True honour to Netaji would be to follow his ideology, says his family

While his death is still shrouded in mystery and stories around his disappearance now part of popular folklore Netaji Subhash Chandra Bosersquos family and those closely researching his life and work say the way to truly honour him is by following his ideology of inclusivity and secularism and to once and for all unveil the suspense surrounding his demiseThe Union government on Friday had announced that a grand statue of Bose the founder of lsquoAzad Hind Faujrsquo will be installed at India Gate in the national capital as a symbol of Indiarsquos ldquoindebtednessrdquo to himTill the statue made of granite is completed a hologram statue of his would be present at the same place Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced adding that he will unveil the hologram statue on January 23 the birth anniversary of BoseldquoMy father dreamt of an India where all religions coexist peacefully The statue shouldnrsquot be the only tribute to Netaji we must also honour his valuesrdquo Anita BosePfaff said hours after the announcement was made by ModiBosersquos grandnephew Chandra Kumar Bose urged the government to implement the freedom fighterrsquos ideology in the countryldquoNetaji cannot be honoured just by building his statue setting up a museum or making a tableau A towering personality like Netaji can only be honoured by following and implementing his inclusive ideology of uniting all communities to build India that he envisionedrdquo he saidWhile it is believed that Bose died more than 70 years ago questions regarding the circumstances of his demise mdash the time year and location of his passing away mdash are still shrouded in mysteryIn fact the TMC has demanded that the Centre declassify files on Bosersquos disappearance in 1945 and said that ashes preserved at a temple in Japan believed to be that of the freedom fighter should be sent for DNA analysisAnuj Dhar who has closely researched Bosersquos life and the mystery of his death and coauthored Conundrum Subhas Bosersquos Life After Death told PTI that while the location of the statue in the heart of the national capital was a magnificent tribute to the iconic leader it was time to unravel the mystery behind his deathldquoThe statue will be at the heart of Delhi and is the greatest tribute to Netajirsquos legacy The cumulative findings of all that has been released so far on him is that he was the reason that India became free We expect that in time to come the issues surrounding his death will be addressedldquoIn fact never has the time been so good for the declassification of all the files For the first time both the government at the Centre and that in the state are not hostile to Netaji They are on the same page on the issue The TMC has also demanded the declassification of files on Netajirsquos disappearance in 1945 and his deathrdquo Dhar saidChandrachur Ghose the author of Bose The Untold Story of an Inconvenient Nationalist and coauthor of Conundrum Subhas Bosersquos Life After Death agrees that the installation of the statue has symbolic importance as it is an official acknowledgment of Bosersquos position in the pantheon of freedom fightersldquoThe treatment accorded to Netaji in independent India has had two aspects Firstly always marginalised official recognition was never given to the fact that the exit of the British Raj was accelerated by his activities Secondly successive governments have kept the question of his fate under wraps Even the current NDA government which was vociferous on this issue against the previous government has strangely decided to follow the UPA lineldquoNow that the first issue has been addressed by giving his statue the pride of place making clear his position in the pantheon of national icons it is time to address the second issuerdquo Ghose saidldquoThe NDA government must reopen the case of Netajirsquos fate and bring closure to it by declassifying all intelligence files and appointing a multidisciplinary empowered committee if necessary The controversy over this mystery should not be allowed to linger onrdquo he addedWhile historians would want the politics around Bose to take a backseat the announcement of the installation of the statue has sparked a fresh spat on his lifeldquoPerhaps we will take some time to realise how stupendous this act is of installing Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose to the pedestal where the statue of King Emperor George V once stood Perhaps the PMrsquos detractors have understood That is why they are bleating rsquoplaying politicsrsquordquo said BJP leader and former Governor of Meghalaya and Tripura Tathagata RayldquoEver since Haripura Congress in 1938 and then his falling out with Mohandas Gandhi the mainstream politicians of India have only been running down Netaji This is the first time his greatness is being brought to the notice of the nationrdquo he addedTMC Rajya Sabha MP Jawhar Sircar questioned if the BJP was trying to ldquohijackrdquo BoseldquoIf Modi is so keen to hijack a staunchly secular Netaji mdash let him first adopt the 3 ideals Bose set for his Azad Hind Fauj lsquoItmadrsquo lsquoFaithrsquo lsquoIttefaqrsquo lsquoUnityrsquo and lsquoKurbani SacrificerdquoThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever