The Daring Act of Burning Down the Union Jack
It was a pleasant evening in Kobe, Japan, where the then-Indian diaspora had gathered for an impromptu meeting at the well-known India Club, primarily for a brief get-together to discuss the Indian Freedom Struggle. Asha San, then a young teenager and an unlisted soldier of the Indian National Army (INA) was also invited to attend the meet.
Asha, being brought up as a revolutionary, a freedom fighter, and a nationalist by her doting parents, Anand Mohan Sahay and Sati Sen, was shocked by the enormous, expensive and luxurious pageantry visible at the India Club. The meeting mostly consisted of Indian businessmen, their wives and their children who were primarily settled in Kobe, Japan.
The get-together also included a small kitty party dedicated to the wives of the merchants who were dipped in revelry, pomp and pageantry. They wore heavy jewellery, high- heels and also drank champagne. Moreover, their partners were more engaged in expanding and diversifying their businesses rather than discussing or contributing to the Indian Freedom Struggle. Asha, being brought up in very harsh conditions by her nationalistic parents, had only one aim in life, which was to fight with the enemy (The British Empire) and gain freedom for India. She fumed at the fact that India at that time was under the infamous British Raj, and countless Indians were fighting, sacrificing their lives just to get freedom from the enemy. And, here her fellow Indians being aware of the Indian Freedom Struggle choose to ignore it completely.
At the meeting, everyone unanimously agreed to hoist the Indian National Flag on the roofs of their respective houses on the 26th of January 1935. It was an arduous task but everyone jubilantly agreed to do it. On 26th of January 1935, Asha San’s mother, Sati Sen, speedily exited her house with a matchbox in her hand. She prowled the streets of Kobe, to check which flag was hoisted on the roofs of the Indian diaspora’s houses. While strolling down the streets, she noticed that there were three houses, one that of a Bengali, another that of a Punjabi and one of a Sindhi, and they were hoisting the British Empire’s flag, the infamous Union Jack.
Sati, fondly called “Ma” by Asha, went to the front gates of the three houses, lit a matchstick and daringly burnt down the Union Jack. The three Indian families were awestruck and were speechless. Later on, they went to the British Consulate to complain about the horrific incident. The British Consulate immediately lodged a formal complaint to the Japanese authorities about the “unimaginable crime of insulting the British Crown” by Sati Sen. The Japanese officials phlegmatically told the British Consulate: “ We, Japanese, do not punish or arrest patriots. Mrs Sati Sahay is a great patriot and is fighting for the liberation of her country with her husband and other Indians.”
The British Consulate was furious and asked their counterparts to arrest the Indian woman and deport her back to India. The Japanese officials denied doing so and went further to praise the courageous act. The three Indians were quite ashamed and at a meeting later, they profusely apologised to all the members of the IIL. Sati Sen was honoured and praised for her daring deeds, by both the Indian diaspora and the Japanese citizens.
On a concluding note, there are countless men and women of variable caste, creeds and religions who have committed similar courageous acts, but they aren’t mentioned in any history textbooks. With the 2024 Lok Sabha elections just around the corner, It is high time that we choose a leader, who is willing to honour and appreciate such unsung heroes of the Indian Freedom Struggle.
