Shortly afterwards, Gandhi arranged a camp near her village in which little Usha participated, attending sessions and doing a little spinning.

She and other children participated in early morning protests against the British Raj and picketing in front of liquor shops.

The elders responded by dressing up the children in the colours of the Indian flag (saffron, white and green) and sending them out in the streets a few days later.

She made an early decision to remain celibate for life and took up a spartan, Gandhian lifestyle, wearing only Khādī clothes and keeping away from luxuries of all types.

Gandhi and the Congress had announced that the Quit India Movement would commence on 9 August 1942 with a rally at Gowalia Tank grounds in Mumbai.

Many other leaders, including Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia, Achyutrao Patwardhan and Purushottam Trikamdas, also assisted the Secret Congress Radio.

During this time, she was held in solitary confinement and offered inducements such as the opportunity to study abroad if she would betray the movement.

However, she chose to remain silent and, during her trials, asked the Judge of the High Court whether she was required to answer the questions.

Although the Secret Congress Radio functioned only for three months, it greatly assisted the movement by disseminating uncensored news and other information banned by the British-controlled government of India.

The day India gained independence, Usha Mehta was confined to bed and could not attend the official function in New Delhi.

She later re-commenced her education and wrote a doctoral dissertation on the political and social thought of Gandhi, earning a PhD from the University of Bombay.

[5] She had a long association with Mumbai university in many capacities: as a student, as a research assistant, as a lecturer, a professor, and finally as the head of the department of civics and politics.

Over the years, she authored many articles, essays, and books in English and Gujarati, her mother tongue.

With time, Usha grew increasingly unhappy with the developments taking place in the social, political, and economic spheres of independent India.

She added that the freedom fighters of her generation felt that "once people were ensconced in positions of power, the rot would set in."

The other nephew is Dr Yatin Mehta, a well-known anaesthetist who was formerly the Director of Escorts Hospital and is associated with Medicity in Gurgaon now.