The strength of Netaji Subash’s resolve

On the 23{+r}{+d}of January, the radical patriot Subhas Chandra Bose would have turned 118

Netaji Subash Chandra Bose

On Friday, the 23{+r}{+d}of January, the radical patriot Subhas Chandra Bose would have turned 118.

The Hindu’s archives record how Madras witnessed the freedom fighter in his element when he made a brief visit in 1939.

Having resigned from the Congress over differences with the party’s high command, and with the unravelling of the Second World War on the international front, it was a climate of political uncertainty that Bose reflected upon in his address.

Speaking to a large crowd at Triplicane beach, with his voice booming over the loudspeakers, Bose said, “I have just heard that Great Britain has declared war. We are passing through critical times. I once more appeal to Gandhiji to not make any compromise with British imperialism, and to see that Indian men, money, resources are not exploited.”

He went on to argue that if Britain found it necessary to go to Poland’s rescue, the colonial power should feel equally obligated to grant freedom to four hundred million Indians. He said, “We have no enmity against the British people. I have many friends among them. But I am a sworn enemy of British imperialism.”

Srinivasa Iyengar, who presided the meeting, disclosed that , though he did not always see eye-to-eye with Bose, he had to grant that Bose’s commitment to the nation was unparalleled.

He said, “There is no man more fit to be honoured than Mr. Bose. Whether he has a place in Congress or not, he has a place in our hearts, which is far more important than being a four anna member of the Congress. It is a tragedy that a person who was elected twice as president should have suddenly lost his title to popularity and affection.”

In a couple of years, Bose was faced with more turbulent times.

Compelled to leave the country for his radical politics, his address in Madras, in retrospect, appears to be almost prophetic. In his concluding remarks, he had stated, “Let us take a vow to do our utmost and undergo any sacrifice and suffering. Let us prepare to die if necessary so that India may live.” And sacrifice he did.