Subash Chandra Bose

Subash Bose was born on 23rd January, 1897 at cuttack in Orissa. He started his primary education at Cuttack and passed the Matriculation Examination from Ravenshaw Collegiate School. Then he proceeded to Calcutta and joined the Presidency College. While in College, he came to limelight with the Efoaten incident in which a European professor, who used to denigrate Indian culture was assaulted by him. Subash was expelled from the college and later he had a brilliant educational career at Calcutta University. There he joined the University unit of the territorial army, a training which proved quite helpful to him later. In 1919, he graduated with First Class Honours in Philosophy and was sent to U. K. to compete for the much coveted Indian Civil Service. He successfully passed the ICS examination in 1920 occupying fourth position. But being a patriot to the core of his heart he did not want to show allegiance to the British by remaining in the service. In 1921 he resigned from the civil service to join the freedom struggle. He had been tremendously inspired by the writings of Vivekananda and Aurobindo.

 

Subash had great respect for Mahatma Gandhi but differed from him in many ideological and strategical aspects. He belonged to the left wing of the Indian Natioal Congress. Along with Jawaharlal Nehru and Srinivas Iyengar he proposed complete independence as the goal of India as against. Dominion status, proposed by the Nehru report of 1928. At the Lahore Congress in 1929 he demanded a socialist programme along with a constructive programme. At the Karachi Congress of 1931 he stood for a socialist Republic and wanted both political freedom as well as economic emancipation. Economic plannings, land reforms, basic education and basic civil liberties were to be the framework of future congress programme. Subash stayed in Europe from 1933 to 1936. During his stay he tried to educate the public opinion against the exploitative British imperialism. He had to suffer imprisonment many times.

Subash was the president of the All India Trade Union Congress, the Youth Congress and other organisations. He represented the young and extremist element in the congress. He was elected president of the Indian National Congress in 1938 and was re-elected again in 1939 even against the wishes of Gandhiji.

 

In 1943, he organized the Indian National Army (I.N.A). He gave to the nation the Salutation and slogan of `Jai Hind`.  The famous words of Subash Chandra Bose  are "Give me blood, I will give you freedom". He was posthumously decorated with the title `Bharat Ratna` in 1992. However, the Supreme Court of India declared on 4th  August, 1997  that the press communiqué dated January 23, 1992, used from the Rashtrapati Bhavan to confirm Bharat Ratna "Posthumously" on Netaji should be treated as cancelled as this proposal was dropped by Government in deference to the sentiments expressed by Public and his family members. He is said to have died in an air-crash in 1945.