On the eve of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose's 126th birth anniversary, his daughter, Anita Bose Pfaff, issued a statement on Sunday re-stating her father's vision of India based on secular and socialist principles, and she also explained why he had to turn to fascist governments for help.
Baba, as he was called, remained a complete recluse and interacted with only a handful of 'believers' who visited him regularly. He never stepped out of his house, rather room, and majority of the people claim to have seen him only from a distance.
Kigwema village in Nagalands Kohima district still carries the legacy of the Second World War (1939-45) as Japanese soldiers were stationed in the mountainous village during the war and fought the Battle of Kohima.
On August 18, 1945, Netaji is said to have succumbed to third-degree burns when his plane crashed upon take off in Tiwan's Taipei, which was then under Japanese occupation. Bose had gone into a coma before he died between 9 p.m. to 10 p.m.
The centrality of Netaji Subhas Bose to the Narendra Modi-Bengal narrative is irrevocable. Netaji was pretty much rediscovered by Modi and the installation of his statue at the Central Vista is proof of concept.
In two power-packed emotional statements -- on India's Independence Day and on the installation of Netaji Subhas Bose's statue at India Gate -- his daughter Anita Bose Pfaff wanted closure on her father's myth and legacy.
As the county is all to celebrate the 126th birth anniversary of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, his grand nephew Chandra Kumar Bose feels that it is high time that the Union government initiated action to bring back the ashes of India's great freedom fighter from the Renkoji Temple in Tokyo.
Meanwhile, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat's scheduled programme to pay homage to Netaji in front of Shahid Minar in Kolkata on January 23 has stirred a controversy in West Bengal.
Using the tailored strategic imperative of a Netaji-propelled Bengali nationalism, the BJP actually made deep inroads in the 2019 Lok Sabha election, winning as many as 18 seats, a significant jump over two in 2014.
The office of the Netaji Research Bureau at Netaji Bhawan on Elgin Road in South Kolkata, which is the ancestral residence of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, continues to be a treasure trove of untold stories.
All is not well in the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose-founded All India Forward Bloc (AIFB) with the recent developments indicating an imminent vertical split in the 82-year-old party.
Three years before Indias Independence, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, the nationalist iconic leader of the freedom movement against British rule, not only set foot in northeast India but also boosted the struggle against the British Raj.
