Thread by @SeaSkipper

#HappyIndependenceDay2021 to dear fellow Indians 🇮🇳🇮🇳🇮🇳.

Our History books taught us that "Bapu ne de di azaadi bina kadag bina dhaal" (non-violence)

As we celebrate #IndiaAt75, a #thread on #NavalUprising of 1946 to remember some of the real soldiers of our Independence 1/n

The 1946 Naval Uprising was a revolt of the Indian naval ratings against the British government in India. From Bombay, the revolt spread throughout British India, from Karachi to Calcutta, n ultimately came to involve over 20,000 sailors in 78 ships and shore establishments 2/n

Officers who opposed the strike were thrown off ships n Mumbai reverberated with cries of “Jai Hind” n slogans of liberation. British officers were forced to shout “Jai Hind” by the sailors. The Taj Mahal Hotel n Yacht Club, all had guns trained on them throughout the day 3/n

The British Government was alarmed and orders were given to the Royal Navy to put out the uprising. Soon the British artillery guns began to fire on HMIS Hindustan and the naval ratings returned the fire. However, they could not hold fort for long and the sailors surrendered 4/n

Sadly, the mutineers got no support at all from the Indian National Congress. They were in fact condemned for their actions. Gandhi issued a statement criticizing the mutineers. 7 Indian sailors and 1 Officer were killed, 34 sailors were injured n 476 dismissed from the Navy 5/n

The Naval Uprising lasted only for 4 days and was put down swiftly. However, the impact went much beyond it. The British were now fully convinced that they could no longer trust the armed forces to help maintain their control over India. Uprising told them their time was up 6/n

In 1967, the British High Commissioner John Freeman revealed, that the Naval Uprising of 1946 had raised the fear of another large-scale mutiny along the lines of the Indian Rebellion of 1857 n had been a large contributing factor to the British deciding to leave India 7/n

British PM Attlee in 1956 gave out several reasons which made it necessary for the British to leave India in a hurry: one was the Royal Indian Navy Uprising. When asked about the impact of Gandhiji’s 1942 Quit India movement, Attlee wryly remarked with a smile, “minimal” 8/n

The Naval uprising is unfortunately not taught to students in history books n has faded from the national conscience. A memorial to honour the sailors who took part in the uprising has thankfully been established by the Indian Navy at Mumbai (near Cooperage Football Stadium) 9/n

Finally, A humble naman to these freedom fighters n Jai Hind!! n/n
#indiaIndependenceday
#IndianNavy
#JaiHind