Today India will be celebrating the 125th birth anniversary of iconic freedom fighter Subhas Chandra Bose. Famously known as Netaji was an Indian Nationalist whose patriotism towards India is noteworthy.
‘Tum Mujhe Khoon Do, Main Tumhe Azadi Dunga’, was Netaji’s famously known slogan which still inspires many.
Early days of Subhas Chandra Bose
Netaji was born on 23rd January 1897, in Cuttack, Orissa. He was the child of Janakinath Bose and Prabhavati Devi. His father Janakinath Bose was a well-known lawyer and his mother Prabhavati Devi was a religious woman.
He was a brilliant student who had scored second position in the matriculation exam. Also from a very young age Netaji was influenced by the teachings of Swami Vivekananda and Ramakrishna.
Netaji did his schooling from the Protestant European School in Cuttack. He graduated from Presidency College. After which he was sent to the University of Cambridge in England to prepare for the Indian Civil Service.
Even Though, in 1920 he cracked the civil service examination, but in April 1921, after hearing about the outbreaks of disorder in his country, he resigned his candidacy and hurried back to India.
Netaji’s contribution towards the country
Netaji joined the Indian National Congress to serve his country. He joined the Noncooperation Movement, started by Gandhi under his influence.
Netaji started a newspaper called “Swaraj”. He had also written a book called “The Indian Struggle” which covers the Indian Independence movement between 1920 and 1942.
Bose was a revolutionary freedom fighter who had found the Azad Hind Army or Indian National Army. Netaji has been to jail several times for his revolutionary movements.
Bose was elected the president of Congress party where he worked along with Jawahar Lal Nehru.
Both had a more militant and left-wing approach to Independence, which became a reason for Bose’s differences with Gandhi and other Congress leaders.
Subhash Chandra Bose became part of the Indian Independence movement after his participation with the Civil Disobedience Movement for which he had even been arrested.
He was imprisoned 11 times for his ideologies and the use of force against the British. Bose was against the congress internal and foreign policy due to which he resigned even after being elected the president of the Indian National Congress twice.
Bose’s selfless contribution to India’s Independence Movement and organising and leading the Indian National Army is all-important.
However, Netaji too encountered failures several times, but with his struggles and dedication towards his mother land he converted those failures to triumph.
Bose after his differences with Gandhi went away to Germany and then to Japan. There he made his very own Indian National armed forces, also known as the Azad Hind Fauj to battle courageously against the British rule.
In order to inspire and motivate his army he used slogans like ‘Delhi Chalo’ and ‘Jai Hind’ which became quite famous. That’s when he said “Tum Mujhe Khoon Do Main Tumhe Azadi Dunga ” to make his motherland free from the law of the Britishers.
It is believed that Subhas Chandra Bose died in a plane crash on 18th August 1945. However, there are still many conspiracy theories behind the reason for his death.
Celebrating his 125th birth anniversary
Starting from the year 2022, the central government had decided to start the Republic Day celebrations from January 23 to include Bose’s birth anniversary. And the day will be celebrated as ‘Parakram Diwas’ (day of valour).
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had also announced the government’s plan to install a grand granite statue of Netaji at India Gate as “a symbol of India’s indebtedness to him”.
Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose was a warrior, who had to wage the freedom struggle. Thousands of people sacrificed their lives on Netaji’s call. He will always be an unforgettable national hero who fought for the country’s freedom struggle till his last breath.
