The Tragedy of India's First Head of State

This is a photo-based blog, so, should be an easy read.

Our history textbooks tell a story of Gandhi leading India's struggle for Independence and then Nehru building her from the ground up single-handedly in 20th century India, in a narrative that makes them Gods in our eyes and excluded other towering personalities. Despite the grossly incorrect history that generations of Indians have been taught, many still rightly give due credit to others. In fact, when one analyzes history as it should be, one can easily see the gaps in the stories our Nehruvian historians peddle, and notice the glaring flaws in these politicians of the time; why, even question what Nehru's contribution really was in comparison to several others' that made him the first Prime Minister of Free India.

Ever since a controversy broke out last month surrounding declassification of secret intelligence files on Subhas Chandra Bose, I've learned so much more about the man (and Indian and world history of those times) from books, articles, and documentaries than I have in the last 30 years, that I wanted to share them with you. I hope that in the end you will agree with me that it was Bose who gave us our freedom, and how utterly ungrateful we have been to him. May there be nothing but curses on those that took undeserved credit for 1947 and tried to erase Bose's and others' names from our history, and whose sychophants continue to do so to this day.

I find that many react to these 'revelations' in ways that are entirely predictable given what they (and I) have been taught in history class in school, so I definitely welcome a debate.

I present to you this small tribute to modern Undivided India's first and only Indian Head of State, His Excellency Subhas Chandra Bose. 

I am only touching the key aspects here, and I recommend (at end of this article) some resources to start with if you are interested in learning more.

Subhas Chandra Bose was born, 1897, in Cuttack, to a well-to-do lawyer who considered himself a loyal subject of the British Empire.
Photo courtesy: wikimedia.org 

Bose studied at Presidency College (was expelled for beating up a racist and anti-Indian British professor) and then graduated from Scottish Church College in Calcutta. After this, he headed to Cambridge to study and to appear in the Indian Civil Service (ICS) exams to satisfy his father's wishes. He was selected in the top 4 that year, but declined to serve the British government.
Image courtesy: defencelover.in

Upon return to India, Bose had a packed 1920s, growing in stature as a man of action across Bengal and within the Indian National Congress. Elected head of the Youth Congress, Bengal State Congress, and then CEO of Calcutta Municipal Corporation, he became well known not just for nationalism, but also public service as an efficient manager during floods, etc. Above is Bose in uniform as General Officer Commanding of the Congress Volunteer Corps in 1929, with Motilal Nehru taking salute. Bose's infantry training in college appears to have been a positive influence.
Image courtesy: wikimedia.org

Bose appears to have had a vision that included foreign and expat support for overthrowing the British right from his early days. Above is Bose in 1926 at the inauguration of the India Society in Prague. Not only a vision; as you will see later, he appears to have steadily gained respect from and developed diplomatic and espionage contacts in the subcontinent, its peripheries, and in the West, which would come to his aid in liberating our motherland.
Image courtesy: wikimedia.org

Going to jail for nationalist activities became a common feature for Bose in the 1920s and 1930s, including Mandalay jail in Burma. He contracted tuberculosis and other ailments. The British do not want him to become a martyr and allowed him to leave jail on condition that he leave the country for treatment. Above is Bose convalescing in Austria, 1933, where he also met his future wife, Emelia Schenkl.
Image courtesy: wikimedia.org

Bose returned from Europe, was elected head of the Congress in 1938, and soon started running into opposition from Gandhi and his 'Congress Working Committee' coterie who do not want to support Bose's goal of complete Swaraj. Instead, they wanted to stay a dominion of the British and continue to appeal for incremental privileges. 
Image courtesy: wikimedia.org

Bose appears to have been a very popular man as a decisive leader, and one whose stand and vision appear to have resonated with the youth, in stark comparison to the fairly docile and unsuccessful civil disobedience approach that had been in vogue for decades under Gandhi. Here, Bose being received at Lahore railway station. His popularity and pan-India appeal appear to have been second to none, except perhaps the much-senior and longer-time politician Gandhi.
Image courtesy: wikimedia.org

Bose's political stature and vision for India's independence had increased and matured to great heights by the end of the 1930s. Here, Bose arriving at the 1939 Tripuri Congress session, where he was elected president again, much to the embarrassment of Gandhi, whose candidate was defeated. This, with Bose hardly even campaigning. Nehru appears to have started viewing Bose as a political rival by this time, undermining him and the struggle for India's independence for petty political gains where possible. Read Bose's infamous 27-page letter to Nehru (at missionnetaji.org) that describes how.
Image courtesy: wikimedia.org

1939 was an interesting time in the world, with much significance for India. Bose foresaw World War II months before the war actually started. He wanted to stop Britain from forcing Indian soldiers to die in yet another big war for the Empire's benefit, and wanted to give the British an ultimatum of 6 months to leave India. Gandhi, Nehru and their coterie would oppose Bose tooth and nail in 1939, terming Bose's suggestion morally incorrect, but went on to do essentially the same with the Quit India movement in 1942, which soon fizzled out for various reasons. Bose was manoeuvred out of the Congress (read more about the infamous Tripuri Congress of 1939), and he then formed the Forward Bloc as a political alternative.
Image courtesy: rediff.com

In late 1940, Bose was under house-arrest in Calcutta, and he planned his legendary escape with the help of nephew Sisir Bose in January 1941. The car that Sisir drove his uncle in is now a national treasure. This was perhaps the last time that Bose was in India as a civilian. He made the arduous journey from Calcutta to Peshawar, and via Kabul to Moscow and eventually ended up in Berlin in James Bond like fashion. His diplomatic contacts would come in handy, and the revolutionary leader had safe passage beyond Kabul disguised as a European with an Italian passport. 'Safe' is perhaps the wrong word to use in this context, for he was almost caught by the British while getting through Peshawar to Kabul, when he was disguised as a Pathan, and likely faced similar risks all the way through.

Image courtesy: kolkataonwheels.com

Bose was received and supported by the German (Nazi) leadership, and in due course got  funds for the Free India Society in Berlin. He also established a Free India Radio station from which he broadcast frequently in different languages, which became very popular among Indians across the world. By now, Bose had become a nightmare and enemy #1 for the British, whose intelligence agencies were keeping track of him and his alliance with the Axis powers. This was early days in WWII, and the pendulum could have swung in either direction. Britain had everything to lose. To those that believe Bose should not have allied with the devil himself, note that Bose was critical of Hitler's racism and especially demeaning references to Indians in his Mein Kampf. Heinrich Himmler, the head of the SS, with knowledge of India's history and culture, appears to have been more supportive of Bose than Hitler. Bose was not supporting the Nazis' every action, as some lunatic critics would have you believe. As always in international relations, each State has its own interests to safeguard, and the only common ground here was their mutual enemy, Britain. The alternate to Bose's push for full freedom was in full swing within India, business as usual - with Gandhi and Nehru 'for' fighting alongside Britain in return for concessions from them - more autonomy, etc.

Image courtesy: wikimedia.org

I've tried to summarize Bose's alliance with Germany in short paragraphs, cutting out a lot of political detail and progress (including global propaganda) he made over the months and years. Bose got Hitler first and Mussolini next to allow Indian prisoners of war under Axis control to be trained by them as the Indian Legion, the Azad Hind Fauj and was declared their leader. It was not easy for Bose to recruit the PoWs, but he gained their respect and they began calling him Netaji. Note that from Joseph Goebbels' records, the Nazis viewed it their success that Bose agreed to declare war on Britian in the Indian subcontinent with German support. Mussolini as well as the Japanese rounded out the Axis powers to make a tripartite declaration of Indian independence, with Bose as the revolutionary government's head. The Axis powers recognized India's importance to Britain, and Britain on her part recognized the threat that Bose posed. There was no negotiation or compromise to be expected from Bose, which made him enemy #1 of the Empire, and not a mere law and order nuisance that was met with a lathi charge and jailing. Imagine Britain's reactions to communication among the Axis powers referring to Bose as His Excellency...

Image courtesy: wikimedia.org

Bose's plan was to wait for Germany's assault on the Soviet Union (which he opposed, but couldn't prevent of course) to succeed, to allow his Indian Legion along with the German army to overthrow the British in India, and for the Indian Legion to expand in India as Free India's national army along with other Indian soldiers. When Germany suffered reverses against the Soviet Union, Bose decided to move to East Asia and continue his war with Japan's help, especially since Japan was eager to have Bose revive the defunct INA. With Germany and Japan's help, he undertook a submarine journey from Germany to Southeast Asia. This discreet journey that took months has got to be one of the bravest voyages that a man has ever undertaken, switching over from one submarine to another in shark-infested ocean waters. Above is Bose with Japanese submarine officers.
Image courtesy: wikimedia.org

Bose appears to have made a greater impact on the Japanese government than he was able to with Nazi Germany, dealing directly with their #1. Japan saw Bose as much more an equal and a close ally in the war. Bose appears to have made his interests clear to Japan's premier Tojo - like he did with Nazi Germany, which is the overthrow of British rule in India and not support for their other goals, and they respected him for his honesty and keen strategic mind. East Asia had millions of ethnic Indians and Bose received a rousing reception from them, seen above in Singapore soon after his submarine voyage. They joined the rejuvenated INA in hordes, with loyalty that was comparable to that Alexander commanded from his soldiers. Once in Asia, with the INA in striking distance of British India, Bose was the recognized commander-in-chief and led from the front.
Image courtesy: Netaji Subhas Videos 

Bose formed the Provisional Government of Free India (in exile), which was recognized by 9 Axis countries including Japan, Germany and Italy. The government had an army of its own, a constitution, a flag, stamps, its own bank and currency, and would soon establish the capital in Port Blair with operational bases in Rangoon and Singapore. It was even levying taxes on expat Indians in Singapore and other countries to fund the government. People donated in hordes to Bose to create the 'INA Treasure', which has gone missing since 1945. While these may seem like tokenisms, German records indicate that Bose's vision and plans were so advanced that he was ready to take control of India's governance when Britain fell, without letting it fall into chaos. As far as half the world was concerned, Bose was a real head of state from 1943-1945 with at least some sovereign territory under his control. What Mussolini had urged Bose to do for the sake of legitimacy of his war on Britain for India had been achieved, though it was dissolved with his disappearance. Bose is seen above with other East Asia heads of state in the Greater East Asia Conference.
Image courtesy: wikimedia.org

The INA was not re-built in a day in East Asia, nor were Bose's relationships with Japan and the Axis powers as head of India's war of independence. The legend of Bose had travelled far and wide by the middle of WWII, including within India despite Britain's attempts to put a lid on them. At some point, Britain appear to have put out an MI6 assassination order for Bose, something they had never needed to consider for any other Indian at the time. Bose wanted civil disobedience to boil over into an armed struggle - by Indians outside and from within - to overthrow its captors.
Image courtesy: hindujagruti,org

When WWII started swinging undoubtedly in favor of the Allied Powers in 1944, Bose had already started making overtures to the Soviet Union to continue his war against Britain. By the time the INA was defeated in Imphal, the Indian tricolor had been planted by the INA on Indian soil. However, with their defeat and Japan's surrender, Bose had to escape the clutches of the Allied powers who had begun executing the INA 'traitors'. All evidence points to Bose having faked his death 3 days after the end of WWII in a plane crash in present-day Taiwan. While this was eventually peddled as the official version, the Indian Intelligence Bureau, MI6 and the CIA knew better and kept up their surveillance for years. After 18th August 1945, we enter the realm of conjecture. 
Image courtesy: topyaps.com (via LIFE Magazine?)

Note that if the Quit India Movement and other Congress-led efforts had brought India close to Independence, or if Britain had weakened so much that Independence was a foregone conclusion, Bose didn't have to go to the Soviet Union to continue his war. He merely needed to wait it out in some safe haven in East Asia, and return to India when it was safe.

What happened to Bose after he entered the Soviet sphere of influence? Did the Congress and Britain leave him out in the cold and have him finished off by Joseph Stalin (as some evidence points) while publicly touting the Japanese/Bose version of a flight crash? We won't know until we have access to the thousands of classified files, including KGB era files in Russia.

As predicted by Bose, and aided by Britain's naive blunder, the Red Fort trials of 3 INA generals (intended to serve as a lesson for treason by those in the armed forces) ironically ended up raising nationalist fervor in the people of India after hearing of the INA's exploits, and the British Indian armed forces mutinied in several parts, leading to Britain deciding (and rightly so) that without the loyalty of the armed forces, their control of India had weakened enough for them to beat an honorable retreat (by 'giving freedom' rather than by 'losing control') while they still could. Despite thousands of INA soldiers perishing on the battlefield, and hundreds executed in our war of independence, we somehow believe as a gullible nation that we drove out the British through peaceful means, which is now the official version.

The 'victors' of India's war of Independence may have declared themselves the liberators of India, but the truth is clearly different as reportedly confirmed by Britain's post-War Prime Minister Clement Attlee to Justice PB Chakraborty, Governor of Bengal in Calcutta, in 1956.

Until we learn about his fate after 1945, what we do know is that His Excellency Bose will forever be our one and only Head of State of Undivided India, and the last popularly elected man the nation stood behind. Others who succeeded him in the Congress  and who were handed Free India's leadership on a platter were men of much lower stature and selfish nature. Had Bose been able to return to his homeland after 1945, we know that Nehru didn't stand a chance, and perhaps Partition didn't either. CIA documents of the late 1940s (which indicate that he may still have been alive in a Soviet prison at that time) held that if Bose were to return (and many fondly awaited his return for years), his nationwide popularity would make him India's Head of State, if not immediately by the time the first elections were held in 1952. It is a pity that this never happened, and an ungrateful nation got what it deserved.

For more, see these wondeful references:

1. A documentary on Bose.
2. Articles including copies of publicly available records.
3. Anuj Dhar's book, "India's Biggest Cover-up".
4. A Book by Sugata Bose, "His Majesty's Opponent".
5. A book by Leonard Gordon, "Brothers Against the Raj".