 "Subhas Chandra Bose")
I know this is going to get me a lot of hate mails, may be even some death threats. Many are thinking on these lines, but someone needs to say it: Who was the real Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose? Here we have a national hero who, contrary to diverse views about him, has been given his place in the history books. I know I learnt about him in school (rightfully or wrongfully is an issue that may be debated for years to come).
But I am still wondering what his contribution to the freedom struggle was. Yes, he formed the Indian National Army (although the Japanese who he allied with termed him as militarily unskilled). Yes, we owe the slogan ‘Jai Hind’ to him. And of course he was the only Indian leader who tried to organise a military challenge to the British by gathering a handful of British-trained Indian soldiers. But it was clearly a foolhardy thing to do, as was Mahatma Gandhi’s fast-unto-death (but that worked out fine, in hindsight). So we cannot judge him on that. We know he tried his best in the prevailing circumstances of pre-independence India. But what always got to me was his journey and the path he was taking.
Here was a man who was clearly influenced by leaders like Benito Mussolini, Adolf Hitler and the Japanese leadership of the day. We don’t need to delve into history books to tell us how these leaders are judged today. They are all known fascists and villains of history. They are the very examples we quote when we want to dissuade the world from stepping into World War-III. He met them all, tried his best to ally with them, used their resources and had no qualms about training with them. This was proved by BBC in 2004 when they exposed some documents that weren’t supposed to be released until 2021.
So what vision did Netaji have for India when he envisaged an Azad Hind? Did he want to follow the examples of Hitler or Mussolini or did he just want to throw out the British and invite the Japanese in their place. From his movements and actions post 1940 (or should I say 1930, when he first met Benito Mussolini?), it was clear this was a man who would shake hands with the devil to get him what he wants. He had no misgivings about who he was associating with as long as he became the leader of a free India. He is even said to have travelled by a German submarine to Japan after Hitler refused him help and he had to turn to the Japanese for their support. Hitler, mind it, had already grown to be the most hated man in the world around that time. He took over the POWs in Japan, but between fighting with him or rotting in jail, what option did they have, really? If these facts are true, then how do we rate him among India’s finest freedom struggle leaders?
If this was not enough, there are other reports suggesting that he wanted a ruthless dictatorship in India for 20 years after it gains independence from the British. The Times of India reports that Netaji Bose, by his own admission in his book, "Indian Struggle" (published in 1935 in London), believed India needed a political system that was a mix of fascism and communism — something that he called samyavad.
And what if he did survive as is being discussed? Why did he hide? Wasn’t he among the most fearless leaders India ever had produced? Even after India got its freedom, why did he never come out in the open? What was he scared of?
For any government suspicious of the family knowing more than what they were willing to disclose, the only option was to keep them under surveillance. If an Indian leader, who had associated with many tyrants worldwide in the past was suspected to be hiding in the country for reasons unknown, it was a matter to be worried about. If he had the best interests of the country at heart, he should have stepped out and supported the country of his birth at a time when it was most fragile and needed all the help it could get. When the nation was hurting and parts of it was burning due to Partition, why was he silently hiding?
In that sense, the Congress has only made him more heroic by sticking to the story of the plane crash in Taiwan. If I were part of his family, I would prefer those cupboards with hidden skeletons remained shut. One can only wonder what secrets would tumble out if they were opened.
(Vijay Shekhar is a Mumbai-based journalist)
