What comes to people’s mind when they think of exemplary indian freedom fighters? Most would say that it is Mahatma Gandhi. But there is someone who also deserves all the recognition and needs no introduction.
A true revolutionary and a nationalist leader, Subhash Chandra Bose is, undoubtedly, one of the prominent names that features among
the great people who gave their lives only for the independence of India. He is
popular across the country for the famous quote, “Give me Blood and I will give
you Freedom”.
Beginnings
This legendary leader was born on 23 January 1897 in the
city of Cuttack in Odisha. Born to Janakinath Bose and Prabhavati Devi. Subhash
was the ninth child among eight brothers and six sister siblings. His father, Janakinath
Bose, was an influential and very successful lawyer in Cuttack. Subhas’s dad
received the title of "Rai Bahadur” for his successful career.
Subhash Chandra Bose had a love for his country right from
childhood. Even in his school days, he was always against the malpractices
carried out by the British towards the Indians.
Following his father’s desire, Bose cleared the examination of
IAS with a fourth rank and secured a job with the civil service department but
could not continue with the same for long. According to Bose, continuing the
work would mean working under an alien government and serving the British,
which he morally did not approve of since childhood.
The Congress Years
Like many other Indian nationalist leaders, Netaji too
envisioned an independent India and a complete or Poorna Swaraj from British
Raj. Though Bose’s ideology and philosophy did not match with Mahatma Gandhi
and many other Indian National Congress leaders, his vision was just the same
as any other nationalist hero.
He was known for his political acumen and military knowledge
and for his struggle which he often referred to as a moral crusade. Founder of
the Azad Hind Radio, Azad Hind Fauj and Azad Hind Government in exile, Bose
made his intentions very clear right from the very beginning.
During his stay in Berlin, he met and fell in love with
Emily Schenkl, who was a woman of Austrian origin. Bose and Emily were married
in 1937 in a secret Hindu ceremony and Emily then gave birth to their daughter
Anita in 1942. Shortly after the birth of their daughter, Bose left Germany in
1943 to come back to India and carry forward his ideologies.
Dispute with the Congress In 1928, during the Guwahati Session of the Congress, there
was a difference of opinion that surfaced between the old and new members of
the Congress. The young leaders wanted a complete self-rule of Indians without
any compromise, while the senior leaders were in favor of the dominion status
for India within the British rule.
Post resigning from the Congress presidency, Bose organized
the Forward Bloc on June 22, 1939. Though Bose openly opposed the British, he
was kind of impressed by their methodical and systematic approach and their
steadfastly disciplinarian outlook towards life The differences between moderate Gandhi and the more aggressive
Subhash Chandra Bose swelled to irreconcilable proportions and Bose decided to
resign from the party in 1939 and within the same year, he formed the Forward Bloc.
Formation of the INA
Bose vehemently opposed the Congress as they decided to support the
British during the Second World War. The INA (Indian National Army), was originally founded in 1942 by Captain General Mohan Singh and then was headed by nationalist leader Rash Behari Bose. Rash Behari Bose handed complete control of the organization.to Subhash Chandra Bose.
The INA thus came to be known as the Azad Hind Fauj and Subhas was called ‘Netaji’.With the aim to initiate a mass movement, He sought the participation of young patriots who were willing to take part in the freedom struggle, receiving an overwhelming response due to his charismatic and radical approach. The colonial authorities were quick to see this as a threat and Netaji was imprisoned. He went on to protest with a hunger strike and as his health began to deteriorate, he was released.
However, Germany’s fall in the war and the eventual retreat
of the German army, however, led Bose to believe that his association with the Germans would no longer serve his cause. Devastated by the loss, Bose slipped out of Germany aboard a
submarine to reach Japan in 1943. Bose's arrival at Singapore gave hopes of a
revival of the movement.
The mystery of Netaji’s death.
Netaji disappeared mysteriously soon after his retreat. It
is said that he went back to Singapore and met Hisaichi Terauchi, head of all
military operations in South East Asia who arranged for him a flight to Tokyo.
He boarded a heavy bomber from the Saigon Airport on August 17, 1945. The following day, while on flight, the bomber crashed
shortly after take-off after a night stop over in Taiwan. Witnesses report that
Bose sustained some intense third-degree burns in the process. The doctors in
the hospital where he was submitted were surprised at the consciousness of
Subhash even after the burns.
He succumbed to his burn injuries on
Aug 18, 1945. He was supposedly cremated on August 20 in Taihoku Crematorium
and his ashes were laid to rest at the Renkji Temple of Nichiren Buddhism in
Tokyo. However, many people claim that Netaji had not died in the
crash, but instead lived the rest of his life in anonymity.
Bose was a charismatic influencer of the younger generation and earned the epithet of ‘Netaji’ when he established and lead the Indian National Army (INA) during India’s struggle for its independence. The very name of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose
continues to inspire generations of Indians even today.
-by Sonal Bera
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