Azad Dasta led by JP for a short period only⁸.

                 The police on the other hand was also preparing to curb the movement with full measures.  This time the police was assisted by Mr.J.J. Salisbury, District Judge, Darbhanga,Messers  E.P. Danby, R.O. Wood and Etkins, British owners of Birauli, Keota and Daulatpur Kothis under Samastipur district. This was why the police came in action before the students could do anything. Police activities began visible since August 9 when Congress Party was declared unlawful and  all its six congress offices were seized. The administration also began to nab congress officials including congress activists. The administration also issued a public notice declaring organizing   meetings, processions, and picketings a punishable offence and also clamped section 144 throughout the area.   But when they observed that these measures were not working well , they went on arrest spree. People who were arrested were beaten inhumanly. Some of them were even beaten after making them naked⁹, some were forced to swallow human excreta¹⁰. Workers and managers of Khadi Bhandars and Khadi shops were also arrested and some had to witness the reduction of their houses to ashes. Huge amounts were collected as fines from the residents of Keota , Hasanpur, Nayanagar, Dalsingsarai, Singhia, Pataili, Basti and Mohiud-din- nagar.  17 houses standing infront of Singhia police station were set on fire. Fire incidents also took place at Kubauli, Bhairokhara under Tajpur police station, house of noted freedom fighter of Munindra Sharma at Birsinghpur village was looted seven times in a single year 1942-1943 and finally his house was demolished. House of  Chandradeva Singh , the student leader of Dalsingsarai and brother of Styadeo Singh a revolutionary was also ransacked. The five year son of the secretary of Dalsingsarai Thana Congress Committee was canned by White military men. Guns in the possession of civilians were seized and were used to crush the movement. T he terror of Britishers and police were so large that people used to run away whenever a policeman or an Englishmen came in sight. The firing incidents held at Dalsingsarai, Samastipur ,Singhia , Rosera and Varuna Bridge resulted in the killing of altogether 27 people¹¹. The number of injureds was stated to be five only. Chaukidars and Dafadars took advantage of the situation and amassed good wealth by blackmailing the people. Several  information regarding the chaukidars and dafadars who became rich in this period are cited by people till this day¹².   

                   Though the movement gained the status of mass movement , often called a leaderless movement . But the study shows that at the local level it was not and never leaderless. During initial period students had urged congress leaders such as Yadu Nandan Sahay  of Samastipur to lead them but Mr. Sahay refused to do so on the  ground of unavailability of party’s directives. The Dalsingsarai Thana Congress Committee president was against the launching of movement and he was urging the mob gathered at Dalsingsarai thana  not to go against govt. Orders ¹². Under this situation students  selected their own learers and started movement in the area. Though at the district level there was no one to accept the responsibility of leadership, but at thana level there were many people who were leading and guiding the masses.  Ram Shreshtha Singh, Yamuna Karjee, Ram Prakash Sharma , Rajendra Narayan Sharma, Radhekrishna Singh , Ramavtar Sharma , Ravindra Sharma , Ram Sarovar  Sharma , Ram Lakhan Jha, Ram Khelawan Jha ,Satya Narayan Tiwari, Braj Bihari Roy, Shyam Roy, Janki Chaudhari, Ram Autar Mali, Bashishtha Narayan Singh, Permanand  Thakur, Kulanand Singh , Rajaram Giri , Vishwanath Singh, Rameshwar Singh , Chhitnu Singh, Ramakant Jha, and Yadunandan Singh were leading the movement in different  parts of the district. The colonial rule could not apprehend Ravindra Sharma or Radhekrishna Singh. Barring three persons all came from wealther upper caste families.

                Though nearly all the leading personality came from upper castes, some landlords of upper castes were also helping the police in curbing the movement ¹⁴. However such people were using the police force to avenge their old enemity and succeeded a bit in their effort. Students who were carrying their activities in the educational institutions of Patna were normally at the target of the police, as they were considered the main instigator behind the rising of people. Such cases are found in Dalsingsarai, Singhia and Rosera police stations.At some places old enmity with the planters also proved harmful   and such people were easily made the scapegoat of the situation¹⁵.                                                        

                The study shows that the movement was not uniform in the concerned area. It was strong in areas lying near police stations, post offices, villages having bridges or culverts and areas near railway stations or from where rail lines passed. Other villages inhabited by people of upper castes were also active. Similarly villages having young congress members were also active. But villages located in remote areas where there was no govt. offices , no planter’s houses , having low rate of illiteracy, nothing has been learnt about their involvement in the movement ¹⁶.

                                     To sum up it can be said that the people under the influence of Gandhian slogan,’’ Do or Die’’, made only those places the centre of their activities which was  either the centre of British power or which was considered the stronghold of Britshers. The motive behind the damage of railways and telegraph  lines,  roads and bridges was to obstruct the movement of British troops  and to save the people from their wrath. Though the movement could not last long and succumbed to the British repressive measures, it compelled the British to consider the demand of Indian independence.

References;

After the adoption of Vargha resolution, propaganda for the ensuing movement was started by Dr. Rajen Prasad and other congress leaders.(See Narayan Prof. Baldeo, August Kranti, Patna, 2007,p.399, see also Dutta ,K.K., Bihar Mein Swatantrya Andolan Ka Itihas,BHGA,Patna 1999,p- 2o. )

Interview with Rajendra Narayan Sharma, Freedom Fighter, Samastipur on 03.05.2009

The programmes of the congress were ; (a) To uproot railway tracks without hurting any civilian, (b) To cut telegraph lines in order to disrupt communication ,  (c)  to damage roads to prevent  movement of vehicles,

Interview with Rajendra Narayan Sharma , op.cit.

Interview with Triveni Roy and Yadunandan Singh, Freedom Fighters of Rosera P.S. on 23.12,2010

Narayan , Prof. baldeo, op.cit. p 234.

 Dutt, K. K., Op.Cit. p-117

Interview with Radhekrishna Singh , Freedom Fighter, Chak Salem on 02.10.2008.

Dr. Ravin Samdarsi, ’Swatantrata Sangram Ke Itihas Ke purna Lekhan Ki Awashyakta,Khand-4, Seraiki Times , February, 2009, Samastipur

Ibid

Tabassub, Nazma, Bharat chhodo Andolan Aur Samastipur Men Pulicia Daman, Research Reference, vol.7 No.1,2012. Pp 37-38..

Chaukidars of Rampur Jalalpur , Basdhia , Kamrawn and Konaila had purchased many acres of land in 1942.This fact is based on the interview with sheonandan Singh, Freedom Fighter of Dalsingsarai on 26.12.2011.

FiR No. 9 dated August 17,1942 by the junior Daroga of Dalsingsarai PS

Tabassum ,Nazma, op. cit.

On 27^th of August the trio Salisbury, Etkins and Wood undressed 21 prisoners at Jatmalpur and beat them up mercilessly. Some of the prisoners became senseless. See Dr.Ravin Samdarsi , op.cit.

Dr. Ravin Samdarsi, op.cit.