MANUBHAI SHAH
Interviewed by Aruna Vajpayi
in
Freedom Fighters Remember
Edited by Naveen Joshi
August 1997
Published by the Publications Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India
Manubhai Shah was deeply influenced by Gandhiji’s call of ‘Do or Die’ during the Quit India Movement and fired by the fervour of patriotism he organised workers and students in Delhi to take part in picketing, closure of schools and colleges, taking out processions etc. However due to the unrelenting strong arm tactics of the British Imperial rulers, they resorted to programmes such as looting treasuries and grain shops, damaging railway stations and tracks, and cutting telephone wires to put pressure on the government to quit India. Manubhai took to revolutionary activities with great zeal for which he was however upbraided by Gandhiji. British authorities announced a high reward for his arrest for masterminding such activities. When arrested he was kept in solitary confinement and constantly interrogated but he did not relent or reveal any information the police were after.
Aruna Vajpayi interviews this veteran freedom fighter and former Cabinet Minister.
Manubhai Shah was the Minister for Commerce and Industry in Jawaharlal Nehru's Cabinet and later held the same portfolio in Lal Bahadur Shastri’s Cabinet and the first two Cabinets of Indira Gandhi. He held the same portfolio from 1956 to 1971. Prior to coming to the centre he was the Minister for Industry and Labour in the first Government of Saurashtra headed by U. N. Dhebar. Impressed by his good work, Jawaharlal Nehru invited him to join his cabinet in 1956. Though retired from active politics he is still working for promotion of international trade. His first association with the freedom struggle was the Quit India Movement. When asked who inspired him to join the freedom movement he said:
“My grandfather was an admirer but also a teacher of Gandhiji. Though my father was the District Magistrate of Wadhawan (now Surendranagar) he was a nationalist at heart. Satyagraha and Gandhiji were subjects of daily talks in our family. The British Government did not approve of my father’s nationalist feelings and therefore held back his promotions. Subconsciously I imbibed the feeling of nationalism and freedom.”
Gandhiji visited Wadhwan camp in 1926 in connection with his call of boycott of all foreign and mill cloth. Though Manubhai was just a child he took active part in the boycott movement. Describing the enthusiasm of the people, he said:
"The response to Gandhiji 's call was so overwhelming that even children could not remain unaffected. They organised themselves in Vanar Sena. I too joined it. We collected the foreign and mill-made clothes discarded by the people and made a bonfire of them."
Manubhai was born on 1 November 1915 in Wadhawan. His father's financial position was not very good as he had to support a big family comprising seven sons, three daughters, two brothers and two sisters. Reminiscing about those days Manubhai said:
“I had to walk four kilometers to reach my school. I passed the matriculation examination from Wadhawan. As there was no facility for further education there I went to Bhavnagar to do Intermediate Science. I did my graduation from Baroda University. I wanted to become a solicitor. But one of my uncles told me that there was no future in that profession and persuaded me to take a degree in technology. So I joined Bombay University for a Bachelor’s in Technology. While I was in my B.Tech. final, Lala Shri Ram of Delhi Cloth Mills (DCM) visited the Bombay University to select officers for his mill. That was in 1937. I was selected by Lala Shri Ram. So after passing B.Tech. I went to Delhi to join the DCM.”
At the time of Quit India Movement Manubhai was working with DCM as Senior Adviser on a very good salary. But Manubhai could not keep himself away from the Quit India Movement. He said:
"The next day after the historic declaration by Gandhiji in 1942, Congress leaders were arrested. Gandhiji's call of 'Do or Die' fired the patriotic fervour of the youth of India. Aruna Asaf Ali was the all India leader. I took upon myself the responsibility of organising the workers in Delhi. H. N. Bhuguna and B. V. Keshar also participated in the movement from Delhi. The Quit India Movement was expected to be non-violent. But it did not remain so. H. N. Bahuguna and I persuaded about 1000 students of St. Stephen's and Hindu College to take part in the movement. On my persuasion about 1100 workers joined hands with the students to join the movement's programmes. The programmes initially comprised hartals, picketing, closures of schools and colleges, taking out processions. These were non-violent activities but the strong‑arm tactics of the Government compelled the workers to become somewhat violent. The programmes then included such as attacks on British Imperial Government offices and properties, looting of the treasuries and strong‑rooms, damaging railway stations and tracks, cutting telephone wires, boycott of British currency.
“On 11 August 1942, I led a procession of about 10,000 workers to Chandni Chowk. As we reached Kotwali Police Station, the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Killburn ordered the processionists to stop. We proceeded further in disregard of his order. Killburn ordered firing. As a result one of the processionists died. Maddened with fury the processionists attacked the police station and killed a policeman. Though the procession was dispersed, there was heavy patrolling in the city.
“On the same night I planned derailment of the Frontier Mail. In the cover of darkness we went to the Yamuna bridge and removed a fish plate on the railway track. With the help of hand‑grenades three pillars of the bridge were damaged. Later on I was upbraided by Gandhiji for these activities.
“Another programme of ours was the boycott of British currency. We often took out a procession to the headquarters of the Imperial Bank. In the presence of the officials of the Bank we burnt currency notes of various denominations.
“In December 1942 we organised ourselves into 10 groups of seven workers each to loot ten foreign shops in Connaught Place. We broke open the shops with small sulphur bombs and looted its merchandise. Immediately after looting the shops we went into the by lanes and changed our clothes and joined the policemen who were running around to look for the raiders of the shops. A few days later we decided to change the names of about 5000 roads of Delhi and New Delhi which were named after British dignitaries. We wanted to give new names after the leaders of our freedom movement. In this Gandhiji’s youngest son, Devdas Gandhi, who was the Editor of the Hindustan Times helped us a lot. He got the posters with the names of our national leaders printed in the Hindustan Times Press. We covered the stone slabs bearing the names of the roads with the posters bearing the names of our leaders. The entire operation was completed within a few hours. So efficient was our organisation. The police were confounded that such a massive operation could be carried out overnight. Somehow they came to know that it was masterminded by me. The Government announced a high reward for my arrest.
“In order to evade arrest I grew a beard and started wearing a fez cap. There was not a single place where I spent more than one night. The police had raided the houses of all my friends and acquaintances.
“On January 3, 1943 Bahuguna and I climbed up the statue of George V near India Gate and put a big black robe on it with the words 'Out with the Tyrant' on it. We also broke its nose and escaped, taking advantage of darkness. I was arrested on 9 January 1943 while leading a big procession through Chandni Chowk and Fatehpuri. The Inspector General of Police did not recognize me as I was in disguise. But one of our workers who was promised pardon if he helped the police to arrest me gave me away. I tried to dodge the police but was caught by Killburn in one of the lanes of Fatehpuri. I was kept in solitary confinement in a cell in the Red Fort. Police officers in batches of three interrogated me by turns round the clock. The idea behind it was not to allow me to sleep, and ultimately, out of sheer exhaustion, I would give them information about our programmes and wanted persons. I did not yield. Eventually I was shifted to the Delhi jail. From there along with 1200 other active workers of Quit India Movement I was sent to Ferozepur Jail. H. N. Bahuguna was also with me. I was charged for violent activities and waging war against the Emperor under Articles 120 & I20(A) of the Indian Penal Code. Because of lack of evidence the charges were dropped. I remained in the Ferozpur jail as a detenu and not as an accused and was put in B class.
“The food given to us in the jail, rumali roti and boiled leafy vegetables did not suit me. I developed acute amoebic dysentery. I was not given any treatment by the prison authorities. To protest against the callous behaviour of the jail authorities the co-prisoners went on a hunger strike. Ultimately, Dr. Williamson was called from Lahore. I was cured by his treatment and regained health. The prisoners gave up the hunger strike on the arrival of Dr. Williamson. Gradually the 1200 political prisoners from Delhi were released. But I along with two others was released three years after Gandhiji's release and that too when he wrote to the Home Secretary, Mr. Tottenham, saying that the violent activities of the three young detenus were nothing compared to the leonine violence of the British Government.
“After release from the jail I resumed my job at DCM. When the first Ministry was formed in Saurashtra under the Chief Ministership of U. N. Dhebar, I joined it as the Minister for Industry and Labour. Later, Finance was also given to me. The measures I took for abolition of Zamindari, giving land to the tillers and for the setting up of an Industrial Estate which was the first of its kind in the country were very much appreciated by Jawaharlal Nehru and Sardar Patel. I was invited by Jawaharlal Nehru in 1956 to join his cabinet as Minister of Commerce and Industry.”
Speaking further, Manubhai recalled his contact with national leaders: “I saw Gandhiji for the first time when he visited Wadhawan in 1926 during the boycott of foreign cloth. I was very young. I did not talk to him then. I met Gandhiji during the Individual Satyagraha in 1940 which was initiated to affirm the right to free speech. Mahatma Gandhi had chosen Acharya Vinoba Bhave as the first Satyagrahi to start Individual Satyagraha and Jawaharlal Nehru as the second and Brahma Dutt as the third. I expressed my eagerness to join the satyagraha. But Gandhiji said, ‘Do whatever you are doing. When I need your services, I will call you.’ Since it was not a mass movement, it attracted little enthusiasm and in December 1940 the movement was suspended.”
“In 1948 at first I did not know Sardar Patel personally, when U.N. Dhebar asked me to join his Government in Saurashtra. I was working with the DCM and was comfortable. I was not willing to join Dhebar's Government as the salary of a State Government Minister was very low; it was a pittance compared to what I was getting in the DCM. Dhebar talked to Sardar Patel and the latter called me. Sardar persuaded me to join the Dhebar Ministry as the Minister of Industry and Labour. After that I was in close contact with Sardar Patel who had advised Pandit Nehru to involve me in the Central Government but Sardar passed away before that decision was taken. In 1956 Jawaharlal Nehru invited me to join his Cabinet as Minister of Commerce and Industry. I held that portfolio till 1971. This period covered the prime ministerships of Jawaharlal Nehru, Lal Bahadur Shastri and Indira Gandhi.
“About the future of India I am very optimistic, in spite of the fact that the present political scenario is not very satisfactory. The growth of the lower and uneducated classes has added to the problems of the country. But this is a transitional period. A new society will emerge say after twenty or twenty-five years. Then India will be one of the foremost countries.”
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