Gandhiji's Advent,
Freedom, Partition
& Trying Times

Mahatma Gandhi had a close affinity to Calcutta during the freedom struggle and later at the time of partition in 1947. He went on a fast in Calcutta to stop communal riots. The event was immortalized in Richard Attenbourgh's film Gandhi, with Ben Kingsley playing the fasting Mahatma. During the 1930s and the 40s, when the Freedom Struggle swept the country, with Calcutta as its epicenter, the Calcutta Police had gone through the most trying times of its history.
During those years, even as the violent agitational methods of freedom fighters continued, a very large section of the people were moved by the call of Gandhiji for following a non-violent method of agitation for gaining the same end. The mesmeric personality of Gandhiji and the moral and down-to-earth appeals given out by him, touched the hearts of millions of Indians and they repeatedly came out on the streets on different occasions, observed fast in their homes or stopped working for the British in response to his calls, in course of a long drawn out movement. The successive agitational terminology of Hartaal, Dharmaghat, strike and the present day Bandh has its origin in the Asahayog Andolan (Non-cooperation Movement) of Gandhiji.
The year 1930 was of special importance on account of declaration of "Independence Day" on 26th January by the Congress Party. This was followed by Gandhiji's "Dandi March" and launching of Civil Disobedience Movement in April, resulting in rioting in the city streets, processions, hartals, picketing, which was often accompanied by violence.
In August 1942, Gandhiji gave the call for Quit India Movement. There was a massive popular upsurge and a series of meetings, processions and demonstrations led by senior national leaders took place in the country. Calcutta, as always, was at the epicenter of the agitation.
The police had to go through a very trying situation, during this whole phase, handling both the covert attacks from the fearless freedom fighters and coping with massive open demonstrations on the road from the non-violent agitators.
Partition & Bloodshed
When India won Independence in 1947, there was a fundamental change in the role of Calcutta Police. A force that was set up to maintain law and order for colonial masters, swearing loyalty to the King, now became a force of the people, loyal to the people of India.
India's Independence on 15th August, 1947, was followed by a massive turbulence in the country, bloodshed and perhaps the greatest migration in the history because of the unfortunate partition of the country. The brunt of the communal frenzy and resultant migration of population was shared by Punjab and Bengal. Prior to independence, the worst communal outburst in the city of Calcutta broke out on 16th August, 1946. Scores of bloated corpses bobbed down the river Hooghly towards the sea like water-soaked logs. The suddenness of the eruption left the police and the administration shell-shocked. By the time the police took control of the situation, more than six thousand people had been massacred to death.
Gandhiji's Advice to Calcutta Police
Calcutta Police had to adapt and organize itself continuously to keep pace with the changing situation and acquit itself well. Gandhiji was in Calcutta in August, 1947, when the country, specially the city of Calcutta, was being convulsed by strong communal feeling. In the city, prayer meetings were arranged at the instance of Gandhiji. At a meeting in Deshbandhu Park on 21st August, 1947, in course of his after-prayer speech, he had the following words of advice for the Police Chief:
“He must warn all officers and their men in the police force that in their work they were neither Muslims nor Hindus nor Sikhs. They were mere Indians bound by oath to give full protection to the afflicted without regard to their religion. Thereby they did not cease to be less Muslims, Hindus or Sikhs, but became better.”
Truly, the most quotable advice and only the Mahatma could have given it to the police in his inimitable style.