Subhas Chandra Bose- Statue of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose to be installed at India Gate

Table of Contents

Subhas Chandra Bose- Relevance for UPSC Exam

GS Paper 1: Indian History- Modern Indian history from about the middle of the eighteenth century until the present- significant events, personalities, issues.

Subhas Chandra Bose- Context

Recently, the Prime Minister announced that a statue of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose will be installed at India Gate to honour his contribution to the independence movement.
Until the installation of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose’s statue is completed, a hologram of Netaji will be projected at the site of the statue.

Subhas Chandra Bose- Key Points

About: Subhas Chandra Bose, affectionately called Netaji, was one of the most prominent leaders of the Indian freedom struggle.
Birth: Subhas Chandra Bose was born on January 23, 1897, in Cuttack, Orissa.
- His father Janaki Nath Bose was a famous lawyer and his mother Prabhavati Devi was a pious and religious lady.
Education: Subhas Chandra Bose was a brilliant student right from childhood.
- School: Subhas Chandra Bose topped the matriculation examination of Calcutta province.
- Collage: Subhas Chandra Bose graduated with a First Class in Philosophy from the Scottish Churches College in Calcutta.
- Swami Vivekanand’s influence: Subhas Chandra Bose was strongly influenced by Swami Vivekananda’s teachings and was known for his patriotic zeal as a student.
- Indian Civil Services (ICS): To fulfill his parents’ wishes, Subhas Chandra Bose went to England in 1919 to compete for Indian Civil Services.
  - In England, he appeared for the Indian Civil Service competitive examination in 1920, and came out fourth in order of merit.
- Resignation From ICS: Subhas Chandra Bose was deeply disturbed by the Jallianwalla Bagh massacre, and left ICS midway to return to India in 1921.
Literary work: Subhas Chandra Bose wrote the Indian Struggle– covered the country’s independence movement in the years 1920–1934.
Death and Controversy: It is believed that Subhas Chandra Bose died in a plane crash in Taiwan on 18 August 1945.
- However, many in India refused to believe that Subhas Chandra Bose had died in the plane crash.
- Many inquiry committees such as the Figgess Report (1946), the Shah Nawaz Committee (1956) and the Khosla Commission (1970) were established on the matter.
  - These committees concluded that Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose died in the plane crash in Taiwan.
- Unlike above, Mukherjee Commission (2005) said that Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s death in the plane crash could not be proved.
  - This report was rejected by the government.

Subhas Chandra Bose- Contribution in Freedom Struggle Movement

Association with Congress:
- After returning to India Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose came under the influence of Mahatma Gandhi and joined the Indian National Congress in 1921.
- Subhas Chandra Bose became the President of the All-India Youth Congress in 1923.
- Subhas Chandra Bose was elected as the President of the Indian National Congress in 1938 (Haripur) and was again re-elected in 1939 (Tripuri).
- During his presidency, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose talked of planning in concrete terms, and set up a National planning Committee in October 1938.
- Subhas Chandra Bose resigned from the presidency due to internal differences with Gandhi Ji and formed the All India Forward Bloc, a faction within the Congress.
  - Forward Bloc aimed at consolidating the political left.
- Association with C.R Das: On Gandhiji’s instructions, Subhas Chandra Bose started working under Deshbandhu Chittaranjan Das (C.R Das).
  - Subhas Chandra Bose later acknowledged CR Das as his political guru.
  - Subhas Chandra Bose took over the editorship of the newspaper ‘Forward’ in 1921, founded by Chittaranjan Das’s Swaraj Party.
  - CR Das after winning the Mayorship of Calcutta Cooperation appointed Subhas Chandra Bose as the CEO of the Calcutta Municipal Corporation.
  - Subhas Chandra Bose was arrested and sent to jail in Mandalay in 1925 for his political activities.
- Promotion of Labour Movement: Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose was associated with trade union movements and was elected the President of the All-India Trade Union Congress (AITUC).
- Opposition to Nehru Report 1928: In 1928 the Motilal Nehru Committee appointed by the Congress declared in favour of Domination Status.
  - Subhas Chandra Bose along with Jawaharlal Nehru opposed it, and both asserted that they would be satisfied with nothing short of complete independence for India.
- Participation in Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM): Subhas Chandra Bose was jailed during Civil Disobedience movement in 1930.
  - Subhas Chandra Bose was released in 1931 after Gandhi-Irwin pact was signed.
  - He protested against the Gandhi-Irwin pact and opposed the suspension of the Civil Disobedience movement especially when Bhagat Singh and his associates were hanged.
- Banishment from India and wok in Europe: Subash Chandra Bose was soon arrested again under the infamous Bengal Regulation.
  - After a year, Subash Chandra Bose was released on medical grounds and was banished from India to Europe.
  - Subash Chandra Bose took steps to establish centres in different European capitals with a view to promoting politico-cultural contacts between India and Europe.
  - Defying the ban, Subash Chandra Bose returned to India and was again arrested and jailed for a year.
  - After the General Elections of 1937, Congress came to power in seven states and Subash Chandra Bose was released.
  - Shortly afterward, he was elected President of the Haripura Congress Session in 1938.
- World War II and Subhas Chandra Bose: Subhas Chandra Bose started a mass movement against utilizing Indian resources and men by the British Government for the great war/World War II.
  - For this, Subhas Chandra Bose was put under house arrest in Calcutta.
  - In January 1941, Subhas Chandra Bose disappeared from his home in Calcutta and reached Germany via Afghanistan.
- Subash Chandra Bose in Germany: Working on the maxim that “an enemy’s enemy is a friend”, Subash Chandra Bose sought the cooperation of Germany and Japan against British Empire.
  - Subash Chandra Bose began his regular broadcasts from Radio Berlin, which aroused tremendous enthusiasm in India.
- Subash Chandra Bose in Singapore: In July 1943, Subash Chandra Bose arrived in Singapore from Germany.
  - In Singapore, Subash Chandra Bose took over the reins of the Indian Independence Movement in East Asia from Rash Behari Bose and organized the Azad Hind Fauj (Indian National Army)
  - The Azad Hind Fauj (Indian National Army) comprised mainly of Indian prisoners of war.
  - Subash Chandra Bose was hailed as Netaji by the Army as well as by the Indian civilian population in East Asia.
- Indian National Army (INA): Under the leadership of Subash Chandra Bose, Azad Hind Fauj proceeded towards India to liberate it from British rule. En route, it liberated Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
  - Subash Chandra Bose gave famous slogans ‘Jai Hind’and ‘Dilli Chalo’.
  - The I.N.A. Head quarters was shifted to Rangoon in January 1944. Azad Hind Fauj crossed the Burma Border and stood on Indian soil on March 18, 1944.
  - However, the defeat of Japan and Germany in the Second World War forced INA to retreat and it could not achieve its objective.