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Also See Part II
"Patriot of Patriots", this is what Mahatma Gandhi described Subhash Chandra Bose.
Subhash Chandra Bose was a brilliant young man set for a glittering future in the Indian
Civil Services when he chose to dedicate himself to the Indian National movement instead.
Beginning as youth Congressman, Bose tired of Gandhian politics and organised the Azad
Hind Fauj to defeat the British during World War II. Inspite of the defeat of the Azad
Hind Fauj, Subhash Chandra Bose won an immortal place in Indian History. "Jai-Hind" was
his battle cry and he roused the nation to a great patriotic heights.
Early Life of Subhash Chandra Bose
Born in a Bengali family on January 23, 1897, at Cuttak in Orissa, Subhash Chandra Bose
spent sixteen years of his life there. His father Jankinath Bose was an able public lawyer
and believed in orthodox nationalism. He was a public prosecutor in Cuttak and later became
a member of the Bengal Legislative Council. With eight brothers and six sisters, Subhash's
family was large bust a disciplined one. Subhash loved to read and was fascinated with
religious truth and self-control. He used to do social service. After reading Vivekananda's
writings, selfless service became his motto.
Subhash Chandra Bose was even expelled from the college which at it turned out was the
turning point of his career. Recognising his son's intellect, Subhash Chandra Bose's father
was determined that Bose should become a high ranking Indian Civil Servant. He went to
England for further studies. In 1920, Bose passed the Civil Service open examination and
stood fourth. Though Bose excelled at all the prescribed courses in India and England, he
was determined to join the struggle for India's freedom. Bose joined the Congress and was
particularly active in its youth wing. He resigned from the Indian Civil Service in April
1921.
After returning to India, Subhash went to Gandhiji. But his ideas did not match with that of
Gandhiji's belief in non-violence. So he left and returned to Calcutta to work under CR Das,
the Bengali freedom fighter. In 1921, Bose organised a boycott of the celebrations to mark
the Prince of Wales' visit to India. This led to his being imprisoned. In April 1924, Bose was
elected the Chief Executive Officer of the newly constituted Calcutta Corporation. Later,
in October, Bose was arrested as one of the suspected terrorist. First, he was in Alipore jail
and later exiled to Mandalay in Burma.
In June 1925, Bose was deeply struck by the sudden loss of his leader CR Das. In end-1926,
he was nominated as a candidate for the Bengal Legislative Assembly. On May 16, 1927 he
was released from jail due to ill-health. The two years in Mandalay gave him lot of
confidence and strength. By December 1927, Bose with Jawaharlal Nehru became the the General Secretary of the
Congress. In January 23, 1930, Bose was once again arrested for leading an "Independence
" procession. After released from jail on September 25, he was Mayor of Calcutta.
In 1932, Bose visited Vienna for medical reasons and there he was deeply influenced by
Vithaldas Patel, another Indian freedom fighter. They recognised the need for collaboration
between Indian nationalists and countries opposed to Britain and in their joint manifesto
they proclaimed, "Non-co-operation cannot be given up but the form of non-co-operation
will have to be changed into a more militant one and the fight for freedom waged on all
fronts." In October 1933, Vithalbhai Patel died and left Bose with lot of money for
spreading the knowledge of India abroad.
continued ..
Courtesy --- Krishnan
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