In Bengal, the political battle over Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose
Hindustan TimesThere are many, especially in Bengal, who believe that Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose not only did not die in an air crash in 1945, but survived long after India became independent. Netaji’s secular spirit found true expression in INA and the Azad Hind government With the party founded by Netaji, the Forward Bloc, having faded into obscurity, the Bharatiya Janata Party is making a concerted bid to claim Netaji’s legacy in the run-up to the state elections. Nearly a decade before he formed the Indian National Army, Netaji wrote a passionate message to his fellow Bengalis: “One of the dreams that have inspired me and given a purpose to my life is that of a great and undivided Bengal … a Bengal that is above all sects and groups and is the home alike of the Muslim, the Hindu, the Christian and the Buddhist.” Again, in 1937, when a controversy arose over the singing of Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay’s Vande Mataram by Congress members on formal occasions, Bose suggested taking the advice of Rabindranath Tagore. Netaji’s compatriot, Abid Hasan, has written that the temple was “filled to capacity with the uniforms of INA officers and men and the black caps of the South Indian Muslims glaringly evident.” Perhaps, the famous public trial in 1945 of three INA officers — Prem Kumar Sahgal, a Hindu, Shah Nawaz Khan, a Muslim, and Gurbaksh Singh Dhillon, a Sikh — best showcased the composition of INA and Netaji’s secular leanings.