In a major disclosure, the declassified Netaji files show that the Nehru government had, in the early 1950s, taken custody of Subhas Chandra Bose’s ashes but was reluctant to bring them home as the Bose family refused to accept his death.
In addition, India had been paying the Renkoji temple in Tokyo for the upkeep of the remains. These revelations are part of the secret documents on Netaji declassified by the government on Saturday.
Bose is believed to have been killed in a plane crash at Taihoku in Japan on August 18, 1945. But it has been a cause for much controversy in India with several people including his family members believing that he had survived it.
The offer for financial help was made way back in the early 1950s by Prime Minister Nehru but was declined by the chief priest of the temple at that time. Between 1967 and 2005, India paid Rs. 52,66,278 to the temple. Bringing the ashes back to India has witnessed much debate from time to time. The declassified documents show a series of letters within the government and between India and Japan. Given the sensitivity of the issue, successive governments had deferred the decision in the absence of a consensus.
