Death of Subhas Chandra Bose

File:Lastoneneta.jpg

His last undisputed picture that was taken on the morning of August 17, 1945 in Saigon

The alleged death of Subhas Chandra Bose[1] in a plane crash in Taiwan on August 18, 1945, has been the subject of dispute till date. Recently an Indian commission of inquiry confirmed the popular version that Bose faked his death to escape towards USSR. It has long been alleged in India that Bose was captured by the Russians and that Indian Government had been aware of it. [2]

Introduction

Bose, a prominent leader of the Indian independence movement against the British Raj in India, was reported to be flying to Tokyo when the alleged plane crash occurred at Matsuyama aerdrome in Taihoku. Strangely, the Japanese withheld the news for 5 days after which it was released by Japanese news agency Domei. The British took the Japanese news as a ploy. The then Viceroy of India, Field Marshal Archibald Wavell[3], is reported to have noted in his diary that "I wonder if the Japanese announcement of Subhas Chandra Bose's death in a air-crash is true. I suspect it very much, it is just what should be given out if he meant to go underground."

The matter was looked into by several allied intelligence teams and soon holes in the Japanese version became apparent. A crack team of Intelligence Bureau found out that Bose was heading for the USSR with the Japanese assistance.

The findings of the intelligence teams seem to have not confirmed the Japanese announcement. For as late as October 1946, the Government of British India refused to confirm the death of Bose.

After India's independence, the matter was looked into by three official panels formed by the government of India following the public demands. These panels were: Shah Nawaz Committee, Justice GD Khosla Commission & Justice Mukherjee Commission of Inquiry. The first two upheld the Taiwan[4] crash version, whereas the third negated it.

However, it has also been alleged at various times that the Indian government and political leadership was aware that Bose may have been alive, and and according to one theory, in captivity in Soviet Union, but chose to ignore or actively collaborate to suppress this information after Independence.

Shah Nawaz Committee

In April 1956, the Jawaharlal Nehru Government formed a committee headed by Shah Nawaz Khan, formerly of Bose's Indian National Army. There were two other members, viz SN Mitra and Suresh Chandra Bose, Bose's elder brother.

The committee's report that Bose had indeed died in Taipei became disputed due to several reasons. The Government was criticized for not letting the committee visit Taipei to make on the spot inquiries. Suresh Bose left the committee accusing the Nehru Government of trying to force him to sign on the dotted lines. He went on to publish on his own his Dissentient Report stating that the evidence he had come across as member the committee proved that Bose had escaped to the USSR. [5]

Justice GD Khosla Commission

Consequently, in June 1970 the Government of India formed a judicial commission headed by Justice GD Khosla, former Chief Justice of Punjab High Court. The decision followed years of lobbying by Indian lawmaker, most notable among them were Professor Samar Guha and Amiya Nath Bose, Subhas Bose's nephew. Unlike Shah Nawaz, GD Khosla visited but refused to interact with the ROC Government. Much before the commission's report was made public June 1974, it came under assault of Samar Guha. This report also stated that the Bose had died in Taiwan.

Rejection of Shah Nawaz, Khosla reports

After Emergency was lifted in India, Samar Guha fought a political battle in Indian Parliament, where the matter of Bose's death was debated in 1977-78. On August 28, 1978 Prime Minister Morarji Desai stated that there were "various important contradictions in the testimony of the (mostly Japanese) witnesses" to Bose's death. And that "some further contemporary official documentary records have also become available", making the Government of India think that the conclusions reached by GD Khosla and Shah Nawaz Khan were not "decisive".

In the same year Guha's book Netaji: Dead or Alive? received a rapturous welcome by Indian media.

Mukherjee Commission

In 1999, following a court order, the Government of India formed Mukherjee Commission of Inquiry. It was headed by Justice (rtd) MK Mukherjee of the Supreme Court of India. The commission perused hundreds of files on Bose's death drawn from several countries and also visited Japan, Russia and Taiwan.

Overturning the findings of previous panels, this commission found out that the news of Bose's death in Taipei was a cover-up for his escape to the USSR. The Commission, however, stated that they could not confirmed Bose's presence in the USSR for want of evidence.

The Mukherjee Commission submitted its report to Indian Home Minister Shivraj Patil on November 8, 2005. The report was tabled in the Indian Parliament on May 17, 2006. However, the Indian Government headed by Congress party, said to be hostile towards Bose, rejected the findings of the Commission without assigning any reason .[6]

Bose mystery in contemporary India

The issue of Bose's death continues to simmer in India till date with new generation of Indians continuing to raise the banner of doubts. One such organization of young Indians, Mission Netaji has made a site [7] wholly dedicated to the disappearance of Bose.

However, attempts[8] made by Mission Netaji to access documents held classified by the Indian Government have thus far proven futile. Several Indian ministries, including the Indian Prime Minister's Office, has refused to make public the documents under the Right to Information Act on the ground that their disclosure will affect India's relations with foreign countries. [9]

Mission Netaji is headed by former Hindustan Times[10] journalist Anuj Dhar who was instrumental in procuring Taiwan Government's official response that no plane carrying Bose had crash in or around Taipei in 1945. Later, the same was confirmed by Mukherjee Commission.[11] Dhar also wrote book Back from Dead: Inside the Subhas Bose Mystery .[12]

References

• Shah Nawaz Committee Report
• The Dissentient Report
• Khosla Commission Report
• Mukherjee Commission Report

External links

• Japanese pictures of the reported crash in Taipei
• Taiwan Rejects Bose Crash Theory
• Mystery over India freedom hero
• Amartya Sen goes by Anita Pfaff's view
• 'I saw Subhash Chandra Bose's burnt body'
• ‘Govt has destroyed evidence about Netaji’s death’
• Netaji did not die in aircrash, says web site
• RTI makes Netaji rise from 'ashes'
• R&AW has no information on disappearence of Netaji
• PMO refuses data on Netaji despite RTI appeal
• Hindustan Times probe

• Despite Formosa probe, Nehru closed chapter on Netaji