By Thanggoulen Kipgen
After the revelation that relatives of freedom fighter Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose were spied on for two decades, the memory of Netaji which was long dead has resurfaced. The circumstances leading to the death of Netaji have been a national debate for long thereby giving rise to several conspiracy theories. For one reason or the other, a conclusion could never be drawn and no conclusive proof is available that he died in a plane crash as claimed by the Nehru Government at the time.
Till now the Government of India has formed three committees to enquire into Netaji’s death – The Shahnawaz Committee (1956) set up by Jawaharlal Nehru, The Khosla Committee (1970) set up by Indira Gandhi and The Mukherjee Committee (1999) set up by the NDA government. The Shahnawaz Committee came to the conclusion that on 18th August 1945 Netaji died in a plane crash near Tiahoku in Taiwan. The Khosala Committee also came to the same conclusion that Netaji died in a plane crash near Taihoku. However, The Mukherjee Committee concluded that Netaji did not die in a plane crash. Taiwan Government officially informed the Mukherjee Committee that no plane accident has occurred during the period of 14th August 1945 to 20th September 1945 in the areas near Taihoku.”
If Bose did not die of plane crash, as the Mukherjee Commission’s report suggests, the most likely alternative explanation is that Bose was held captive in Siberia as a war criminal. So it is possible to argue that the Japanese faked his death to allow him to escape the advancing British army or that Netaji himself faked his death to escape punishment from the British army.Nobody knows precisely how Netaji landed in Siberia. The Cold War era was beginning and Stalin wanted to expand the sphere of influence of USSR to India. This was to keep India out of the western bloc. Nehru had a good rapport with the USSR. It was likely that Nehru wrote a letter to USSR not to release Netaji. Statin decided to support Nehru and pack-off Netaji to Gulags of Yakutsk or Labour Camps in Siberia. This shows Nehru was aware of Netaji’s detentions by Stalin. It was believed Netaji died a few years later unable to bear the harsh conditions, probably in 1953.
Another conspiracy theory is that Netaji crossed into India viz. the Gorakhpur Border in 1955. He lived in Faizabad in UP as a mysterious holy man called Bhagwanji till 1985. This proposition appears utterly preposterous. It is hard to believe that Netaji could have been alive and living amidst us as a holy man while all along he was presumed dead. However, the possibilities cannot be ruled out. For example, the handwritings of this holy man in English and Bangla matched with Netaji’s and that constitutes a direct evidence of Bose’s remaining alive decades after his reported death. The argument that the Faizabad holy man’s DNA test was negative has its own counter argument that the test was conducted in a lab controlled by the Government whose agenda from the day one was to cover-up the matter.
If we are to believe historian Rudrangshu Mukherjee, the two stalwarts – Nehru and Bose – shared a close bond despite the general perception that they were implacable opponents. They together built the youth leagues around the ideas of socialism and complete independence in the late 1920s. Misunderstanding appeared only after the 1939 Tripuri Session of the Indian National Congress. Bose defeated Mahatma Gandhi’s candidate Pattabhi Sitaramayya for the Presidential post. This severely hurt Gandhi who offered to part ways rather than endorse Bose’s working committee citing deep ideological disagreements. Nehru tried very hard to convince Bose not to leave the Congress. Eventually, Bose stepped down and moved out of the Congress. Nehru became critical of Bose only when the latter approached fascist regimes- Germany and Japan for help. So, the argument that Nehru did nothing to stop Netaji’s detention by Stalin and opposed his return becomes untenable considering the close relationship they shared.
Now, if Netaji did not die of plane crash and the government knows his whereabouts, why did Nehru fear Bose’s entry into India? There were unsubstantiated reports that Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Mohammad Ali Jinnah and Maulana Azad agreed to surrender Subhash Chandra Bose to the British as a war criminal. Nehru believed that Bose has a much bigger and stronger image than him in India and abroad that his home-coming could cause ripples and major political consequences in the country. Bose had millions of followers in the country. They were ready to offer him a significant role in leading the country forward post- independence. If Bose was allowed to return to India, he was unlikely to join the Congress. In such a scenario, the alternative would be to form a new party that could have mounted a huge challenge to the Congress. This might have caused worry for Nehru.
With the passage of time and owing to the delicate international relations and national sentiments, finding the truth has become more and more difficult. The time has now come to declassify Bose’s files- about 60 of them in the PM’s Office and over 25 of them with the External Affairs Ministry. I suppose if the truth comes out (that Netaji did not die in a plane crash and that he was willing to return to his country), the Nehru-Gandhi family will be treated as a traitors of the country. Congress would have done the greatest harm to this country under the leadership of Nehru-Gandhi family if Netaji’s death is kept secret. If the BJP, with a majority in the parliament, does not declassify the documents related to the life and death of Netaji, then we will assume that BJP is also part of this treason.Several documents have been kept secret on the pretext of national security or of souring relations with foreign counties whereas the true reason for the secrecy is to keep the people of India in dark about Netaji’s fate. The argument that disclosure would prejudicially affect relations with foreign countries is a lame excuse. Declassify the files and tell every Indians the truth about the life and death of our great freedom fighter, our Netaji!
(The writer is a research scholar at NEHU, Shillong)