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Subhash
Chandra Bose
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In
the pre-independence era, Subhashchandra Bose was the most visionary
and fierce activist. Known as Netaji, he followed the path which no
one even could have thought of.
An
unparalleled example of the declaration of Independent Indian government
with a cabinet & its own army was seen in form of the Indian
National Army under the leadership
of Subhash Chanda Bose.
It literally had a military attack on British India & had confronted
them till Imphal. With the help from Germany & active support from
Japan, they shook the very foundation of the British Empire. The saga
of their valor is chronicled separately, under the head Indian
National Army.
While
he was the president of Indian National Congress during 1937 to 1939,
he founded the Indian National Congress. He was acclaimed as a god like
figure, akin to the many mythological heroes like Rama or Krishna, and
continued as a legend in Indian mind.
Subhas
Chandra was born on January 23rd 1897 in Cuttack (in present day Orissa)
as the ninth child among fourteen, of Janakinath Bose, an advocate,
and Prabhavatidevi, a pious and God-fearing lady. A brilliant student,
he topped the matriculation examination of Calcutta province and passed
his B.A. in Philosophy from the Presidency College in Calcutta. He was
strongly influenced by Swami Vivekananda's teachings and was known for
his patriotic zeal as a student. He joined the Indian Civil Services
in England as per his parent's wishes. This kept him a little away from
the Indian Freedom Movement. He finished those examinations also, at
the top of his class (4th rank), he could not complete his apprenticeship
and returned to India, being deeply disturbed by the Jallianwala
Bagh massacre. He
came under the influence of Mahatma Gandhi and joined the Indian National
Congress . Gandhiji directed him to work with Deshbandhu Chittaranjan
Das, the Bengali leader whom Bose acknowledged as his political guru.
Due
to his outspoken character for the British Government, he went to jail
for around 11 times between 1920 and 1941 for periods varying between
six months and three years. He was the leader of the youth wing of the
Congress Party, in the forefront of the trade union movement in India
and organized Service League, another wing of Congress. He was admired
for his great skills in organizational development .
Bose
advocated complete freedom for India at the earliest, whereas the Congress
Committee wanted it in phases, through a Dominion status. Other younger
leaders including Jawaharlal Nehru supported Bose and finally at the
historic Lahore Congress convention, the Congress had to adopt Poorna
Swaraj (complete freedom) as its motto. Bhagat Singh's martyrdom and
the inability of the Congress leaders to save his life infuriated Bose
and he started a movement opposing the Gandhi-Irvin Peace
Pact. He was imprisoned and expelled from India. But defying
the ban, he came back to India and was imprisoned again!
He
was elected president of the
Indian National Congress twice in 1937 and in 1939, the second time
defeating Gandhiji's nominee. 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 (1939).
During
the World War 2nd he was against rendering any kind of help to the British.
He warned them so. The second World War broke out in September of 1939,
and just as predicted by Bose, India was declared as a warring state
(on behalf of the British)
by the Governor General, without consulting Indian leaders. The Congress
party was in power in seven major states and all state governments resigned
in protest.
Subhas
Chandra Bose now started a mass movement against utilizing Indian resources
and men for the great war. To him, it made no sense
to further bleed poor
Indians for the sake of colonial and imperial nations.
There was a tremendous response to his call and the British promptly
imprisoned him . He took to a hunger-strike, and after his health deteriorated
on the 11th day of fasting, he was freed and was placed under house
arrest. The British could do nothing except locking him in the prison.
It
was in 1941, that Bose suddenly disappeared. The authorities did not
come to know for many days that he was not in his Barrack ) the house
in which he was being guarded) He traveled by foot, car and train and
resurfaced in Kabul (now in Afghanistan), only to disappear once again.
In November 1941, his broadcast from German radio sent shock
waves amongst the British and electrified the Indian masses who realized
that their leader was working on a master plan to free their motherland.
It also gave fresh confidence to the revolutionaries in India who were
challenging the British in many ways.
The
Axis powers (mainly Germany) assured Bose military and other help to
fight the British. Japan by this time had grown into another strong
world power, occupying key colonies of Dutch, French, and British colonies
in Asia. Bose had struck alliance with Germany and Japan. He rightly
felt that his presence in the East would help his countrymen in freedom
struggle and second phase of his saga began. It is told that he was
last seen on land near Kiel canal in Germany, in the beginning of 1943.
A most hazardous journey was undertaken by him under water, covering
thousands of miles, crossing
enemy territories. He was in the Atlantic, the Middle East, Madagascar
and the Indian ocean. Battles were being fought over land, in the air
and there were mines in the sea. At one stage he traveled 400 miles
in a rubber dingy to reach a Japanese submarine, which took him to Tokyo.
He was warmly received in
Japan and was declared the head of the Indian army, which consisted
of about 40,000 soldiers
from Singapore and other eastern regions. Bose called it the Indian
National Army (INA) and a government by the name "Azad Hind Government"
was declared on the 21st of October 1943. INA freed the Andaman
and Nicobar islands from the British and were renamed as Swaraj and
Shaheed islands. The Government started functioning.
Bose
wanted to free India from the Eastern front. He had taken care that
Japanese interference was not present from any angle. Army leadership,
administration and communications were managed by Indians only. Subhash
Brigade, Azad Brigade and Gandhi Brigade were formed. INA marched through
Burma and occupied Coxtown on the Indian Border. A touching scene ensued
when the solders entered their 'free' motherland. Some lay down and
kissed, some placed pieces of
mother earth on their heads, others wept. They were now inside
India and were determined to drive out the British! Delhi Chalo (Let's
march to Delhi) was the war cry.
The
bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki changed the history of mankind. Japan
had to surrender. Bose was in Singapore at that time and decided to
go to Tokyo for his next course of action. Unfortunately, the plane
he boarded crashed near Taipei and he died in the hospital of severe
burns. He was just 48.
He
was the man whom the Indians looked upon as their future leader. They
never believed that he died in plane crash. Some believe that he is
still alive.
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