Ahead of the 75th anniversary of the Bombay docks explosion, a retired navy commander will train the spotlight on the systemic failure that caused it, and why it is symptomatic of our times
The smoke swallowed it all. Lives, property - and the reason that caused it. The cloud of grey that billowed after the Bombay docks explosion on April 14, 1944, has been long extinguished, but the little-explored reasons behind the tragedy continue to stoke up the academic interest of Commander Mohan Narayan IN (Retd). After seven months of extensive research and ahead of the explosion's 75th anniversary, Narayan, who has been the longest-serving curator of the Maritime History Society (MHS), Mumbai, will deliver a public lecture in the city.
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Apart from taking listeners through what caused the tragedy, he will also draw parallels between how the officialdom failed the city then, and continues to do so today.
Edited excerpts from an interview.
What drew your attention to the Bombay docks explosion?
Let me first point it out that I am not a historian. And if you want to be charitable, call me a history buff. Part of my job as curator of the MHS from 2000 to 2015 was studying this episode, and a lot has been written about it. I am not being presumptuous here, but what people covered was what happened after the explosion [the loss of lives, property, the impact and sound of the explosion, the gold that people continued to find much later]. Not many actually wrote or spoke about why it happened and so, I wanted to bring out that story. Was it just an accident or was it a disaster waiting to happen?
(Top and above) The aftermath of the explosion
And which one of the two was it?
It happened during Second World War, and during wartime, a lot of safety regulations that are otherwise adhered to are given a go. Because of that, in the guise of wartime exigencies, what happened on the [freighter] Stikine was unfortunate. Every regulation on embarking hazardous and explosive cargo was flouted. In fact, the captain of the ship had raised concerns about the cargo, which included cotton, sulphur, lubricating oil in leaking drums and explosives. What happened inside the Port Trust was another aspect. There was callous attitude displayed by people handling the cargo; ammunition otherwise not allowed in the dockyard during peaceful times was let in. There were errors of judgement, and lack of common sense. It was a collective failure. When we look at it from the wisdom of hindsight, it was a disaster waiting to happen that could have been avoided.
How did you piece together the narrative?
After working on it for seven months, there came a stage when I nearly gave up. Except one book by American writer John Ennis on the explosion, I didn't come across any literature by Indian authors. But I couldn't go by just one book. But I had read that there was an enquiry commission set up for this. So, when I got hold of its report, it became my primary reference.
You find the tragedy symptomatic of our times.
Yes, [it brings to mind] the hoary cliché of the spirit of Mumbai when the officialdom fails people. Even in 1944, there were 20 to 25 instances when the common man rose to the occasion. Then, there were the firemen who manned the entire stretch of Mohammad Ali Road and created a firewall to prevent fire from spreading westward. That's why April 14 is commemorated every year as National Fire Service Day. The Bombay port was of strategic importance, and to rebuild it, the army was roped in. They got the port going in six months. If the explosion was testimony to man's folly, the reconstruction of the port and docks was the epitome of man's ingenuity.
ON: April 10, 6 pm
AT: Visitors' Centre, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalya, Fort.
CALL: 22844484
Commander Mohan Narayan
A relic in safe custody
Commander Narayan speaks of how few Mumbaikars who lived in the city at the time of the explosion are alive today. But if you wish to get a glimpse of its magnitude, St Xavier's High School in Fort has kept a relic from that fateful April day in 1944 in safe custody. Such was the impact of the explosion that a shred of the Canadian-built, American-owned and British-operated ship's propeller landed in the school's compound!
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