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Netaji Chair
The following words are inscribed on a brass shield in front of the chair which is symbolic to the sovereignty of the Republic of India, as also to the
Psychological upkeep of the Armed Forces of India. The chair rests in a glass case and is a symbol of pride as well as national heritage.
"Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose in order to free India from the shackles of British imperialism organized the Azad Hind Government from outside the country on October 21, 1943. Netaji set up the Provisional Government of Independent India
(Azad Hind) and transferred its headquarter at Rangoon on January 7, 1944. On the 5th April, 1944, the
"Azad Hind Bank" was inaugurated at Rangoon. It was on this occasion that Netaji used this chair for the first
time. Later the chair was kept at the residence of Netaji at 51, University
Avenue, Rangoon, where the office of the Azad Hind Government was also housed.
Afterwards, at the time of leaving Burma, the Britishers handed over the chair to the family of
Mr.A.T.Ahuja, the well known business man of Rangoon. The chair was officially handed over to the Government of India in January 1979. It was brought to Calcutta on the 17th July, 1980. It has now been ceremonially installed at the Red Fort on July 7, 1981."
Early life
Subhash Chandra Bose was born in a Hindu Kayasth family on January 23 1897 in
Cuttack, Orissa. He was the ninth child among 14, of Advocate Janakinath
Bose and Prabhavati Devi. In the beginning Subash Chandra Bose studied in an Anglo school, Cuttack
and then Ravenshaw Collegiate School of Cuttack. He topped the matriculation
examination and passed his B.A. in 1918 in Philosophy from the Scottish Church College of the University of Calcutta.
For further study he went to study in the University of Cambridge and passed with high score in civil service exams.
Returning to India, Subhash Chandra Bose wrote for the newspaper Swaraj and took charge of publicity for the Bengal
Provincial Congress Committee. His mentor was C.R. Das and Bose worked for Das.
In a roundup of nationalists in 1925, Bose was arrested and sent to prison in Mandalay, where he contracted
tuberculosis. He was a devout Hindu and spent much time in meditation there. He was also strongly influenced by Swami Vivekananda's
teachings.
Freedom Movement
He released from prison after two years. He became general secretary of the
Congress party and worked with Jawaharlal Nehru for independence. Again Bose was
arrested and jailed for civil disobedience. During the mid-1930s Bose traveled in Europe, visiting Indian students and European politicians, as well as Hitler in 1936.
.By 1938 Bose had become a leader of national stature and agreed to accept nomination as Congress
president. He stood for unqualified Swaraj and differences with Gandhi led to Bose's resignation.
Subash Chandra Bose then organized the Forward Bloc aimed at consolidating the political
left.
When World War erupted in Europe, Subhash Chandra Bose
was again imprisoned for civil disobedience and put under house arrest to await
trial. He escaped and made his way to Berlin by way of Peshawar and Afghanistan.
In Europe, Bose sought help from Germany for the liberation of India. He
turned to the Japanese embassy in Berlin, which finally made arrangements for Bose to go to Asia. In an unusual joint operation, he was
transferred from a German to a Japanese submarine off the coast of
Madagascar.in Southeast Asia. Subhash Chandra Bose was flown to Singapore and became
commander of the INA and head of the Free India provisional government
The INA included both Indian prisoners of war from Singapore and Indian civilians in
Southeast Asia. The strength of INA grew to 43,000 and fought Allied forces in
1944 inside the borders of India at Imphal and in Burma. Subhash Chandra Bose
ruled Andaman Islands and Nicobar Islands as a head of India.
By the end of World War II none of Bose's Axis allies had helped, and Bose then turned to the Soviet Union.
Three officers of the INA were tried after the war in Delhi; the trial attracted much popular
sympathy, including statements by Nehru and Gandhi that the men were great patriots.
Disappearance
Officially, Subhash Chandra Bose died in a plane crash over Taiwan, while flying to
Tokyo on 18 August 1945. It is believed that he was on route to the Soviet Union
in a Japanese plane when it crashed in Taiwan, burning him fatally. However, his
body was never recovered, and many theories have been put forward concerning his
possible survival. Several committees have been set up by the Government of
India to probe into this matter. No headway was made on this issue however. Bose's portrait hangs in the Indian Parliament |
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