Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose: The forgotten hero

Subhash Chandra Bose was one of India’s greatest freedom fighter. He revived the Indian National Army, popularly known as ‘Azad Hind Fauj’ in 1943 which was initially formed in 1942 by Rash Behari Bose.

Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose had visited London during the pre-independence period to discuss the future of India, with the members of the Labor party.

His sudden disappearance from Taiwan, led to the surfacing of various theories, unfortunately, none of which were investigated thoroughly by successive governments; leaving people in the dark about one of the most beloved leaders India has ever produced.

 

Childhood & Early Life

 

Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose was born on 23 January 1897 in Cuttack (Orissa) to Janakinath Bose and Prabhavati Devi. Subhash was the ninth child of eight brothers and six sisters. His father, Janakinath Bose, was an affluent and successful lawyer in Cuttack and received the title of "Rai Bahadur". He later became a member of the Bengal Legislative Council. 

Subhash Chandra Bose was a very intelligent and sincere student but never had much interest in sports. He passed his B.A. in Philosophy from the Presidency College in Calcutta. He was strongly influenced by Swami Vivekananda’s teachings and was known for his patriotic zeal as a student. He also adored Vivekananda as his spiritual Guru.

Subhash Chandra Bose’s father wanted him to become a civil servant and therefore, sent him to England to appear for the Indian Civil Service Examination. Bose was placed fourth with highest marks in English. But his urge for participating in the freedom movement was intense that in April 1921, Bose resigned from the coveted Indian Civil Service and came back to India. Soon, he left home to become an active member of India’s independence movement. He later joined the Indian National Congress, and also elected as the president of the Youth wing party.

 

Association with Indian National Congress

Subhash Chandra Bose worked under the leadership of Chittaranjan Das, an active member of Congress in Calcutta. It was Chittaranjan Das, who along with Motilal Nehru, left Congress and founded the Swaraj Party in 1922. Subhash would regard Chittaranjan Das as his political guru.

While Chittaranjan Das was busy in developing the national strategy, Subhash Chandra Bose played a major role in enlightening the students, youth and labourers of Calcutta. He was eagerly waiting to see India, as an independent, federal and republic nation.

 

Opposition with Congress

In 1928, during the Guwahati Session of the Congress, a difference of opinion surfaced between the old and new members of the Congress. The young leaders wanted a "complete self-rule and without any compromise’ while the senior leaders were in favour of the "dominion status for India within the British rule".

The differences between moderate Gandhi and aggressive Subhash Chandra Bose swelled to irreconcilable proportions and Bose decided to resign from the party in 1939. He went on to form the Forward Bloc the same year.

Although he voiced his dislike for the British often in his correspondences, he also expressed his admiration for their structured way of life. He met with the leaders of the British Labor Party and political thinkers including Clement Attlee, Harold Laski, J.B.S. Haldane, Arthur Greenwood, G.D.H. Cole, and Sir Stafford Cripps and discussed the possibilities that an independent India might hold.

 

Formation of Azad Hind Force

Bose vehemently opposed the Congress decided to support the British during the Second World War. With the aim to initiate a mass movement, Bose called out to Indians for their whole-hearted participation. There was a tremendous response to his call “Give me blood and I will give you freedom” and the British promptly imprisoned him. In jail, he declared a hunger-strike. When his health deteriorated, the authorities, fearing violent reactions, released him but put him under house-arrest.

 

In January 1941, Subhash made a planned escape and reached Berlin, Germany via a detour through Peshawar. Germans assured him their full support in his endeavours and he gained the allegiance of Japan as well. He took a perilous journey back east and reached Japan where he assumed command over 40,000 soldiers recruited from Singapore and other South East Asian regions. He called his army the ‘Indian National Army’ (INA) and led the same to capture the Andaman and Nicobar islands from the British and rechristened it as Shaheed and Swaraj Islands. A provisional “Azad Hind Government” started functioning in the captured territories. The INA or the Azad Hind Fauj stared for India and crossed Burma Border, and stood on Indian soil on March 18, 1944. Unfortunately, the tide of the World War turned and the Japanese and German forces surrendered which forced him to call off further advancement. 

 

Disappearance

Although it was believed that Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose died in a plane crash, his body was never recovered. There have been many theories put forward regarding his disappearance. The government of India set up a number of committees to investigate the case and come out with the truth.

In May 1956, the Shah Nawaz Committee visited Japan to look into the situation of Bose’s assumed death. Citing their lack of political relations with Taiwan, the Centre, did not seek the assistance from their government. The reports of Justice Mukherjee Commission tabled in Parliament on 17 May 2006 said, “Bose did not die in the plane crash and the ashes at Renkoji temple are not his”. However, the findings were rejected by the government of India.

Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose has left a deep impact on the psyche of his countrymen. His slogan, ‘Jai Hind’ is still used in reverence to the country. The International airport in Kolkata has been named Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport to commemorate the charismatic leader.