Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose
Early life of Subhash Chandra Bose
Subhash Chandra Bose was born to a Bengali family
on January 23, 1897 in Cuttack. His parents were Janakinath Bose who was a well
reputed advocate and Prabhavati Devi. He was the ninth child of a total of
fourteen siblings.
Subhash Chandra Bose’s nationalistic temperament
first came to light at the Presidency College, Calcutta where he studied
briefly, when he was rusticated for assaulting Professor Oaten for his
anti-India comments in his classroom to all his pupils. Bose later went on to
top the matriculation examination of Calcutta province in 1911 and passed his
B.A. in 1918 in philosophy from the Scottish Church College.
Political career
In 1923, he was elected President of the All India
Youth Congress as well as Secretary of Bengal State Congress. He also worked as
an editor for Deshbahdhu Das’s newspaper “Forward.” In a roundup of
nationalists in 1925, Bose was arrested and sent to prison in Mandalay, where
he contracted tuberculosis. After spending two years in prison, Bose was
released and was appointed the General Secretary of the Congress party and
worked closely with Jawaharlal
Nehru for Independence.
During the mid-1930s Bose travelled in Europe,
visiting Indian students and European politicians, including Mussolini. He
observed party organization and saw communism and fascism in action. By 1938,
he had become a leader of national stature and agreed to accept a nomination
for Congress president. He stood for Swaraj (self-governance), as well as using
force against the British but this however meant a confrontation with Gandhi,
which also created a rift between him and Nehru.
Holwell Monument
On the outbreak of World War II, Subhash Chandra
Bose advocated a campaign of mass civil disobedience to protest against Viceroy
Lord Linlithgow’s decision to declare war on India’s behalf without consulting
the Congress leadership. Bose organized mass protests in Calcutta calling for
the ‘Holwell Monument,’ which then stood at the corner of Dalhousie Square, to
be removed. Bose was thrown into jail, but was released following a seven-day
hunger strike.
Escape from Kolkata
Bose’s house in Calcutta was kept under
surveillance by the CID. With two court cases pending, he felt the British
would not let him leave the country before the end of the war. Subhash Chandra
Bose planned an escape with the help of his nephew sir K. Bose in a car, dressed
as a Pathan sporting a long beard which he grew overnight. This car which he
used to escape is displayed at his home in Calcutta.
Escape to Germany
Subhash Chandra Bose escaped to Germany, via
Afghanistan and the Soviet Union. In Germany he founded the Indian Legion
consisting of 3000 soldiers out of Indian prisoners of war who had fought for
the British in North Africa prior to their capture by Axis forces. Its members
swore the following allegiance to Hitler and Bose: “I swear by God this holy oath
that I will obey the leader of the German race and state, Adolf Hitler, as the
commander of the German armed forces in the fight for India, whose leader is
Subhash Chandra Bose.”
Instead of being delighted, Subhash Chandra Bose
was worried. An admirer of Russia, Bose was devastated when Hitler’s tanks
rolled across the Soviet border. Matters worsened when the now-retreating
German army would be in no position to offer him help in driving the British
from India. So, in February 1943, Bose turned his back on his legionnaires and
slipped secretly away aboard a submarine bound for Japan. Travelling onboard
the German submarine U-180 around the Cape of Good Hope he reached Imperial
Japan (via Japanese submarine I-29). This was the only civilian transfer between
two submarines of two different Navies in World War II.
Formation of Indian National Army
The idea of a liberation army was revived with the
arrival of Subhas Chandra Bose in the Far East in 1943. Bose took control of
the Indian
National Army (INA) and was able to reorganize the fledgling
army and organize massive support among the expatriate Indian population in
south-east Asia. At its height the INA consisted of some 85,000 regular troops,
including a separate women’s unit headed by Capt. Lakshmi Swaminathan, which
was seen as a first of its kind in Asia. The
regiment’s name was Rani Jhansi.
Even when faced with military reverses,Subhash
Chandra Bose was able to maintain support for the Azad Hind movement. The INA
along with the Japanese fought in key battles against the British Army of
India. Spoken as a part of a motivational speech for the Indian National Army
at a rally of Indians in Burma on July 4, 1944, Bose’s most famous quote was
“Give me blood, and I shall give you freedom!” In this, he urged the people of
India to join him in his fight against the British Raj. In 1942, he earned the title 'Netaji', in
Germany by the Indian soldiers of the Azad Hind Fauj.
Possession of Andaman and Nicobar Islands
The INA’s first commitment was in the Japanese
thrust towards Eastern Indian frontiers of Manipur. The INA and the Japanese
also took possession of Andaman and Nicobar Islands in 1942 and a year later,
the Provisional Government of the INA was established in the Andaman and
Nicobar Islands. The islands were renamed Shaheed (Martyr) and Swaraj
(Independence). On the Indian mainland, the Indian tricolour, modelled after
the Indian National Congress, was raised for the first time in the town of
Moirang, in Manipur.
It was the battle of Kohima and Imphal which had a significant
impact on the Indian National Army. The Japanese could no longer fund their
armies, and eventually surrendered. The INA were no match for the British
troops, without the help of the Japanese, and therefore surrendered to the
British as well.
Death of Subhas Chandra Bose
Mystery still surrounds the disappearance and
eventual death of Subhash Chandra Bose though he is alleged to have died in a
place crash in Taipei, Taiwan, on 18 August 1945 while en route to Tokyo. The
Imperial Japanese Army Air Force Bomber he was travelling on had engine trouble
and when it crashed Bose was badly burned, dying in a local hospital four hours
later.
The 23rd of January is observed as
Parakram Diwas every year to inspire
people of the country, especially the
youth, to act with fortitude in the face
of adversity as Netaji did, and to infuse
in them a spirit of patriotic fervour.
