Royal Indian Navy Revolt

The Royal Indian Navy revolt, also called the 1946 Naval Uprising, was an insurrection of Indian naval ratings, soldiers, police personnel, and civilians against the British government in India. This revolt was started as a strike by the rating of the royal Indian navy on 18, February 1946 in protest against general conditions. The main issues of this revolt were living conditions and food. On 19th February 1946, a naval central strike committee was elected. The main action of mutineers was supported by demonstrations which included a one-day general strike in Bombay. Slowly, the strike spread to other cities and was joined by the Royal Indian Air Force and local police forces. Indian naval personnel began calling themselves the "Indian National Navy" and offered left-handed salutes to British officers. The demand raised by the central strike committee combined service grievances with wider national concerns. The letter included the release of Indian National Army Personnel and some political prisoners, withdrawal of Indian troops from Indonesia, and acceptance of only Indian officers as their superiors.

Specially, The laboring classes went on strike on 22 February in solidarity. The public transport network was cracked down and trains were burnt, roads were blocked and commercial establishments were shut down. The situation was getting worse. An army battalion was induced to control the situation. After three days, Bombay was quiet. 228 civilians had died and more than 1046 were injured during the riots. The revolt was called off following a meeting between the President of the Naval Central Strike Committee (NCSC), M. S. Khan, and Vallabh Bhai Patel.

By: Anirudha Sharma
Government Senior Secondary School, Bopara