Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose
Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose (1897-??)
Subhash
Chandra Bose was a great patriot and a determined freedom fighter of India.
However, unlike other prominent leaders of the freedom movement, Gandhi and
Nehru, he believed that an armed rebellion was necessary to wrest independence
from the British. He was an extremist. Subhash was imbued with patriotic
fervour, and selfless service became a strong trait of his character.
Subhash was the son of a wealthy and prominent Bengali lawyer and was born in Cuttack (Orissa) in 1897. He came to study in Presidency College (Calcutta) in 1916 but was expelled for his nationalistic activities. He completed his graduation from Scottish Church College in 1919 and was sent by his parents to the University of Cambridge in England to prepare for the Indian Civil Service.
In 1920 he passed the Civil Service Examination, but, soon after, in April, 1921 after hearing of the nationalistic awakening in India, he resigned his candidacy and hurried back to India. He declared that he did not wish to wear ‘the emblem of servitude’. He took the ICS examination only to prove that the Indians are in no way less capable than the Britishers. This reflects the strong patriotic feeling of Subhash Chandra Bose. He also knew many foreign languages.
On his return he
volunteered to join the Non-cooperation Movement led by Gandhiji. Gandhiji
advised him to work under Chittarnjan Das (C.R. Das or Deshbandhu), who was a
lawyer and a politician of Bengal. Subhash became the Principal of the National
College established by Deshbandhu. When C.R. das became the Mayor of Calcutta,
Subhash was made the Chief Executive Officer of the Corporation. During his
tenure as the Chief Executive Officer, Subhash was so popular that the British
Government afraid of him. As an educator, journalist and commander of Bengal
Congress volunteers he played a very important role. He was imprisoned several
times for his patriotic activities.
However his idea
of the method for liberation was radically different from that of Gandhiji’s.
He was a Swarajist but he belonged to the Extremist faction of the Congress. He
was the President of the All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) and Youth
Congress. He wanted complete independence of his motherland at one stroke of
force. He demanded at the Calcutta Congress of 1928 that ‘complete
independence’ instead of ‘domain status’ should be the goal of Indian
nationalists. He repeatedly spoke on the rights of three large communities –
women, depressed classes and labouring masses.
He was
banished to Europe by the British but returned to become the Congress President
at Haripura in 1938 and in 1939 at the Tirupati session. Later he was
re-elected President by defeating Gandhiji’s candidate Dr. Pattabhai
Sitaramayya. Bose, got a resolution passed by the Jalpaiguri Distirct
Conference of the Congress which called for giving the British a six month
notice which was to be followed by a Mass Civil Disobedience Movement. This led
to a rift in the working Committee and all the Working Committee members resigned
on Gandhiji’s persuasion. The differences between Bose and Gandhiji gradually
increased and Bose resigned his post of President in April 29, 1939. On May 3,
1939, he established a new party, the Forward Bloc.
Subhash disagreed with Gandhiji because non-violence did not suit him. He wanted direct military action. Throughout his political career he received strong support from his brother Sarat Chandra Bose and from Rabindranath Tagore. The poet who regarded Subhash as ‘Deshnayak’ was confident that his apparent defeat would turn into a permanent victory. While under house-arrest he escaped in disguise and travelled Germany and Japan to gather anti-British support. From Berlin Radio he regularly broadcast to India urging his countrymen to rise against the British. In Tokyo he took over as leader (Netaji) of the Indian National Army (INA) or the Azad Hind Fauj, formed by expatriates which was formally inaugurated on 1st September, 1942. Bose proclaimed the inauguration of the Provisional Government of Free India at Singapore on October 21, 1943. It declared war against Britain and the U.S.A. The Provisional Government was accorded recognition by countries like Germany, Japan and Italy.
In 1945, the
Indian National Army invaded India from the North East and did occupy a part of
Imphal and Kohima. However after the defeat of Japan, the INA’s attempts were
aborted. However, Netaji’s attempt along with Gandhiji’s Quit India compelled
the British rulers to concede an early independence. Subhash did not live to
see India’s independence for he is believed to have been killed in an air
accident in 1945. However there is a controversy about his death.
Subhsh had no
formal military training. But he was a great organiser and was one of the
greatest orators of the freedom struggle. Like Vivekananda, Bose believed that
the body and the mind have to be equally strong along with nerves of iron and
muscles of steel to work for humanity. He gave the nation the salutation and
slogan of ‘Jai Hind’. He gave the INA the rousing war cries of ‘Delhi Chalo’ (March
on to Delhi) and ‘Total Mobilisation’. He inspired the Indian soldiers with the
words – ‘Give me blood, I will give you Freedom’. His Jhansi Rani Battalion
consisted only of women and proved an impressive asset for the freedom
struggle.
Subhash believed
‘Nobody can lose through suffering and sacrifice, if he does lose anything of
the earth he will gain more in return by becoming the heir to a life immortal’.
Long after his mortal end, Netaji remains deathless in the form of an
alternative vision. Netaji indeed, was a dedicated, devoted and dynamic hero of
the Indian national movement. He was a great nationalist and a patriot of
patriots. He is the pride of India. Though Netaji is no more, his daring spirit
and incomparable sacrifice is still leading us on the path for a better
tomorrow. However he will always be remembered as one of the heroes of our
freedom struggle, who were responsible for bringing about India’s Independence.
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