JAI HIND !!!

Today, on 26th January, India celebrated its 60th Republic Day.

Though India got free by breaking the chains of Imperial rule of British Empire, and attained its independence on August 15 1947, it did not yet have a permanent constitution.26th January 1950 is one of the most important days in Indian history as it was on this day the constitution of India came into force and India became a truly sovereign state. The country finally realized the dream of Mahatma Gandhi, Subhash Chandra Bose and the numerous freedom fighters who, fought for and sacrificed their lives for the Independence of their country.Ever since 26th of January has been celebrated as the Republic Day of India, .

Saluting the National Flag, singing the National Anthem and greeting each other with Jai Hind are the three imperatives on August 15 and January 26 -two most important days in our history. However very few may be aware about the history of our national greeting -‘Jai Hind’.

Till 1942, 'Vande Mataram' was the slogan that inspired patriots. Then came the interim period when ‘Do or Die’ (Karenge ya marenge), coined by Mahatma Gandhi, emerged as a clarion call for all freedom fighters. Meanwhile, the Indian revolutionary Dr.Champakraman Pillai introduced the new mantra-‘Jai Hind’ which became the popular battle cry of Indian National Army of Subhash Chandra Bose. It captured the imagination of Indians and Netaji's these two words got immortalized in Indian history ever since.

Jawaharlal Nehru also used Jai Hind to conclude his speech [The Light Has Gone Out....] after the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi. Since then Jai Hind is a salutation most commonly used in India in speeches and communications pertaining to or referring to patriotism towards motherland- India. Jai Hind literally means "Victory to India" or "Long live India”.

The purpose of this 'salutation' of Jai Hind today, on this Republic Day is more than a mere patriotism. It is about the section of my locks collection [Doc’sLocks] which I fondly refer as political locks. After these many long years of my hobby of collection of locks, I‘ve realized that these are unique and one-of-a-kind in the whole world.

Everybody invariably asks me-‘why do I collect locks?’ To answer it I'll need to write another full article! Let me put in it in just one line-I collect them for their interesting combination of fun & function, art & craft, age & antiquity, story & history, rarity &complexity, form & figure, size & shape, and many other similar cmbinations. One such ‘rhomboid' lock of unusual shape drew my attention; and eventually aroused my curiosity to a great deal when I started acquiring few more of similar shapes but of different makes and sizes. Interestingly, all were embossed with ‘Jai Hind’ on the box like projections in the middle. Most of them were manufactured in Aligarh in U.P.- home to the biggest lock industry in our country, established by the British in early 20th century. I could not accept this ‘Jai Hind’ as just another brand or simple 'memorial-lock', and started exploring and making inquiries about it. We have travelled '1000s' of miles to the remotest places in our car '1000' for the hunting of locks and other collectibles . On such excursions I must have discussed about 'Jai Hind-lock' to many antique dealers, art connoisseurs, historians, freedom fighters, even scrap merchants and 'key' makers. Nobody could give satisfactoriy explanation about it . However, one old locksmith, in his 80s, in a small village- Akala [ 6 kms from Lathi, in Amreli district of Saurashtra] postulated a theory to decipher this puzzling title on these locks. I personally saw quite verity in it. Of course there be views which may vary from that!

But to interpret Maganbhai's theory, we need to go back to the final decade of Indian independence struggle, and understand the contrasting ways and means of two of the great heroes-Netaji Bose and Mahatma Gandhi- who were leading the freedom movement. Bose was elected president of the Indian National Congress for two consecutive terms but resigned prematurely from the post following the ideological conflicts with Mahatma Gandhi. Bose believed that Mahatma Gandhi's tactics of non-violence would never be sufficient to secure India's independence. He advocated violent resistance and established a separate political party-'All India Forward Bloc'- and continued to call for the full and immediate independence of India from the British rule. Of course he had lot of respect for Mahatma Gandhi, and used to cherish him as ‘patriot of patriots’. Netaji was the first to hail Gandhiji as the ‘Father of the Nation’; however his ideology was totally opposite of Gandhian philosophy of ‘non- violence’. During World War II, he founded Indian National Army and valiantly fought for the liberation of India from the British yoke. He is believed to have died on 18th August 1945, in a plane crash over Taiwan, which brought the fall and disintegration of this ‘Azad Hind Sena’. Netaji literally means ‘Respected Leader’ and is still remembered as one of the most revered politicians of modern India. His birth anniversary was celebrated just 3 days back on 23rd January.

One of my friends, Dr. Arvind Kothia, who runs hospital in Lathi , had organized my meeting with that veteran lock smith- Maganbhai Davda [Luhar]. When we reached Akala by a narrow dirt road, his whole family was there to welcome us.He was a bit astonished to see a doctor like me having come all the way from Ahmedabad, and taking such a keen interest in the ancient art of lock-smithing . He generously gifted me one of the last pieces of ‘Chokidar’ locks he must have treasured for many years. He even presented me the rare copy of ‘British-Gazetter’ of 1930, in which there was a reference of 'Akala' as a trade centre famous for high quality ‘black-smithing’ in the then ‘Sorath’ of Western India. But for me -the most unexpected part was his pausible interpretation of ‘Jai Hind locks’, about which I did a casual mention. According to him-the families which believed in the ideology of Netaji Bose would use [or hang] these locks on their door frames. It was like the secret symbol or the cryptic code, to indicate to the other members of this ‘faith’, remaining oblivious to the eyes of the commoner. These revolutionaries or 'radical' ideologists wanted to hide from not only the Britishers but also from the 'satyagrahis' and the followers of non-violent movement. The explanation sounded quite dramatic. I could not confirm the exact period of manufacturing of these locks and whether they matched with early 50s- the active years of Azad Hind Sena. Unfortunately, we lack in documentation, and there are not many scholars who can endorse such speculations. However, I don't see any reason- not to accept this theory and the unusual function of these locks.

26th January-2008 [last year!]

Last year on the Republic Day, Manan, son of our friends- Relias- got married to Ishani. During this time , we had guests-Penny Melling [a puzzlist from London] and Nel Roberts [a journalist from Rhodes Island, USA]- and it was coordinated that they will attend and have the unique experience of the colourful and pompous Indian Wedding. Literally it turned out to be the highlight of their maiden trip to India. All those three days of the marriage functions,they wore Indian saris and decked themselves with traditional jewellary.They danced to the tunes of Bollywood music, ate Indian food with their fingers, squatted down for applying 'Mehandi' on their hands...and exchanged GREEEETINGS with me .... like this!