An epitome of suffering and sacrifice, Subhas Chandra Bose began his political journey with a career sacrifice.

Having passed the ICS examination in London in July 1920, he resigned from the elite service and left the shores of England. Inspired by Deshbandhu C.R. Das, the “uncrowned king of Bengal” who had like Motilal Nehru sacrificed his lucrative legal career and creature comforts, the 23-year-old Bose wrote to his brother Sarat: “If C.R. Das at his age can give up everything and face the uncertainties of life, I am sure a young man like myself, who has the no worldly care to trouble him, is much more capable of doing so.”

Soon after arrival in India, Bose met Mahatma Gandhi in Bombay in July 1921 to offer his services for the freedom struggle. On Gandhi’s advice, Bose met C.R. Das, in whom he found “a leader and meant to follow him”. Bose held both Das and his co-Swarajist Motilal Nehru in such high esteem that a decade later, on June 10, 1933, he regretted their loss in a speech during a political conference in London.

Soon after arrival in India, Bose met Mahatma Gandhi in Bombay in July 1921 to offer his services for the freedom struggle. On Gandhi’s advice, Bose met C.R. Das, in whom he found “a leader and meant to follow him”. Bose held both Das and his co-Swarajist Motilal Nehru in such high esteem that a decade later, on June 10, 1933, he regretted their loss in a speech during a political conference in London.

By this time Bose had become disillusioned with the Mahatma. Since 1927, when Bose developed his own political thinking, he had declared along with Jawaharlal Nehru that the goal of the Congress must be “complete independence” and not “dominion status” that elders like Gandhi and Motilal advocated.

The Congress declared this goal at its Lahore session under the presidentship of Jawaharlal, and this became a turning point in the independence movement. Knit together by an abiding faith in socialism and secularism, Jawaharlal and Bose emerged as leaders of the younger generation with a new outlook and ideas that often came into conflict with those of Gandhiji.

However, Bose praised the Mahatma’s Dandi March as one of the most “brilliant achievements of his leadership” and said it had shown “the height to which his statesmanship can ascend in times of crisis”.

Bose similarly praised Jawaharlal but regretted that the latter did not accept the leadership of the Congress Socialist Party: “With a popularity only second to the Mahatma, with unbound prestige amongst his countrymen, with a clear brain possessing the finest idea, with an update knowledge of modern world movements, that he should be found wanting in the essential quality of leadership.”

But when Netaji took over the reins of the Indian National Army (INA) from Rash Behari Bose, one of the brigades of the Azad Hind Fauj was named after Jawaharlal, his closest comrade in the Congress for over two decades. The other three brigades were named after Gandhi, (Maulana) Azad and Bose himself.

Netaji held the colonial government responsible for dividing the Indian people. Since the time of Ashoka, he wrote, India had gone through many ups and downs in her national life. There had been periods of decay, followed by periods of progress and upheaval. But throughout these ups and downs, India had been able, in the long run, to keep up its progress.

He stated: “About 1,000 years after Ashoka, India again reached the zenith of progress under the Gupta emperors. This was followed by another glorious epoch in Indian history... under the Mogul emperors. Therefore, it is worth remembering that the British notion that we have been unified politically under British rule is entirely wrong. All that the British tried to do during their regime in India is to divide the Indian people and to weaken, disarm and emasculate them.”

While in Germany, after his great escape, Bose countered the British propaganda about Muslims’ non-participation in India’s freedom movement. He wrote in a periodical in August 1942: “British propaganda has deliberately created the impression that the Indian Mohammedans are against the Independence movement. But this is altogether false. The fact is that in the nationalist movement, there is a large percentage of Mohammedans.

“The president of the Indian National Congress today is Azad --- a Mohammedan. The great revolution of 1857 was a grand example of national unity. The war was fought under the flag of Bahadur Shah, a Mohammedan, and all sections of the people joined in it.”

Bose visualised an India that would be absolutely neutral and impartial towards all religions. He followed this approach in the Azad Hind Fauj. In 1946, Gandhiji wrote in Harijan: “Although the INA failed to achieve its objective, they have a lot to their credit.... Greatest among these was to gather together under one banner men of all religions and races and to infuse into them the spirit of solidarity and oneness, to utter exclusion of all communal and parochial sentiments. It is an example which we should all emulate.”

To solve the language problem of India, Bose advocated the use of Hindustani -- a mixture of Hindi and Urdu --- in the Roman script. Presiding over the Haripura Congress session in 1938, he said: “(The) Roman script will facilitate their (the masses’) learning of European languages. I am quite aware how unpopular the immediate adoption of the Roman script will be in our country. Nevertheless, I would beg my countrymen to consider what would be the wisest solution in the long run.”

Subhas believed that “communalism will go only when communal mentality goes”. Destroying communalism is the “task of all those Indians --- Muslims, Sikhs, Hindus and Christians, etc --- who have.... developed a genuine national mentality.”

Bose wanted different religious groups to be acquainted with the traditions, ideals and histories of one another, believing that cultural intimacy would pave the way for communal peace and harmony.

Netaji, one of the greatest figures of the freedom struggle, will remain a source of inspiration for his heroic deeds, patriotism and fearlessness.

⚫ The author is a columnist and editor, The Secular Saviour