Monalisa Patsani
Post News Network
Bhubaneswar: Sugata Bose, the grand nephew of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, belongs to that section of the Bose family which agrees with the official statement that Netaji died in the plane crash in then Japanese-occupied Taiwan. He has authored books such as ‘His Majesty’s Opponent: Subhas Chandra Bose and India’s Struggle against Empire’ (2011) and A Hundred Horizons: The Indian Ocean in the Age of Global Empire (2006). He was in the city Sunday to attend a literary festival at Lalit Kala Akademi. Sugata presents his views on Netaji’s disappearance in an interview with Orissa POST.
A UK-based website has published witness accounts of the plane crash involving Netaji. What is your take on the report?
I am familiar with those documents but many have forgotten about these testimonies and youngsters do not even know they exist. I am glad it has been brought before public.
Seven persons had survived the crash and we have testimonies of six of them. Habib ur Rehman, the ADC and co-passenger of Subhas Chandra Bose, survived as did five Japanese on board that flight.
Besides, there were testimonies of doctors, including the chief doctor, an interpreter, and others. I have read all the testimonies before.
Your father, Sisir Kumar Bose, had visited the crash site. What information did he gather from the visit?
My father visited Taiwan and Taipei in 1965. He took testimonies of witnesses. The Taiwanese were very helpful and took him to the crash site. He also visited the crematorium, the temple where Netaji’s ashes were kept for a couple of weeks before they were taken to Tokyo, and the airfield (from which the plane took off) and hospital. Everything matched, so he did his best to verify the truth.
Later I visited Taiwan and Taipei and went to all the places my father had mentioned and also did some research for more information. Most things of that time, such as the building of the hospital where Netaji was treated, don’t exist. The crematorium is gone and a petrol pump stands in its place.
There are members of the Bose family who do not believe Netaji died in the crash …
The website which has made the documents public is run by a member of the Bose family from London and he is a journalist. My aunt Anita, daughter of Subhas Chandra Bose, also believes he laid down his life fighting for the country’s freedom. It is not a family matter, it is a national question. I never speak on this subject as a family member; I speak about it as an historian on the basis of relevant evidence. The Bose family has hundreds of members and only a segment believes Netaji survived that crash.
Chandra Kumar Bose strongly believes Netaji didn’t die in the crash …
It is an insult to Subhas Chandra Bose to reduce him to the level of some anononymous baba. I don’t mind if people say ‘we don’t know what happened’ or ‘how we wished he came back’. But we have to accept reality. A man lives through his achievements and contribution to society. Netaji is immortal in a much deeper sense, which why I titled my last book Mortal Remains of Deathless Hero. He was one of the top leaders who died for the country, and he took risks.
Let us be true to history, we should focus on his life and take inspiration from it rather than involving in baseless controversies.
Can relations with countries involved with the incident be affected by declassification of these files?
There won’t be any adverse impact in India’s relations with countries. I have written books based on documents available in the British archives, which include those showing how the Churchill government issued an order in 1941 to assassinate Netaji. We don’t hold anyone responsible for what happened. The world has changed, generations have passed; there is absolutely no possibility of the revelations affecting relations with any country.
Do you think declassification of documents will help the younger generation in any way?
It is far more important that youngsters read the documents that are currently available and constitute 99 per cent of all the information.
Before coming to any conclusion, one should read all documents and learn about Netaji and not get influenced by meaningless controversies. That’s the way to honour Netaji, his beliefs, philosophy and ideas.
As an historian I always believe in a proper archival policy. Our country should also declassify documents after a certain number of years just as other countries do.
