• About us
  • Careers
  • Brand Partnerships
TFI Official Merchandise
TFI हिन्दी
TFI Global
Saturday, January 28, 2023
Tfipost.com
  • Premium
  • Politics
    • All
    • Analysis
    • Opinions
    • Trending
    KCR Republic Day function

    Down South, KCR is waging a ‘war’ against the Indian Constitution

    anti-national NGOs

    Banned anti-national NGOs have created their own underworld

    Surgical strike row

    Surgical strike row: Congress kick starts BJP’s election campaign with a bang

    Winston Churchill

    The butcher from England: Winston Churchill

    • Analysis
    • Opinions
    • Trending
  • Economy
    • All
    • Business
    • Economy1
    • Finance
    Bata is not an Indian company but is more Indian than most Indian companies

    Bata is not an Indian company but is more Indian than most Indian companies

    Indian fintech sector

    The rise and rise of India’s fintech sector

    Zomato Instant

    Zomato is using every trick in the book to stay relevant

    Indian IPO market

    The Past and Future of the Indian IPO Market

    • Business
    • Finance
  • Defense
    • All
    • Defence
    • Strategy
    • Weaponry
    Defence budget India

    Modernization of Indian defence: Right trajectory but low velocity

    AK-203 rifles

    Amethi has started producing the dreaded AK 203 for India and the world

    HELINA and VSHROD

    Amidst build up on China and Pakistan border India gets HELINA and VSHROD

    K9-Vajra

    K9 VAJRA: The Made in India weapon that China fears

    • Defence
    • Strategy
    • Weaponry
  • Geopolitics
    • All
    • Africa
    • Americas
    • Asia Pacific
    • Europe
    • South Asia
    • West Asia
    Pakistan Army

    One of Pakistani army’s own busts its war waging tactics

    India-Egypt relations

    India-Egypt relations: A holistic approach other than tackling the Turkey-Pak Nexus

    Time to wake up against China’s new threat to the world

    Time to wake up against China’s new threat to the world

    Tough challenges for SCO amidst geopolitical turmoil

    Tough challenges for SCO amidst geopolitical turmoil

    • Africa
    • Americas
    • Asia Pacific
    • Europe
    • South Asia
    • West Asia
  • Knowledge
    • All
    • Culture
    • History
    • Indology
    Swami Ramanand Teerth

    Swami Ramanand Teerth versus the Nizam of Hyderabad, a story that deserves bigger audience

    hanging

    Black cloth and 11 Promises: How the hangman performs the hanging

    Shubhrak

    The story of shubhrak the horse who avenged his master

    5 Hindi literature classics that were turned into disasters by Bollywood and TV

    5 Hindi literature classics that were turned into disasters by Bollywood and TV

    • Culture
    • History
    • Indology
  • Law
  • Lounge
    • All
    • Books
    • Cinema
    • Food
    • Health
    • Lifestyle
    • Satire
    • Sports
    • technology
    • Travel
    Gurdas Maan – The man who made Punjabi music a national craze and who became a ‘traitor’ for being pro-India

    Gurdas Maan – The man who made Punjabi music a national craze and who became a ‘traitor’ for being pro-India

    Pathaan box office collection

    If the trend continues, Pathaan producers will be able to buy Mars

    Australia and England are testaments to perils of minority appeasement politics

    Australia and England are testaments to perils of minority appeasement politics

    Johnny Walker became a comedian only because of Guru Dutt otherwise he was unbearable

    Johnny Walker became a comedian only because of Guru Dutt otherwise he was unbearable

    • Books
    • Cinema
    • Food
    • Health
    • Sports
    • technology
    • Travel
    • Satire
No Result
View All Result
Tfipost.com
  • Premium
  • Politics
    • All
    • Analysis
    • Opinions
    • Trending
    KCR Republic Day function

    Down South, KCR is waging a ‘war’ against the Indian Constitution

    anti-national NGOs

    Banned anti-national NGOs have created their own underworld

    Surgical strike row

    Surgical strike row: Congress kick starts BJP’s election campaign with a bang

    Winston Churchill

    The butcher from England: Winston Churchill

    • Analysis
    • Opinions
    • Trending
  • Economy
    • All
    • Business
    • Economy1
    • Finance
    Bata is not an Indian company but is more Indian than most Indian companies

    Bata is not an Indian company but is more Indian than most Indian companies

    Indian fintech sector

    The rise and rise of India’s fintech sector

    Zomato Instant

    Zomato is using every trick in the book to stay relevant

    Indian IPO market

    The Past and Future of the Indian IPO Market

    • Business
    • Finance
  • Defense
    • All
    • Defence
    • Strategy
    • Weaponry
    Defence budget India

    Modernization of Indian defence: Right trajectory but low velocity

    AK-203 rifles

    Amethi has started producing the dreaded AK 203 for India and the world

    HELINA and VSHROD

    Amidst build up on China and Pakistan border India gets HELINA and VSHROD

    K9-Vajra

    K9 VAJRA: The Made in India weapon that China fears

    • Defence
    • Strategy
    • Weaponry
  • Geopolitics
    • All
    • Africa
    • Americas
    • Asia Pacific
    • Europe
    • South Asia
    • West Asia
    Pakistan Army

    One of Pakistani army’s own busts its war waging tactics

    India-Egypt relations

    India-Egypt relations: A holistic approach other than tackling the Turkey-Pak Nexus

    Time to wake up against China’s new threat to the world

    Time to wake up against China’s new threat to the world

    Tough challenges for SCO amidst geopolitical turmoil

    Tough challenges for SCO amidst geopolitical turmoil

    • Africa
    • Americas
    • Asia Pacific
    • Europe
    • South Asia
    • West Asia
  • Knowledge
    • All
    • Culture
    • History
    • Indology
    Swami Ramanand Teerth

    Swami Ramanand Teerth versus the Nizam of Hyderabad, a story that deserves bigger audience

    hanging

    Black cloth and 11 Promises: How the hangman performs the hanging

    Shubhrak

    The story of shubhrak the horse who avenged his master

    5 Hindi literature classics that were turned into disasters by Bollywood and TV

    5 Hindi literature classics that were turned into disasters by Bollywood and TV

    • Culture
    • History
    • Indology
  • Law
  • Lounge
    • All
    • Books
    • Cinema
    • Food
    • Health
    • Lifestyle
    • Satire
    • Sports
    • technology
    • Travel
    Gurdas Maan – The man who made Punjabi music a national craze and who became a ‘traitor’ for being pro-India

    Gurdas Maan – The man who made Punjabi music a national craze and who became a ‘traitor’ for being pro-India

    Pathaan box office collection

    If the trend continues, Pathaan producers will be able to buy Mars

    Australia and England are testaments to perils of minority appeasement politics

    Australia and England are testaments to perils of minority appeasement politics

    Johnny Walker became a comedian only because of Guru Dutt otherwise he was unbearable

    Johnny Walker became a comedian only because of Guru Dutt otherwise he was unbearable

    • Books
    • Cinema
    • Food
    • Health
    • Sports
    • technology
    • Travel
    • Satire
No Result
View All Result
Tfipost.com
No Result
View All Result

HOME » Knowledge » History » The life and times of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose

The life and times of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose

Robert Barker
by Robert Barker
23 January 2016
in History
0
Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose
485
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

For the first time in many years, the 23rd of January has assumed significance in the media and the public eye. Despite it being the day when Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose was born, one of India’s greatest freedom fighters, it has rarely been observed with the reverence that the birthday of some other national leaders have. This year though, things are different and there’s significant media and public focus as Prime Minister Modi prepares to declassify 100 files on Netaji, which many hope would shed light on the mysterious circumstances surrounding his death and a possible coverup; which quite honestly seems to be the only reason for which he is remembered in the 21st century. But, Netaji was much more than his death. He remains in many ways an unsung hero, whose life and deeds were marked with remarkable tales of bravery, and decisions that were so out of the box, that at times it defied logic and reason, and a sense of idealism that would have put most politicians to shame; all of which were driven by his unquestionable love for the motherland.

The prodigal son:

Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose ‘s relationship with the crème-de-la-creme of the Indian independence movement could be described fractitious at best. While he and the Gandhians were nominally working towards the same goal, there was significant difference in their methods. Gandhi was an avowed pacifist while Bose strongly believed that any method to gain independence was fair game. Indeed, he was one of the first people to demand full independence as early as 1928 and severance of all ties with the Empire, while much of Gandhi’s supporters (with the odd exception of Nehru himself who sided with Bose initially), were ready to be placated with Dominion status and only used the Poorna Swarajya card as a tactic to arm twist the British Govt. This was the first of many fissures between the young, and somewhat green Bose, and the revered patriach of the Congress, and despite respect on both sides, it only got worse as time progressed. Around the time that Nehru clearly became Gandhi’s chosen one, Bose became the prodigal son, as he veered more and more to the political left, and expressing admiration for authoritarianism; which was not Kosher in the Congress circles. Things finally reached a head during the 1939 Congress session in Tripuri, when Bose won the Presidency with the help of the southern voting bloc backed by Muthuramalinga Thevar, but resigned from the post, when Gandhi expressed disappointment that his chosen candidate Pattabhi Sitramayya had lost the election. This led to Bose forming the Forward Bloc, which while nominally a part of the Congress, and unifying the more miltant-leaning political left, had no real force of authority in the larger scheme of things, more so after Bose’s dramatic escape from house arrest to Afghanistan and Europe thereon in 1941.

Idealism vs. pragmatism:

The most commented part of Netaji’s life is his meeting with Adolf Hitler and siding with him, and Imperial Japan later on, in order to affect a militant operation to secure India’s independence. Netaji’s critics constantly point out that him willing to form the Freies Indische Legion under the German Wehrmacht (where the men had to pledge allegiance to Hitler) is a clear indictment of his fondness for extremist ideologies. This was far from true, as it is quite well-documented that Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose was opposed to the racialist and fundamentally discriminatory ideas of Nazi Germany, but had to play along for the greater goal of Indian independence. While such a stand might seem a tad myopic, one cannot question Netaji’s intentions here. This also seems to be the view of many, if not all, contemprorary German historians as well, as this author can attest, having attended talks on ‘Nazism in the developing world’, where a clear distinction is made between the pragmatists (such as Bose), and the ideologically congruent ones (such as post-war Argentina under Peron). Netaji’s intentions of launching a military operation with the co-operation of Germany and Russia fell apart with the commencment of Operation Barbarossa however, and the remaining member of the Freies Indische Legion defected to Switzerland with the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945. Netaji tried his luck next with the Japanese, and while experiencing some success here with the formation of the Azad Hind Govt. and the capture of Andaman and Nicobar, it was all but clear that he was fighting a losing battle, especially with the dwindling support of the Japanese towards the end of the war. It was a somewhat weather-beaten and tired Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose who took that fateful plane on 17th August 1945, that has been the genesis of the biggest conspiracy theory in post-independence India.

Divining an Azad Hind Govt:

What would have been the face of post-war India, if Netaji’s grand scheme of an Azad Hind Govt. had materialised? That it would have been an authoritarian Govt. is a no-brainer given that Netaji had openly stated that democracy would not work, at least in the early days of a post-war India. Nevertheless, it is prudent to distinguish Netaji from other figures of authority in the 20th century. Unlike Hitler or Mussolini, Netaji was not opposed to any particular religious or racial group, and was summarily against imperialistic tendencies. For the time, he was also a progressive figure from a gender rights perspective, forming the very first all-women regiment in the Asian continent, and did not view women as being relegated to the household unlike the Nazis and the fascists. As an avowed nationalist, a lot would have been done in inculcating a sense of Indian fervour among the populace, emphasising a form of Indian exceptionalism, which was summarily discouraged by early Govts and to this day still is by left-leaning ideologues. Curiously though, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose was also an open leftist from an economic standpoint, which under a more authoritarian regime, would have admittedly compounded the problems of a Soviet-style economy in post-independence India. In short, an Azad Hind rule would have seen a socialist (maybe communist), progressive, secular (in the true, French spirit), nationalist Govt., a truly unique phenomenon. The closest analogue that one can think for Netaji would have been Kemal Ataturk, who transformed the post-Ottoman empire Turkey into a modern, secular state, with emphasis on modernisation, and a focus on Turkish nationalism, under a regime that used methods which would have been considered anathema by avowed democrats.

The Legacy of Subhash Chandra Bose

Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose in many ways was the ultimate dreamer, who never compromised on his dream of complete independence at any cost. This was perhaps his undoing as well, which alienated him from the Gandhians, and made him take decisions which had few chances of success. Nevertheless, he will always be remembered as the man who stood tall in the face of adversity, the man who did not let the elements, the regime, nor the status-quo challenge his dream. If it weren’t for people like him, the dream of an independent India would have been just that, a dream.

Tags: #INAAzad Hind FauzJawaharlal NehruNetaji Subhash Chandra BoseSarfaraz Commission
ShareTweetSend
Previous Post

Shivakumara Swami : The Walking God of Karnataka

Next Post

Airlift Movie Review: This is Akshay Kumar’s ‘Argo’

Robert Barker

Robert Barker

Liberal-conservative, Indian, Anglophile, movie buff, beer afficionado. Not one for grandiose ideas, I believe the biggest change is that which happens within.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

I agree to the Terms of use and Privacy Policy.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

  • Most Read
  • Comments
  • Latest
Xi Jinping, coronavirus, Shinzo Abe, china, Japan, coornavirus, COVID-19, Wuhan Virus

‘Pack up and get out of there,’ Japan to spend $2.2 billion to get Japanese companies to exit China

9 April 2020
ajay devgn karan johar

The man who bullied the Bully – How Ajay Devgn made Karan Johar’s monopoly a joke and forced him to apologize

22 June 2020
Huawei, China, Trump, USA, Xi Jinping

‘Our survival is at stake now,’ Chinese Telecom giant Huawei crumbles after US ban on Semiconductor exports

19 May 2020
T-Series Sonu Nigam Divya Khosla Kumar Bhushan Kumar

T-Series forced to take down Atif Aslam’s video, Divya Khosla trolled. T-Series has a bad day in office

25 June 2020
Meat Ban

A Jain responds to Meat Ban in Mumbai

Public Sector Bank, Government, Bill

Dear bank employees, continue your stride but PSBs will be privatized

anti-Hindi

Anti-Hindi Forever?- In search of a National Language!

Dear Liberals – your Beef Parties are not protests, they just intend to displease the Majority

Dear Liberals – your Beef Parties are not protests, they just intend to displease the Majority

Gurdas Maan – The man who made Punjabi music a national craze and who became a ‘traitor’ for being pro-India

Gurdas Maan – The man who made Punjabi music a national craze and who became a ‘traitor’ for being pro-India

28 January 2023
Bata is not an Indian company but is more Indian than most Indian companies

Bata is not an Indian company but is more Indian than most Indian companies

28 January 2023
Pathaan box office collection

If the trend continues, Pathaan producers will be able to buy Mars

28 January 2023
Actor Sachin Tendulkar

Parachute Coconut oil is edible oil, just like Sachin Tendulkar is an actor

28 January 2023

Popular This Week

Jacinda Ardern ccp chinese donations
Asia Pacific

Jacinda Ardern is under probe for alleged links with CCP. That makes Kiwi politics completely Sinophilic

by Abhinav Singh
20 July 2020
Guru Dutt
Cinema

Guru Dutt – The epitome of human goodness onscreen, destroyed his wife’s career, life and everything else

by Paurush Gupta
17 November 2022
China, PLA, China, Jianli Yang, PLA, Xi Jinping, Galwan, Jianli Yang
Opinions

After the wimps of PLA got their necks snapped by Indians, China sends Martial Arts fighters to Ladakh border

by Sanbeer Singh Ranhotra
28 June 2020
Reality of Bageshwar Dham
Analysis

The Bageshwar Dham: The Reality of Dhirendra Krishna Shastri

by Tejasvi Malhotra
31 October 2022
India: The Modi Question
Premium

Exposing BBC’s new series “India: The Modi Question”

by Paurush Gupta
18 January 2023

©2023 TFI Media Private Limited

  • Terms of use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Sitemap
No Result
View All Result
  • Premium
  • Politics
    • Analysis
    • Opinions
    • Trending
  • Economy
    • Business
    • Finance
  • Defense
    • Defence
    • Strategy
    • Weaponry
  • Geopolitics
    • Africa
    • Americas
    • Asia Pacific
    • Europe
    • South Asia
    • West Asia
  • Knowledge
    • Culture
    • History
    • Indology
  • Law
  • Lounge
    • Books
    • Cinema
    • Food
    • Health
    • Sports
    • technology
    • Travel
    • Satire
TFI Official Merchandise
TFI हिन्दी
TFI Global
  • About us
  • Careers
  • Brand Partnerships

©2023 TFI Media Private Limited

Follow us on Twitter

and never miss an insightful take by the TFIPOST team

Follow @tfipost