By Praveen Davar
It is a pity that some people and organizations have developed a vested interest in keeping alive the controversy of the death of Subhas Chandra Bose in an air crash over seventy years ago. In doing so they are also attempting to exaggerate differences between Pt Jawaharlal Nehru & Netaji who, more than any other two leaders, were closest to each other not only ideologically and politically but also personally. “Was Netaji in Russia till’ 68?” (TOI- July 11) is nothing but a flight of fancy based on untruth, hearsay and rumours.
As late as last year I visited the INA War Memorial at Moirang near Imphal. The museum is displaying pictures of survivors of Netaji’s plane crash. The very fact that these photographs are being allowed to be displayed by a war memorial proves the fact of air crash is not disputed by any government since independence. The fact of Netaji’s death in the plane crash is further confirmed in ‘Soldier’s Contribution to Indian Independence’ by General Mohan Singh, the founder of INA. Very little is known about Gen. Mohan Singh today and it is a herculean task to convince people that it was this soldier of Punjab, a captain in the regular British Indian Army, and not Netaji, who was the original founder of the INA. In fact, Netaji was the third successor of INA’s leadership, the second being Rash Behari Bose. However, it is beyond doubt that it was Netaji who, after taking over the reins, tuned the INA into a formidable fighting force. He also gave it a new name, Azad Hind Fauj, and became its supreme commander on August 26, 1943.
Two years later, on August 9, 1945, Russia declared war on Japan and the Japanese accepted the terms and conditions of surrender put forward to them by the Allied powers. Netaji, who had reached Singapore from Rangoon via Bangkok, was thoroughly shaken up when the news of Japanese surrender was conveyed to him. He was persuaded to leave Singapore immediately and, after consultation with his colleagues, decided to leave for an occupied Russian territory which he described as an “adventure into the unknown”.
Having reached Saigon from Singapore, on August 17, 1945, Netaji’s ill-fated plane, a Japanese heavy bomber, took off from Taipei on the afternoon of August 18. But soon after it was airborne there was a loud explosion. The plane tilted to the left, crushed headlong to the ground and caught fire.
Gen. Mohan Singh, who penned his memoir in 1973, writes on the controversy following the air crash: “The air-crash incident has become a highly controversial question in our country today. I have thought it proper to give a brief account of this unfortunate incident, because I am strongly of the opinion that the accident did take place on August 18, 1945. I was in Sumatra when I first heard of it. I did not believe it and took the entire story as a fabrication with a view to keeping the whereabouts of Netaji a secret. I held these views firmly till I met Col. Habibur-Rehman during the Red Fort trials. I had long discussions with him wherein I put him many searching questions. He was forthright, honest and frank with me, and I felt that he was telling the truth and not concealing anything. After these discussions I felt convinced that the account of the air crash was a fact and not a fabrication.” The INA founder further writes: “Lt. Gen. Fujiwara, who had been deeply connected with the INA movement, visited India thrice during the last 25 years. During the course of our lengthy reminiscences, I had on many occasions told him that I did not believe the story of the air crash. He, too, convinced me that it was a fact. Gen. Fujiwara had served as a very important officer in the Japanese Military Intelligence department – I have no reason to disbelieve him.”
If the INA, Japanese and British sources, who physically participated in Netaji’s theatre of operations cannot be relied upon, how can you believe those who were far away from the scene, both in distance and time. Gen. Mohan Singh asked a very pertinent question in 1973: “Suppose the story of the accident is a concoction and Netaji is still alive, what on earth prevents him from returning to India, where he is almost worshipped? Those who are spreading the stories that he is hiding in some ashram as a yogi are not doing him justice.” Today we may or may not agree with what the General wrote 43 years ago, but there is no doubt that had Netaji not died in the plane crash he would have certainly come back. There was no reason for a leader so courageous and brave to go into hiding. Mahatma Gandhi, Pt. Nehru, Vallabhbhai Patel and the whole of India would have welcomed him with open arms. Perhaps, he could have prevailed upon Muhammad Ali Jinnah and prevented what Gandhiji could not – Partition of India. If not, he may have, like the Sardar, agreed to be Nehru’s deputy. If Sardar Patel became the Home Minster, Netaji would certainly have become the country’s first Defence Minister. Instead of one independent India would have had two deputy Prime Ministers. History, however, is not based on ‘ifs’ and ‘buts’.
(The writer, an ex Army officer, is Member, National Commission for Minorities. The views expressed by him are personal)