Forgotten Images- Reflections and Reminiscences of Subhas Chandra Bose

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The study of his dynamic personality and his collaboidon with the Axis Powers during the Second World War was viewed from different perspectives by the British, the Americans, the Chinese and the Indian .political leaders. Their assessment give us a better' perspective of this extremely complex personality, whose one aim in life was, how to overthrow the British Raj.

The reminiscences and images by various persons included in this volume have' been collected from different sources from India and abroad. These will give an insight into' the personality of Subhas Chandra Bose from the time he resigned from the Indian Civil Service till the time of his death in the air-crash in 1945. The aim of the book is to acquaint the readers with the images of Bose, which have almost been forgotten with the passage of time.

Many who joined the Indian National Army are still alive.

There are others who witnessed the frenzied adulation of the people for Bose and the Indian National Army and when its members were put on trial for having waged a war against the British. The author belongs to the second category and still remembers the heroic welcome by the people when three of the Indian National Army personnel- Sehgal, Dhillon and Shahnawaz - were paraded fully garlanded in the streets of Lahore after their unconditional release from Red Fort by the British. The adulation and admiration, which they received from the young and old was unprecedented in the annals of India's struggle for freedom. Unfortunately, I have no mementos which. were distributed at that time in 1946 commemorating the victory of the Indian National Army and Subhas Chandra Bose. But I did join in raising the slogan "Saighal, Dhillon, Shahnawaz, Lal Quila Se hongai Azad".

The exploits of the Indian National Army and the role of Subhas Chandra Bose were brought to my notice by Lahori Lal, an ex-INA personnel, who was working in the National Archives of India when I joined that organization in 1958. Lahori Lal also inspired me to take up the study of the I.N.A. and introduced me to the Azad Hind Fouj Association. The members of this Association used to bring out Souvenir on almost each Birth Anniversary of Subhas Chandra Bose. I used to get the Souvenir for one rupee only and fortunately, on account of my academic interest in the subject, I had kept them in my collection.

The idea to bring out a volume of reminiscences was suggested to me by Professor S. Settar, Chairman, Indian Council of Historical Research, when we were together in Madras for the Indian History Congress. The Souvenirs from my collection proved to be quite useful for this volume and I have included a number of articles from these old issues for which I am thankful to the Azad Hind Fauj Association. During the course of my research On this subject, I met many prominent persons who were associated with Subhas Chandra Bose in Japan, India and Germany. From time to time, I have collected their reminiscences, which I have now included here.

I have also reproduced the account prepared by the British during the war of Subhas Chandra Bose and how they viewed his activities, taken from the records of the Historical Section, Ministry of Defence."

Japanese perception of Bose can be gleaned from the memoirs of many whom· had the opportunity of associating themselves with him during the War. I am thankful to Mr. Hayashi, Secretary, Netaji Bose Academy for giving me the copies of these, when I met him in Tokyo in 1994.

Bose came in contact with many persons from different countries and from various walks of life and each one has given his own assessment of him in his own style. The study of his personality and especially his collaboration with the Axis powers was looked at from different angles by the Chinese, the British, the Americans and Indian political leaders. Many of these images pertain to the period when the writers were very near to the events. Naturally, their analysis is likely to be tainted or blurred.

Passing any final judgment on the role which Bose played in India's liberation movement would be preposterous, but one thing becomes clear from these images that he was a sincere patriot and even his alliance with the enemies - condemned for their fascist ideology - of the Raj was for the purpose of weakening British hold over India and not for any other purpose. Even his worst critics during the war revised their opinion after his death.

Book's Contents and Sample Pages