‘Jhanda Satyagraha’: Nagpur led stand against the British 100 years ago

By Kartik Lokhande

Persistence wins the battles, and determination the war. People of Central India, led by Nagpur, set an example before the nation in this regard 100 years ago when they participated in the historic ‘Jhanda (Flag) Satyagraha’ to uphold the honour of the then version of the national tricolour and also to challenge the British rulers who had made Civil Lines area of the city their ‘heavenly preserve’ where no Indians were allowed. This year, on August 18, not only the city but also the entire nation must celebrate the 100 years of the successful culmination of the historic movement. The story of the ‘Jhanda Satyagraha’, which attracted the national attention in 1923, is very interesting and inspiring. Many link the ‘Nagpur Flag Satyagraha’ to an incident that happened in Jubbulpore (as Jabalpur was spelt back then). Sifting through various historic accounts, some books, and the official records of the time, ‘The Hitavada’ has reconstructed the entire story of the historic resistance put up by the people of Nagpur, followed by people from other parts of the Central Provinces as well as Gujarat and Mumbai also joining in to participate. Those were the days charged with patriotic fervour. Since the 1920 convention of Congress party in Nagpur, and passage of resolution on non-cooperation movement, tricolor with charkha in the centre was adopted as national flag. On March 18, 1923, Congressmen decided to observe ‘Gandhi Diwas’ as Mahatma Gandhi was arrested from Sabarmati Ashram in Gujarat on that date. That day, in Jubbulpore, some Congressmen hoisted the said national flag on municipal building. Feeling offended, the British officials there got it removed and trampled upon it. This angered many Indians.

There is a little difference in accounts whether the Jabalpur incident was trigger of the months-long Flag Satyagraha in Nagpur. In his book ‘Vithalbhai Patel: Life and Times -- Book One’, Gordhanbhai I Patel stresses that the idea ‘travelled from Jubbulpore to Nagpur’. However, Dr Nandkishor Bachchraj Vyas and others from Nagpur differ. In his Hindi book ‘Nagpur Nagar evam Swatantra Andolan’, Dr Vyas states citing some evidences that the movement in Nagpur was a fallout of an incident on April 13, 1923. As per his book, on April 13, 1923, people had planned to take out a procession to mark the anniversary of Jallianwala Bagh massacre perpetrated by the British. The procession of around 30-40 volunteers moved to Civil Station (as Civil Lines was referred to then), raised slogans, sang songs, and carried the tricolor. Near present-day Akashwani Square (then, Akashwani building was Bansilal Abirchand Bank), the procession was stopped and asked to change route. Volunteers led by General Mancharsha Avari refused to obey. So, they were arrested, prosecuted, awarded imprisonment of two months. But, this triggered a wave of daily marches that gradually attracted the attention of the Congress party leadership. The daily marches grew into what came to be known as ‘Jhanda Satyagraha’. However, not everything was so smooth. That time, Congress was divided into various streams of thoughts. There were non-cooperators (who rooted for non-cooperation with the British) and those opposed to such methods. Also, there was a clash of egos between Hindi and Marathi leaders of the freedom movement. In the initial phase of the agitation, the leaders included Avari, Sunderlal, and Bhagwandin Sharma. However, the agitation gained momentum and grew only after Seth Jamnalal Bajaj stepped into mustering support for the daily marches.

The daily marches were taken out despite the prohibitory orders issued by the British administration. On April 29 appeared the placards in Nagpur announcing flag procession on May 1. This was promptly followed by the prohibitory orders. According to Congress historian Pattabhi Sitaramaiah’s account in his book ‘The History of the Indian National Congress’, “The movement in Nagpur arose from the Police objecting to a procession carrying the National Flag, proceeding in the direction of the Civil Lines of the city, by the promulgation of Section 144 of CrPC on May 1, 1923”. The volunteers insisted on their right to carry the flag ‘where they willed’. As per the account published in ‘The Hitavada’ on May 2, 1923, “Every day, ten volunteers march to the prohibited area and court arrest. They are duly arrested and carried off amidst the enthusiastic cheers of thousands of sympathetic onlookers”. This became a routine. The arrested volunteers were tried in criminal courts and sentenced to six months imprisonment. By the end of May, the number of arrests went beyond 250.

Jamnalal Bajaj’s arrest and escalation

As per the account in Dr Vyas’ book, Jamnalal Bajaj’s leadership ensured that there was continuous flow of volunteers from adjoining distrits of Wardha, Jabalpur, Balaghat etc. In fact, there was a ‘dress code’ also. Those coming from Jabalpur wore light blue dress, those from Balaghat were dressed in deep red clothes etc. At the end of May 1923, senior leaders including T Prakash, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, George Joseph, C Rajagopalachari, Gangadharrao Deshpande, Lala Hardayal visited Nagpur. The volunteers welcomed them at railway station by waving tricolour. In fact, the leaders watched the a daily march at Akashwani Square, followed by daily routine of arrests, and were impressed by the determination of the volunteers participating in ‘Flag Satyagraha’. As a result of this, the movement earned the attention of the Working Committee of Congress. In June, Jamnalal Bajaj, Acharya Vinoba Bhave and others were arrested. However, this further spread the sympathy for the movement. As per a booklet ‘Nagpur Se Nagpur Tak’ published by Madangopal Agrawal in 1958, Jamnalal Bajaj’s arrest in June 1923, triggered strike in grains market in Bombay, and strike in Akola, Calcutta and other cities. Sensing trouble, on June 18, the District Magistrate issued the prohibitory order for a further period of two months.

AICC meeting

The arrest of Jamnalal Bajaj triggered intense deliberations within the Indian National Congress, leading to the All India Congress Committee (AICC) holding its meeting in the grounds of Tilak Vidyalaya in Congress Nagar in Nagpur from July 7, 1923, instead of Allahabad as decided previously. Once again, a galaxy of national leaders descended on Nagpur. Sarojini Naidu, Kasturba Gandhi, Pt Jawharlal Nehru, Dr Rajendra Prasad, Dr M A Ansari, Vithalbhai Patel, C Rajagopalachari, George Joseph, C R Das, Loknayak Bapuji Aney, T Prakash and other leaders assembled at Nagpur. As per the historical records, Naidu moved a resolution expressing solidarity with processionists in Nagpur and acknowledged that the movement had ‘assumed national importance’. Terming it as an ‘organised battle with the bureaucracy’, the resolution read: “The AICC records its deep appreciation of the steadfast spirit of the brave Satyagrahis. The committee congratulates this and other provinces on splendid response”. It called upon the Working Committee to support the movement and asked all Congress committees to observe July 18 (Gandhi Day) as ‘Flag Day’. Pt Nehru supported the original resolution and it was passed keeping aside the amendments suggested. The AICC congratulated Bajaj on his incarceration and ‘assured him of its wholehearted support of the said campaign’. During this AICC meeting, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel was put in charge of the ‘Flag Satyagraha’ from July 10.

Sardar Patel takes lead, Vithalbhai plays key role

Supercharged with the national leaders leading the ‘Nagpur Jhanda Satyagraha’, volunteers kept pouring in from various parts of India. Some of the Congress committees also appealed for funds. The pressure started mounting on the British administration in Nagpur, who had thought of the Civil Station (Civil Lines) as their ‘heavenly preserve’ and did not allow Indians to pass through it. Sardar Patel and Vithalbhai Patel both reached Nagpur. They both held and addressed various meetings. As per the book by Gordhanbhai Patel, on August 7, the Central Provinces Legislative Council considered a resolution for cancellation of the orders issued under Section 144 of CrPC. It was passed with condition that if no disturbances of any kind occurred till August 17, the prohibitory orders would be withdrawn. On August 9, the Council considered two other resolutions -- one asking for the withdrawal of all prosecutions still pending in connection with the Satyagraha, and the other for the unconditional release of all volunteers and Congress workers imprisoned as a consequence of the agitation. In spite of the opposition of the Government, both these resolutions were carried by a majority of 4 votes -- those in favour being 31 and those against it 27. Meanwhile, Vithalbhai Patel met sir Frank Sly, Governor of the Central Provinces, several times. Both were old friends from student days in England. Though there is no authentic account as to what transpired in these meetings, nothing on record is available to ascertain if both spoke about the shape of the ‘Jhanda Satyagraha’. But, Vallabhbhai and Vithalbhai both played a key role in leading the agitation. Pattabhi Sitaramaiah mentions in his book that the Congress Working Committee met at Vizagapatnam early in August and recorded “its grateful appreciation of the help rendered by Vitthalbhai Patel in the conduct of the Nagpur Satyagraha and requested him to continue to be on the spot and help to guide the movement along with the member-in-charge (Vallabhbhai Patel). Virtually then, the Patel brothers were looking after the campaign, and to them is due the credit for bringing it to an honourable termination”.