Shiban Khaibri
In fact, the two are synonymous and not separate entities. Indian freedom struggle shall look incomplete and one sided in case the role of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose in its truer and complete manner is not highlighted and his inspiring and unparalleled missionary struggle to liberate India from the shackles of the British is not ensured to get percolated down to the younger generations. Yes, they need to know him fully. On 23rd instant, people across the country celebrated Netaji’s 118th birthday, the Prime Minister paid tributes to him by expressing “gratitude to the phenomenal freedom fighter whose bravery, courage and patriotic zeal inspires us.” He further said, “I bow to the proud son of India.” The need, however, is to reverse the causes of knowledge deficit about this legendary freedom icon. That will undoubtedly be the right way to offer our gratitude to him for all that he managed to contribute to achieve the goal of full independence.
It is only a fact that right from the day in 1939 when, despite being elected as Congress President, he was forced to resign and space in the Congress Party was made too choking for him to breathe. Can it be believed that a towering personality of the stature of Mahatma Gandhi was fully behind forcing him to resign as his nominee Dr. Sittaramaya got defeated in the election to the post of Congress President? The Mahatma took it as an issue of ego and would not reconcile with the outcome of the elections and at any cost, wanted Netaji to step down. To make it doubly possible, a coup détente in the working committee of the Congress was engineered at the behest of Gandhi Ji. Astonishingly another stalwart of the freedom movement, Sardar Patel had taken sides with Gandhi Ji and the like minded “moderates” resulting in eruption of antagonism inter – se.
It is not an exaggeration that an internal strife took place in the Congress Party which reached its climax during Tripuri session held in 1939 which mortified Netaji to resign and forming a new Party named as Forward Block. By now, Sardar Patel had started thinking in, from a different angle and was sore with the Mahatma for his appeasement policy in that he would nominate people of a particular faith only to the Rajkot council. The unhappiness to the extent of exasperation of Patel made Gandhi Ji respond in admitting “my many stupid acts” and that you have to “suffer the consequences” thereof. Patel, it is reported, never lagged behind in “praising” the Mahatma by saying,” A dictator who rules by love and patience”. It is reported that on May8, 1939 Patel, while addressing the delegates of the Gandhi Seva Sangh, said, “Gandhi Ji is the greatest Hitler I have seen but the influence he exerts is born of an inexhaustible love and patience.” It needs to be researched thoroughly as to how a perfectly gentle, sober and compassionate by nature a person like the Mahatma whose indulgence in the freedom struggle was laced with his personal beliefs in religious virtues, spiritualism and morality, would also demonstrate that dictatorial instincts in some form existed in him too and would not agree with anyone transgressing his boundary of seeing things as he wanted.
The question as to whether Netaji was accorded due space in the political and historical landscape of post independent India is a debatable issue looking to his tremendous efforts of all sorts, even the military ones. That, sacrifices of personal comforts and material gains for achieving freedom from the British rule can be attributed to only two or three freedom struggle stalwarts, chief among them being the Mahatma and ignoring or trivializing those of Netaji, would amount to gross injustice not only with Bose but to many who followed suit. Having made a mark in the Indian Civil Service examination by standing 4th in position, he could have easily settled as a top bureaucrat and enjoyed a very comfortable life but he refused to serve under an alien Government which would mean serving the British and wrote as early as in 1921 to his brother Sarat Chander Bose, “Only on the soil of sacrifice and suffering can we raise our national edifice.” He was the undisputed leader of the masses especially the young. To do or die, he raised the famous slogan of ” give me blood , I shall give you freedom.” He exhorted people “Delhi Chaloo” and motivated them by yet another slogan, “Itifaq, Itihad , Qurbanni” . He gave practical shape to Maulana Hasrat Mohini’s famous inspiring slogan of “Inqalab Zindabad”. It was he who called the Mahatma as “Father of the Nation” for the first time.
No one can say authoritatively that the British left India only due to the pressure of the struggle by the Mahatma and his policies of Satyagrah, non violence and later the call for civil disobedience. Nor can it equally be attributed only to Netaji’s way of handling the movement within and more so from outside the country. How he escaped in 1940 from his heavily guarded house where he was under arrest, giving a slip to the guards, looks nothing short of a spectacular daring act and reaching Germany in early 1941 to evoke support and sympathy for the cause of India’s independence. He collected funds there to establish Free India Centre and Free India Radio. He would not forget to broadcast from the Radio every night. He met Adolf Hitler and in the meeting with him, he sought his support as well as lodged protest against certain unsavory remarks about India and Indians in his autobiography making the Dictator feel sorry with a promise to delete the concerned paragraphs in the next edition of the book. With German support, Netaji revamped the Indian National Army which composed of the Indian soldiers of the British Indian army who had been captured in the battle of Singapore. “Rani Ki Jhansi” brigade for women was an important ingredient of the INA.
As we come to know about the fallout of the INA’s attacks from the North East on the British army followed by liberating Andaman and Nicobar islands and forming of a provisional Indian Government here, it had more impact rather than the conventional non- violent and Satyagrah models of fighting the British. The contemporary historians might skip the glaring fact but surely the future historians shall admit that it was Bose who hastened the departure of the British from India. The INA had successfully sown the seeds of patriotic rebellion in the British Indian army. That speaks as to why 300 INA officers captured and charged with treason and punishable with death were set free as hanging of even one of them would have sparked unprecedented mutiny in the army which the British Government could have not managed to control. With the unique part taken by Bose in the Independence movement, it goes without saying that the British were compelled to advance the date of independence by more than a year.
Netaji had rechristened Andaman and Nicobar as “Shaheed” and “Swaraj” respectively and the Central Governments ever since 1947 did not restore these names till this moment as a small tribute, speaks of how the legendary has been underscored, not to speak of declaring Jan 23 as a national holiday and inserting Netaji’s role adequately in the curriculum of the students in schools and colleges in the country.
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