Netaji- Subhash Chandra Bose

[Guest]

The full report of the Justice Mukherjee Commission of Inquiry is now available at the website of the Ministry of Home Affairs (http://mha.nic.in/jmci-main.htm).

[Bharatvarsh]

<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Netaji's army as seen by a Ceylonese recruit
COLOMBO DIARY | PK Balachandran
April 17, 2006
It was in 1945, the year of the decisive defeat of the Japanese Imperial Army and its auxiliary, the Indian National Army (INA) founded by Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose.

Netaji's dream of freeing India (and incidentally Ceylon too) from the British yoke, lay shattered.

The place was Singapore, which British Indian forces had taken back from the Japanese in a swift operation. What was "Syonan" during the Japanese occupation, got back to being the familiar "Singapore". 

Angry with the INA, the first thing that the returning British did was to blow up the 15 ft monument for the dead of the INA, which, to the Indians, was the hallowed Azad Hind Fauj or the Free Indian Army.

But the shocking part of the blowing up episode was that the British had got the job done by the Indian troops under their command!

Tissa Indrasoma, a 25-year-old Ceylonese ex-trooper of the INA, was an eye witness to the vandalism.

In his diary entitled: Syonan: The fall of Singapore and how I coped under Japanese occupation, he says: "Indian Sappers with rifles fixed with bayonets surrounded the place and drove away the few people who were there, including me. They then fixed their explosive charges and blew off the top of the monument."

"The memorial built for the war dead of the Indian National Army under Subhas Chandra Bose, our Netaji, our hero, was unfortunately blown up by Indian troops of the British army under an Indian Major."

"He (the Major) should be ashamed to be such a slave to the British and to blow up the memorial built for the Indian war dead," Indrasoma comments.

The Ceylonese's reaction is poignant, especially because he was no fanatic follower of Netaji's.

He was not entirely in agreement with the objectives of the INA. He disliked Netaji's faith in the Japanese promise to let Indians and Ceylonese rule their countries independently of the Japanese after liberation.

As a Ceylonese, he wondered if it was the right thing to latch on to the INA, since its focus was India and not Ceylon.

Yet his reaction shows the deep attachment members of the Azad Hind Fauj,  had for Netaji, whether they were Indians or Ceylonese; at the centre or the periphery of the outfit.

Insecurity drove Ceylonese to INA

It was insecurity, which drove many Ceylonese to support the Indian Independence League (IIL) and the INA in Singapore and Malaya.

"The Japanese suspected the Ceylonese to be pro-British. Some of us think it is better to go as Indians to save our skins," writes Indrasoma.

Fortunately for the Ceylonese, the Japanese tended to confuse them with the Indians and always called them "Indians".

The fear of persecution was stark. Kempetai the notorious Japanese Intelligence Service, and many of the officers of the Japanese Army were extremely cruel to pro-British elements in the population.

Instant retribution in the form of public beheading was the order of the day, says Indrasoma.

Most of the victims were of course the Chinese. But strictly speaking, no community, other than the Indians, was exempt.

Joining the IIL meant not only security but perks, small mercies actually.

"I too thought of joining the Indian Independence League as I was aware that the membership card entitled one to some privileges.

For instance, when you go to buy a railway ticket it is an easy matter if you produced this card. On some days at their headquarters, one could buy hard-to-get items like tooth paste, soap etc, at reasonable prices."

IIL membership also meant that one could get letters from, and send letters to, Ceylon, as the IIL was allowed to work with the Swiss Red Cross.

But Indrasoma, like many Ceylonese, was not in a great hurry to join. His policy was to "wait and see".

Of the four Ceylonese communities in Singapore, the Sinhala Buddhists were more sympathetic to the IIL and INA and Asian nationalism in general, than the Sinhala Christians, the Jaffna Tamils and the Ceylon Moors, Indrasoma says.

The Jaffna Tamils and Sinhala Christians generally tended to be very pro-British. They trashed any suggestion that the Japanese were the new dominant power in Asia and that British would not be able to stage a come-back, he adds.

As far as the Indian community in Singapore was concerned, the atmosphere was surcharged with high expectations from the IIL and the INA in the early days of the War in the East.

Writes Indrasoma: "The daily newspapers are full of accounts of Subhas Chandra bose, Rash Behari Bose and the Indian Independence League. The Indian community is excited about some future great happening and goes about greeting each other with their 'Jai Hind' (Victory to India)."

"Then, on the 4th of July we heard that Subhas Chandra Bose had arrived in Syonan. He was to meet the local Indian leaders. The conference was scheduled to be at Cathay Building.

A ticket to attend the meeting costs one hundred dollars as a contribution to the Indian cause. The Indian merchants were paying thousands, instead of a hundred."

But he adds that the Ceylonese "discretely kept away." For the skeptics, the INA stood for "I Never Advance".

But for the Indians and a few Ceylonese, the INA was ready to fight the British in India, drive them out and set up a national government.

There was a parade of the INA, which was reviewed by Subhas Bose and General Hideki Tojo, the Prime Minister of Japan.

"We were able to see two world class leaders on the same day," writes Indrasoma, who admired the Indian leader but thought it prudent to keep a distance.

The next day, Netaji formed the Azad Hind or Free India Provisional Government at a ceremony in Singapore.

"Bose in his speech asked for the full support of the local Indian community, and fortunately or unfortunately, we the Ceylonese too were included as local Indians," Indrasoma notes.

"Our firm (a Ceylonese firm of jewellers) being a well known institution in Syonan, is expected not  only to make contributions in money but also in men."

"That was where I was concerned. If they start recruiting men, we in our age group, will be the first to be roped in," he fears.

The Japanese were already using Indrasoma and many others for guard duty. Soon it was made known that the Japanese wanted young men for the construction of the Payar Lebar airport.

Indrasoma was drafted into the labour gang. But the work was hard and his palms were full of sores. Since he had acquired a smattering of Japanese, he was able to play truant from work and smoke with the Japanese gang leader.

But soon another, deeper, fear crept into the mind of Indrasoma and other non-Japanese in Singapore.

"Everyone said this volunteer labour racket of the Japanese will not end here in Payar Lebar. Their ultimate intention, the Chinese said, was to select young men in small groups and send them to work in airports in North Malaya and eventually they will be transported to the death railway in the Siam-Burma border. From there, no one comes back," he writes grimly.

Incidentally, the 1950s Hollywood movie "Bridge on the River Kwai" with David Niven as the hero, was about the death railway, and it was shot in Ceylon!

"This (apprehension) also helped the Indian Independence League to recruit volunteers for the INA where you are treated well. It is usual for people in Syonan to refer to the local entrants to the INA as rice soldiers."

"It was certainly better than getting caught to the Japanese labour force and eventually ending up in Burma may be never to return."

"Life in Syonan for the youth is getting a little tough. We have to think of ways to save our skin. It is not going to be easy," Indrasoma writes.

Enter Gladwin Kotalawela

It was at this time that Gladwin Kotalawela, a Sinhala from Malacca, who had the right connections in Ceylon and was a friend of Subhas Chandra Bose's, appeared in Syonan.

He had been given the task of organising a Ceylon Department in the IIL and recruit Ceylonese for the "Lanka Unit" of the INA.

Kotalawela was a familiar figure in Indrasoma's shop, and before long, he enrolled in the IIL.

According to Indrasoma, Kotalawela became pro-Japanese only to show them that he had nothing to do with his employer, Pemadasa, who had been executed for listening to the BBC and spreading the news broadcast over it.

As PV Krishnamoorthy, a former broadcaster in All India Radio, Delhi, said, the first thing that the Japanese did when they took over an area, was to take away the short wave radio sets.

Therefore, all that was broadcast to South East Asia from New Delhi, day after day, went unheard!

The Japanese tended to behead people on the slightest suspicion for the smallest crimes or indiscretions.

All military officers carried a Samurai sword with which they beheaded people at will, with one neat stroke. There was no appeal.

Kottalawela was Secretary of the Ceylon Department, Weeraratne was the Assistant Secretary and Dodampe was the clerk.

But the IIL also used veiled threats to secure the obedience of its members.

A circular from one MV Pillai to the new recruits, asked for cooperation but added that disregard for this request was "likely to result in a good deal of inconvenience in the future."

In late 1943, when it was publicly announced that a Lanka Unit was being formed as an adjunct to the INA, Kotalawela asked Indrasoma to join it.

Indrasoma, however, felt that such a unit would be too small to make any difference to the proposed Japanese invasion of Sri Lanka and that it only served to show the world that Ceylonese were also fighting with the Japs and Indians in Burma and Imphal.

According to Indrasoma, Kotalawela also thought on similar lines, but decided to organize the unit as a "ruse to save our own skins".

The Ceylon Department in the IIL had some top Ceylonese journalists working for it. Francis Cooray, a top Sinhalese journalist from Kuala Lumpur, and his son Dodwell, were in it.

They were sent to Burma to broadcast to Ceylon in the Sinhala language.
Chat with Netaji

Deceber 8, 1943 was a red letter day in the life of Indrasoma.

Though a Doubting Thomas as regards the INA and the Lankan Unit, he was thrilled to have a meeting with Netaji at his private residence on East Coast Road, courtesy Kotalawela.

"We were introduced to him and he spoke to some of us. Then we had tea, often Netaji himself pouring the tea for us and offering us pastries and cakes. It was very informal and he looked a simple person, unlike when he is in uniform and speaking to crowds from a platform."

"He was very soft spoken and he treated us like an uncle treating his nephews."

"He told us that he was glad that we volunteered  for a noble cause, to liberate our country from foreigners."

"I thought he emphasized 'foreigners' meaning that he did not mean only the British but even the Japanese if they wanted to get India to replace the British as they have done here in Malaya."

"I remember in all his talks with us, he referred to Ceylon as 'Lanka'. I thought it was a great honour to have met this great leader and to have listened to him." Indrasoma writes.

In the Lanka Unit, the trainers were all ex-Indian army men who had joined the INA after the surrender of Singapore and Malaya.

They were friendly but the food was unpalatable because it was Indian Chapatti, Dal and Dosai and not Sri Lankan.

They were taught Hindustani and Japanese martial arts, apart from the handling of small arms.

Controversy over Indian anthem

The Ceylonese recruits had a problem singing the anthem of the INA because it made no reference to Sri Lanka and also on ideological grounds.

Sumathipala Punchiwewa refused to sing it because he was in the Lanka Unit to fight for the freedom of Lanka and not India.

Gunapala said that he was glad that the song made no reference to Lanka because, at any rate, India and Lanka were two different places altogether.

But Henry Perera, who "hero worshipped" Netaji sang the song with gusto.

Gunapala then composed a Sinhala song based on the lyrics and tune of the INA's anthem, substituting Indian places and rivers with Sri Lankan places and rivers.

Places mentioned in the Sinhala anthem were Sripada, Mahanuwara, Anuradhapura,  Yapana, Trincomalee, Galle and Matara. Mahaweli Ganga replaced Jamuna and Ganga.

Instead of  Jaya Ho, Jaya Ho, it was Jaya Wewa, Jaya Wewa!

"WE thought it was a jolly good song. Unfortunately, I never learnt it by heart and don't even seem to have recorded it anywhere. What a pity, it is, I think, lost for ever," Indrasoma says.

INA, Japs lose interest in Ceylon

When the India campaign seemed to be getting ahead, the Japanese lost interest in Ceylon. And when things were going badly everywhere in 1942-43-44, the Japanese lost interest in the INA itself.

With this, the trainers too lost interest in the recruits. Ceylonese volunteers were opting for releases.

Indrasoma also did, on medical grounds. The INA's doctors understood the plight of the Ceylonese recruits and had no hesitation in giving them the required medical certificates.
Indrasoma got one and quit. He later returned to Ceylon.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/7752_16...04100180006.htm<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->

[Guest]

<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Government not interested in truth </b>
Murli Manohar Joshi | BJP leader
The Memorandum of Action Taken Report by the Home Ministry over the 600-plus page report submitted by a reputed former judge of the Supreme Court is plainly arbitrary. It states that the Government "has examined the report submitted by the Commission on November 8, 2005, in detail and have not agreed with the findings that - a) Netaji did not die in the plane crash; b) the ashes in Renkoji temple were not those of Netaji".

It may be recognised that Mr Tarakeshwar Pal, the learned Senior Counsel appearing for the Government, fairly submitted that there were glaring discrepancies in the evidence adduced regarding the accident as also the date and time of death, death certificate and cremation of Netaji. It is indeed intriguing that even then the Government rejects the JMCI report.

The Congress-led Government thus dogmatically holds on to its stand, as expressed by Jawaharlal Nehru in Parliament in 1952. Nehru stated, "the question of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose's death is, I think, settled beyond doubt. There can be no enquiry about that." The Government, therefore, finds it convenient to support the reports of two previous official inquiries (ignoring the dissentient report of Suresh Chandra Bose) that the Nehru and Indira regimes had been forced to launch.

Both the GD Khosla Commission (1970-74) and the Shah Nawaz Committee (1956) had concluded - without ever contacting the Government of Taiwan - that Netaji had died in Taipei. Shah Nawaz Khan was a Congress MP, and GD Khosla a friend of Nehrus who wrote Indira Gandhi's biography as he disposed off Netaji inquiry work. Both were alleged to have produced reports to suit the Congress line.

Not many people know that Justice Mukherjee's report isn't the first such report to be rejected by the Government. One of the three members of the Shah Nawaz Committee, Suresh Chandra Bose, Netaji's elder brother, had submitted a dissenting report, which was ignored. The available residual evidence and witnesses' accounts were enough for Bose to establish that Netaji could not have died, and that he escaped to the USSR.

Suresh Bose wrote the following in his report about the other members of the committee, Shah Nawaz Khan and SN Maitra: "My colleagues, both connected with the Government, have tried to secure and to manipulate the evidence, so that it could easily conform with the Prime Minister's (Nehru's) statements."

He added, "I would, with all humility, appeal to my esteemed countrymen not to accept the reports submitted by learned colleagues or by my humble self, but to make a demand to our Government to place at their disposal the whole of the evidence that was made available to the Committee and... form their own opinion after a careful perusal and consideration of the same, and, if the general opinion be that the aircraft accident did not take place and that Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose did not die, as alleged, to demand an impeachment of all those who have taken part in this nefarious game."

The Government did not publish this dissenting report of Suresh Bose.

It is not difficult to understand why the UPA Government has rejected the Commission's findings in one sentence, without giving any reason. The seven months taken to reject the report clearly reflects the Government's dilemma. The Government could not find any valid reason to reject Justice Mukherjee's findings based on new evidence and sharp reasoning.

The JMCI report cites an example how the Nehru Government hushed up a crucial evidence on Netaji's death issue. A month before the Shah Nawaz Committee report was made public, it had duly received copies of an official report from Taiwan, via the British High Commission in Delhi.

However, this report was neither mentioned in the Shah Nawaz report, nor heard of again until Justice Mukherjee discovered the recently declassified original report in London's National Archives. The Commission utilises it to reject the official version of Netaji's death.

The report also brings to light the wilful destruction of a top-secret PMO file, "Investigation into the circumstances leading to the death of Subhas Chandra Bose", by the Indira Gandhi Government at a time when it should have been made available to the Khosla Commission.

In the circumstances that the Government has rejected the JMCI findings, the onus of proving that Netaji's died in the air crash on August 18, 1945, is now on it. The Government must take the nation into confidence and give reasons why it has rejected the report. The Government must also answer questions that have been raised before and after its publication. One of them pertains to mysterious "ashes and other remains" of Netaji, which were received by the External Affairs Minister in 1954. The Commission had asked the Government in August 2004 whatever had become of those "ashes and other remains" of Netaji after they were brought to India. But there was no pertinent answer forthcoming, the JMCI report suggests.

The Government must come out with the reasons for rejecting the JMCI report, which should be discussed in Parliament. This act of the Government, instead of resolving the controversy, has kept it alive. The facts and circumstances as narrated in this report require a further vigorous probe in this matter.

The UPA Government has a lot of explaining to do to the nation about the actual fate of Netaji.
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->

[Guest]

Hi

I wanted to draw the attention of all, specially the Moderators, to the controversy surrounding the fate of Subhas Chandra Bose. Recently Government of India, which is headed by Congress party, rejected the findings of Justice Mukherjee Commission of Inquiry. What the Commission found out seemed to point out that all those horrendous stories we heard from our parents and grandparents could be true.

The official line has it that Netaji died following a freak air crash in Taipei at the close of the second world war. Rumors had it that Bose escaped to USSR, and was trapped. And according to the Mukherjee report:

<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->It stands established that emplaning at Saigon on August 17, 1945 Netaji succeeded in evading the Allied Forces and escaping out of their reach and as a camouflage thereof the entire make-believe story of the air crash, Netaji's death therein and his cremation was engineered by the Japanese army authorities....

The purpose of his (Netaji's) flight was to go to the Soviet Union and with the aid of the Soviet Union he was to continue his independence movement.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
The report also came across clear evidence of systematic hushing up of the evidence by the Nehru and Indira Govts.

In the circumstances, it will be unfortunate if we remain silent.

Some time back, a group of young professionals decided to stick their necks out and fight it out in the open. Kindly visit www.missionnetaji.org to know more.

I'd like to given an illustration of how the battle for truth is being waged. India. Under the new Right to Information Act certain requests were for records on Bose's death were made to the Prime Minister's Office, Ministry of External Affairs. Ministry of Home Affairs. The outcome so far has been rather odd. On one hand the Govt says Bose died in an accidental air crash, and on the other they are refusing to declassify papers of 1950s to 1990s vintage on the ground that their release wud adversely affect India's interests and her ties with friendly foreign nations.

Anyhow, this RTI campaign has picked up and we intend to fight it to the finish.

http://www.missionnetaji.org/page/rti_home.html

As an expert on the case, I will be most happy to answer any questions that are put here on the India-Forum. I solicit the support of the moderators in the interest of India.

Thanks and regards

Anuj Dhar, New Delhi

[Guest]

Ben Ami had created this thread...some past discussion about Netaji.

[Guest]

Thanks for the link, Viren. Ben Ami's discussion is about "past" indeed. This thread is about a "current" issue. Time has come to ascertain facts about Bose's fate. And in more than one way, the Indians outside India can play a big role.

[Guest]

<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>I'm Netaji, said 125-yr-old sadhu & died </b>
Pioneer News Service | Bhopal
Police have launched an inquiry into the claims of a 125-year-old sadhu, who minutes before dying claimed that he was Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose.

Baba Lalji Maharaj, who was living in Saiji village in Ashok Nagar district of Madhya Pradesh for the past 30 years, claimed before he died on October 27 that he was the iconic freedom fighter popularly known as Netaji, ex-sarpanch GS Raghuvanshi told reporters.

Ashok Nagar Collector MC Gupta confirmed that the police had launched a preliminary probe. A police team that went to Lalji's house found newspaper cuttings linked to Netaji, travel tickets and photographs of Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru.

Lalji Baba of Saiji village had disclosed to Raghuvanshi that he was Netaji while returning from Guna where he underwent medical treatment on October 27. Raghuvanshi said that the claim was made barely two minutes before the sadhu died.

Raghuwanshi added that in the past too, Lalji baba had claimed that Subhash Chandra Bose was alive. He also often spoke of injuries suffered in an aircraft crash, said Raghuvanshi.

When asked about the deep scars on his head and body, he would reply that he sustained the injuries when he "fell from a plane", he said.

Baba, who ran an ashram, always rubbished reports about Bose's death.

Baba, who occasionally made trips to undisclosed locations, probably in Delhi, was buried according to his wishes at a spot selected by him about a week ago, Raghuvanshi said.

Officials added that if some truth was found in the claims made by Raghuvanshi, a DNA test of his remains would be ordered. As word about Baba's claim spread, people thronged Saiji as local police station in-charge, Kavindra Pal Singh Chouhan, reached the ashram to collect evidence about the issue.

"If the need arises, his body will be exhumed to confirm the claims," Chouhan told reporters. 
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->

[Guest]

Why was he buried ?

[Guest]

<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Anita Pfaff has reportedly expressed relief on learning that the Government disagrees with the Justice M K Mukherjee Commission's contention that Netaji had not died in a plane crash over Taiwan in August 1945. She believes that her father died in a plane crash"... (The Hindu)


...Meanwhile, a 102-year-old man, claiming that he was Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose's driver-cum-bodyguard, has said Netaji was not killed in a plane crash in 1945, <i>but died of natural death in oblivion decades later in Faizabad district of Uttar Pradesh</i>. (The Hindu)


....Police have launched an inquiry into the claims of a 125-year-old sadhu, <i>who minutes before dying claimed that he was Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose</i>. <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->


So, how many times is he supposed to have died?

Yes, also curious - why burial?

[Guest]

http://library.flawlesslogic.com/bose_2.htm
<b>Subhas Chandra Bose </b>
<i>Ranjan Borra</i>

[Guest]

http://www.rediff.com/news/2007/feb/01raw.htm

<b>No information on Netaji: RAW</b>

February 01, 2007 11:23 IST

In its first-ever response to an unofficial body, the country's premier external intelligence agency Research and Analysis wing has informed 'Mission Netaji' that it was not holding any information on Subhas Chandra Bose.

Mission Netaji is conducting its own investigation into the mysterious disappearance of the hero and moving various government agencies for information on the matter. It had requested the RAW under the Right To Information Act for disclosure of any information that it might hold on the issue.

"I am directed to inform you... that the RAW does not have any information pertaining to Netaji. As such no list as requested by you .. can be provided," Under Secretary in the Cabinet Secretariat P N Ranjit Kumar told Mission Netaji's Anuj Dhar in a letter dated January 19.

Kumar also reminded Dhar that the RAW was not obliged to provide any information under the RTI Act.

Dhar, however, is skeptical about RAW's response.

"In 2001, the then Home Secretary Kamal Pande filed an affidavit before the Mukherjee Commission (which was probing Netaji's mysterious disappearance). This affidavit listed out several Top Secret/Secret records whose disclosure was likely to evoke widespread reactions and harm India's relations with friendly countries," Dhar said.

Dhar said among these records some are with RAW.

It was an 'Under Office' note under the identification number 11/1/94-IC-2829 dated March 25, 1994, concerning certain articles based on classified KGB records published in a Russian journal.

Dhar claimed that the RAW had initially informed Mission Netaji that it had no record or files relating to the alleged disappearance of Netaji as the organisation was formed on September 21, 1968.

"And now, P N Ranjit Kumar has made a sweeping statement that RAW does not have any information pertaining to Netaji and that RAW is under no obligation to spill the beans. But it has no licence to mislead either," Dhar said.

The Delhi-based organisation would now bring the matter to the notice of the Central Information Commission.

[Guest]

Thread re-opened.

protest the Centre's statement that it had no information about Netaji Subash Chandra Bose's contribution to the freedom struggle
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->The bloc workers submitted memoranda to district magistrates, <b>demanding an apology from the UPA government and a proper acknowledgement of Netaji's role in the freedom movement. </b>

In Kolkata, a protest was held outside Netaji's residence on Elgin Road, where his niece Chitra Ghosh joined other party leaders in criticising the centre for its "shameful" role.

...

In response to posers sent by Bhattacharya to the Union Home Ministry seeking information on Bose's role in the freedom struggle and on whether the government maintains any protocol with regard to Bose, Deputy Secretary S K Malhotra replied: "the information on points in your letter is not available in the records."

Bhattacharya had also sought to know how much the government had spent to spread the message of Netaji on his birth anniversary on January 23.

"If the government has decided to forget Netaji and his importance and contributions towards our nation, then there must be some compelling reasons. What are those reasons?" he asked in his application.

[B]
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->

What's going on here? How come Govt does not have details about Netaji's freedom struggle? Either govt does not believe that Netaji contributed to freedom struggle? Or some overzealos babu destroyed records to make way for only certain freedom fighters of their choice (no prizes for guessing here)

There are many freedom fighters whose efforts have clearly been undermined by this govt. Savarkar's plaque at Cellular jail was removed the minute Mani Iyer took over the Cabinet position. Now Netaji? Who else?

[Guest]

<!--QuoteBegin-Viren+Apr 3 2007, 12:02 AM-->QUOTE(Viren @ Apr 3 2007, 12:02 AM)<!--QuoteEBegin-->

There are many freedom fighters whose efforts have clearly been undermined by this govt. Savarkar's plaque at Cellular jail was removed the minute Mani Iyer took over the Cabinet position. Now Netaji? Who else?
[right][snapback]66456[/snapback][/right]
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->

who else??? anyone who could potentially burst the myth that gandhi and nehru brought freedom to india.

[Guest]

download and listen to the voice of Netaji is some of his famous (and last) speeches.

<!--c1-->CODE<!--ec1-->http://rapidshare.com/files/43448523/Voice_of_Netaji.rar.html<!--c2--><!--ec2-->

feel free to share the above link with friends and acquaintances.

[Guest]

hello all who are interested in this topic!
i am not an expert on indian history, but i do know a little bit about the wwii indian legion/axis warriors.
one important fact that has not been mentioned in this thread, is that there are actually TWO groups of indians who fought for the nazi's, ..................... and i am not sure if they ended up fighting together, or not.
in september of '39, there were several thousand indian college students in germany, and once england declared war on germany,..............they were rounded up, and interned. they were approached, and asked if they would like to swap sides, and fight for the germans, or stay in prisoner of war camps. many, but not all, chose to join the wehrmacht. originally, there were high hopes of training some/many of them, and parachute them back into india, to set off bombs, and cause problems there for the english. <!--emo&:bevil--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/b_evil.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='b_evil.gif' /><!--endemo-->
the other group, are the ones who were captured in north africa, and you guys have discussed.
does anyone know if there are any of these pre 1942 indians still alive, or of any interviews from any of them??
would be interesting to hear what they have to say, as to what happened, and what they did during the war.
<!--emo&--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif' /><!--endemo-->
<!--emo&:beer--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/cheers.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='cheers.gif' /><!--endemo-->

[Guest]

<!--QuoteBegin-ben_ami+May 9 2006, 07:59 PM-->QUOTE(ben_ami @ May 9 2006, 07:59 PM)<!--QuoteEBegin--><!--QuoteBegin-G.Subramaniam+May 9 2006, 05:54 PM--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(G.Subramaniam @ May 9 2006, 05:54 PM)<!--QuoteEBegin-->In ww2, it was necessary to support british since they were a lesser evil and also to dilute the muslim % in the army
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->

but the order in which they (ie, india's problems - poms, muslims etc) COULD be dealt with was poms first and than the rest. besides germans werent harming us one bit by waging the ww2, but we wwere helping the poms by fighting against the axis forces.
<!--QuoteBegin-G.Subramaniam+May 9 2006, 05:54 PM-->QUOTE(G.Subramaniam @ May 9 2006, 05:54 PM)<!--QuoteEBegin-->Netaji was simply a more brave version of Nehru - muslim appeaser and leftist
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
only a lunatic can compare a netaji to a nehru. sorry, you seem to have lost it.

netaji wasnt a muslim appeaser one bit - but he knew how to put people - be they muslim or german or japanese or hindus or sikhs, to use in the cause of getting india a bloody freedom.

netaji was a socialist yes, like nehru. and like many others. socialism ISNT communist else all scandinavian countries are commie.

whenever a society or nation has to start from scratch the centre has to lead the way of progress and development. what ussr had achieved (by way of village electrification, basic infrastructure starting from scratch etc) in the early days of its formation was indeed admirable. the totalitarian ussr came post ww2, or even slightly before that, ie ever since stalin. if india didnt start off in a socialistic kind of way then we wouldnt have the hydro electric projects, dams, national institutes, and our middle class and the ex-maharajas would again be ruling the roost.
<!--QuoteBegin-G.Subramaniam+May 9 2006, 05:54 PM-->QUOTE(G.Subramaniam @ May 9 2006, 05:54 PM)<!--QuoteEBegin-->BTW, the Russian economy under the Tsar was booming
The bolsheviks set back the Russian economy by 20 years
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and the russian people were dying meanwhile.

the bolsheviks ressurected the russian population and put food on their tables.
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the bolsheviks did feed SOME of the russians. remember, there was a very large white russian movement, lots of fighting still, far into the 1920's. russia was extremely unstable,....so much so, that they completely dropped out of wwi, which they were a fairly large participant in.
once the communists took over,......they starved and killed many "other" russians. they had several military officer "purges",.........(polite word for "executions"), and many many white russians, ukrainians, belarus russians were starved and killed.
stalin killed many more russians in peace time, then the nazi's killed during the war.

[Guest]

Anuj Dhar of Mission Netaji (and IF member here) is in news...
CIC tells PMO to hand over files on Netaji
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->The Central Information Commission has directed the Prime Minister's Office to disclose copies of documents relating to the destruction of a file on the probe into the death of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose.

The order came on a Right to Information application filed by Delhi resident Anuj Dhar, seeking copies of papers concerning the destruction, in 1972, of a PMO file titled 'Investigation into the circumstances leading to the death of Sri Subhas Chandra Bose'.

Dhar, an official of Mission Netaji -- a capital-based organisation -- had sought certified copies of documents pertaining to he destruction of the file which took place while a judicial inquiry on Netaji was on.
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Well done Anuj.

[Guest]

link
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>When Nehru camp ‘spied on’ Netaji and humiliated him  </b>
By Harshkumar C. Desai---- The Colony, TX: To the opinion – Subhash Bose - an unsung hero of India’s Independence — by Sunil Chatterjee, published in India Tribune dated August 18, I would like to add some more information on the subject. Subhash Chandra Bose (Netaji) was elected president of Indian National Congress by a popular vote against the wishes of Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and others. As far as I remember, Subhash Chandra Bose was elected at the Haripura session of the Congress held in Gujarat. One of the constitutional requirements was that the elected president must address the next session of the Congress and only after such an address, the elected president is considered to have taken over officially the presidentship of The party. During this session, Netaji had a very high fever and it was very difficult for him to walk to the session podium for the address. My high school friend (circa 1946), one Vidyasagar Patel from Bardoli told me that he and his friends were continually rubbing ice over the forehead of Netaji. Young boys were sent to his camp as spies from the Nehru camp to find out the current health of Netaji; they never wanted Netaji to recover. However, Netaji managed to reach the podium and addressed the session, while lying down, as he could not even sit straight. Later on, at the suggestion of the Nehru camp, the rank and file of the Congress never cooperated with Netaji, the official president of the Congress. Consequently, Netaji resigned from the Congress and formed his own party, the Forward Bloc. It is also a fact, now known to all, that Netaji went to China from Formosa and was captured by the Soviets as a Prisoner of War. I also have read somewhere that soon after India became Independent, the Soviet Union sent a courtesy letter to the Indian government (I think Lord Mountbatten was still in New Delhi) informing them that they would like to release Netaji. Jawaharlal Nehru never replied this letter, which was suppressed by the Congress government and probably destroyed by him or by the subsequent Congress governments. He died in the Soviet Union Jail. Before the Independence, Jawaharlal Nehru and the Congress never wanted Netaji to recover from his illness during the Haripura Congress session. After the Independence, Jawaharlal Nehru wanted Netaji to die in the Soviet Union jail. I would like to add a few words on another subject “poverty in India.” I was reading an address by our present Prime Minister that we should eradicate the poverty. Sometime in 1966 (I do not remember the exact year) Indira Gandhi visited the United States (this was probably her first visit). I was in New York studying at the Columbia University. Indira Gandhi came to New York and met the Indian community. This meeting was in a big hall in the basement of a church in Manhattan. My wife and I attended this meeting. Indira Gandhi said and I quote, “We should eradicate poverty.” I distinctly remember this and I felt proud at that time; but today I feel how naïve I was. Year after year all Prime Ministers have said the “We should eradicate poverty.” The Congress and all other political parties in India want the keep the majority of the people poor, raise the slogan of “eradicating poverty” for election purposes, and use the tool – divide and rule – once the election is over.

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[Bodhi]

<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>After 63 years, CPI realises its blunder </b>

Santanu Banerjee | New Delhi

It was a mistake! After 63 years, the Communist Party of India said that criticising Netaji's policy of "enemy's enemy is friend" was wrong!

The admission by CPI general secretary AB Bardhan came at a book release function on Wednesday. The two-volume book is a compilation of Netaji's writings in Forward Bloc Weekly which he lunched on August 5 in 1939 after being ousted from the post of Congress president and then from the party.

Bardhan admitted that his party's campaign in "40s against Bose was a mistake and said the Communists then failed to realise that Bose was the first all Indian Left leader who talked about the Left unity against the Rightists whom he fought within the Congress.

"Then I was a student of Class X and I can still recollect the fervour Netaji produced at all-India level with Left-minded youth," Bardhan told the audience as he released the book.

The book consists of Netaji's weekly editorials in which he relentlessly attacked both British repression and Gandhi-led Congress feet-dragging on the issue of Independence.

The British Government put a ban on the publication from June next year (1940)

"There is a trend engineered now by the Congress to write one-sided history where the contribution of Netaji did not find a proper place,'" Bardhan attacked the Congress.

"But despite this long distortion of history, Netaji's image only glowed like sun among the masses in India," Bardhan said.

Bardhan, one of the grassroots and veteran Communist leaders, told the audience that "It was Netaji who way back in 1939 first spoke about the Left unity to fight the Rightist forces and formed a Left Consolidation Committee to give a boost to this direction."

The Left watchers here believe that Bardhan took this opportunity to tell the other Left partners that Bose, who first spoke of a planned economy and consistently stressed Left unity, should be emulated to sink the differences within the Left movement.

http://www.dailypioneer.com/indexn12.asp?m...t&counter_img=2
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[Bharatvarsh]

<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Title:  Netaji: his life and work
Authors:  Ram Sharma

http://library.du.ac.in/dspace/handle/1/3819<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->