One of India's greatest macabre but largely overlooked tragedies is the unfortunate sinking of the SS Ramdas boat owing to the sudden change in weather that took a toll of about 690 passengers on the fateful day of 17 July 1947, just a month before India’s independence.
This incident is comparable to the tragedy of Titanic.
This is the story of its Captain Sheikh Suleiman Ibrahim who, despite his personal tragedies and depression because his warnings to his superiors that the ship was not in a condition to sail remained unheard, had to face a macabre accident that not only shattered his personal life but also resulted in death of hundreds of innocents.
When he tried his best to save the boat from sinking, and saved many lives, when ashore, he fell victim to the charges leveled against him by the naval authorities and blamed by his superiors. He was fired by his company and was prosecuted. He was acquitted but eventually due to depression committed suicide.
Synopsis
India's independence is almost a month away. Because of the partition, Hindu-Muslim riots have reached a climax. The atmosphere in Mumbai is filled with religious tension on the one hand and the joy of freedom on the other. Sheikh Suleman Ibrahim is struggling with family problems while facing religious tension. He is an employee of the Indian Cooperative Steam Navigation Company as the captain of SS Ramdas boat which ferried passengers from Mumbai to Goa and the ports on the way. But the boat is ten years old now. She was used by the British during the Second World War and required heavy repairs. Although the boat was bought cheaply by the Steam Navigation Company, they were unwilling to spend on maintenance. Suleiman argues with the company's superiors about it, but they continue to avoid him, saying that there is nothing to fear as the boat will sail along the coast, not the deep sea.
17 July 1947. On the one hand, he is happy that freedom is at doorsteps, and on the other hand he is worried about the weather as the monsoon has begun. He reaches the harbor early in the morning. He is shocked to witness the rush of passengers. He boards the ship, thinking that since the boat has a capacity of only six hundred passengers, the rest will be turned down. He runs a routine checkup to find whether the requirements are met. His crew is busy. At the docks, his company officials manage to bribe the officials to board more passengers than permitted, but Suleiman has no idea.
But when he sees that more than 700 people are crammed into it, gets down from the boat and argues with his company superiors for overloading the boat which can prove dangerous. The officials manage to convince him that most of the passengers are only going to Revas port which is not far and that people are going to celebrate a festival. Trapped in the situation, Suleiman has no choice. Desperate, he goes to the boat and begins for departure.
Most of the passengers are mill workers and laborers. There are also some foreigners. Mitchell, a young curious woman in it is asking many questions to Suleiman to which he answers between his regular works. There is a jolly atmosphere on the boat. Passengers already are in a festive mood. His colleagues say that although the weather is rainy, it is not risky to sail. He regrets that there is no weather information system at the docks, nor does the boat have enough life jackets if any emergency arises. But he has to do what he has made available.
After some time the horn blares signaling the boat is leaving the harbor. The final rush reaches to height. People board the boat in a frenzy while quarreling with others over seats. The light of dawn has spread everywhere. Suleiman’s experience tells him that even though the sea looks gray and sky cloudy, the sail will be smooth. The engines of the boat start loudly humming, and he slowly maneuvers the boat out of the dock. As he now ensures the route and feels a little bit relaxed, Mitchell comes to his cabin with a complaint about a crew member. He sorts it out and then they both casually share their experiences. He is saddened to hear that Mitchell is pregnant and is visiting Goa to look for her missing husband. He tells about the troubles caused by his mentally retarded son. Rubin Sassoon, a Jewish traveler, joins their discussion sympathetically and when asked shares an experience of Hitler's brutal atrocities. Suleiman begins to sympathize with him. Just then, a commotion is heard on the deck. Suleiman rushes there. An argument seems to have reached to crescendo between Muslim passengers going to Jinji and Hindu passengers going to Rewas (Alibagh) and he fears the angered mobs will turn hostile against each other causing the riot. Suleiman sternly handles the passengers and tries to control them.
Those travelers who have become bloodthirsty start to abuse Suleiman for his being Muslim and partial to his brethren. This makes Suleiman angry and as soon he orders his crew to take such rascals in a downstairs engine room, the boat receives the first jolt of a monstrous wave. Suleiman sees the weather has completely changed and the rains are crashing like crazy. The tempest begins to show its vicious face. The high waves are throwing the boat on its whims. The passengers now are terrified and are running for support.
Suleiman hurriedly enters his cabin and takes control of the helm, ordering his crew to ask everyone to balance on both sides of the boat. Through that storm, rain, and tall waves, he can not see far and clear in the sea. But having been on this route, he knows the obstacles. He tries to get the ship safely out of the stormy waves, saving it from being hit by the rocks around Elephanta Island. Now his attempt is to reach the port of Revas first where he can wait for the weather to clear. He doesn't understand as yet how the weather changed so suddenly. As the ship nears the coast, threatened by the rocks, he finds himself in a quandary and desperately tries to sail the ship through the monstrous waves. He gets angry that there is no radio set on the ship to communicate in such an emergency which he has requested many times but his superiors have ignored it. Who will help now?
Passengers are now thinking about how to ignore the religious enmity and survive. The waves were so high that the water began to splash on the deck, terrifying everyone. With the lashes of the waves, the boat is being thrown here and there uncontrolled. People are collapsing, being thrown around and many getting injured. Mitchell is sitting in horror, clutching a pole. Sassoon is worried for his life. The poor people on the boat are screaming for their lives.
“This island of Kasha rocks must be avoided by any means...” yells Suleiman to his crew while expertly trying to maneuver the boat. As navigation tools are inadequate, he has to make his way with his own skills. The realization that they are not on track is frightening him too. He notes through the thick veil of the raging rains that the boat is somewhere around the rock island of Kasha. He is trying for his life to steer the ship away. But a monstrous wave crashes on the boat and it sways with a vicious jolt. In fright, all passengers rush to the left side, which imbalances the boat. Suleiman rushes out falteringly and yells not to commit such a suicidal act and to return to the original position. Frantically people try to obey him but another wave crashes hard against the ship, throwing it like a toy. The water in the ship reaches to alarming level. People in an attempt to save them anyhow become vicious. At that very moment, the boat hits a rock. As Suleiman tries to save the ship, another huge wave viciously hits the boat and it starts to sink completely. The outcry rises high and people frantically start jumping in the water, but the stormy waves start swallowing them in an instant.
Sassoon jumps into the water holding Mitchell's hand. Thinking now there was nothing he could do to save the boat and passengers and as the ship overturned raising its bow sky high and then nose-diving, Suleiman had no option but to abandon it and save his life. With a select few life jackets on board in no time Suleiman jumps into the crazy waters with his crew members. While swimming he tries to save people as much as he can. He sees Mitchell and Sassoon fighting with the terrific waves. He makes the distance somehow and gives his jacket to Mitchell despite her protests and continues to swim. But as soon as Suleiman is out of sight, Sassoon viciously snatches the jacket from her leaving her behind to her fate, and continues to swim ahead. Mitchell, now totally disillusioned, surrenders her to the wrath of nature.
After some time the unprecedented storm stops. Fishermen ashore in fishing boats waiting for storm to subside, see corpses flown by the stormy waves floating around. They save the few who are alive. Some manage to swim to different shores. Suleiman is exhausted from swimming. He realizes that he is moving towards Mumbai but is afraid of whether he can manage the distance. He is depressed and tries to float on the water. In delirium, he starts I start to miss home. He becomes delusional. His senses are in disarray. By the time he regains consciousness, it is already a cloudy afternoon. He anticipates the waves, gathers his strength again, and starts swimming. He sees many corpses floating around. From the color of the dress, he realizes that one of the corpses is Mitchell's. He desperately approaches her but notices that she is dead and the jacket is not with her. He realizes that Sassoon has misbehaved.
He reaches the Gateway of India and falls unconscious. People take him to the hospital. As the bodies and survivors wash up on the shore, the Coast Guard and the Mazgaon dock realize the grisly accident. They undertook a rescue operation but there was no one to save. The boat was lying at sea bottom and despite salvage operations, later, it would remain so till 1956 when it surfaced on its own. Officials of the Indian Cooperative Steam Navigation Company are panicked. They are terrified of being investigated by the Navy and dock authorities.
Suleiman recovers but is beset by depression. The horror of death is still haunting him. He faces the interrogation. The Maritime Court starts proceedings. Since independence has been achieved, the brunt of this terrible accident is heavy on Mumbai. Therefore, the judiciary is thinking of taking a strict stand. But the company blames and lays off some executives, including Suleiman. But before the court, Suleiman points out the shortcomings of keeping the ship in use despite its unusability, lack of lifeboats, lifejackets, and radio set. Seven hundred people lost their lives to selfish dock officials and company greed, he states lamentingly. But the company's lawyers claim that the boat sank because of bad maneuvering it hit the rocks of Kasha Island and that the company cannot be held responsible.
Finally, the case ends with the court only ordering wireless sets and security devices to be installed on all passenger boats and acquits Suleiman of the charges.
Suleiman becomes lonely, disgraced, and jobless. In depression, he starts acting like crazy. With the child, his wife leaves him. One evening he comes to the seashore in despair. Unmindfully, as if some force is pulling him, walks deep into the water. As he feels the outcries of drowning people, he gets impatient and goes on until he drowns.
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