Madras: Japanese bombing, 1943
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October 11, 1943/ The Bombing, in brief
No one knew for 3 days
V Ayyappan, When Madras was bombed, no one knew for three days, Nov 26, 2017: The Times of India
HIGHLIGHTS
When a Japanese plane bombed the city on the night of October 11, 1943, no one knew about it for three days.
The city had been preparing for the bombing for five years but when it finally came the air raid siren was silent.
CHENNAI: Madras was well prepared to face an air raid from the Japanese during World War II. Air raid shelters were built, sirens installed, slit trenches dug and pamphlets that told residents how to stay safe pasted everywhere. But when a Japanese plane finally bombed the city on the night of October 11, 1943, no one knew about it for three days.
"The city was reeling under the impact of a massive flood which triggered a power blackout. There was no radio, no newspapers and no electricity so people did not know about it. A single Japanese reconnaissance plane dropped a few bombs resulting in, what the government claimed were 'light damage' and 'causalties'," said novelist and historian Venkatesh Ramakrishnan.
Speaking on 'The World War and Madras' organised by CPR Foundation on Saturday, Ramakrishnan said, "The city had been preparing for the bombing for five years but when it finally came the air raid siren was silent. The bombs landed north of Fort St George area. The Japanese were surprised that there was radio silence and absence of lights in the city." Rumours slowly started to spread that several had died in the bombing. However, the government clarified that only two people were killed. Panic, rumours, relocation of government offices, mass migration out of the city and burglars who stole locks dominated life in Madras during World War II. There was constant panic and fear when the Japanese forces occupied Singapore and air raids began over Colombo, he added.
When the government told banks and firms to "shift from exposed positions," people fled. Within a week, half a million people left Madras and that pushed rent up in small towns like Kumbakonam. The surgeon general noted that the in-patient population of Madras General Hospital had come down to one-fourth of its usual number.
There was a huge demand for locks. The lock factory at Dindigul was making only 300 locks per month but the demand was higher as there were around 1 lakh houses in the city. "Thieves targeted locked houses and stole the locks," he said. People were encouraged to share cars. A notice that told people to join a car-sharing club read, "When you ride alone you ride with Hitler."
