03-03-2006, 06:44 PM
this is a re-post of Acharya's contribution in another (colonil history of india) thread. i thougt it was very relevant here too -
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Neglect of Netaji irksome: Biswas
Satarupa Bhattacharjya/ New Delhi
AS All-India Forward Bloc general secretary Debrabata Biwas settled down for a glance of the day's newspapers in his office last Thursday, he was "disturbed" to find Congress Party members greeting president Sonia Gandhi on her birthday through full-page advertorials.
Although Mr Biswas said, that he was "not surprised by the practices of the parties in power," he later told "The Pioneer" that such events only heightened his frustrations, rendering him restless.
For his party, the issue at hand was the birth anniversary of once Congress president and later Forward Bloc founder Netaji Subash Chandra Bose to be celebrated on January 23 next year.
While it would be Netaji's 108th birth anniversary next month, Mr Biwas would also have completed two decades of struggle against the "indifference of the Congress Party" towards Netaji.
"For twenty years I have been fighting to get a plot of land for the Netaji Foundation in Delhi. Land here has been allotted to all and sundry, but in this case, successive Congress governments did nothing," he said.
"Where is the nation headed for, if one of its tallest leaders can't get the respect he deserves?" asked Mr Biswas. This question continued to haunt several generations of Indians who have been uneasy over Netaji's mysterious disappearance and failure of many fact-finding commissions, assembled and then dismantled.
And, the Forward Bloc's fight is not just about a plot of land. With Netaji's birth anniversary fast approaching, the party would make a fresh attempt to get Netaji his rightful place in history books.
Mr Biswas said, "While Human Resource Development Minister Arjun Singh had begun changing school curriculum (history text books), he could have introduced a detailed account on Netaji and the history of the Indian National Army (INA) to say the least. How many children or even adults know that Netaji was the first national leader to have initiated the concept of the Planning Commission as early as 1938"
The Left leader's anger was not just directed at the Congress, he was unsparing of his CPM comrade, fellow Bengali and West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee.
"At a gathering, Mr Bhattacharjee had fleetingly referred to Netaji as a patriot. We have arrived at a time when Netaji is being just called a patriot," he added.
Irrespective of how the Centre reacts to the Forward Bloc's demands, Mr Biswas and his cadre were determined to "rebuild India in Netaji's way."
The party would organise rallies for the youth and women from January 23 to January 27, 2005, during which participants would be urged to shed a drop of blood each to demonstrate their movement towards a "new India."
As president of the Congress Party, Netaji had addressed the Haripura Congress session in 1938 where he had said, "I have no doubt that our principal national problems relating to poverty eradication, illiteracy, disease and scientific production and distribution, can be effectively tackled only along socialist lines."
This would form the platform for the Forward Bloc's "rebuild India" movement.
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Neglect of Netaji irksome: Biswas
Satarupa Bhattacharjya/ New Delhi
AS All-India Forward Bloc general secretary Debrabata Biwas settled down for a glance of the day's newspapers in his office last Thursday, he was "disturbed" to find Congress Party members greeting president Sonia Gandhi on her birthday through full-page advertorials.
Although Mr Biswas said, that he was "not surprised by the practices of the parties in power," he later told "The Pioneer" that such events only heightened his frustrations, rendering him restless.
For his party, the issue at hand was the birth anniversary of once Congress president and later Forward Bloc founder Netaji Subash Chandra Bose to be celebrated on January 23 next year.
While it would be Netaji's 108th birth anniversary next month, Mr Biwas would also have completed two decades of struggle against the "indifference of the Congress Party" towards Netaji.
"For twenty years I have been fighting to get a plot of land for the Netaji Foundation in Delhi. Land here has been allotted to all and sundry, but in this case, successive Congress governments did nothing," he said.
"Where is the nation headed for, if one of its tallest leaders can't get the respect he deserves?" asked Mr Biswas. This question continued to haunt several generations of Indians who have been uneasy over Netaji's mysterious disappearance and failure of many fact-finding commissions, assembled and then dismantled.
And, the Forward Bloc's fight is not just about a plot of land. With Netaji's birth anniversary fast approaching, the party would make a fresh attempt to get Netaji his rightful place in history books.
Mr Biswas said, "While Human Resource Development Minister Arjun Singh had begun changing school curriculum (history text books), he could have introduced a detailed account on Netaji and the history of the Indian National Army (INA) to say the least. How many children or even adults know that Netaji was the first national leader to have initiated the concept of the Planning Commission as early as 1938"
The Left leader's anger was not just directed at the Congress, he was unsparing of his CPM comrade, fellow Bengali and West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee.
"At a gathering, Mr Bhattacharjee had fleetingly referred to Netaji as a patriot. We have arrived at a time when Netaji is being just called a patriot," he added.
Irrespective of how the Centre reacts to the Forward Bloc's demands, Mr Biswas and his cadre were determined to "rebuild India in Netaji's way."
The party would organise rallies for the youth and women from January 23 to January 27, 2005, during which participants would be urged to shed a drop of blood each to demonstrate their movement towards a "new India."
As president of the Congress Party, Netaji had addressed the Haripura Congress session in 1938 where he had said, "I have no doubt that our principal national problems relating to poverty eradication, illiteracy, disease and scientific production and distribution, can be effectively tackled only along socialist lines."
This would form the platform for the Forward Bloc's "rebuild India" movement.