Previous Year Question

Option (a) is correct.

Usha Mehta was associated with the underground ‘Congress Radio’ or ‘Secret Congress Radio’ operated during the Quit India Movement of 1942. She was approximately 22 years old at the time.

After the passage of the Quit India Resolution, Gandhi and most senior Congress leaders were arrested on 9 August 1942. Newspapers were subjected to strict censorship and the Congress was banned. Under these circumstances, Congress Radio aimed to:

• Convey the messages of arrested national leaders to the people.

• Broadcast actual developments connected with the Quit India Movement.

• Report news which newspapers could not publish because of British censorship.

• Maintain the morale of the protesters and the public.

• Establish communication between movements continuing in different parts of the country.

The station broadcast in both English and Hindustani. Its famous announcement was: “This is the Congress Radio calling on 42.34 metres from somewhere in India.”

Usha Mehta worked with associates such as Vithalbhai Jhaveri, Chandrakant Jhaveri and Babubhai Khakar. Messages from Ram Manohar Lohia and Achyut Patwardhan were also transmitted. The broadcasting location was frequently shifted to avoid detection by the British police. The station was eventually discovered on 12 November 1942, and Usha Mehta was arrested. She was sentenced to four years’ imprisonment.

Why are the other options incorrect?

• Option (b): The Second Round Table Conference was held in 1931. Gandhi participated as the sole official representative of the Congress; Usha Mehta did not participate.

• Option (c): Usha Mehta did not lead a contingent of the Indian National Army. The INA’s women’s unit—the Rani of Jhansi Regiment—was commanded by Captain Lakshmi Swaminathan, later Lakshmi Sahgal.

• Option (d): The Interim Government headed by Jawaharlal Nehru was formed in 1946. Usha Mehta is not remembered for assisting in its formation.