Netaji: From no-win to never-die zone

The tragedy of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose was that despite extraordinary intelligence and efforts, he landed in a no-win situation again and again. How did the circumstances in Germany, Italy and Japan shape this tragedy?

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The government of Japan had officially announced the accidental death of Subhas Chandra Bose on August 18, 1945. This was accepted by the British government. But a section of the Indians still refuses to accept and persistently demands clarification. Some of these people also firmly believe that Bose had gone to the Soviet Union. It is true that before and immediately after the surrender of Japan, Bose had asked the Japanese authorities to facilitate his journey to Russia. He had even offered to mediate between the Soviet Union and Japan to bring about a solution on the disputed Manchuria. Japan, of course, rejected the idea. 

Bose then asked the Japanese to take him at least to the Manchuria border. He said he would sneak into the Russian territory, if he was refused permission. That is the reason why he was in that ill-fated plane. But this is not a proof of Bose reaching and staying in the Soviet Union. Somehow he had failed to establish any relations with the Soviet Union. 

In ‘The Lost Hero’ Mihir Bose writes that in 1933, when Netaji was in Prague and Warsaw, he wanted to go to Moscow, but the Soviets never showed any enthusiasm, so he set off with some misgivings for Berlin. In 1937 Netaji had told Rajani Palm-Dutt, a British Communist leader, that the communists discarded nationalism, which he held in high esteem. 

In 1941, after escaping from India, he had first tried to go to the Soviet Union from Afghanistan with the help of Bhagat Ram Talwar, a communist, but the Russians showed no interest. So he decided to go to Germany. 

However, Bose had fundamental objections to some of the tenets of communism. In a speech in Tokyo in 1944, he said Marxism merely stressed the materialistic aspects of life. No wonder his relations with the Soviet Union remained frosty. 

In contrast, when Bose was the president of the Congress, he had met the top ranking officials of the National Socialist Party of Germany in Bombay in 1939. It was arranged by Narahari Govind Ganpuley, a businessman living in Germany for some years. In his book, ‘Netaji in Germany’ Ganpuley writes that without knowing the facts, some Indian newspapers were criticizing the National Socialist Party of Germany for being racist. 

Bose had good relations with Mussolini, whom he presented a copy of his book ‘The Indian Struggle.’It is true that Bose had advocated an amalgam of communism and Fascism which he termed as Samyawad. But it only created confusion.

Bose went to Germany with the hope that it would continue its collaboration with Russia; and Italy and Japan would join that front. He thought this mighty force would launch a military offensive against the British empire, which would make India free. 

However, with the German invasion of Russia, the long cherished dream of Bose was shattered. So he decided to join hands with the Japanese. He was encouraged when he heard that Japanese officers had helped to organise the defecting Indian soldiers.

But with the increasing might of the Americans and the British, Japan’s defeat was inevitable. Nevertheless, Bose, who was an eternal optimist, envisaged that the communist Russia being fundamentally opposed to imperialism, would intervene militarily to free India from the British rule. Even if Bose had survived and reached Moscow, there was no chance of achieving his stated goal.

Bose was disillusioned by the policy of Hitler and disheartened by the defeat of Japan. Since he had not studied Hitler's overall strategy, he was shocked when he discovered that the Soviet Union was Hitler's main target, not Britain. Also, he had not evaluated the military might of Japan objectively, which was not strong enough to fight the joint forces of Britain and America. 

Russia had lost more than 40 million civilians and military personnel in the war; a vast territory was devastated and a large number of factories destroyed. Hence, the Russian leaders were bound to concentrate on the reconstruction of their own country. Moreover, Stalin had fought with Trotsky and won the party's approval for Socialism in one country and making it strong. The end of the war gave Stalin a chance to put his principles into practice.

It must also be remembered that though Stalin wanted to spread communism worldwide, he never sent military divisions to any country. Even when a civil war broke out in Spain, Stalin’s contribution was moderate. 

Russian military, though ready and alert, never entered the Eastern European countries, though most of those states came under the Communist regime after the war. Other political parties in those countries were practically defunct, while the Communist parties had been active against the Nazis. So it was easy for them to capture power. 

In Italy, as well as France, the communist party had failed to win, despite significant support. Stalin did not intervene in either country. He, of course, imposed strict control on those so called People's Democracies. Though North Korean Communist leader urged Stalin to help militarily and bring about the communist rule, Stalin did not budge. Since Mao was eager to fight, Stalin consented for Mao's intervention and sent help in other ways.

It will be seen that besides external help, Stalin always insisted on the inner strength of the concerned state parties or forces. It is said that during the war, when a suggestion came up to obtain the blessings of the Pope, Stalin immediately asked how many divisions Pope had. 

So how was Bose equipped militarily? We get some idea of the state of affairs of the Legion functioning in Germany from an introduction to Ganpuley's book by ACN Nambiar, who was the deputy of Bose in the West. He wrote: “Out of the total of about 15,000 Indian war prisoners, 4,000 were enrolled. It was, however, clear enough that the effective employment of the legion outside would prove neither very advantageous nor quite feasible.” 

In the East the state was slightly better but not up to mark. The political situation in India had changed considerably in the course of five years after the adoption of the Pakistan resolution by the Muslim League in 1940. By 1945 Punjab and Bengal were  gripped by communal riots. Because of this Congress started veering towards the plan of Partition. In fact, the Hindu Mahasabha had adopted a resolution opting for Partition. This was not an inviting situation, not only for the Soviet army but for any army. Thus, Subhas Bose was caught in a no-win situation again.

When we review the whole saga, we are amazed and sad to find such a highly talented person coming to such a pass. “The character is destiny” is the famous comment made by the well-known Shakespearian critic AC Bradley. That might be the answer.

The writer is a former editor of Maharashtra Times. 

The views expressed are personal