Nation salutes the man who dreamt great
dreams of a great nation when dreaming was a grave sin & almost achieved
what all he dreamed in his dream, on his 116th birthday, today on
23-01-13!
Born on January 23, 1897 in Cuttack
(Orissa), he graduated from Scottish Church College in Calcutta (Undivided Bengal) in 1919 with first class honours in philosophy! Then,
he went to England to compete in the ICS examination, which was the best
profession available for the Indians @ the time of the British Raj!
The man came out with flying colours in
the ICS examination (Equal to the present day Civil Services Examination), in
which he stood fourth with a minimum amount of time spent – approximately 8
months time!- & knew that the sole purpose of his life was to build a
nation which only a few had even dreamed in their dreams; he resigned from the
ICS even before joining it, which no Indian had ever done earlier in the
history of ICS!
“I have come to believe that it is time
for us to wash our hands clean of any connection with the British
Government.........The best way to end a government is to withdraw from it......I
sent in my resignation a few days ago....!”, he stated resigning from the ICS!
He met Gandhi in 1921 & asked 3
questions to him; though ‘ONLY’ the answer of one question satisfied Bose he
took his advice to meet C.R.Das (Deshbandu Chittaranjan Das) @ Calcutta; Subhas
met him @ Calcutta & started to follow him!
He became the President Of The Indian National Congress in 1938. HE WON THE POST AGAIN IN 1939, THAT TOO AGAINST GANDHI’S WISHES!
He was of the view that ‘ONLY THROUGH REVOLUTION FREEDOM CAN BE WON!”
As Gandhi was ‘NOT’ in the interest of
Bose’s Ideas of Moving Forward in the fight against the British & actively
opposed Bose’s planning he resigned his presidentship & later formed the
Forward Bloc within the Congress! Then, the Congress barred the twice elected
president of Congress Bose from holding any office in the organisation for 3
years!
Though the barring was a raw deal to
Bose, as he predicted accurately the Second World War
started in Europe and he intensified his fight against the British with the
help of The Forward Bloc ,
in British India! The British government jailed him in 1940 & then when he
started indefinite hunger strike the British were forced to release him! He
was kept under strict British Vigil in his Calcutta residence from where he
escaped in disguise, in 1941!
He went to Germany via Kabul &
Moscow, in disguise! He influenced the Germans & he even met Hitler for the
Cause Of Indian Freedom. The Germans were won over by Netaji & his charisma
and he got the freedom to work for the Indian Freedom without having any
interference from the Nazi party or the German Bureaucracy! With the help of
the Germans who always considered the work of Netaji with great esteem &
the Nucleus Group he formed in Germany, he started to address the Indians over Azad
Hind Radio, from the German Soil! He also laid the foundation of INA (IndianNational Army!) in Germany!
Arriving in Tokyo in April 1943, after a 45 day long submarine saga
in the War Hit Oceans, which the Germans facilitated for the Netaji, Bose
attracted the attention of the Japanese high command, including Hideki Tojo, Japan's premier. The Japanese agreed to cooperate in founding an
Axis-supported Indian National Army (INA) in Southeast Asia. Bose was
flown to Singapore and became commander of the INA and head of the Free India provisional government (Azad Hind Government).
The INA included both Indian
prisoners of war from Singapore and Indian civilians in Southeast Asia. The
strength of INA grew to 43,000 and fought Allied forces in 1944 inside the
borders of India at Imphal and in Burma. For Bose any means and any ally were
acceptable in the struggle to liberate India. ‘Jai
Hind’ was the official greeting for soldiers & civilians & Rabindranath
Tagore’s ‘Jana Gana Mana’ was the National Anthem! He told the 3 million
Indians in East Asia that ‘In the world’s history no nation got its freedom without
shedding its own blood.....this was the price they had to pay & there was
no shirking it.....!’ He told them ‘Give Me Blood...And, I Will Give You
Freedom!’ His ‘War Cry’ ‘Chalo Dilli/Delhi’ had reverberated all over East Asia
& wherever there were ‘TRUE INDIANS/BHARATEEYA’!
Before the final
& well planned assault on the British, Azad Hind Government had its first
territory in the form of Andaman & Nicobar Islands, which had been gifted
by the Japanese government! And, Subhas Chandra Bose, on December 31st
1943 personally visited the First Free Indian Territory, Ever!
INA, under
the Impeccable Leadership of its Netaji, marched forward against the Mighty
British via Burma & even conquered some regions inside the British Indian
Territory, inside the north east border. When the months long Siege Of Imphal by
INA was nearing to bear fruit, which would have led the INA easily to Bengal
& then to their final destination Delhi, the monsoons played spoil sports
& a large number of valiant soldiers of INA fell to the inclement weather
& the following cavalcade of diseases like malaria. When the Second World
War ended in favour of the Allied Forces & Japan surrendered, which was the
sole supplier of everything the INA had including Tanks, Vehicles, Guns etc, after
the ‘HORRIBLE’ Hiroshima & Nagasaki Nuclear Bombing, ‘The Fighting Netaji’
had no option but to retreat & prepare for another assault on the War Weakened
British!
He
retreated to Burma & then to Thailand, with his INA Soldiers which included
the Rani Of Jhansi Regiment of female soldiers. He then came to Saigon &
from there boarded a Japanese bomber to Japan, from where he planned to go to
Soviet Union to pursue his course of action, The Liberation Of India! He is
supposed to have met his death near the Formosa Islands, when the Bomber he was
travelling crashed, mysteriously!
Officially,
Bose died in a plane crash over Taiwan, while flying to Tokyo on 18 August 1945. It is believed
that he was on route to the Soviet Union in a Japanese plane when it crashed in Taiwan!
Three officers of the INA were tried after the war in Delhi; the
trial attracted so much popular sympathy (including statements by Nehru and
Gandhi that the men were great patriots) that the British decision to withdraw
from India followed. Bose indirectly and posthumously achieved his goal of
Indian independence.
Bose was posthumously awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian award
in 1992, but it was later withdrawn in response to a Supreme Court directive following a Public Interest
Litigation filed in the Court against the "posthumous" nature of the award.
The Award Committee could not give conclusive evidence on Bose's death and thus
the "posthumous" award was invalidated. No headway was made on this
issue however.
Bose's portrait hangs in the Indian Parliament, and a statue of him has
been erected in front of the West Bengal Legislative
Assembly.
The Entire Nation & Tutor Mantra
College Salute Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, One Of The Greatest Sons India Ever Had,
today, on His 116th Birthday & Celebrate The Memory Of His Courage, Spirit Of Freedom, Valour, Dedication, Determination,
Will Power, Great Planning & Above All His Great Mind To Sacrifice Himself
To Give India What She Deserved.....FREEDOM!!!
Please Note:
‘Story Of I.N.A’ published by the National Book Trust, India is suggested
by Tutor Mantra College. (ISBN: 978-81-237-2122-4)
