Netaji-125!

There can be no other name as revered and as mysterious as Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose of West Bengal. His commandeering the Indian National Army and fighting the British, his daring escape from a house arrest by the British or his meeting with world leaders opposed to the British are part of folklore in every household. Equally bizarre has been his sudden disappearance from an apparent air crash, never seen or heard again. The British had declared him as a war criminal, and there was a bounty for his head.

I had recently written about the three ‘National greats’ of Bengal, Swami Vivekananda, Tagore and Netaji. Not all may be spiritual or appreciative of poetry, but every Bengali was patriotic and had a genetic hatred for rulers. Netaji, fighting the British seventy-five years ago and remaining in the Bengalis and Indians’ hearts is no surprise. It makes no difference to many Bengalis, who dismiss the fact that Netaji would have been 125 years of age had he been alive today, still hoping that he is alive and could make a dramatic comeback.

Netaji was side-lined and shunned until now, when political parties, both the Trinamool and the BJP, fought a bitter battle to claim the hero’s true legacies. It is no wonder, as the polls are just around the corner and celebrating Netaji will strike the right chord with Bengal’s emotions.

The BJP took the pole position by announcing a glorious celebration on the 23rd January, the birthday of Netaji, naming the day ‘Parakrama day.’ Parakrama could mean a mix of strength, might and prowess and like.  The Central government also formed a committee, which also featured Mamata Banerjee and Sourav Ganguly, besides many central leaders both from the ruling and the opposition.

Not to be undone, Mamata also formed a West Bengal committee and named the day “Desh Nayak Diwas,” or National Hero Day. She demanded that the day be declared a holiday, which I guess none heeded to. The TMC parliamentarians have demanded that documents in the classified files of Netaji be released in the public domain. Successive Union governments have skirted away from the issue in the last seven decades.

The BJP has now dropped a bomb, renaming Victoria Memorial Hall after either Netaji or his Azad Hind Fauj (The INA army) which fought the British. The left front government too suffered from all thing British, and the VMH was not excepted. When I had gone to invite for my photo exhibition at the VMH, I recall the then CM quipping that he had never stepped into the museum. In fact, with a sense of mischief, the State had replaced Lord Curzon’s statue replacing it with Saint Aurobindo with nymphs all around and the saint with his back to Queen Victoria.

The BJP hit back recently with naming the Kolkata Port Trust after Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port, a rightwing leader and bête noire for other political parties. PM Modi had named an island in Andamans after Netaji and had included a few INA veterans during the R.Day parade. ‘The Trinamool ignoring Netaji for nine years and engaging in celebrating the hero is a cheap poll gimmick,’ the BJP chided.

True celebration is when the Centre celebrates the hero together with the State.

Jai Hind!

Sampath Kumar

Intrépide Voix