Dismissing the theory that Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose returned to India and lived the life of a monk, his grandniece has said that she does not believe this is true.
“Understanding the man, what I know of the man, I do not believe this. If he could return to India, he is not a man who will sit behind curtains,” Madhuri Bose told The Hindu at Raj Bhavan where her book, The Bose Brothers and Indian Independence: An Insider Account , was released on Monday.
She quoted from one of Netaji’s earliest work, titled Pebbles on the Seashore : “Embracing Sanyasa when your country needs you is only a refined form of betrayal.” A person who enunciated this principle could not possibly have chosen “to be in hiding or isolation from the trials and tribulation of his beloved motherland, as some have alleged.”
Some believe that the mysterious Indian monk Gumnami Baba, who lived in Faizabad in Uttar Pradesh, was Netaji in disguise.
The new book is about Subhas Chandra Bose and his elder brother Sarat Chandra Bose told from the perspective of Amiya Nath Bose, Netaji’s nephew and the father of the author.
The book was released at Raj Bhavan in the presence of West Bengal Governor K.N. Tripathi and Tripura Governor Tathagata Roy.
Justice (retd.) Asok Kumar Ganguly, who has been actively campaigning for the declassification of the Netaji files, said it was an “inspiring” book and, among other things, talked about how the Bose brothers tried to keep the Congress united and prevent Partition.
Family hopefulAnother family member present at the event expressed the hope that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would take up the issue of declassifying Russian files on Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose with President Vladimir Putin during his visit to Moscow.
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi is committed to resolving the mystery surrounding the disappearance of Netaji. During our meeting, Modi said that the declassification of the files (related to Netaji) is a part of the agenda of his meeting with Putin,” Netaji’s grand nephew Chandra Kumar Bose said.
