The Indian Titanic

Who could forget the epic Jack and Rose from Titanic, directed by James Cameron? Was Titanic the only ship that sank to the mercy of the sea?  During the year November 1942, when a total of 732 passengers traveled from India to Africa in the magnificent SS Tilawa. It was the period when the world was at war and India was not given independence. And the Tilawa became prey to the rage of the Japanese army, swollen by the Indian Ocean.

The SS Tilawa ship set to sail in November 1942- source: scroll.in

While with the immortalization of the sufferings of the voyagers of Titanic by James Cameron, the world came to know about the story of the Titanic tragedy that happened during the year 1912, likewise, there is a forgotten sorrow that India holds too. It is the story that happened in the November of 1942 when a total of 732 passengers traveled from India to Africa in the magnificent SS Tilawa. Tilawa left Bombay with 222 crew members, 732 passengers, 4 gunners and 6472 tonnes of cargo to Durbin, South Africa, carrying people of different social status with dreams to build up a new journey in a different continent or the curiosity to see home after months. It was the period when the world was at war and India was not given independence. The Tilawa became prey to the rage of the Japanese army. Was it a story of rage or a war fight or a war trail? Whatever it might be, it took away more than 200 innocent lives.

The reports by various survivors of this tragedy say that the Tilawa was torpedoed by the Imperial Japanese Navy’s I-29 submarine near Seychelles. This caused huge chaos among the passengers since the bang was too heavy and it broke the silence of the night and was obviously one of the daring nights for the passengers too. As soon as the torpedo was hit, the ship started sinking and an alert was sent by the first officer of the ship. Due to the attack a few cabin parts got locked. The fire axe was used to smash the doors and free the passengers who got locked into such cabins. The people were pushed to reach for the lifeboats to safeguard their lives. There was utter chaos in the wrecked ship with people running, scrambling and stamping around to save their lives, which made the work of the rescue team harder than it could ever be. While there were screams of pain and fear, the lifeboats couldn’t accompany many and hence few passengers were forced to fall into the sea and drown. While the remaining few who were still alive managed to stay afloat by holding onto the wreckage of the ship. The real motives of the Japanese Imperial Navy remain unclear to this day. Some saviors have speculated that it was after the bullion on the ship, but that would not explain why the Japanese sank the Tilawa instead of commandeering it. 208 people perished in the tragedy, meeting a watery grave in the depths of the Indian Ocean. The survivors had narrated harrowing tales about the two days there were adrift in the Indian Ocean. Many survivors went without food and water until they were rescued by HMS Birmingham in the early hours of November 25. The ship managed to save 674 souls.

There are still many unanswered questions about the sinking of the SS Tilawa, but it is no longer forgotten. Efforts to commemorate the incident have helped bring together people from India, Africa, Britain and North America who are united by their common grief and the desire to preserve the memory of those who perished in an incident that has found mention in the history books.