Subhas Chandra Bose was one of the most fearsome names among the British Rulers in pre-independence India. A legend and a great freedom fighter, Subhas Chandra Bose was popularly known as ‘Neta Ji (respected leader)’ because of his leadership qualities and almost religious devotion to India’s freedom struggle. Neta Ji’s entire life is punctuated with great deeds and exceptional freedom endeavours. Born on January 23, 1897 in Cuttack, Orissa, Neta Ji Subhas Chandra Bose was the ninth child of a famous lawyer Janaki Nath Bose and Prabhavati Devi. He was a brilliant student right from his childhood. He was a topper in the Matriculation examination from Calcutta province and graduated with First class. Later on, he went to England in 1919 and appeared for prestigious Indian Civil Service Examination and achieved fourth place on merit. But Jalianwalla massacre affected him deeply and he left his Civil services apprenticeship midway.
Neta ji came back to India in 1921 with a resolve to throw the British out of the country. He joined Indian National Congress and expressed his desire to serve the nation to Mahatma Gandhi. On instructions of Gandhi Ji, he joined Deshbandhu Chittaranjan das in Calcutta. He considered Deshbandhu as his political guru. Soon enough, Subhas Chandra Bose started to show his leadership skills and became a vital part of Congress party. He was an active participant in Civil Disobedience Movement in 1930 and was sent to prison for his participation. After the suspension of the movement, he was released from the prison.
Neta Ji Subhas Chandra Bose was not convinced with Mahatma Gandhi’s method of achieving independence. He firmly believed that only way to attain independence was through armed revolution and by shedding blood. He formed his own party, Independence League and later on Forward Bloc. He quit Congress in protest to liberal policies of the party and started his own movement. Neta Ji was imprisoned several times because of his various revolutionary activities.
Life of Subash Chandra Bose was truly eventful. He approached Hitler for help against the British. Neta Ji organised Indian National Army and sought the help of Japan for military assistance. He famously said, "Tum mujhe khoon do, mein tumhe azadi dunga" (Give me your blood and I will give you freedom). He hosted the Indian National Flag in Kohima, Assam and Andaman & Nicobar Islands. But the defeat of Japan and Germany in Second World War forced Indian National Army to retreat. According to official details, Subash Chandra Bose was killed in a plane crash over Taiwan while flying to Tokyo on August 17, 1945 but not much information could be found about him afterwards.
