As the nation gears up to celebrate the 125th birth anniversary of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, the coal town of Dhanbad and a railway station in Jharkhand named after him still reminisce their association with the legendary freedom fighter.

“They (January 23 and January 18) will remain special days for us in our family. I do not know about the future generations but for us we feel proud that a great son of the soil had stayed in our ancestral house on several occasions. We do not want to exhibit our patriotism to anyone but are happy that our family served one of the greatest fighters for Independence of our country,” said 69-year-old Sheikh Mohammed Hasibullah, a shopkeeper in Loco Bazar area of Gomoh.

Hasibullah’s grandfather Sheikh Mohammed Abdullah, an advocate, was associated with Netaji and had hosted the leader at their house in Abdullah Colony, barely 500 metres from the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose railway junction (then Gomoh Junction).

Gomoh Junction, which falls under the Dhanbad division of East Central Railways, was the station from where Netaji had boarded the Howrah-Kalka Mail (then known as 63 Up Howrah-Peshawar Express and renamed as Netaji Express a few days ago) for Pathankot in Punjab on January 18, 1941. It was the last time that Netaji was seen in India.

Hasibullah further recalled his grandfather’s stories on how Netaji had come to their home dressed as a Kabuliwallah. “He had worn the attire of a Kabuliwallah from Jabalpur to escape the Britishers as there were several British men in Dhanbad at the Eastern Coalfields and also at Gomoh station. He had spent the night at our house,” said Hasibullah, son of Sheikh Mohammed Asadullah.

Residents of Dhanbad still recall several visits of the man who founded the Azad Hind Fauj to the city between 1930 and 1941 as the founder president of Tata Colliery Mazdoor Sangathan in 1930.

“We have heard from former officials of Bharat Coking Coal Limited about the visit of Netaji. We founded the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Smarak Udyan in 1997 which houses the Sisir Kutir (Netaji’s nephew Sisir Bose’s house whose father Ashok Bose was a chemical engineer at BCCL), a stone epitaph engraved with the history of Netaji, his statue and a stone epitaph with the signature of Netaji and another stone epitaph with the names of the 32 leaders of the Azad Hind Fauj. We want to continue hosting the programme on January 23 and also on January 18 so that the current generation learns about the contribution of Netaji and also his association with Dhanbad,” said Gopal Prasad, 69, founder patron of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Smarak Udyan. The park is located near the now defunct Barari Coke Plant of the BCCL in Dhanbad. Prasad also said that several relatives of Netaji have attended his birth anniversary functions at Dhanbad.