Subhashchandra Bose

Subhash Chandra Bose, affectionately called as Netaji, was a born leader and one of the most prominent leaders of Indian freedom struggle. Though Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru have much of the credit for successful culmination of Indian freedom struggle, the contribution of Subhash Chandra Bose is no less. He has been denied his rightful place in the records of Indian history.


He founded Indian National Army (Azad Hind Fauj) to overthrow British Empire from India and came to acquire legendary status among Indian masses.

EARLY DAYS & EDUCATION


Subhash Chandra Bose was born on January 23, 1897 in Cuttack, Orissa. His father Janaki Nath Bose was a famous lawyer and his mother Prabhavati Devi was a pious and religious lady. Subhas was the ninth child among fourteen siblings. He was a brilliant student right from the childhood. He topped the matriculation examination of Calcutta province and graduated with a First Class in Philosophy from the Scottish Churches College in Calcutta. He was strongly influenced by Swami Vivekananda’s teachings and was known for his patriotic zeal as a student. To fulfill his parents’ wishes he went to England in 1919 to compete for Indian Civil Services.


In England he appeared for the Indian Civil Service competitive examination in 1920, and came out fourth in order of merit. However, Subhash Chandra Bose was deeply disturbed by the Jallianwalla Bagh massacre, and left his Civil Services apprenticeship midway to return to India in 1921.
HIS POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY
After returning to India, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose came under the influence of Mahatma Gandhi and joined the Indian National Congress. On Gandhiji's instructions, he started working under Deshbandhu Chittaranjan Das, whom he later acknowledged his political Guru. Soon he showed his leadership qualities and gained his way up in the Congress' hierarchy. In 1928 the Motilal Nehru Committee appointed by the Congress, declared in favour of Domination Status, but Subhash Chandra Bose and Jawaharlal Nehru opposed it, and both asserted that they would be satisfied with nothing short of complete independence for India.


Subhash also announced the formation of the Independence League. Bose was jailed during Civil Disobedience movement in 1930. He was released in 1931 after Gandhi-Irwin pact was signed. He protested against this and opposed the suspension of Civil Disobedience movement especially when Bhagat Singh and his associates were hanged.
PARTICIPATION IN FREEDOM MOVEMENT
Netaji Subash Chandra Bose was soon arrested again under the ugly Bengal Regulation. After an year he was released on medical grounds and was banished from India to Europe. He took steps to establish centers in different European capitals with a view to promote politico-cultural contacts between India and Europe. Breaking the ban on his entry to India, Subash Chandra Bose returned to India and was again arrested and jailed for a year.


HIS POLITICAL LIFE


After the General Elections of 1937, the Indian National Congress came to power in seven states and Subash Chandra Bose was released. Shortly afterwards he was elected President of the Haripura Congress Session in 1938. During his term as Congress President, he talked of planning in concrete terms, and set up a National planning Committee in October that year. At the end of his first term, the presidential elections to the Tripuai Congress session took place early 1939. Subhash Chandra Bose was re-elected, defeating Dr. Pattabhi Sitaramayya who had been backed by Mahatma Gandhi and the Congress Working Committee


ESTABLISHING INA


Clouds of World War II were on the horizon and he brought a resolution to give the British six months to hand India over to the Indians, failing which there would be a revolt. There was much opposition to his rigid stand, and he resigned from the post of president and formed a progressive group known as the Forward Block.


Subhas Chandra Bose now started a mass movement against utilizing Indian resources and men for the great war. There was a tremendous response to his call and he was put under house arrest in Calcutta. In January 1941,


AN EXTREMIST IN PATRIOTISM


Subhas Chandra Bose disappeared from his home in Calcutta and reached Germany via Afghanistan. Working on the proverb that "an enemy's enemy is a friend", he sought cooperation of Germany and Japan against British Empire. In January 1942, he began his regular broadcasts from Radio Berlin, which aroused tremendous enthusiasm in India. In July 1943, he arrived in Singapore from Germany. In Singapore he took over the reins of the Indian Independence Movement in East Asia from Rash Behari Bose and organised the Azad Hind Fauj (Indian National Army) comprising mainly of Indian prisoners of war. He was hailed as Netaji by the Army as well as by the Indian civilian population in East Asia. Azad Hind Fauj proceeded towards India to liberate it from British rule. On the way, it lliberated Andeman and Nicobar Islands. The I.N.A. Head quarters was shifted to Rangoon in January 1944. Azad Hind Fauj crossed the Burma Border, and stood on Indian soil on March 18 1945.


LAST DAYS


However, defeat of Japan and Germany in the Second World War forced INA to retreat and it could not achieve its objective. Subhash Chandra Bose was reportedly killed in an air crash over Taipei, Taiwan (Formosa) on August 18, 1945. Though it is widely believed that he was still alive after the air crash not much information is known about him. Indeed he is the unsung hero of Indian Independence.