Netaji Subhash Chandra
Bose - The Forgotten Hero
It is unfortunate that Netaji has been
denied his rightful place in the annals of Indian history and remains largely
forgotten.
.
'Tum mujhe khoon do, mein tumhe
azadi doonga'
(You
give me blood, and I promise you freedom).
There were
many great heroes born at the time of the freedom movement. Each
with his own method of attaining one goal - Independence for India. Some
believed in non-violent means, whereas others did not. One such hero was
Subhash Chandra Bose, affectionately known as 'Netaji'.
. He was born on 23rd January 1897 in Orissa.
Though Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru have garnered much of
the credit for successful culmination of Indian freedom struggle, the
contribution of Subash Chandra Bose is no less. He
has been denied his rightful place in the annals of Indian history.
Bose was one of the most prominent leaders in the Indian
independence movement and is a legendary figure in India today. He
was an Indian revolutionary who led an Indian national political and military
force against Britain. Bose advocated complete independence for India at the
earliest. If one looks at the history of Indian Freedom Movement, after Mahatma
Gandhi, the name that stands out is of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. His
contribution is no less than those of Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru, who
have been given much of the credit for the successful culmination of India's
freedom struggle. It is more than 64 years since India's Independence, and it
is only pertinent that Netaji's remarkable and stirring deeds need to be
brought to light in the proper perspective. His famous motto was "Give me
blood and I will give you freedom”.
The British rulers acknowledged with serious concern Netaji was a most dynamic and influential political leader
in all sections and religious groups of the country. They saw how Netaji's
ideas always inspired younger generation to fight more strongly for freedom. Subhash
Chandra Bose believed that the Bhagavad Gita was a great source of
inspiration for the struggle against the British. The interpretation of the
India's ancient scriptures had appealed immensely to him. He was willing to cut
across religious lines. He was willing to give up his idea of a religiously
divided India, if Netaji led the nation.
He has taken his place with Rana Pratap and Chatrapati Shivaji as
a national figure in the heroic tradition. Bose deserves equal credit with
Gandhi in Indian Freedom struggle. Bose's great saga was an inspiration to all
Indians, “Future generations would read the amazing story of Netaji's life with
pride and reverence and salute him as one of the great heroes of India."
Rarely do we find somebody of the caliber of this man. His
organisational and leadership skills need no introduction. Netaji
Subhash Chandra Bose, best known as the leader of Indian
National Army, was a man who commanded respect. He believed
Gandhi’s policies would never secure a fully independent Bharat and even if it
could, the nation would be weak from within due to the policies which congress
was fast acquiring
Bose advocated the approach that the political instability of
war-time Britain should be taken advantage of rather than simply wait for the
British to grant independence after the end of the war which were the views of
Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru
and a section of the Congress leadership at the time.
Whilst over 1.5 million Indians were recruited to the British Army
and fought on behalf of the Allied cause in World War II, there was little
publicity given to the 3,000 Indians that were recruited to the
German army by Subhash Chandra Bose, the radical Indian politician living in
exile in Nazi Germany.
Netaji Subhash
Chandra Bose gave many memorable speeches during his lifetime.
“We should have but one desire today- the desire to die so that
India may live - the desire to face a martyr's death, so that the path to
freedom may be paved with the martyr's blood. Friend's! My comrades in the War
of Liberation! Today I demand of you one thing, above all. I demand of your
blood. It is blood alone that can avenge the blood that the enemy has spilt. It
is blood alone that can pay the price of freedom. 'Tum mujhe
khoon do, mein tumhe azadi doonga'
(You give me blood, and I promise you freedom).“It is our duty to pay for our liberty with our own blood. The freedom
that we shall win through our sacrifice and exertions, we shall be able to
preserve with our own strength......' “
His life was full of mystery and
adventure and indeed his death has been a major issue and created controversy
from time to time.
"The
greatest curse for a man is to remain a slave.
The
grossest crime is to compromise with injustice and wrong.
The
highest virtue is to battle against inequity, no matter what the cost may
be."
- Netaji Subhas Chandra
Bose
Kewal Ahluwalia.