Subhas Chandra Bose | Biography

 Subhas Chandra Bose

Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose | Biography and Facts

Subhas Chandra Bose | Biography 

Biography of Subhas Chandra Bose

Subhas Chandra Bose, popularly known as Netaji, was one of the most prominent leaders of Indian freedom struggle.

Parents: Subhas Chandra Bose was born on January 23, 1897 in Cuttack, Orissa. His father Janaki Nath Bose was a famous lawyer and his mother Prabhavati Devi was a pious and religious lady. Subhas Chandra Bose was the ninth child among fourteen siblings. Subhas Chandra Bose was a brilliant student right from the childhood.

Early Life: To fulfill his parent's wishes he went to England in 1919 to compete for Indian Civil Services. In England, he appeared for the Indian Civil Service competitive examination in 1920 and came out fourth in order of merit. However, Subhas Chandra Bose was deeply disturbed by the Jallianwalla Bagh massacre and left his Civil Services apprenticeship midway to return to India in 1921.

Freedom Struggle: After returning to India Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose came under the influence of Mahatma Gandhi and joined the Indian National Congress. On Gandhiji's instructions, he started working under Deshbandhu Chittaranjan Das, whom he later acknowledged as his political guru. Soon he showed his leadership mettle and gained his way up in the Congress' hierarchy. In 1928 the Motilal Nehru Committee appointed by the Congress declared in favour of Domination Status, but Subhas Chandra Bose along with Jawaharlal Nehru opposed it, and both asserted that they would be satisfied with nothing short of complete independence for India. Subhas also announced the formation of the Independence League. Subhas Chandra Bose was jailed during the Civil Disobedience movement in 1930. He was released in 1931 after the Gandhi-Irwin pact was signed. He protested against the Gandhi-Irwin pact and opposed the suspension of the Civil Disobedience movement specially when Bhagat Singh and his associates were hanged.

Later Life: Subash Chandra Bose was soon arrested again under the infamous Bengal Regulation. After a year he was released on medical grounds and was banished from India to Europe. He took steps to establish centers in different European capitals with a view to promoting politico-cultural contacts between India and Europe. Defying the ban on his entry to India, Subash Chandra Bose returned to India and was again arrested and jailed for a year. After the General Elections of 1937, Congress came to power in seven states and Subash Chandra Bose was released. Shortly afterwards he was elected President of the Haripura Congress Session in 1938. During his term as Congress President, he talked of planning in concrete terms and set up a National planning Committee in October that year. At the end of his first term, the presidential election to the Tripuri Congress session took place in early 1939. Subhas Chandra Bose was re-elected, defeating Dr. Pattabhi Sitaramayya who had been backed by Mahatma Gandhi and the Congress Working Committee. Clouds of World War II were on the horizon and he brought a resolution to give the British six months to hand India over to the Indians, failing which there would be a revolt. There was much opposition to his rigid stand, and he resigned from the post of president and formed a progressive group known as the Forward Block.

Subhas Chandra Bose now started a mass movement against utilizing Indian resources and men for the great war. There was a tremendous response to his call and he was put under house arrest in Calcutta. In January 1941, Subhas Chandra Bose disappeared from his home in Calcutta and reached Germany via Afghanistan. Working on the maxim that "an enemy's enemy is a friend", he sought the cooperation of Germany and Japan against British Empire. In January 1942, he began his regular broadcasts from Radio Berlin, which aroused tremendous enthusiasm in India. In July 1943, he arrived in Singapore from Germany. In Singapore, he took over the reins of the Indian Independence Movement in East Asia from Rash Behari Bose and organised the Azad Hind Fauj (Indian National Army) comprising mainly of Indian prisoners of war. He was hailed as Netaji by the Army as well as by the Indian civilian population in East Asia. Azad Hind Fauj proceeded towards India to liberate it from British rule. Enroute it lliberated Andeman and Nicobar Islands. The I.N.A. Headquarters was shifted to Rangoon in January 1944. Azad Hind Fauj crossed the Burma Border and stood on Indian soil on March 18,1944. He supposedly died in a plane crash on August 18, 1945.

Important Points for Competitive Exams :

• Subhas Chandra Basu passed the Indian civil services examination in 1920 but left it hearing Gandhi's call of the non-cooperation movement.
• He was elected the President of the Indian National Congress Haripura session in 1938 and in 1939, he was elected President of it's Tripuri session.
• He founded the Forward Bloc in 1939.
• He escaped to Berlin in 1941 and met Hitler.
• In 1943, He took charge of the Indian National Army in Singapore and set up Indian Provisional Government there.
• He gave the slogan of "Jai Hind" and gave the war cry of Dilli Chalo".
• He addressed Mahatma Gandhi as the Father of the Nation.
• He Wrote his autobiography The Indian Struggle.

Reference: WBCHSE