Subhash Chandra Bose was the most visionary and fierce activist in the pre-independence era. Known as Netaji, he followed the path which no one even could have thought of.
Subhash was born on January 23rd 1897 in Cuttack (in present day Orissa) as the ninth child among fourteen, of Janakinath Bose, an advocate, and Prabhavati Devi, 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 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 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. He was admired for his great skills in organizational development .
He was elected president of the Indian National Congress twice in 1937 and in 1939, the second time defeating Gandhiji’s nominee.
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.
It was in 1941, that Bose suddenly disappeared. He travelled by foot, car and train and resurfaced in Kabul, 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.
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 21 October 1943. INA freed the Andaman and Nicobar islands from the British and were renamed as Swaraj and Shaheed islands. The Government started functioning.
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 awarded Bharat Ratna posthumously in 1992.
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.
