Girls just wanna have fun

  The world will celebrate the 100th anniversary of International Women's Day tomorrow, a movement begun by efforts of women in the West who paraded demanding equal voting and working rights. It was the tragic ‘Triangle Fire’ in New York city on March 25, 1911 which took the lives of 140 immigrant Italian and Jewish working women that drew significant attention to the state of work conditions and labour legislation which became the focus of ‘IWD’.

 While ladies in the West were fighting for their rights through the 20th century, Indian women were fighting for Independence among whom Usha Mehta, a Surti woman, stood out for her bravery against the British system.

 Born on 25th of March,1920, Mehta met Gandhiji at the mere age of seven where she was influenced by the simplicity and self dependence ashram style, an attendance at his meeting in Olpad inspired her enough to form a team of children who fought for freedom with all their might in a non violent way in 1928 ,shouting ‘Simon go back.’ The boy gang called themselves ‘Vaanar sena’ (monkey army), so the girlie gang named themselves 'Manjar sena "(cat army). They traded their play time to sell Khadi from door to door, distributed clandestine bulletins, carried messages to prisoners and also picketed at liquor shops discouraging alcoholics from buying booze.

”It was not child’s play, but the police could not put us under arrest and we were excited to do our bit for the country.” Reminisces Leelaben Parekh, 92, an ex social worker, who would picket with her gang of girls at shops near the Bhagal crossroads.

 The girls dressed in tri coloured.Green blouses, Red petticoats and White chunnis made from Khadi;these’ live flags’ were put together by their mothers and grandmothers and would sing slogans which were their only weapons,”Ae policewalloh, chalao lathi, chalao danda; jhuk na sakegaa apna jhandaa” 

During the civil disobedience movement in 1930, 30,000 Surtis greeted Gandhiji.Women in the old walled city decorated streets with marigold flowers to greet Gandhiji and his followers. Though he had asked men to participate in the Satyagrah, women became mass participants of the freedom movement for the first time, thousands participated .In Zareer Masani's ‘Tales of the Raj’, Usha Mehta noted how,” Even our old aunts and great aunts and grandmothers used to bring pitchers of salt water to their houses and manufacture illegal salt and then they would shout at the top of their voices,’ we have broken the salt law!” 

 United Nations secretary general Ban Ki-moon has congratulated our creed and announced that this year’s agenda for International Women’s day focuses on education, training, Science and technology,” Cell phones and Internet can enable women to improve the health and well-being of their families, take advantage from income earning opportunities, and protect themselves from exploitation and vulnerability.” 

 Surat’s gutsy gal Usha Mehta used technology to protect the country from exploitation and vulnerability way back in 1942.After being the first to hoist the Tri colour on August 9th that year along with Aruna Asaf Ali at Gawalia Tank ground which was rechristened August Kranti Maidan, Mehta set up the Secret Congress radio with the help of friends which kept Indians in touch with the thoughts of freedom leaders. 

 On the 14th of August when almost the entire Congress leadership was jailed after Gandhiji’s speech,Usha Mehta’s voice resonated through the country .The first words that India heard were hers ,”This is the Congress radio calling on 42.34 metres from somewhere in India.” 

When this 22 year old was later arrested for the same, she fearlessly refused to lie in court in spite of knowing it would have helped her escape conviction. So petrified were the Britishers by her chutzpah for freedom that even when this petite five feet tall was hospitalized, they would have four policemen guarding her from escaping.

 For many young women like her, the Gandhian civilian disobedience movement provided an alternative to conventional marriage and domesticity. Miss.Usha Mehta was the first political prisoner to be released in free India and she was bestowed with Padma Vibhushan.a promoter of Eco friendly cottage industries, she believed the strength and art of our grannies and mothers were what would bring us progress. Her dream was that India transform from “Swarajya to Surajya”.Her nephew,director Ketan Mehta who has given us aces like ‘Bhav ni Bhavai” and ‘Mangal Pandey”has a home made script of one of India’s bravest hero.