Subhas Chandra Bose (b. 23 January 1897, Cuttack, Orissa, India - d.

18 August 1945, off Taipei), a noted Indian politician in the fight for India's independence from British rule. He was jailed 11 times in his fight for freedom and was killed under suspicious circumstances in an airplane crash off Taipei. Early life Bose was born at midday, the ninth child of a family of 14 and the sixth son of Janakinath Bose, a lawyer of the Kayasth caste. He entered an English School in Cuttack at the age of five and in 1909, was transferred to Ravenshaw Collegiate School. He matriculated from Cuttack in 1913 and joined Presidency College in Calcutta. His early influences included his headmaster, Beni Madhav Das, and the teachings of Swami Vivekananda and Ramakrishna Paramahamsa. The later brought about a spiritual awakening in the 15-year old Bose. At 17, Bose suddenly left his College at Calcutta without a word to his parents and went on a pilgrimage in search of a spiritual guru. After visiting renowned gurus of his day such as Rishikesh, Hardwar, Mathura, Brindavan, Varanasi and Gaya, he returned to Calcutta utterly disappointed. By 1916, the rebel Bose was expelled from Presidency College and banished from Calcutta University over an incident where students had attacked an English professor, E. F. Oaten. However, he was accepted in the Scottish Church College, Calcutta in 1917, graduating with a First Class Honours in philosophy in 1919. He entered Cambridge University on 9 September 1919 to study for the Indian Civil Service Examination, coming out fourth after only eight months of study. Even so, Bose did not stay long in the Civil Service, resigning in July 1921 and returning home. Politics In India, Bose met with the spiritual Indian leader, Mahatma Gandhi, and C. R. Das and thereafter joined the Congress Party. Soon after, Bose and C. R. Das were arrested on Christmas day in 1921 for successfully organising a boycott against the Prince of Wales' visit to India and were sentenced to six months imprisonment. Upon his release, he busied himself with flood relief work, editorial services for the publication Forward in Calcutta and conducting propaganda for the Swaraj Party. In 1924, Bose was appointed Chief Executive Officer of the Calcutta Corporation at the same time when C. R. Das was elected Mayor of Calcutta. Bose was again detained, in Mandalay, under the new Bengal Ordinance on 24 October 1924. He was released only two-and-a-half years later on the grounds of ill-health as he was suffering from tuberculosis. From 1928 to 1937, he continued to remain in politics, being arrested twice by British authorities. He was appointed President of the Indian Congress Party in 1938 but resigned on 28 April 1939. Bose was an advocate of armed resistance against British colonialism; he could not come to terms with the ideology of non-violent resistance which Gandhi preached. Upon his resignation, he formed the All India Forward Block on 3 May 1939, a party within Congress, in an attempt to bring together the Leftist faction and fight Gandhism. He fought a losing battle against both Gandhi and the Congress party for 20 months until he was removed from the presidency of the Bengal Provincial Congress Committee and banned from holding any elective office for three years. In March 1940, Bose convened an Anti-Compromise Conference at Ramgarh in Bihar under the joint auspices of the Forward Block and Kisan Sabha and by June 1940 demanded the establishment of a Provisional National Government in India. Arrested again on 21 July 1940, Bose this time went on a hunger strike, demanding for his release, which came only in December 1940. Despite strict surveillance, Bose managed to escape under the guise of a Muslim religious teacher. With the help of the Italian Embassy, and travelling under the name of "Orlando Mazzota", he reached Germany via Moscow. Here he recruited Indian prisoners-of-war in Europe and North Africa to form the Indian Legion (or Azad Hind Fauj or "Free India Army") to fight for India's freedom. Inspired by his leadership, his followers in Berlin honoured him with the name "Bose Netaji", acknowledging his stature as a leader. Malaya Bose arrived in Singapore on 2 July 1943 on the invitation of revolutionary freedom fighter Rash Bihari

Bose. He was appointed President of the Indian Independence League and took on the mantle of Rash Bihari Bose as leader of the Indian Independence League in East Asia. On 21 October 1943, Subhas Chandra Bose proclaimed the formation of the Provisional Government of Free India at the Cathay Cinema Hall. Two days later, he declared war on Britain and the United States. With help from the Japanese, he reorganised and rejuvenated the Azad Hind Fauj (also called the Indian National Army). He lobbied aggressively for funds in Malaya and other parts of Southeast Asia and launched a recruitment drive for the Azad Hind Fauj. Tapping into the widespread discontent of Indian army personnel in Malaya, especially over the way British officers had abandoned them during their retreat from Singapore, he was able to draw many British Indian troops to join the Azad Hind Fauj. On 14 April 1944, he led the Azad Hind Fauj on an offensive against the British in India; and crossing the Burmese border, he planted the Indian National tricolour flag at Moirang, Manipur . It was a symbol of claiming Indian soil from the British. However, the offensive failed to take Kohima and Imphal and retreated to Burma. The campaign was considered a failure so Bose left for Singapore via Bangkok on 24 April 1944. Indian National Army The Indian National Army was the manifestation of Subhash Chandra Bose's transformation from a Gandhian freedom fighter to an armed revolutionary challenging the might of the British Empire. Originally the brainchild of expatriate nationalist leader Rash Behari Bose, the INA saw Subhash Chandra assuming the leadership of the outfit as its supreme commander in 1943. With characteristic vigor and zeal, Bose set about strengthening the fledgling organization and proclaimed the Provisional Government of Free India in Singapore on October 21, 1943. The Indian National Army was also known as the Azad Hind Fauj and it owed allegiance to the Provisional Government which was recognized by nine Axis states. The INA had a combat strength of 40,000 troops comprising mainly of Indian expatriates in South Asia and Indian prisoners of war. The INA also boasted of an exclusive women's combat unit named the Rani of Jhansi regiment. As the Japanese troops launched a major offensive through Burma, the Azad Hind Fauj soldiers fought alongside them in the frontlines and contributed in many victories. Previously in December, 1943 the Azad Hind government had established its rule in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and renamed them as Shaheed (Martyr) and Swaraj (Self-rule). On 18 April 1944, the INA troops captured the town of Moirang in Manipur and in a glorious display of patriotism, raised an Indian tricolor. However the INA's total dependence on the Japanese troops for arms and logistics support proved to be its undoing and as the might of the Japanese began to wane, the INA too was forced to retreat. With the subsequent surrender of Japan the INA resistance collapsed and a number of officers and troops were captures by the British. The government brought these officers to the Red Fort in Delhi for court martial but eventually had to relent in the face of nationwide protests and incidents of mutiny in the ranks of British Indian Army. Subhash Chandra employed his great oratory skills to inspire the troops of Indian National Army. On July 4, 1944, at a rally of Indians in Burma, Bose famously proclaimed, "Give me blood, and I shall give you freedom." "Delhi Chalo," another phrase attributed to him, became the clarion call of the INA combatants as they marched towards Indian territory. Subhas Chandra Bose: Political Philosophy

Subhas Chandra Bose was one of those towering personalities of Indian History who constantly awed and puzzled admirers and critics alike. Even though a great patriot who was hailed by Gandhiji as the "Prince of Patriots", he still stands as one of the most controversial figures in Indian History. To all those obsessed with 'isms' like Fascism, Nazism, Communism, etc.,Bose was an enigmatic figure, who was mercilessly tarnished and erroneously evaluated as it suited his opponents. Bose was also vulnerable to criticism as a potent political adversary to Gandhism. But to those who considered nationalism as one of the highest virtues, Bose appeared as a daring patriot and a radical leftist, known for his revolutionary outlook and uncompromising attitude towards British imperialism. Bose was an inspiring figure to the Indian youth right from 1922 when he returned to India after resigning one of the most covetous jobs of his times- the I.C.S and joined the freedom struggle.Bose assumed a popular image as a rebel President when he dared to come into conflict with the Gandhi-led Congress. He also captured the romantic imagination of the Indians as a warrior statesman and the supreme commander of the Indian National Army(INA). This charismatic personality became a legend with the formation of the Indian National Army which is otherwise known as the second front of India's independence. Among the national leaders of the freedom struggle Bose alone had a comprehensive strategy to supplant the Gandhian strategy, which aimed at the freedom of India. Personal regard for Gandhi, did not deter Bose from viewing Gandhism with the cold eye of reason.His criticism to Gandhian ideology was indented to encourage the Congress party to assume a progressive outlook and to strengthen the positive potentials of the freedom movement.In his political philosophy he did not clash with Gandhism so long as the latter could activate the people and keep up the revolutionary tempo. Bose became disillusioned with Satyagraha when he felt that it was shedding off its philosophy of activism. Bose Gandhi clash was never on the question of leadership;it was the question of strategy to be employed against the British to attain freedom. Reverence to the Mahatma should not overshadow those nationalistic leaders who disagreed with the political technique of Satyagraha. Bose was no doubt a confirmed patriot. He was a champion of human freedom and was opposed to every ideology that put restrains on human freedom. While British imperialism and Congress leadership of the time have done injustice to Bose in their own respective styles, history and posterity are doing justice at least to the sacred and proud memory of Bose and his visions of a free India. January 23 rd is 112 th birth anniversary of India's Netaji. Let us salute this noble soul;this great son of mother India. Escape from British India to Germany & Japan This set the scene for Bose's escape to Germany, via Afghanistan and the Soviet Union. A few days before his escape, he sought solitude and on this pretext avoided meeting British guards and grew a beard and on the night of his escape he dressed as a Pathan to avoid being identified. Bose escaped from under British surveillance at his house in Calcutta. On January 19, 1941, accompanied by his nephew Sisir K. Bose in a car that is now at display at his Calcutta home. He journeyed to Peshawar with the help of the Abwehr, where he was met by Akbar Shah, Mohammed Shah and Bhagat Ram Talwar. Bose was taken to the home of Abad Khan, a trusted friend of Akbar

Shah's. On 26 January 1941, Bose began his journey to reach Russia through India's North West frontier with Afghanistan. For this reason, he enlisted the help of Mian Akbar Shah, then a Forward Bloc leader in the North-West Frontier Province. Shah had been out of India en route to the Soviet Union, and suggested a novel disguise for Bose to assume. Since Bose could not speak one word of Pashto, it would make him an easy target of Pashto speakers working for the British. For this reason, Shah suggested that Bose act deaf and dumb, and let his beard grow to mimic those of the tribesmen. Bose's guide Bhagat Ram Talwar, unknown to him, was a Soviet agent.[5][6][7] Supporters of the Aga Khan III helped him across the border into Afghanistan where he was met by an Abwehr unit posing as a party of road construction engineers from the Organization Todt who then aided his passage across Afghanistan via Kabul to the border with Soviet Russia. After assuming the guise of a Pashtun insurance agent ("Ziaudddin") to reach Afghanistan, Bose changed his guise and traveled to Moscow on the Italian passport of an Italian nobleman "Count Orlando Mazzotta". From Moscow, he reached Rome, and from there he traveled to Germany.[5][6][8] Once in Russia the NKVD transported Bose to Moscow where he hoped that Russia's traditional enmity to British rule in India would result in support for his plans for a popular rising in India. However, Bose found the Soviets' response disappointing and was rapidly passed over to the German Ambassador in Moscow, Count von der Schulenburg. He had Bose flown on to Berlin in a special courier aircraft at the beginning of April where he was to receive a more favorable hearing from Joachim von Ribbentrop and the Foreign Ministry officials at the Wilhelmstrasse.[5][6][9] In Germany, he instituted the Special Bureau for India under Adam von Trott zu Solz, broadcasting on the German-sponsored Azad Hind Radio. He founded the Free India Center in Berlin, and created the Indian Legion (consisting of some 4500 soldiers) out of Indian prisoners of war who had previously fought for the British in North Africa prior to their capture by Axis forces. The Indian Legion was attached to the Wehrmacht, and later transferred to the Waffen SS. Its members swore the following allegiance to Hitler and Bose: "I swear by God this holy oath that I will obey the leader of the German race and state, Adolf Hitler, as the commander of the German armed forces in the fight for India, whose leader is Subhas Chandra Bose". This oath clearly abrogates control of the Indian legion to the German armed forces whilst stating Bose's overall leadership of India. He was also, however, prepared to envisage an invasion of India via the USSR by Nazi troops, spearheaded by the Azad Hind Legion; many have questioned his judgment here, as it seems unlikely that the Germans could have been easily persuaded to leave after such an invasion, which might also have resulted in an Axis victory in the War.[8] In all 3,000 Indian prisoners of war signed up for the Free India Legion. But instead of being delighted, Bose was worried. A left-wing admirer of Russia, he was devastated when Hitler's tanks rolled across the Soviet border. Matters were worsened by the fact that the now-retreating German army would be in no position to offer him help in driving the British from India. When he met Hitler in May 1942 his suspicions were confirmed, and he came to believe that the Nazi leader was more interested in using his men to win propaganda victories than military ones. So, in February 1943, Bose turned his back on his legionnaires and slipped secretly away aboard a submarine bound for Japan. This left the men he had recruited leaderless and demoralized in Germany.[8][10] Bose spent almost three years in Berlin, Germany from 1941 until 1943, during which he married Emilie Schenkl and a daughter Anita Bose Pfaff was born to them in 1942. The crew of the Japanese submarine I-29 after the rendezvous with the German submarine U-180 300 sm southeast from Madagascar. At bottom left is the Indian nationalist Subhas Chandra Bose. Date : 28 April 1943

After being disillusioned that Germany could be of any help in liberating India, in 1943 he left for Japan. He traveled by the German submarine U-180 around the Cape of Good Hope to Imperial Japan (via Japanese submarine I-29). This was the only civilian transfer between two submarines of two different Navies in World War II Death Whilst in Singapore, Bose received the devastating news of the Japanese surrender on 12 August 1945. Since their occupation of Southeast Asia, the Japanese had supported Bose's fight for an independent India. On 17 August 1945, Bose left Singapore in a Japanese bomber, with the promise from the Japanese that they would extend facilities to him to reach the Russian-occupied Manchuria, where Bose hoped to make contact with the Soviets to see if they would support his nationalist movement. The plane landed in Taipei but it crashed after taking off Darien at 2:00 pm on 18 August. Bose was badly burned in the crash and subsequently died in a Japanese military hospital in Taipei. Bose's body, and thus his death, was never fully verified. As a result, there have been much controversy over Bose's death over the years, and speculations abound as to whether he was still alive. According to the official version, Bose died when his plane crashed in Taipei, as testified by eyewitness accounts of Abid Hassan, who was with Bose on his flight to Taipei, and by Taneyoshi Yoshimi, the Japanese doctor who attended to Bose after the crash. Yoshimi recalled that Bose was burnt from head to toe when he was admitted to the hospital and passed away later, around the middle of the night at 11:50 pm. After Bose's death, his ashes were brought to Tokyo and placed at the Renkoji temple, where they have rested all these years. However, not everyone accepts this account of Bose's death. Some believe that Bose did not die in the Taipei air crash and that the death report was a subterfuge by Bose, his aides and the Japanese to help him escape safely to Manchuria. From there, he made his way to the Soviet Union to seek their support to for his nationalist movement against the British, but he was turned down and died in a Soviet gulag. Others believe that he returned from Russia to India and lived anonymously as a hermit. In response to the controversy over Bose's death, three separate inquiry commissions were initiated to study what happened to Bose. The Shah Nawaz Khan Committee (1956) and the Justice G.D. Khosla Commission (1970-74) both concluded that Bose had died in the air crash in Taipei. However, the report by the third inquiry commission, which was set up in 1999 and led by retired Justice M. K. Mukherjee, contradicted the findings of the earlier inquiries. After seven years of investigation, Mukherjee's report concluded that Bose did not die in the air crash and that the ashes at Renkoji temple were not his, though it did not confirm whether Bose reached Russia or elsewhere thereafter. The commission's findings were based on report from the Taiwanese authorities that there was no record of any plane crash in Taipei on 18 August 1945 and the fact that the death register of the Taipei municipality around the time of Bose's plane crash did not have Bose's name in it. However, the Mukherjee Commission's findings were rejected by the Indian government.