Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Biography.

      Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Biography.

Introduction-

Subhas Chandra Bose was an Indian nationalist whose defiance of British authority in India made him a hero among Indians, but his wartime alliances with Nazi Germany and Fascist Japan left a legacy vexed by authoritarianism, anti-Semitism, and military failure.

Born: 23 January 1897, Cuttack

Died: 18 August 1945, Taipei City, Taipei, Taiwan

Nickname: Netaji

Children: Anita Bose Pfaff

Education: University of Cambridge (1919–1921)

Parents: Janakinath Bose, Prabhabati Bose


Biography-

Subhas Chandra Bose was born to Prabhavati Bose and Janakinath Bose on 23 January 1897 in Cuttack—in what is today the state of Odisha in India but was then the Orissa Division of Bengal Province in British India. Prabhavati, or familiarly, the anchor of family life, had her first child at age 14 and 13 children thereafter. Subhas was the ninth child and the sixth son. Jankinath, a successful lawyer and government pleader, was loyal to the government of British India and scrupulous about matters of language and the law.

1921–1932: Indian National Congress

Subhas Bose, aged 24, arrived ashore in India at Bombay on the morning of 16 July 1921 and immediately set about arranging an interview with Mahatma Gandhi. Gandhi, aged 51, was the leader of the non-cooperation movement that had taken India by storm the previous year and in a quarter-century would evolve to secure its independence.

 Gandhi happened to be in Bombay and agreed to see Bose that afternoon. In Bose's account of the meeting, written many years later, he pilloried Gandhi with question after question. Bose thought Gandhi's answers were vague, his goals unclear, his plan for achieving them is not thought through. Gandhi and Bose differed in this first meeting on the question of means- for Gandhi non-violent means to any end were non-negotiable;
 in Bose's thought, all means were acceptable in the service of anti-colonial ends. They differed on the question of ends- Bose was attracted to totalitarian models of governance, which were anathematized by Gandhi.
According to historian Gordon, "Gandhi, however, set Bose on to the leader of the Congress and Indian nationalism in Bengal, C. R. Das, and in him, Bose found the leader whom he sought." Das was more flexible than Gandhi, more sympathetic to the extremism that had attracted idealistic young men such as Bose in Bengal. Das launched Bose into nationalist politics.

1937–1940: Indian National Congress-

In 1938 Bose stated his opinion that the INC "should be organised on the broadest anti-imperialist front with the two-fold objective of winning political freedom and the establishment of a socialist regime." By 1938 Bose had become a leader of national stature and agreed to accept nomination as Congress President. He stood for unqualified Swaraj (self-governance), including the use of force against the British. This meant a confrontation with Mohandas Gandhi, who in fact opposed Bose's presidency, splitting the Indian National Congress party.

The Ideology of Subhas Chandra Bose-

He was influenced by Bhagavad Gita and believed Gita to be a source of inspiration for the struggle against the British.
Swami Vivekananda’s teachings of universalism, nationalistic thoughts also greatly influenced bose since his young days.
  He was attracted to concepts of socialism and communism during his days in the Congress party.
But he believed it will work in India if a synthesis between national socialism and communism is established.
He supported the empowerment of women, secularism, and other liberal ideas; but didn’t believe that democracy was the best for India.

18 August 1945: Death

In the consensus of scholarly opinion, Subhas Chandra Bose's death occurred from third-degree burns on 18 August 1945 after his overloaded Japanese plane crashed in Japanese-ruled Formosa (now Taiwan). However, many among his supporters, especially in Bengal, refused at the time, and have refused since, to believe either the fact or the circumstances of his death. Conspiracy theories appeared within hours of his death and have thereafter had a long shelf life,keeping alive various martial myths about Bose.