Home

» People

» Subhash Chandra Bose





Subhash Chandra Bose

Surname Bose Given Name Subhash Chandra Born 23 Jan 1897 Died 18 Aug 1945 Country India Category Government Gender Male

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseSubhas Chandra Bose was born in Cuttack, Orissa, India. Because of His influential father Janakinath Bose, a wealthy public prosecutor, he was able to attend Cambridge University in Cambridge, England, United Kingdom. In 1920, he entered public service in India, but resigned only a year later due to his belief that India should gain her independence from Britain. Not entirely agreeing with Mahatma Gandhi's non-violent protests, he joined Chittaranjan Das' Swaraj Party in Calcutta, India. Later in 1921, he was arrested for organizing a boycott of the celebrations for the visit of Prince of Wales. In the 1920s, he was repeatedly arrested and imprisoned for organizing against British rule, but on 25 Sep 1930 he was able to become elected as the mayor of Calcutta. In the 1930s, he was exiled by the British to Europe, where he took the opportunity to push forth the notion of an independent India. In late 1930s, he returned to India and was elected in the Haripura Indian National Congress and then the Tripuri Congress Session, but because of political differences with Gandhi, both men eventually resigned. He established an independent party, All India Forward Bloc, to further his political goals. Although his political viewed differed greatly than Gandhi, the two Indian leaders had a mutual respect for each other; in 1942, Gandhi was quoted in calling Bose the "Patriot of Patriots", and in 1944 Bose returned the respect by calling Gandhi the "Father of Our Nation".

ww2dbaseWith Britain distracted by WW2, Bose believed the time to fight for independence had come. In his eyes, the British were highly hypocritical: while fighting a war under the banner of freedom and democracy, Britain was at the same time refusing to give India the most basic of rights. He first called for a mass civil disobedience after Britain's decision to have India declare war on the Axis powers without consulting the Indian people. Then, believing that foreign aid must be found to support the Indian independence movement, he slipped out of the country in Jan 1941 by means of a dramatic journey across Afghanistan and Russia. After stops in Moscow and Rome, he reached Berlin and was reunited with his wife of German ethnicity, Emilie Schenkl. In Berlin, he continued his struggle for a free India; he created the Indian Legion out of the 4,500 Indian Commonwealth soldiers captured by German and Italian forces in North Africa, and the legion was officially under the German chain of command. When the British learned of his intentions to ally with the Germans, they were so alarmed that the Special Operations Executive plotted a failed assassination attempt on Bose. Bose's plan to persuade German leaders to back an independent India did not bear fruit, however, and the disillusioned Bose returned to Asia via German and Japanese submarines around the Cape of Good Hope. In Singapore, he found support from the Japanese, and was given by Rash Behari Bose control of the 85,000-strong Indian National Army fighting under the banner of the Provisional Government of Free India. Some of his troops fought alongside the Japanese in battles in Burma and northeastern India, including the siege of Kohima and Imphal. With a Japanese loss in the campaign for India, Bose's dream to establish a foothold in India also diminished. In 1945 when Japan surrendered to the Allies, Bose and his Indian National Army also surrendered.

ww2dbaseThe public opinion on Bose greatly differed. On one hand, he was a patriot who fought for the independence of his people, but at the same time, he also sought collaboration with Germany and Japan, none of which had truly shown respect toward their collaborative states. Post-war, Gandhi said that Bose had been "foolish in imagining, that by allying himself with the Japanese and the Germans, who were not only aggressive powers, but also dangerous powers, he could get Indian freedom". None could argue that he had a passion in what he set out to do, however. "Give me blood and I shall give you freedom", he said in Jul 1944.

ww2dbaseOn 18 Aug 1945, shortly after his flight took off from Matsuyama Airfield in Taihoku (now Taipei), Taiwan, the aircraft crashed. The accident killed the pilot, the co-pilot, and Lieutenant General Tsunamasa Shidei. Bose and his assistant Habibur Rahman survived the crash, but Bose suffered serious burns. He was brought to Nanmon Military Hospital south of Taihoku for treatment, where he was treated by Dr. Taneyoshi Yoshimi, a Dr. Tsuruta, and a Dr. Ishii. After slipping into a coma, Bose passed away between 2100 and 2200 hours local time. His ashes were eventually brought to Renkoji Temple in Tokyo, Japan. Later, many believed no such crash had taken place; some supporters of this theory cited that authorities in Taiwan and Japan were not able to produce any records about such a crash on that date. Whether he had gone into hiding, was interned by another power such as the Soviet Union, or indeed died in the air crash would remain a point of debate among some.

ww2dbaseOn 23 Aug 2007, Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe hailed Bose during a visit to Kolkata (Calcutta), West Bengal, India. "Many Japanese have been moved deeply by such persons of strong will and action of the independence of India like Subhas Chandra Bose", said Abe in a speech.

ww2dbaseSources:

BBC

New York Times

Wikipedia.

Last Major Revision: Aug 2007

Subhash Chandra Bose Timeline

Photographs

Did you enjoy this article? Please consider supporting us on Patreon. Even $1 per month will go a long way! Thank you. Share this article with your friends: Facebook

Reddit

Twitter

Stay updated with WW2DB: RSS Feeds

Visitor Submitted Comments

Show older comments

All visitor submitted comments are opinions of those making the submissions and do not reflect views of WW2DB.