Hyderabad: A key player in the Indian independence movement, Subhas Chandra Bose, honourably called "Netaji", was a revolutionary warrior for freedom. Every year on January 23, people celebrate Subhas Chandra Bose 'Jayanti' in honour of him. Earlier, the day was celebrated as 'Desh Prem Divas' .
The West Bengal government proposed to celebrate 'Desh Prem Diwas' on January 23. The government has declared that it will be observed as 'Parakram Divas' annually on January 2021. This day aims to instill a sense of patriotism in the nation's citizens, with a special focus on the youth, and inspire them to act with the same bravery and fortitude in the face of adversity that Netaji did.
How Parakram Diwas Started? 'Parakram Diwas' was declared by the Centre in 2021 to honour Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose on his 124th birth anniversary. The decision was taken in recognition of Bose's efforts to the Indian Independence cause. The meaning of 'Parakram Diwas' is 'Day of Valor' or 'Day of Courage'. On January 23, 2021, 'Parakram Diwas' was observed for the first time, with a number of activities held all over India.
Who was Subhas Chandra Bose? The name Subhash Chandra Bose evokes memories of an unbroken spirit of Indian history and patriotism. Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose's life story is one of struggle after suffering. This is the story of a young dreamer, who used his own perspective to tell the tale of consciousness, struggle, and triumph. He was a man, who will blow up the world with his hands, a man who will sacrifice his life for freedom, a man who talks of drilling a hole in heaven, a man who wants to accomplish his goals and will stop at nothing to get them. He quickly gathered an Army to fight against the British.
His Early Life - Janakinath Bose and Prabhavati Dutt had fourteen children in total, with Subhas Chandra Bose being the ninth. Bose was born on January 23, 1897, in Cuttack, Odisha. Bose, the son of a well-known and rich Bengali lawyer, attended the Scottish Churches College and Presidency College in then Calcutta (now Kolkata), where he was expelled in 1916 for his nationalist activities. He graduated in 1919.
His parents then sent him to Cambridge University in England to get ready for the Indian Civil Service. He passed the civil service exam in 1920, but he quickly returned to India in April 1921 after learning of the nationalist unrest in his home country. Throughout his career, Sarat Chandra Bose (1889-1950), the affluent lawyer and politician for the Indian National Congress (commonly known as the Congress Party) from Calcutta, provided him both emotional and financial support.
Political Activity & Netaji's Role in Indian Freedom Struggle:
Indian National Congress- Joining Mohandas K Gandhi's noncooperation movement, Bose helped transform the Indian National Congress into a powerful force in nonviolence. Gandhi advised Bose to work for a Bengali politician Chitta Ranjan Das. Bose was employed there as a volunteer commander for the Bengal Congress, a journalist, and a youth educator. With Das serving as mayor, he was named chief executive officer of the Calcutta Municipal Corporation in 1924. The newspaper 'Swaraj' was founded by him. Bose joined Jawaharlal Nehru as general secretary of the Congress party after being released from prison in 1927, and the two of them worked toward independence.
He formed a national planning council that created a comprehensive industrialisation strategy in 1938, following his election as president of the Indian National Congress. But Gandhian economic theory, which clung to the notion of cottage industries and the benefits of employing local resources, disagreed with this. Bose's vindication came from his 1939 reelection triumph over a Gandhian opponent.
The formation of Forward Bloc - Subhas Chandra Bose founded the Forward Bloc On May 3, 1939. Bose was forced to step down from his post as president of the Congress earlier because the Congress lacked a formal Left-wing clique to oppose the perceived right-wing support for Gandhi. He therefore believed that the creation of a new Left-wing party within the Congress organisation was desperately needed.
The Indian National Army (INA) or 'Azad Hind Fauz'- In 1943, he organised the Indian National Army (INA), also referred to as 'Azad Hind Fauj', which Rash Behari Bose had founded in 1942. The British decision to cease operations and withdraw back to their own area was greatly influenced by the INA's attack, even though it was only temporary. Ultimately, this contributed to the independence of India.
"We have a grim fight ahead of us because the enemy is powerful, unscrupulous, and ruthless," Subhas Chandra Bose told the Army.
His Disappearance & Death - He took over as leader of the Indian Independence Movement, which Rash Behari Bose had started, after arriving in Singapore in July 1943. At this point, Azad Hind Fauj gave him the nickname 'Netaji', which he is still frequently called by today. He was forced to return to Burma when the INA took control of the Andaman and Nicobar islands due to bad weather and Japan's and Germany's defeat in the Second World War. The Figgess Report (1946) and the Shah Nawaz Committee (1956) came to the conclusion that he was killed in a plane crash in Taipei, Taiwan on August 18, 1945. However, Bose's death could not be proven, according to the Mukherjee Commission (2005). The administration dismissed this report. despite the fact that it is generally accepted that he lived on for many years after that.
What Today's Young Generation Should Learn From Netaji? - Netaji always wished for the youth to share his vision of a better world and bigger character. Without the other, freedom would become meaningless and materialism would take precedence over freedom. But as Bose noted, without freedom, neither a person nor a nation can exist in dignity. He thought that the next generation should develop academically, morally, and with unflinching faith and resolve in the struggle for freedom and justice in their nation. For this reason, they ought to be willing to give up something in order to advance the nation.
In his book Dreams of Youth, Subhas Chandra Bose stated that "we have been born into this world to fulfil a purpose – to spread a message. We have come to this world, full of joy and the fullness of our hearts, to establish a truth, just as the sun rises to fill the earth with light, flowers bloom in the forest to spread their fragrance, and rivers rush to the sea to provide beautiful, refreshing rain. And that is to find the mysterious and unknowable reason for living, by reflection and active living, which is the only thing that may provide meaning to our otherwise meaningless existence."
Netaji's beliefs on freedom and social justice came solely from Indian traditions and culture, not from Western ideas. In a speech delivered in then Calcutta, Subhas Chandra Bose himself declared that no Indian youth would be blind adherents of any foreign ideology: LET THE YOUTHS OF INDIA UNITE. LET THE YOUTHS STRIVE FOR INDIA’S GLORY. Jai Hind!
