Yesterdate: This day from Kolkata’s past, August 14, 1947

On this day, Mahatma Gandhi, who was staying at Hyderi Manzil in Beleghata, held what would be his last prayer meeting in British India. He was in Calcutta to stop the communal riots that had broken out in the city before Independence. Beleghata was severely affected.

After the meeting, he addressed a crowd with former Bengal Premier H.S. Suhrawardy.

The address had a calming effect on the crowd. Gandhi then sat at his charkha and spun for a while. He went to rest around 11pm. When India’s Independence was proclaimed at midnight, Gandhi was asleep. He woke up at 2am on August 15 and met a group of visitors.

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