Subhas Chandra Bose temple inaugurated in Varanasi

A temple built in the name of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose in Varanasi was inaugurated on Thursday which also happens to be the 123rd birth anniversary of the iconic freedom fighter. The temple will have a Dalit woman as the chief priest.

Varanasi: Senior RSS leader Indresh Kumar on Thursday inaugurated a temple dedicated to Subhas Chandra Bose in Varanasi.

The temple, located in Subhash Bhawan on Azad Hind Marg, was inaugurated on the occasion of the leader's 123rd birth anniversary.

The temple, sources said, will have a Dalit woman as the chief priest and the morning and evening ''aarti'' will be held with a prayer to Bharat Mata.

Indresh Kumar said that the temple was a befitting tribute to Bose who played a key role in the freedom movement.

The temple is located in the front yard of the Subhash Bhawan and has a life-size black granite statue of Subhas Chandra Bose. The stairs around the temple are painted in red and white.

"The red colour symbolizes revolution while white is for peace and black is for strength," said Dr Rajiv of Banaras Hindu University, who is responsible for the temple being constructed.

He said that the purpose of the temple was to inculcate a feeling of patriotism among people and keep the memory of Netaji alive.

The significance of the Subhas temple in Varanasi lies in the fact that the holy city has a large Bengali population. The maximum number of widows, who come to Varanasi to spend the last days of their lives, are from West Bengal.

The holy city is often referred to as mini-Bengal.