Subhas Chandra Bose
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Date of Birth |
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Jan 23, 1897 |
Date of Death |
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Aug 18, 1945 |
Place of Birth |
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Orissa |
Subhash Chandra Bose (January 23, 1897 - August 18, 1945?), also known
as Netaji, was one of the most prominent leaders of the Indian
Independence Movement against the British Raj. Subhas Chandra Bose was
born to an affluent family in Cuttack, Orissa. His father, Janakinath
Bose, was a public prosecutor who believed in orthodox nationalism, and
later became a member of the Bengal Legislative Council. His mother was
Prabhavati Bose, a remarkable example of Indian womanhood. Bose was
educated at Cambridge University. In 1920, Bose took the Indian Civil
Service entrance examination and was placed second. However, he resigned
from the prestigious Indian Civil Service in April 1921 despite his
high ranking in the merit list, and went on to become an active member
of India's independence movement. He joined the Indian National
Congress, and was particularly active in its youth wing. Subhas Chandra
Bose felt that young militant groups could be molded into a military arm
of the freedom movement and used to further the cause. Gandhiji opposed
this ideology because it directly conflicted with his policy of ahimsa
(non-violence). The British Government in India perceived Subhas as a
potential source of danger and had him arrested without any charge on
October 25, 1924. He was sent to Alipore Jail, Calcutta and in January
25, 1925 transferred to Mandalay, Burma. He was released from Mandalay
in May, 1927 due to his ill health. Upon return to Calcutta, Subhas was
elected President of the Bengal Congress Committee on October 27, 1927.
Subhas was one of the few politicians who sought and
worked towards Hindu-Muslim unity on the basis of respect of each
community's rights. Subhas, being a man of ideals, believed in
independence from the social evil of religious discord. In January 1930
Subhas was arrested while leading a procession condemning imprisonment
of revolutionaries. He was offered bail on condition that he signs a
bond to refrain from all political activities, which he refused. As a
result he was sentenced to a year's imprisonment. On his release from
jail, Subhas was sworn in as Mayor of the Calcutta Corporation. In 1931
the split between Gandhiji and Subhas crystallized. Although the two
never saw eye to eye on their view of freedom and the movement itself,
Subhas felt that Gandhiji had done a great disservice to the movement by
agreeing to take part in the Second Round Table Conference. Subhas
viewed freedom as an absolute necessity, unlike the freedom which
Gandhiji was "negotiating" with the British. Subhas was arrested again
while returning from Bombay to Calcutta, and imprisoned in several jails
outside West Bengal in fear of an uprising. His health once again
deteriorated and the medical facilities diagnosed him with tuberculosis.
It was recommended that he be sent to Switzerland for treatment.
Realizing that his avenues abroad were greater with the restrictions of
the British, Subhas set sail for Europe on February 23, 1933. Subhas
stayed in various parts of Europe from March 1993 to March 1936 making
contacts with Indian revolutionaries and European socialists supporting
India's Struggle for Independence. Subhas met Mussolini in Italy and
made Vienna his headquarters. Subhas was opposed to the racial theory of
Nazism but appreciated its organizational strength and discipline. On
March 27, 1936 he sailed for Bombay and but was escorted to jail
immediately after disembarking. After lying low for a year, he was able
to work actively. He attended the All India Congress Committee Session
in Calcutta, the first one he attended after a lapse of nearly six
years. Time had healed the tensions between Subhas and Gandhiji, and
Gandhiji supported Subhas in his efforts to become the President of the
next Congress session, 1938. He went to England for a month in 1938 and
rallied for the Indian freedom cause amongst Indian students and British
labor leaders sympathetic toward India's cause. It was a bold move
since he was constantly under British surveillance. Upon his return to
India in February 1938, Subhas was elected President of the Indian
National Congress. An excerpt from his Presidential address read, "I
have no doubt in my mind that our chief national problems relating to
the eradication of poverty, illiteracy and disease and the scientific
production and distribution can be tackled only along socialistic
lines... ." Subhas emphasized that political freedom alone would not be
sufficient, as the ills of the British reign would continue to haunt
post-Independent India. He stressed the need to solve linguistic and
religious prejudices and to achieve a high literacy rate amongst
Indians. Gandhiji found Subhas's ideologies far too leftist and strongly
disagreed with Subhas's criticism of village industries and stress on
competing with the rest of the world in the Industrial age. Opposition
from Sardar Vallabhai Patel, lack of support from Gandhiji and Nehru's
indecision marked Subhas's year as the President of the Congress. One of
Subhas' major contributions was setting up of a National Planning
Committee, for the development of an economic program running parallel
to the national movement. Differences between Gandhiji and Subhas led to
a crisis when Gandhiji opposed Subhas' idea that the Bengal Government
(a coalition between the Krishak Praja Party & Muslim League) be
ousted and the Congress take charge in coalition with the Krishak party.
The idea was criticized by Gandhiji and Nehru, which resulted in the
strengthening of the Muslim League in Bengal and ultimately partition of
India. It is obvious today that had Subhas been able to carry out his
plans, Bengal would be a different entity on the atlas. Despite
opposition from the Congress brass, Subhas was a favorite amongst the
majority as he was re-elected for a second term in March 1939. Gandhiji
considered Subhas's victory as his personal defeat and went on a fast to
rally the members of the Working Committee to resign. Subhas resigned
and Dr. Rajendra Prasad assumed the Presidency of the Congress. In May
1939, Subhas formed the Forward Bloc within the Congress as an umbrella
organization of the left forces within the Congress. Gandhiji and his
supporters accused Subhas of breach of Congress party discipline and
drafted a resolution removing Subhas from the Congress Working Committee
and restrained him from holding any office for three years. On
September 3, 1939 Subhas was informed that war had broken out between
Britain and Germany. Subhas discussed the idea of an underground
struggle against the British with members of the Forward Bloc. Subhas
pressurized the Congress leaders to get a Declaration of War Aims from
the Viceroy; he declined. Subhas was elected President of the West
Bengal Provincial Congress. In December the Congress Working Committee
subverted the Provincial Committee's authority and appointed its own ad
hoc committee. The Forward Bloc progressively became militant and by
April 1940 most of its senior members were arrested. Subhas was
convinced that the only way he could bring about India's Independence
was by leaving the country and fighting from foreign territories. He had
made contact with radical Punjab and Pathan activists who had contacts
in Afghanistan and Russia to organize a militia. Subhas knew that
Britain was in a vulnerable position following the surrender of France
in June 1940. He announced the launch of Siraj-ud-daula Day on July 3,
in memory of the last king of Bengal who was defeated by Clive. His plan
was to hold a procession and to unify Hindu and Muslim nationalists.
The Government interceded and imprisoned Subhas on July 2, 1940 in
Presidency Jail, Calcutta. Netaji believed that foreign assistance was a
must to free India from British rule. In 1939, when the Second World
War broke out, Subhas sought assistance from Germany, Italy, and Japan
as they were enemies of Britain and thus would be natural allies. In
1941, he evaded a house-arrest in Calcutta by disguising himself as a
Maulavi and going to Kabul, Afghanistan. Later, he procured an Italian
passport and fled to Berlin, Germany. There he met Hitler and discussed
his plans and sought his assistance to free India. He also sought
assistance from Mussolini. From time to time, he aired his speeches on
the Azad Hind Radio from Berlin to communicate his intentions to fellow
Indians and to prove that he was still alive. After the defeat of
Germany, Netaji realized that he could not continue his struggle from
Germany anymore. Ultimately, Netaji reached Japan in June, 1943. He
established the Indian National Army (INA) with some 30,000 Indian
soldiers. He also set up a radio network in South East Asia in order to
appeal to the people, both in India and outside, for support. The INA
declared war against Britain and America. However, the INA had to
retreat from the Indo-Burmese border after a heavy defeat of the
Japanese troops there. The British defense was impenetrable. Though the
"Delhi Chalo" mission failed, Netaji proved to the world that his
determination was strong and his attitude was positive in his dream to
free India from the clutches of the British.
On August 16, 1945 Netaji boarded a plane from Singapore to Bangkok.
Netaji was scheduled to fly in a Type 97-2 bomber 'Sally' from Bangkok
to Saigon. The plane made a stopover in Taipei and crashed within
minutes of take-off from Taipei. Netaji's body was cremated in Taipei on
August 20, 1945 and his ashes were flown to Tokyo on September 5, 1945
where they rest in the Renkoji Temple. To this day, many believe that
Netaji escaped from the air crash and went into hiding.
Netaji wanted unconditional and complete freedom. He dreamed of a
classless society with no caste barriers, social inequalities or
religious intolerance. He believed in equal distribution of wealth and
destruction of communalism. His slogan "Jai Hind" still acts as a great
binding force today