Netaji and an instance of his legacy forgotten

A very casual sounding reference to Subhash Chandra Bose and even more casual treatment about his legacy was made on 27 September 2015 Times Of India's editorial by one Mr. Aakar Patel titled "Is our Netaji the sameman who was enamored of Hitler?". It remains to be seen as to what the motivations of the author were. All that could be gathered from the article was that Mr. Aakar's respect towards Bose was more out of fear lest he hurt the sentiments of his mother. 

It is sad that any mention of Bose in conversations will bracket one as a conspiracy theorist, blue eyed nationalist, fascist or a Bengali. At one instant he quotes the medical officer Dr Kasliwal stating

"Bose has the military mind of Shivaji, the catholicity of Akbar and the intellectual genius of Vivekananda"

and in same breath dismisses Bose of any military acumen referring to his opinion formed after reading the medic's book terming it comic- smells like a straw man's fallacy. It is a free country one is free to pedal ones' opinion. History is not respected by Indians and are casual about it. Some of my close friends even go about advising "What is the point?" The point is simply that knowing ones' history is an act of gratitude towards ones' legacy. The freedom that we enjoy is a legacy and its history has to be understood lest we squander it before our children can enjoy them. It is a responsibility to learn of the dangers in realpolitik- propaganda, mis-information, obfuscation and hearsay. It is responsibility to study how the power is shared in a democracy. Democracy is not a switch we turn on and enjoy but to power it and guide it with reason, action and responsibility. The record has to be set straight to the best of ones' ability.

There were stalwarts who lead and perished to absolute doom many to oblivion. Little by little the tide turned and the tryst with destiny was achieved. Each one of them played a crucial role despite anyone’s' judgment. Their stories point us incessantly to what responsibility one carries as a citizen and to what extent we need to ready ourselves to meet the demands. One story in that is that of Subhash Chandra Bose. In [1] Dr A. Mani and Dr. P Ramasamy shed light on the impact Bose and INA made on the psyche of South-East Asian Indians. Excerpted from it a quote from a former INA soldier V Samy reads

 "The arrival of Netaji Bose in Southeast Asia kindled a new spirit among all Indians who began to believe that India would be free soon. Netaji's call reached into the hearts and minds of all Indians. His call for total mobilization to free India generated a tremendous response."

Netaji was not only a Bengali, he was Tamilian, Punjabi, Moslem, Sindhi, Ceylonies, and every hue he reached out to. He was what an Indian is or can be. In [2] Netaji spoke 

'I was lucky, however, that the environment in which I grew up was on the whole conducive to the broadening of my mind. In fact I cannot remember even to have looked upon Muslims as different from ourselves in any way except that they go to pray in Mosque.'

Which Indian leader went to the rescue of Indian POWs captured by the dessert fox Rommel's blitzkrieg in North Africa? His meeting with Hitler was to negotiate the turning of the Indian POWs into the Azad Hind Fauz [3]. Evading the house arrest and travelling to Germany through Afghanistan, Central Asia in those days talks about a character with more than just grit. The sheer scale of the idea dwarfed other luminaries thoroughly. We may have the luxury of a hindsight and be very off-hand with our judgment but at that time who knew that the same idea would find resonance with the Japanese ambassador to Germany Oshima Hiroshi and their designs of an INA [4]. These go to show that he was not a passive idealist. To his wife he writes before parting [5]

 "...In a few weeks I must fly to my distant home. My country calls me - my duty calls me - I must leave you and go back to my first love - my country  so often have I told you I have already sold myself to my first love. I have very little to give anyone. What little I have I have given you. It  may not be worthy of you and of your great love for me - that is all that I have to give - and you cannot expect anything more from me.   I do not know what the future has in store for me. May be I shall spend my life in prison. May be, I shall be shot or hanged. ..."

This man loved his country, realizes the freedom that had to be taken and what it takes to take it. Measure this with a medic who feels wronged when being pointed out of an incorrect observance of etiquette. The relevance for martial ceremony is understood by the men in arms and may not make much sense to someone else even if they may have the gift of eloquence. As much as one may not understand an alien language it does not mean that one has to discard the alien expressions altogether. True open-minded ones would behave as a student. One would be diligent in observing the rigor and appreciate the delicacy of a heretherto unknown form of expression and get intimate with what is implied. In [1] the implication of martial rigor is made apparent and also the value his speeches offered to the cause of Indian Liberation

 "Netaji was a leader of immense populartiy. His public addresses in the capitals of East Asia drew unimaginable crowds. Indians loved Netaji.  For them he was a savior sent to redeem India from the clutches of British Imperialists. They were not only willing to join the INA but were ready to die for the cause of Mother India. Indians, Ceylonese, Muslims, Sinhalese and many other groups to part in the efforts of the INA."

and another citing the same source [1] quoting S.Somaiah (originally in Tamil)

  "After I heard the fiery speech of Netaji, I left the house of my maternal uncle at Naval Base. I went to Brasbasah Road Football Field, where they had an INA recruitment center. There were many students and youths standing in line. One of the recruiting officers walked down the line and pointed out to some of the youths to move and sit in another line. I joined a group of 150 youths seated in another area. We were told that we all looked young and we must all return home. Upon hearing this we all protested, but to no avail. We got angry and took all the tables and chairs in the area and started throwing at the registration officer. The Japanese military police turned up and arrested us and confined us at the neighboring Jhansi Regiment Camp. Next morning Netaji came to the camp, and we started shouting "Gandhijikujai! Nehurujikujai!". He also advise us to go home as we all looked like school children. We insisted that we want to fight and die for India's freedom. After all we were all recruited to the Balak Sena, with some being sent to Azad School to learn Japanese."

Many of the the INA returnees played very important role in the politics of Malayan peninsula. INA had altered the very nature of their psyche for the future generations if one is to follow the sources provided in this article. The arguments presented by one Nirad C Chaudhury in the face of the overwhelming impact Netaji's demeanor had on the masses can only be construed to be jealousy that a provincial Bengali Anglophile had towards an Indian and an Anglophobe.

 Bengali intellectual superciliousness may now seem to own Netaji's legacy but he was regarded first and foremost as an Indian. He was as much a Tamilian, Kashmiri, Gujarati and an Assamese at the same time. As for conspiracy theories surrounding Netaji's presence or absence- Moon landing is questioned so this is not an isolated instance of madness. That is the nature of information it will be questioned, vetted, some are more skilled at it than others. So what. There is more love that withstood the test of time for Netaji that demands answers. De-classify set the record straight. If it is left to imagination then any research with paucity of factual data will turn out one ludicrousness after another and never insight.

Life that courses through these veins is the same life that courses through its rivers. Its’ great minds are the stars in its firmament and one star that burns bright is Subhash Chandra Bose an Indian not only from South Asia but anyone who is intimate with the idea of India. This star is burning bright and will not fall easy because it denotes a meaning. That meaning is the sacrifice of many South Asian and South East Asian Indians running up to the fated campaigns in Manipur, Burma and Thailand, their families and that of the generation that grew up without a father, mother, brother or a sister. It was not only Netaji's war but the war of liberation by the Indians on the British. It is very unkind to say that it was one man's fascist war. That is not the legacy we inherited. It has become very fashionable to invoke the names of the leaders and skillfully neuter the values the leaders stood for. It has to come to this-immaturity and jugaad selling the newsprint of a Sunday edition, sad.

Reference

[1] A Mani and P.Ramasamy, "Subhash Chandra Bose and the Indian National Army: A South Asian Perspective",  Online PDF

[2] Subhash Chandra Bose, "An Indian Pilgrim and Letters 1912-1921"

[3] Nilanjana Sengupta, "A Gentleman's Word: The Legacy of Subhash Chandra Bose in South East Asia"

[4] Joyce C. Lebra, "The Indian National Army and Japan"

[5] Subhash chandra Bose, Letters to Emily Schlenke, Netaji Research Bureau

Photo Courtesy

Screen shot from the album of Swagata Sen Tezpuria on Facebook