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Subhash Chandra Bose

Whenever it comes to the contribution of those who made India independent, we come across many names. It will not be possible to go through all of them within a single article, so here we will discuss one among them that has had a huge impact. Every individual has had a huge impact and played an important role in letting the country get independence and it is so true too. So, in this article, we will discuss the biography of Subhash Chandra Bose, one of the greatest revolutionaries, and we will try to cover as many aspects of his life as possible.

Early Life

Subhash Chandra Bose was a legendary Indian freedom fighter who contributed immensely to reconquering our nation from British rule. On January 23rd, 1897, he was born into an affluent Bengali family in Orissa, though he loved his nation so intensely that he sacrificed his entire life. He has a total of seven brothers and six sisters. Subhash was also known as Netaji, and he was the ninth child of his parents and was quite close with his brother Sharad Chandra. Janakinath, Subhash Chandra Bose’s father, was the best and most respected lawyer of Cuttack, who was given the title of Rai Bahadur.

Education

Netaji had a tremendous love of learning since he was a child and was a responsible guy, so he got admired most of the time by his instructor. On the other hand, Netaji was never a sportsman, so he never indulged himself in any sporting activity. Netaji was a Cuttack native who had finished his initial education from there itself. After that, he went to Calcutta to continue his further education, where he acquired a BA degree in Humanities from Presidency College. There Netaji also used to speak out against an English professor who used to harass the Indian student often. At that time, social inequality was a hot topic. And thus, it was the first instance where Netaji started thinking to start the battle against the British.

Further, Netaji aspired to prepare for civil service, but this was challenging for Indians to do so at the time because of British control, so his parents sent him to England to study for the Indian Civil Services. And this decision was right, as Netaji achieved 4th position in the examination, with the best score in English. But Netaji had a great affection for India and was concerned about its freedom. Therefore, in 1921, he rejected a post in the Indian Civil Services and returned to India. Netaji considered Swami Vivekananda his mentor, so he often followed his guidance.

Political Life

Netaji stepped into the campaign for freedom by joining the Indian National Congress Party soon after arriving in India. Working under Chittaranjan Das’s leadership, he was part of the Congress party in Calcutta. Moving forward, Netaji regarded Chittaranjan Das as a political mentor. In 1922, Motilal Nehru and Chittaranjan Das left the Congress, created a separate party, and named it “Swaraj Party”. Meanwhile, as Chittaranjan Das and his newly formed party were busy formulating a plan, Netaji found his legacy within Calcutta’s youth, students, and other working guys. And after that, people began to recognize Subhash Chandra Bose by name. Netaji had arrived with such a bright mindset, and as a result, he immediately started being known as a Youth Leader. He always wanted to see India as an independent country as soon as possible.

Later, in 1928, a conflict happened between the new and old members of Congress during a conference in Guwahati as the emerging young leaders did not like to obey any rules and regulations; instead, they wanted to produce their policies as per the requirement, whereas the old leaders chose to stick to the British govt’s rules. Even though Subhash Chandra Bose’s and Gandhi’s thoughts differed as Netaji disagreed with Gandhiji’s peaceful (non-violence) philosophy, his perspective was a young person who believed in violence. Although they had an opposite ideology, the goal was always the same, and they desired India to be independent as quickly as feasible. In 1939, Netaji competed for President of the National Congress, and Gandhiji campaigned against him by raising Pattabhi Sitaramayya, whom Netaji later beat. Gandhiji was distressed by this loss, and thus when Netaji came to know about it, he instantly quit his position. Netaji became anti-Gandhi in the court of public opinion due to the mismatches of ideas. He eventually quit Congress.

INA-Indian National Army

In 1939, when the Second World War was going on, Netaji took action there, expecting to gain the entire world’s support so that the British would be forced from outsiders and quit the nation. Although he had a very significant effect at the initial stage, later the British government imprisoned him. He didn’t eat or drink anything for over two weeks in jail. Seeing his worsening health condition, the country’s youngsters got upset and demanded his release. After that, he was placed under house arrest by the British government in Calcutta. But after some time, Netaji managed to escape from his house with the help of his nephew Shishir in 1941.

Then he first traveled to Goma, Bihar, before continuing to Peshawar, Pakistan. After that, he traveled to Germany via the Soviet Union, where he met Adolf Hitler. Netaji visited many parts of the world before entering into politics, and thus he had a strong awareness of the country and environment around the world. He understood that Hitler’s rival was England, and thus he thought it would be good to use diplomacy to seek revenge from the British. Making an enemy’s enemy a friend seems right. He married Emily of Australia at this period and resided in Berlin with her, and later they had a daughter, Anita Bose.

In 1943, Netaji left Germany and traveled to Japan. Later, Netaji, Mohan Singh, and Rash Behari reconstitute the ‘Azad Hind Fauj,’ and Mohan Singh declared as the chief of this. In addition, Netaji also founded the ‘Azad Hind Sarkar’ party, and in 1944, Netaji’s Azad Hind Fauj popularized the most know motto for now “You give me blood, I will give you freedom.” As a result, a new revolution swept the country.

Netaji also traveled to England, where he interacted with the British Labor Party’s Chairman and local political leaders and discussed India’s freedom and destiny. He also persuaded the British to abandon India to a large extent.

A Few Other Facts

1. In 1942, Netaji went to Hitler and pledged to liberate India in front of him, but Hitler was uninterested in doing so and gave Netaji no specific assurance.
2. Subhash Chandra Bose tried to defend freedom fighter Bhagat Singh and thus, for the same, he requested Gandhi Ji to breach a pledge made to the British, but he was unsuccessful in his mission.
3. The terrible incident of the Jallianwala Bagh tragedy impacted Netaji immensely, and he couldn’t help but associate himself with India’s liberation movement.
4. Azad Hind Bank created currencies ranging from 10 rupees to one lakh rupees as early as 1943, featuring the one lakh rupee note with an image of leader Subhash Chandra Bose.
5. From 1921 to 1941, Subhash Chandra Bose was jailed 11 times in various Indian jails.
6. Leader Subhash Chandra Bose was twice elected to the President of the Indian National Congress.

Death

Netaji’s plane crashed in Taiwan in 1945 on his way to Japan. Even after many attempts and investigations, none could find his body from the plane crash spot, and thus further, he was declared dead after some time. The Indian government also introduced several inquiry panels into the incident, although this is yet to be verified what the cause was. But later, in May 1956, the Shah Nawaz Committee traveled to Japan to investigate Netaji’s death, but Taiwan refused to cooperate because of a lack of a complex political connection. The Mukherjee Commission said in Parliament in 2006 that “Netaji did not die in an aircraft crash, and his ashes preserved at the Renkoji shrine are not his,” however, the Indian government denied this claim. The inquiry and debate over this topic continue to this day.

Subhash Chandra Bose Jayanti

Because Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Ji was born on January 23rd, the day is remembered as Subhas Chandra Bose Jayanti every year. In 2022, his 124th birthday was commemorated. Various cultural activities are being held in his honor on this important day, including paying tribute to Netaji’s accomplishments and efforts for independence. Also, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose is honored on this day by leaders and citizens throughout the country.

Awards, Monuments, and Achievements

After his death, the Bharat Ratna Award, India’s highest civilian honor, was given to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. However, it was later revoked when a PIL was filed in court challenging the award’s ‘posthumous’ character.

A monument of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose stands in front of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly, and his image may also be seen on the Indian Parliament’s walls.

A Few Books by him

Subhash Chandra Bose was not only a superb thinker and a charismatic leader, but he also possessed the ability to communicate with others through the pen. In this context, several of his novels were quite well-known in the public imagination at the time, presenting a few of them before you.

1. The Indian Struggle 1920 – 1942
2. Essential Writings of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose
3. The Call of the Motherland
4. An Indian Pilgrim
5. Congress President
6. Alternative leadership… e.t.c

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