Indian people are once again a free Nation : Netaji’s final stand

Makarand R Paranjape
Subhas Chandra Bose arrived in Singapore on 2 July 1943. Already hailed as “Netaji”, the great leader, the Indian National Army which came into his command, soon swelled to a force of over 40,000. They comprised prisoners of war from the fallen British army and local recruits. Meanwhile, the Indian Independence League membership had swelled to over 300,000.
Bose felt that the time was propitious. On 21 October 1943, just three and a half months after he landed in Singapore, Bose proclaimed the formation of the Provisional Government of Azad Hind (Free India). It was an impressive ceremony at the Cathay Building, with himself as the Head of State, Prime Minister, and Minister of War.
What is more, this Government was not only recognised by several Nations but went on to liberate the first bit of Indian soil in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands from the British colonial rule. It was a credible State-in-the-making, with its own bank and fledgling Government in exile.
Bose’s speech on the occasion was memorable. It still fills us with awe and wonder at his daring and derring-do: “In the name of God, in the name of bygone generations who have welded the Indian people into one Nation, and in the name of the dead heroes who have bequeathed to us a tradition of heroism and self-sacrifice we call upon the Indian people to rally round our banner and strike for India’s freedom. We call upon them to launch the final struggle against the British and their allies in India and to prosecute that struggle with valour and perseverance and full faith in final victory until the enemy is expelled from Indian soil and the Indian people are once again a Free Nation.”
This was a momentous act by any standards, but especially so for a people so colonised and dominated as Indians were. Bose was the only Nationalist leader who dared to dream of expelling the British from Indian soil through an armed struggle.
In India, however, his alliance with the Japanese was not viewed favourably by most leaders of the time including Gandhi, and Nehru. His alliance with the Germans after his escape from India, was criticised even by Sri Aurobindo. Nevertheless, Bose became a hero, even a cult figure in India. His pictures, in full military regalia, become a part of India’s calendar art for decades to come.
In some of these depictions, he was seen with Gandhi, Nehru, and the other leaders in the same posters and paintings. In the mind of the masses, there was no conflict between the revolutionaries and the pacifist freedom fighters. All were sons and daughters of Mother India, fighting for her freedom. In a sense, it is this composite narrative that the present regime is also trying to revive, although some have accused it of legacy raiding and poaching.
If INA had not lost to Britain’s Indian army on India’s North-Eastern front, one can only wonder what course history might have taken. Defeating the British and reconquering India by the force of arms would certainly have given Indians a different kind of self-confidence. A strong man at the helm of affairs in Delhi and the British defeated and thrust out militarily might have also prevented the Partition of India.
Bose’s INA and Provisional Government were models of communal amity, a fact that Gandhi also acknowledged and lauded. But the INA lost. None of their comrades and fellow soldiers facing them on the British side defected, as had been expected. Instead, after its collapse, INA soldiers became prisoners of war once again, standing trial for treason. The INA trial, held inside the Red Fort, captured the National imagination. (To be contd)