Subhash Chandra Bose
Subhash Chandra Bose also referred to as Netaji, was a well-known Indian nationalist who was instrumental in the country’s fight for independence from British rule. On January 23, 1897, he was born into a prosperous family in Cuttack, Odisha. Bose had a magnetic personality that motivated many Indians to fight for their independence.
After completing his education in India, Bose moved to England to continue his studies. He was qualified for the Indian Civil Service but left in 1921 to join the Indian National Congress, which was leading the freedom movement. He later returned to India.
Bose advanced swiftly through Congress’s ranks to become one of its most important figures. He quickly lost faith in the party’s ideologies and lack of commitment to total independence from British rule, though. He founded the Forward Block in 1939, a radical political group that pushed for total independence from the British Empire.
Bose thought that the Axis powers could aid in the liberation of India during World War II. He departed India in 1941 and eventually made his way to Germany, where he met Adolf Hitler, via Afghanistan, Russia, and Japan. With the aid of Japanese military assistance, Bose convinced Hitler to support India’s fight for independence and established the Indian National Army (INA).
The INA consisted of Indian soldiers who had been captured by the Japanese in Southeast Asia and were subsequently trained and organized into an army that fought alongside the Japanese against the British in Burma and northeastern India. Bose’s leadership and inspirational speeches motivated the INA soldiers to fight for their country’s freedom.
But Bose’s hopes for Indian independence were dashed when he passed away unexpectedly in a plane crash in August 1945. Even though the cause of his death is unknown, his leadership of the revolution endures. Every year on January 23, which is recognized as Netaji Jayanti, Bose’s contributions to India’s freedom struggle are honored.