Dr Mandeep Singh Azad
When one thinks of the Indian independence movement in the 1930s and early 1940s, two figures most readily come to mind: Mahatma Gandhi, the immensely popular and “saintly” frail pacifist, and Jawaharlal Nehru.Less familiar to Westerners is Subhash Chandra Bose, a man of comparable stature who admired Gandhi but despaired at his aims and methods, and who became a bitter rival of Nehru. Bose played a very active and prominent role in India’s political life during most of the 1930s. For example, he was twice (1938 and 1939) elected President of the Indian National Congress, the country’s most important political force for freedom from the Raj, or British rule.While his memory is still held in high esteem in India, in the West, Bose is much less revered, largely because of his wartime collaboration with the Axis powers. Both before and during the Second World War, Bose worked tirelessly to secure German and Japanese support in freeing his beloved homeland of foreign rule. During the final two years of the war, Bose with considerable Japanese backing led the forces of the Indian National Army into battle against the British.A deeper study of his works will show that many of his social and economic plans still remain valid under present day conditions. In the current Indian situation where there is a bankruptcy of leadership, ideas, commitment and action, Subhas’ message, through his writings, speeches and commentaries may help to resurrect the failing morale of those who are working to bring positive change in this country. Above all, Subhas’ life-long emphasis on the importance of communal harmony and unity among people,irrespective of birth, caste, creed and religion, has not only remained relevant, in fact it has even gained a sense of urgency. In a world torn by ethnic, tribal, religious and regional conflicts, Bose’s unqualified rejection of bigotry of any kind from the very outset of his entry into the Indian political scene, and his repeated call for unity among all the people of India, famously reflected in the motto of his Indian National Army – Unity, Faith and Sacrifice, can help to create the only secure foundation of contemporary India.
Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Jayanti is celebrated on January 23 every year to honor one of India’s greatest freedom fighters. In 2025, this day marks the 128th birth anniversary of Netaji, whose unwavering commitment and sacrifices remain an inspiration to millions. Officially observed as ‘Parakram Diwas’ (Day of Valour) since 2021, the occasion highlights Netaji’s indomitable spirit and immense contributions to India’s freedom struggle.Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose was born on 23 January 1897 in Cuttack (Orissa) to Prabhavati Dutt Bose and Janakinath Bose. His father was a successful lawyer in Cuttack and received the title of “Rai Bahadur”. He did his schooling at the Protestant European School (presently Stewart High School) in Cuttack, just like his siblings. He did baccalaureate from the Presidency College. He was influenced by the teachings of Swami Vivekananda and Ramakrishna after reading their works at the age of 16. He then was sent by his parents to the University of Cambridge in England to prepare for the Indian Civil Service. In 1920 he passed the civil service examination, but in April 1921, after hearing of the nationalist turmoils in India, he resigned his candidacy and hurried back to India.
After that, he became a youth educator and commandant of the Bengal Congress volunteers. He started the newspaper ‘Swaraj’. In 1927, after being released from prison, Bose became general secretary of the Congress party and worked with Jawaharlal Nehru for independence.In 1938 he was elected president of the Indian National Congress and formed a national planning committee, which formulated a policy of broad industrialization. However, this did not harmonize with Gandhian economic thought, which clung to the notion of cottage industries and benefiting from the use of the country’s own resources. Bose’s vindication came in 1939 when he defeated a Gandhian rival for re-election. Nonetheless, the “rebel president” felt bound to resign because of the lack of Gandhi’s support.All India Forward Bloc was a left-wing nationalist political party in India that emerged as a faction within the India Congress in 1939, led by Subhas Chandra Bose. He was well known for his leftist views in Congress. The prime objective of the Froward Bloc was to bring all radical elements of the Congress party. So that he could spread the meaning of complete independence of India with adherence to the application of principles of equality and social justice.
When Japan defeated the British armies and occupied almost all the countries of Southeast Asia, the league formed the Indian National Army from among the Indian prisoners of war to liberate India from British rule. General Mohan Singh, who had been an officer in the British Indian army, played an important role in organizing this army.In the meantime, Subhas Chandra Bose escaped from India in 1941 and went to Germany to work for India’s Independence. In 1943, he came to Singapore to lead the Indian Independence League and rebuild the Indian National Army (Azad Hind Fauj) to make it an effective instrument for the freedom of India. The Azad Hind Fauj comprised about 45,000 soldiers, among whom were Indian prisoners of war as well as Indians who were settled in various countries of southeast Asia.On 21 October 1943, Subhas Bose, who was now popularly known as Netaji, proclaimed the formation of the provisional government of independent India (Azad Hind) in Singapore. Netaji went to the Andaman which had been occupied by the Japanese and hoisted there the flag of India. In early 1944, three units of the Azad Hind Fauj (INA) took part in the attack on the north-eastern parts of India to oust the British from India. According to Shah Nawaz Khan, one of the most prominent officers of the Azad Hind Fauj, the soldiers who had entered India laid themselves flat on the ground and passionately kissed the sacred soil of their motherland. However, the attempt to liberate India by the Azad Hind Fauj failed.
Indian women also played an important role in the activities for the freedom of India. A women’s regiment of Azad Hind Fauj was formed, which was under the command of Captain Lakshmi Swaminathan. It was called the Rani Jhansi regiment. The Azad Hind Fauj became the symbol of unity and heroism to the people of India. Netaji, who had been one of the greatest leaders of India’s struggle for freedom, was reported killed in an air crash a few days after Japan had surrendered.
He played a crucial role in freeing the country from the clutches of 200 years of British rule in his own inimitable way, much like the other leading lights of the day such as Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru. He was sent to prison eleven times during 1920-1941. Till the last day of his life as an active freedom fighter, he kept the spirit of fighting the British – even at the time of his death he was planning to migrate to Russia and find a new way to combat the British – and it is this persistence and patriotic fervour that needs to be respected more than anything else. The struggles of Subhash Chandra Bose in his resistance to British authority had earned him the title of ‘Netaji’ in Berlin. Despite his best efforts and good intentions, the military legacies of Subhash Chandra Bose and his army in retrospect have many valid criticisms – antisemitism, supporting fascist ideologies, and powers like Japan and Germany during WWII (World War) as well as tactical military failures. But his ideas and efforts have been recognised in Indian freedom history as heroic.Netaji epitomized India’s might, aspiration, inspiration, and indomitable spirit to serve the nation in a selfless manner. For him, poverty, illiteracy, diseases were among the biggest problems in the country.The idea of an Independent India would not have been possible without freedom fighters and revolutionaries like Subhas Chandra Bose. India will forever owe these brave men who took it upon themselves to give it a future.
Netaji’s heroism and adventurous spirit will inspire millions of young persons in India. His own colleagues in politics, his rivals in the Indian leadership who didn’t hesitate to dispatch him from the position of Congress President. And this happened whilst he was very much alive and amongst them. What were they capable of when they had some reason to presume he was dead…
If Netaji became a mystic in his afterlife then this too had a precedent in his former life. Always ascetic and distant from personal relationships (although in 1937 he probably married his Austrian secretary with whom he had a child, Anita, in 1942), he was a student of Ramakrishna; the 19th-century Bengali mystic whose followers believe was an incarnation of God. As a student Bose left home in search of the religious life. In his unfinished autobiography Indian Pilgrim he wrote of this time: ‘The desire to find a Guru grew stronger and stronger within me … We looked up as many Sadhus as we could and I returned home a wiser man.’ One of many letters discovered in the Faizabad trunks said:-Crores [many millions] of Indians have put their eyes upon you. One day the Lord will himself salvage the sorrow of the people, the evil will be destroyed and good will prevail. You are our God in human form. Bose saw his struggle as a moral crusade. The British Empire was evil and he was fighting for the good, in epic terms that Indians love ‘Give me your blood and I will give you freedom,’ was his cry. In a country where the lines between mortality, sainthood and the divine are finely drawn, why not bring back the epic hero, Netaji, as a symbolic figure to achieve a Divine Age on earth? 38 Less familiar to Westerners is Subhash Chandra Bose, a man of comparable stature who admired Gandhi but despaired at his aims and methods, and who became a bitter rival of Nehru. Bose played a very active and prominent role in India’s political life during most of the 1930s. For example, he was twice (1938 and 1939) elected President of the Indian National Congress, the country’s most important political force for freedom from the Raj, or British rule. While his memory is still held in high esteem in India, in the West, Bose is much less revered, largely because of his wartime collaboration with the Axis powers. Both before and during the Second World War, Bose worked tirelessly to secure German and Japanese support in freeing his beloved homeland of foreign rule. During the final two years of the war, Bose — with considerable Japanese backing — led the forces of the Indian National Army into battle against the British. A deeper study of his works will show that many of his social and economic plans still remain valid under present day conditions. In the current Indian situation where there is a bankruptcy of leadership, ideas, commitment and action, Subhas’ message, through his writings, speeches and commentaries may help to resurrect the failing morale of those who are working to bring positive change in this country. Above all, Subhas’ life-long emphasis on the importance of communal harmony and unity among people,
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