Tushar Gandhi 'detained' at peace march; BJP trying to distort Quit India Day, say activists

The BJP government trying to co-opt, distort Quit India day, said activists who were prevented by the state police from holding an annual peace march to commemorate August 9 as Quit India movement day in Mumbai.

Well-known freedom fighter G G Parikh, Tushar Gandhi, author and great-grandson of Mahatma Gandhi and other activists in Mumbai were prevented by the state police from participating in an annual peace march today (August 9) to commemorate 81 years of the Quit India Movement.

While Tushar Gandhi was detained and taken to Santacruz Police station, and activist Teesta Setalvad was asked to stay indoors, 27 other activists were detained at the Lamington Police station in Mumbai and “the police ensured that the peace march to be held in the morning before 9 am was disrupted”.

One of the activists Feroze Mithiborwala told The Federal that freedom fighter G G Parikh, who turns 100 this year, has been organising this peace march from Tilak Statue at Girgaum Chowpatty to the August Kranti Maidan for the past eight decades.

“Parikh had participated as a student in the 1942 Quit India Movement, a slogan given by Gandhiji for the British to leave India during the Independence movement. It is a 1 km distance that we cover and it is an annual tradition. We reach the maidan and pay respects to our freedom fighters,” said Mithiborwala, who has been attending this event for 25 years.

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Freedom fighter GG Parikh, now 99 years old, who continues to lead this march today is “utterly distraught at this bizarre turn of events”, said a statement issued by the activists.

According to Mithiborwala, who is also the national convenor of Bharat Bachao Andolan, the police cracked down on their march probably because their posters had said Tushar Gandhi will be talking about Haryana and Manipur.

A poster of the protest said, “nafraton Bharat chodo, mohabbat se dilon ko jodo (Hate, leave India, let’s join hearts with love).

Mithiborwala also alleged that the BJP-led Maharashtra government is for the first time trying to commemorate the Quit India movement day but is using the day to talk about the development of Maharashtra and not about the freedom struggle.

“The BJP in Maharashtra want to co-opt and distort the commemoration day of Quit India movement,” he said. He criticised their crackdown on their march as an “authoritarian” move.

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Tushar Gandhi and others were later freed and allowed to go to the Kranti Maidan and take part in the commemoration function, said Mithiborwala.

Around 7 am this morning, Tushar Gandhi had posted on X that for the first time in history of Independent India he had been detained at Santa Cruz Police Station as he left home to commemorate 9th August Quit India Day. “I am proud My Great Grandparents Bapu and Ba had also been arrested by the British Police on the historic date (sic),” he added.

In another post, he said that a contingent of 20-odd cops had been posted outside his home to prevent him from joining the march. Around 10 am, he said he has been allowed to leave the police station and is on his way to August Kranti Maidan.

Another activist Guddi S L said that the advertisement issued by the BJP-led government does not even mention the Quit India Movement. “It’s once again clear that the BJP-RSS are trying their best, or rather their worst, to co-opt and distort our freedom struggle,”she said.