M.S. Khan: President of the Naval Strike Committee

In February 1946 the sailors of Bombay harbour pulled down the Union Jack. They raised three flags in its place.

The man who spoke for them was a young signalman named M. S. Khan. He was elected president of their strike committee.

1What lit the spark at HMIS Talwar?

The Second World War had made the Royal Indian Navy ten times bigger. By 1946 many sailors were waiting to be sent home. Camps in Bombay were crowded and bored.

The men were unhappy about food, pay and living conditions. Most officers were still British. Many sailors faced insults and racial abuse.

The trials of Indian National Army officers at the Red Fort added to the anger. Stories of Subhas Chandra Bose reached the ratings by radio and press.

HMIS Talwar was a signals school at Colaba in Bombay. In late 1945 a small secret group there called itself Azad Hind. On 2 February 1946 a rating named B. C. Dutt was caught painting Quit India slogans.

On 17 and 18 February the ratings refused food and orders. By 12:30 on 18 February all ratings below petty officer at Talwar had defied their commanding officer. The revolt had begun.

• Base: HMIS Talwar, Colaba, Bombay.
• Secret group: Azad Hind, late 1945.
• Slogans painted: 2 February 1946, by B. C. Dutt.
• Revolt starts: 18 February 1946.
• Anger fed by the INA trials.

2Who was M. S. Khan?

Very little is recorded about Khan himself. He was a signalman of the Royal Indian Navy. Some accounts give his full name as Mohammad Shuaib Khan. We treat that detail with care.

On the afternoon of 19 February, mutineers gathered at Talwar. Each ship and shore base sent a delegate. They elected the Naval Central Strike Committee.

Most members of the committee are unknown. Many were under 25. Khan became its president. Petty officer Madan Singh was the other leading name.

The committee drew up a Charter of Demands. It asked for the release of INA men and other political prisoners. It also asked for equal pay with the Royal Navy, better food and fair treatment by officers.

• Khan: a signalman, elected president.
• Body: Naval Central Strike Committee, 19 February 1946.
• Other name: Madan Singh, a petty officer.
• Demands: free INA prisoners, pay equal to the Royal Navy.

3What happened in Bombay harbour?

The revolt spread fast. Within a day it covered 22 ships and 12 shore bases in Bombay. By 20 February all the harbour ships and bases were in rebel hands. About 10,000 ratings were involved at Bombay.

It also reached Karachi, Calcutta and Madras. Estimates of the total vary. Some sources say over 10,000 men. Others say nearly 20,000.

The ships ran up the flags of the Congress, the Muslim League and the Communist Party together. This showed unity across communities. Later the Congress and League flags came down, and only the red flag stayed.

Admiral J. H. Godfrey spoke on All India Radio. He threatened the strongest measures, even the destruction of the Navy. British troops and warships were sent to Bombay.

On 21 February there was firing between the rebels and the troops. The strike committee told its men not to fight the army in the city. Royal Indian Air Force men and local workers also struck in support.

• Spread: 22 ships in a day; all of Bombay harbour by 20 February.
• Three flags: Congress, League and Red Flag.
• Threat: Admiral Godfrey, over All India Radio.
• Firing at the barracks on 21 February.
• Support from RIAF men and Bombay workers.

4Why did the revolt end?

The big parties did not back the revolt. The Congress and the Muslim League both opposed it. Only the Communist Party of India stood with the sailors.

Leaders feared that an armed uprising could spoil a peaceful handover of power. Sardar Patel went to Bombay to settle the matter. Muhammad Ali Jinnah backed his appeal from Calcutta.

Khan met Patel. The sailors were told that no one would be punished for the revolt. On 23 February the strike committee asked the ships to fly black flags of surrender.

Many people also died in the city. Up to 236 were killed, though this figure includes communal violence set off by the mutiny.

• Opposed by the Congress and the Muslim League.
• Backed by the Communist Party only.
• Khan met Sardar Patel.
• Surrender: 23 February 1946, black flags.
• Deaths: up to 236, including communal violence.

5What happened to the sailors?

The promise of no punishment did not hold. Sailors were arrested and held in camps. There were courts martial.

In all, 476 sailors were dismissed from the Royal Indian Navy. None of them was taken back into the Indian or Pakistani navies after independence.

The revolt did not become a revolution. But it shook the British. If the navy and air force could not be trusted, ruling India by force would be hard.

Khan and many leaders slipped out of public memory. The Congress and League had not owned the revolt, so it was long played down in national stories. Today it is recalled as a bold, short chapter before independence.

• 476 sailors dismissed after courts martial.
• None reinstated in India or Pakistan.
• Lesson for Britain: armed forces could no longer be counted on.
• Read about B. C. Dutt.

6What are the exam traps?

Keep the key names and dates apart.

• The revolt began at HMIS Talwar on 18 February 1946.
• M. S. Khan was the president of the committee; Madan Singh was a leading member.
• He talked with Sardar Patel, not with Gandhi or Nehru.
• B. C. Dutt painted the slogans; Khan led the committee.
• The surrender came on 23 February 1946.
• Only the Communist Party backed it. The Congress and League opposed it.
• Sequence: Quit India (1942), INA trials (1945-46), naval revolt (1946).
• Read about the INA and the Red Fort trials.