Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose

Introduction  

Subhash Chandra Bose, also popularly known as Netaji, was one of the stalwarts of the Indian National Movement. Twice elected the President of the Congress, he resigned from the post in 1939 due to ideological difference with Gandhi and established a separate political party All India Forward Block.

At the outset of the Second World War, he escaped from India and with Japanese assistance, re-organized and later led the Indian National Army to fight against the British forces. He formed the Azad Hind Government in exile and fought the Allied forces in Burma and Imphal. Subhash Chandra Bose was presumed to have died in a plane crash in 1945.

Early Life  

Subhash Chandra Bose was born in Cuttack on 23 January 1897 and went on to graduate from the Scottish Church College under the Calcutta University in 1918 and went to England for further studies. He also qualified for the Civil Services but chose to fight for freedom of India.

Bose in Congress  

In the early 1920s he joined the Congress and came under the influence of C. R. Das whom he regarded as his mentor. In 1927 he became the general secretary of Congress and worked closely with Nehru and Gandhi and other Congress leaders. He was elected as the Congress President in 1938 and again in 1939, defeating Gandhi’s nominee. But he had to resign as his ideological difference with Gandhi was coming in his ways of working for the movement.

Conflict with Gandhi  

Bose believed in socialist ideas and wanted to create a society based on equal opportunity. He believed in complete independence of India politically and economically. His main point of difference was this approach to freedom, as Gandhi believed in dominion status for India and diplomacy. Bose was convinced that British would not grant full independence to India, and so was a proponent of violent armed struggle with the help of the international community who were British enemies.

Forward Block  

Subhash Chandra  Bose after resigning from the post of Congress President, formed the Forward Block at a public rally in Calcutta in 1939. The initial aim of the party was to organize all the leftwing sections within the Congress in order to create an alternative leadership inside the Congress.

In its first conference at Nagpur under the leadership of Subhash Chandra Bose, the All India Forward Block outlined the objectives of the party as to achieve complete independence in the immediate future.

Netaji’s Escape  

The government was alarmed by the activities of Bose and as a result they arrested him in July 1940. Bose started a hunger-strike in the prison and the government had to release him from jail and put him under house arrest. Bose escaped from his home in January 1941 in the guise of a Pathan and reached Afghanistan via Peshawar. From there he reached USSR, but was not successful in drawing Russian interest and so he ultimately went to Berlin and asked Hitler for helping India gain freedom.

At Berlin, he organised the Indian Legions of the prisoner of war from Africa and established a free India Radio in November 1941 and started to broadcast patriotic speeches to inspire the feelings of his countrymen.

Azad Hind Fauj  

The overseas Indians under the leadership of Rash Behari Bose decided to form an Indian Independence League with the aim to organize and unite the Indian community to fight the British for the independence of India. Also the league was joined by 55000 Indian prisoner of war in Singapore. In 1943 the leadership of the League was handed over to Subhash Bose, who now had shifted his movement from Berlin to South-East Asia. Bose reorganized the League and formed the Azad Hind Fauj (Indian National Army) with the 55000 prisoner of wars from Japan. The Japanese government supported the INA with arms and ammunition.

On 21 October 1943, the Provisional Government of Azad Hind was formed with Bose as the head of the state and the supreme commander of the Indian National Army. The Provisional Government was recognised by 9 countries – Japan, Burma, Croatia, Germany, Philippines, Nanking China, Manchuto, Italy and Thailand. Japan also handed over the Andaman Nicobar Islands to the Provincial Government of Bose.

The initial aim of the INA was to wait for the Japanese offense at Imphal. Once they were successful in breaking the British defences, the INA would reach up the Gangetic plains and continue guerrilla warfare till a revolution started. Initially, the INA was very successful and marched with the Japanese forces up to Imphal, but soon the Allied countries started to have more success. Soon it was monsoon and the INA along with the Japanese force suffered reverses and had to retreat in Burma.

In 1945, the INA and the Japanese forces were surrounded by the Allied forces, and also Japan surrendered to the Allies, marking the end of the INA and its Provisional Government. Most of the INA troops were arrested and rest surrendered.

According to Japanese official sources Netaji died in a plane crash over Taiwan while flying to Tokyo on 18 august 1945.