Neta Ji Subhash Chandra Bose was the most glittering star of the Indian freedom struggle. He was born on 23rd January 1897 in an affluent Bengali family based in Cuttack. His father Jankinath Bose was a lawyer. His father enrolled him in an English medium school Baptists Mission’s Protestant European School in Cuttack. But his mother was a devotee of goddesses Kali and Durga and told him stories from Ramayan, Mahabharat, and other Hindu scriptures like Puranas, etc.
He was rusticated from the Presidency College for aggressively opposing E.F.Oaten, a Professor of History. However, his family’s influence over the Vice Chancellor of Calcutta University helped him in securing permission for readmission though in another college where he stood 2nd among Philosophy students and passed B.A. with first class.
He went to England in 1918 to study at Cambridge and also appear in Civil Services (ICS) exam. He cleared the exam and joined it as a probationer and then resigned even as his final exam was still due. After that, he returned to India to serve his motherland and joined congress. In 1932 after the failure of the Civil Disobedience Movement of Gandhi, he developed political differences with Gandhi. Because of his personality and political views, he became popular, particularly among youths. In 1938 he was elected as Congress President. Again in 1939, he was re-elected as Congress President despite opposition from Gandhi himself. However, Gandhi with the help of his followers made his work as Congress President very difficult and eventually he resigned.
He was opposed to extending war support to the British and saw World War-2 as an opportunity to aggressively push for independence by supporting the enemy of the enemy (Britain). His position was diagonally opposed to Gandhi and Nehru who were pro-Britain. He was put under house arrest by the government from where he escaped to Afghanistan in disguise. From Afghanistan, he reached Germany via Russia and met Hitler seeking his support to liberate India from Britain. Hitler sent him to Japan in a submarine.
In Japan, Rash Behari Ghosh handed over the command of the Indian National Army (INA) to Subhash Chandra Bose. Under his command and with the support of Japan, INA captured Andaman Nicobar Islands and established an independent Indian government that was recognized by Axis powers. He was the first Prime minister of that government and issued their own currency. On 18th August 1945, he reportedly died in a plane crash at Formosa Island (now in Taiwan). His death news has been controversial, and many people still believe that to be wrong.
