Interviews

Vanquishing The Great Leader: Netaji and

The story of Indias Experiments with Lies
Facts are facts and will not disappear on account of your
likes. -Jawaharlal Nehru
By S.B. Veda, The Global Calcuttan Magazine, www.globalcalcuttan.com

Below Subhas Bose and Jawaharlal Nehru, Indian National Congress Annual General Meeting, 1938

What the Indian masses remember on January
23rd, the Government of India labours to
forget: that a man named Subhas Chandra
Bose was born on this day, that he dedicated a
significant portion of his adult life to the
struggle for independence from British Rule,
and that his legend still never fails to inspire,
even as his disappearance continues to perplex.
That the government of India wants to erase
his memory from the public consciousness is
evidenced most recently by the response of the
Indian Home Ministry to a Right To
Information (RTI) request by an average citizen on Boses contribution to the Freedom Struggle: The
information is not available in the records. As implausible as it might sound, according to the Home Ministry
in 2011, they had no records on Netajis involvement in the freedom movement!

In fact, to this day, just two Indian states mark his birth anniversary with a public holiday, much less warrant
any notice from the Central Government.

For a government that seems not terribly interested in the events of the mans life or his contributions to the
nation, it is surprisingly obsessed with proving that his death occurred in a plane crash two years before Indias
birth, holding three inquiries into it, and making a failed attempt to bring his ashes home and get them
accepted by family members.

Why? And, and what really happened?

These are the key questions that former Indian Express reporter, Anuj Dhar examines in an extensively
researched new book on the mystery, appropriately titled Indias Biggest Cover-up, which was re-released in
an easier to read paperback called No Secrets in 2013. The interview, which follows is an amalgamation of
two meetings between the launces of each book.
_________________
My own personal journey with this story began when I was barely a teenager, and had just given a speech on
Netaji for an Indo-Canadian heritage language school in Ottawa. The daughter of an Indian diplomat corrected
my ending that nobody knows what happened to Bose after August, 1945. She claimed that his rivals in the
Congress Party, including Jawarhalal Nehru not only knew but had also arranged it so that Bose was never to
be seen or heard from again. I listened patiently but rubbished the thought only to have it recycled, some years
hence, when I learned that this girls father had been a highly placed intelligence officer for the Indian
Government (though not posted as such in Ottawa).

More than two decades later, her words ring through my head as I climb the darkened stairwell to a third floor
room of a little-known guest house in Kolkata. The hairs on my neck stiffen as the cloak and dagger meeting in
begins to make me nervous.

A stout bespectacled middle-aged man ushers me into a room where someone sits casually on a bed, matching
the picture Ive seen on Google Images of journalist and researcher, Anuj Dhar. I breathe a sigh of relief. But
it is short-lived.

Youre the Canadian? he asks.

I nod, and introduce myself.
Ive agreed to do this because youre not Indian Press. This wont be published in India will it?

Only Little India, I reply with a grin. He seems not much amused but makes a half-smile, anyway.

I have an agreement not to give interviews before the book launch. Only the press release is to be available to
Indian media ahead of time. So, if you sell this to a local paper, say tomorrow, youll get me in heaps of
trouble with the press, here, which is worse being in the bad books of the Government.

Wondering if I do, indeed, have a genuine scoop ahead of me, I sit down, and ask if I can record our session
for reference. Just dont put it on Youtube, Says the bespectacled usher in a tone that makes me think he is
not amused, either.

With the boundaries then drawn, I warily begin what evolves into an interview about a book that reads like a
mystery or thriller, only its on Indias modern history.
___________________
S.B.Veda: I was at a conference, recently, and a speaker began his talk by quoting from a letter written
in 1927 from Netaji to his elder brother in which he laments the politics of greed, corruption and
unbridled self-interest in Indian politics. The speaker remarked on what little has changed in politics
since, and I was amazed at the relevance of Bose to a South Indian business executive and author at an
IT Conference, eighty five-years later. So, why is Netaji still relevant, today?
Anuj Dhar: Because he was a young man who sacrificed a bright future in the coveted Indian Civil Service to
struggle against (the) oppressive rule of an imperialist power we dont see much of that sentiment, today;
because he united Indians of all religions, castes, creeds, linguistic groups and even political affiliations, and
encouraged their service irrespective of gender we dont see that kind of leadership, today; because was
under house arrest, he escaped and was hunted by the most powerful country in the world at the time; and
because his disappearance was never fully explained even by three public inquires. People wonder, too: what
if? Suppose he hadnt been exiled from the scene or vanquished from the freedom struggle? Would India be
different, today? By extension would we be different, as Indians? He represents what we could have been, and
maybe what we would have been. Maybe he embodies what we may yet have the chance to become. But
before we can move forward, completely, we need to learn the truth about what happened to him.
Which is?
Unfortunately, I cant claim to know, definitively. But probably, the Government of India knows, and is
suppressing this information. Ill get to that, later. Let me tell you what didnt happen: Netaji did not likely
die in a plane crash in Formosa in 1945. Even, the Taiwanese Government says sothey asserted to the
Mukherjee Commission that no evidence exists of a plane crash in Formosa (where Bose was alleged to have
died) at that time, and the commission received corroboration of this from documents obtained from the US
State Department.
What about the eye-witness testimony of the crash and his death?
Youre referring to Col. Habibur Rahman, who claimed to have seen his burnt body and Captain Yoshida
(Taneyoshi) and others. Aside from the fact that the testimony of these people are riddled with contradictions
and there was never any direct evidence of Netajis death not even a clear photograph, much less a death
certificate by a Japanese military doctor, which would have been required had he died under their treatment,
Rahman is exactly the kind of confidant of Bose to perpetrate a misinformation campaign at Netajis behest, to
camouflage his escape, which was planned with the Japanese.\
So, where did Netaji escape to, if he wasnt Tokyo-bound?
Well, four days after his death, he is spotted by an American war correspondent near Saigon, and this is
reported in the US at the time. Then, around a week later, the US learn that his planned destination was not
Tokyo but Manchuria at the Russian border. Then the following year, the British start receiving intelligence
Bose was not only alive but also in Russia.
And why Russia?
Netajis reading of international relations was very adept. He could see an impending rift between the Soviets
and the British. His political philosophy vis--vis opposing the British has never been in disputethat the
enemy of my enemy is my friend. He saw an opportunity in the friction between the two cagey allies and rival
world powers, and set about biding his time as Gandhi himself put it, in Stalins Soviet Union.
Gandhi believed he was alive?
He not only believed it; he knew it. In1946 while addressing Congress faithful, he said his inner voice had
convinced him that Subhas was alive and that even if his ashes were brought before him, Gandiji would not
believe he was dead. In fact, we learned later that his inner voice was actually an intelligence report. People
like think of Gandhi as a spiritual leader though he was also a lawyer by profession; his beliefs were not based
on blind faith but rather fact, evidence. There is another interesting account, by the way, of a journalist, who
witnessed Gandhiji rebuking both Nehru and Patel, and saying how he wished the other brother, the rebellious
son, Subhas would return. When the journalist commented that Netaji was dead. Gandhi responded angrily
no he is not he is in Russia!.
Gandhi used the idea of Bose returning to try and reign-in the Congress leadershipNehru and Patel.
This was a tactic invoking Netajis name. The party, itself (Congress) used Boses legend whenever it was
convenient. Though the INA (revolutionary Army of Bose) was has been ridiculed since by Congress and
their favoured academics, the INA trials were what exploded British rule in the minds of the people. Bose and
his revolutionary army had captured the collective imaginationand what would be better than the hero
returning from exile to claim the mantle of leadership? Of coursethis was a great fear of both the British and
Boses political rivals.
But that never happened. If he was alive, why didnt he return?
Well there are two theories about this. One is that the Russians held him in captivity to hold over Nehrus
government to gain his cooperation. The other is that he did return but decided to live in anonymity as a
monk, named Bhagwanji Gumnami Baba in Uttar Pradesh. While evidence exists to support both theories,
those who believe he died in a Soviet prison would say that the monk evidence is a smokescreen to distract
from the Russian angle, though I find it hard to discount the monk angle. I have considered both, and go
through the evidence of both theories in the book, and examine their respective plausibility.
One would think that given the friendship between Delhi and Moscow, it shouldnt be difficult to gain
their cooperation in revealing whether Bose was in Soviet Russia. Many KGB files were declassified
after the fall of the Soviet Union, so why hasnt the Russian angle been corroborated?
AD: It has been corroborated in terms of hearsay by ex-KGB operatives to Indian researchers, among them Dr.
Purabi Roy of the Asiatic Society, who went to the Russian Federation after the collapse of the Soviet
Union. She was advised that the documents verifying their claims could be released at the request of the
Government of India because, you see, this was a time when many previously secret KGB documents were
being brought to the public domain. Unfortunately, our government didnt follow through. It was a missed
opportunity when an Anti-Soviet Yeltsin government was in power.
I assume then, that the Indian Government ignored the request?
They paid it lip-service to it. Lets take the example, which I cite in the book of Wallenberg. He was a
Swedish national, who was like Oscar Schindler in that he saved many Jews from the Nazis. He was only the
second non-Americansomeone not born in America to be made an honorary citizen for his efforts, etc..
News comes that Wallenberg has died in an accident in 1946. Then it comes out that nohe didnt die in an
accident; he was really in a Russian prison a Siberian (prison) camp, in fact. So, the moment news starts
trickling in that he is alive, his family and his government react in a most natural way because they have no
bad intention. His mother and half-sister and half-brother approach the Swedish Prime Minister and they say
this man was working for you, he was in your employ, so please find out what happened to him. Now, the
reaction of the Swedes is very natural, they ask their ambassador in Moscow to take the matter up with the
Russians at the highest levels. So, they have a highest level approach. Its a very natural thing when nations
want to seriously engage with one another. And, mind you, the Swedes did not have very good diplomatic
relations with Russia at the timecertainly nothing like the closeness our country has to Russia. The matter is
brought up at the highest levels during when the two nations communicate at every juncture. The result is that
in 1947, after saying that an exhaustive search was conducted, the Russians confirmed that Wallenberg was not
present in their territory. But the hearsay stories that Wallenberg is alive in a prison in the Soviet Union
continue. And this is all mere hearsay, mind youno direct evidence is presented to the Swedes but they
persist in taking up the issue at the highest levels whenever new a story comes out. Then in 1957, the Swedish
Prime Minister is in Russia, and he tells the Russians Wallenberg has become a really big issue for
us. Though, Sweden did not have a statesman at the helm like uswe supposedly had world leaders, larger
than life figures leading the country but Sweden clearly did not. And yet, would you believe that in 1957
Russia did an about-face and said that Wallenberg was in Russia, that he died at KGB headquarters of a heart
attack while under interrogation? Obviously you dont die of a heart attack by natural causes at age 39, so the
interrogation went too far. I can cite other similar cases where the Russians stonewall and then due to
diplomatic pressure at the highest levels, relent. But we, a country who are ruled by statesmenthese
statesmen, who from 1947 until the break-up of the Soviet Union never asked the question. Despite having all
these intelligence reports from the British and the Americans, Nehru called them cock and bull stories and
refused to act. Then in the 1990s, after Russians, themselves started suggesting that Subhas was there, Indian
researchers asked the government to take up the matter. Instead of issuing a even a demarche (the first step in
showing that youre serious about a matter with another country) let alone take the matter up at the highest
levels, like the Swedes, the government issues a Note Verbal, which is a third person diplomatic
communication between two nationsa very low-level interaction. No high officials, much less the foreign
minister or head of government are in any way involved. Think about it, a little issue like Pranab Mukherjee
as foreign minister was being checked (by security) at some airport in Russia warranted an Indian demarche
but in the Bose matter, the Indian government doesnt think it is as important as a Minister going through
security at an airport!
So how did the Russians respond to the Note Verbal?
They stonewalled, just as they did with the Swedes but instead of persisting or elevating matters, the Foreign
Ministry officials conclude in a secret document, excerpt of which I paste in the book that It would be
unrealistic for us to expect the Russians to give our scholars access to KGB archives. So, they suggest that
what would be appropriate is to ask the Russians to make a search of their archives on our behalf, and that the
reasonable course of action would be to ask the Indian Ambassador in Moscow to make a suitable demarche to
Russian authorities on this matter. Now, this recommendation is seen by then External Affairs Minister,
Honourable Pranab Mukherjee, now our President, and he scrawls a note to the Joint Secretaries and Foreign
Secretary Need to discuss, urgently. And they discuss and then conveniently all talk of issuing a demarche
is forgotten. This is called the Black Magic of Bengal. What good is it being a Bengali when he (Mukherjee) is
unwilling to take up the case on behalf of the most famous Bengali leader? He should have personally taken up
the matter with his counterpart in Russia if he cared about it. Instead, he scuttles the issuance of even a
demarche. And he dares to flaunt his Bengali credentials!
What would have been the harm in asking from Indias point of view?
Why would you ask when you know the answer? And rather, dont want it to be revealed. Its too dangerous a
fact to reveal. In fact, there are many instances of the Indian Government lying publicly about an issue and
then revealing the truth later on. One example is secret defense cooperation with Israel, especially in the
nuclear area, that is now matter-of-factly acknowledged. But the idea that Bose was imprisoned by the
Russians and possibly used as leverage to get their way with Nehru and his successors this would explode
the myth of Indian statesmanship, destroy the moral superiority of freedom struggle era Congress politicians,
and maybe be the one thing that could break the stranglehold of the Congress party by a single family.
Whats the solution?
AD: We have to keep a popular movement going to make public all the files related to Netaji. No public
inquiry into Netajis death would have been convened if not for public pressure. When we submitted RTIs on
Subhass disappearance, only a handful of documents were provided. There are many documents, which have
been held back by the government on the grounds that it could affect relations with foreign
governments. What possible problem difficulties could it cause unless the Netaji was, indeed, used as a
hostage?
So, youre supporting the view that saying he died in a Russian prison?
He may well have been there but I dont believe he met his end there. The Faizabad monk, Bhagwanji or
Gumnami Baba who claimed to be Netaji, and died in 1985 had a lot of relics in his possession that someone
like Netaji would have, and the descriptions match. Netajis family members have identified some as his likely
possessions. Moreover, he had made notes in some of the books, and an independent handwriting expert
concluded that the writing is Netajis, though this is disputed by Government hand-writing experts. So, its
difficult to reach a conclusion until we see all the documentation. One cannot dismiss this angle, and I pay
ample attention to it in the book.
But didnt DNA testing using sampling from a relative prove that the monk was not Netaji?
The testing was done by a government lab. I think to be sure, one must commission testing at a private
independent lab. Only then would such a test have credibility. After all, if one believes that the Indian
government is trying to cover up that Netaji didnt die in an air crash, why would such a government, why
would one trust this same government to conduct the tests fairly?
I assume you will continue your campaign to reveal the truth until that time?
Absolutely. This is Indias JFK mystery, and the files just need to be freed.
__________
Not long after this interview was conducted, members of Netajis family wrote to Chief Minister of West
Bengal, Mamata Banerjee urging her to take up the matter of declassifying the files with Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh. True to form, there is yet to be any action on this request.
Many of Netajis descendants have started an organization called Open Platform to advocate declassification
of government files pertaining to Netaji and his disappearnce.