Usha Mehta - Early Life

Early Life

Usha was born in Saras village in Surat in the state of Gujarat, on March 25, 1920. When she was just five years old, Usha first saw Gandhi while on a visit to his ashram at Ahmedabad. Shortly thereafter, Gandhi organized a camp near her village, and she became highly influenced by him. She became one of his followers, deciding to wear clothes made of Khādī and remain celibate for life. Over a period of time, she emerged as an active follower of Gandhi and a proponent of Gandhian thought and philosophy.

In 1928, eight-year-old Usha participated in a protest march against the Simon Commission and shouted her first words of protest against the British Raj: “Simon Go Back.” As a child, she did not comprehend the significance of her actions except that she was participating in a movement to free her country under the leadership of Gandhi. She and many other children participated in morning protests against the British Raj and picketing in front of liquor shops. The children also did a little spinning. These activities inspired her to remain active in the freedom movement.

During one of the protests marches against the British Raj, the policemen charged the children, and a girl carrying the Indian flag fell down. Wanting to respond to this incident, the children sought advice from their elders, who suggested that they buy khadi clothes in the tricolors of the Indian flag (white, green and red). That night, the children got the shopkeepers to sell them cloth, and with the help of their elders, they stitched the uniforms. In the morning, they marched, shouting at the policemen: “Policemen, you can wield your sticks and your batons, but you cannot bring down our flag.”

Because her father was a judge under the British Raj, he did not encourage Usha Mehta to join the freedom struggle. However, her father retired in 1930, and in 1932, when she was 12, her family moved to Bombay, making it possible for her to join the freedom movement even more actively. For example, she and other children distributed clandestine bulletins and publications, visited relatives in the prisons, and carried the messages to these prisoners.

Her initial schooling was in Kheda and Bharuch and then in Chandaramji High School, Bombay. In 1935, her final examinations at the University of Bombay placed her among the top 25 students in her class. She continued her education at Wilson College, Bombay, graduating in 1939 with a first-class degree in philosophy. She also studied law. However, in 1942, she joined the Quit India Movement and ended her studies. Thereafter, she participated in the freedom movement full time.