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New Netaji Book Debunks Nehru Account

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KOLKATA: Two war-time agreements struck between Britain and Soviet Russia sealed the fate of Subhas Chandra Bose, leading to his arrest and death in a Siberian prison, possibly in the mid-fifties, says a book by author and military analyst Major General G D Bakshi. 

The revolutionary had sneaked into Manchuria on his way from Germany to Japan in 1945, hoping to secure Russian support for the Indian Independence struggle, Bakshi claims in '2014: Nationalism and National Security in India'. Instead, Bose was arrested by the Russians who chose to honour their agreements with Britain. Eventually, he landed in a Siberian prison where Stalin had him tortured and killed, says the book. 

"In 1941 and 1944, Britain and Soviet Russia agreed to prevent Bose from entering Japan from Germany. World War II was on and the two countries had forged a strong alliance. Bose, on the other hand, was desperate to sneak back into Asia and build support for INA, that had already been waging a war. By the time Bose landed in Manchuria, it had been taken over by Soviet Russia. Bose was let down by the Russians who stuck to the agreement with Britain and perceived him as an enemy. He is then likely to have been transferred to a Siberian prison from where he never came out alive," said Bakshi. 

Bakshi's book focuses on the post-Independence Nehruvian narrative of state which projected the impression that India gained freedom through non-violent means. It was a deliberate ploy to undermine the role of Bose and INA, eventually leading to a weak Indian Army that failed to counter China in 1962. 

Bakshi claims nothing could be further from the truth that violence didn't play a part in India gaining freedom. He cites the INA struggle and points out that 26,000 INA soldiers were killed in Manipur and Imphal. "This was followed by the trial of nine INA officers in Delhi that triggered a mutiny in the Navy. Subsequently, the British Indian troops had refused to obey orders, a mutiny had broken out in Jablpur and the Air Force, too, had revolted. There was a major discontent among 2.5 million Indian soldiers who had fought in World War II for Britain but had been demobilized after the war. Just 40,000 British troops now faced the prospect of facing a huge, disgruntled Indian Army. All this happened because Bose had formed the INA and set in motion a violent struggle that unsettled the British government," explained Bakshi. 

While the Russian prison angle has been explored earlier, there was no conclusive evidence in its support, said Chandra Bose, Netaji's grandnephew. "So far, we have managed to prove the air-crash never happened. The other theories are based on circumstantial evidence that have not been substantiated with proof," Chandra Bose said. 

Bakshi's book debunks Nehru's claim that 'India had secured her independence entirely by non-violent means and methods'. 

"As such, force, he felt, had no role to play whatsoever in the birth and establishment of the Indian Republic. Nehru claimed that amongst the entire comity of Westphalian nation states (based on the sole monopoly of violence), India was an exceptional state — as it was not based on hard power. Instead, it was based on the soft power of ahimsa, satyagraha and non-violence. This was patently incorrect as it refused to factor in the pivotal role of INA and the subsequent mutinies it instigated.

Nevertheless, in his bid to marginalize Bose, Nehru built up this narrative of state and went to inordinate lengths to ingrain it in the national psyche. In keeping with the Indian states allegedly pacific origins, he claimed that India did not need armed forces — only police forces would suffice. He refused to rehabilitate the INA personnel and denied them wartime pensions. Nehru thus created a paradox," the book says.

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