Context around India and Independence
Any freedom movement would have taken to arms . Yet determined , courageous and visionary Indians thought outside the box and achieved independence through nonviolence and non-cooperation means . This unthinkable view at a time of high tension that separated India ’ s independence movement is unique amongst any other struggle for independence seen around the world . It exemplified to the world that India can offer alternative approaches .
It has to be recognised that India ’ s independence came at a price – the partitioning of the country on religious grounds that turned the lives of millions of people upside down . It was the world ’ s biggest man-made human migration across the line of partition .
India , as we know it today , established itself as the Republic of India when the Constitution of India came into force on 26th January 1950 .
REMEMBRANCES OF INDIA ’ S INDEPENDENCE BY PRAJAPATIS
So many people had participated in the struggle for independence of India in one form or another . So how have the members of the Prajapati community been involved in this struggle ? Did any of our members participate in or witness Gandhiji ’ s famous salt march , non-violence and civil resistance , meet any freedom fighters , attend political meetings of those times , and so on ?
Yes , I am going back to 70 years ago or more . Our community members who might have taken part at that time may not be present any more , but their children or grandchildren or relatives might be somewhere . They might have some knowledge - verbal , photographic , written - about such participation .
In trying to obtain such information , I was fortunate to get in contact with some members of our community who have provided information and experiences which I would like to share with you . I am very grateful to all of them .
I hope their experiences will inspire us and our younger generation .
Shri Balubhai Vallabhbhai Lad
Shri Balubhai is the President of Navsari Ashram , India . He was born in 1933 in Jalalpore . I have taken the gist of his recollections of those days as under .
Many Prajapati and Koli community members lived with Gandhiji in South Africa and followed what he said . Gandhiji was well-versed about the surrendering spirit of all these people . He got much support from the local people when he started salt Satyagraha in Dandi and Dharashana in South Gujarat . The British government did “ lathi charge ” and a lot of people were beaten up badly about which Balubhai says , “ Being a resident of Jalalpore , I have seen Satyagrahi prisoners being tortured in the police station in front of my school .”
Balubhai was studying in the fifth standard at that time . He sang patriotic songs , practised lathi techniques in Sevadal , took training in self-defence , and learnt self-reliance lessons . In his own words , “ On the Independence Day ( 15th August 1947 ) at 12 mid-night , we hosted the Indian flag in our street , and as such our street was named ‘ Zanda Chowk ’, which is still addressed today as ‘ Zanda Chowk , Jalalpore ’.”
During the Haripura Conference there was an unprecedented procession in which numerous bull-carts were there , and people participated very enthusiastically . The elder brother of Balubhai , who was 14 years older than him , went on a bicycle and participated in the Conference which was presided by Subhashchandra .
At that time , the Swaraj Ashram was set up for the freedom struggle in Bardoli village . The farmers in Bardoli Taluka vacated their homes and stayed with their live stocks on the land owned by them . The farmers stopped giving revenue to the government and totally boycotted the British . In an English newspaper , an article on India ’ s freedom struggle to spread all over India was published under the title of “ Bardolise India ” i . e . to spread as per Bardoli ’ s fight across the country .
vol . 42 | Prajapati Sandesh 2017 49