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Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Jayanti: According to documents declassified by Modi government, successive governments believed that Bose was killed in an air crash in 1945 but never went public with this assessment for fear of a public backlash.
Subhash Chandra Bose Birth Anniversary: His daughter appealed to bring Netaji’s mortal remains back from ‘exile’.
Anita Bose Pfaff, daughter of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, has urged the central government to bring back her father’s mortal remains from Japan’s Tokyo, highlighting that for decades most Indian government either “hesitated or refused” to bring back Bose’s mortal remains.
Pfaff’s plea to bring Subhas Chandra Bose’s mortal remains back from ‘exile’ was made on the leader’s 128th birth anniversary, which is celebrated as Parakram Diwas on January 23 every year. Netaji’s ashes have been lying at Renkoji Temple in Tokyo for the past eight decades.
According to documents declassified by the Narendra Modi government in 2016, successive governments believed that Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose was killed in an air crash in August 1945 but never went public with this assessment for fear of a public backlash.
At one point, then Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao had to withdraw his announcement to award a Bharat Ratna to Netaji posthumously after criticism that this amounted to the government confirming that the INA chief had indeed died.
At one point, then Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao had to withdraw his announcement to award a Bharat Ratna to Netaji posthumously after criticism that this amounted to the government confirming that the INA chief had indeed died.
Three years later, the government took the position in its internal papers, with a Cabinet note of February 6, 1995, signed by then home secretary K Padmanabaiah, stating: “There seems to be no scope for doubt that he died in the air crash of 18th August 1945 at Taihoku. Government of India has already accepted this position. There is no evidence whatsoever to the contrary.”
Pointing out such “hesitations”, Pfaff said, “For decades most Indian governments hesitated – or refused – to welcome his mortal remains back home. The priests of Renkoji Temple and the Japanese government were ready, willing and eager to let his remains return to his motherland.”
“Many Indians still remember and honour the heroes of India’s independence struggle. Many freedom fighters had to flee their country during the colonial rule to avoid persecution and to continue the struggle from abroad. Many of them never returned to their motherland. Their remains remained in foreign lands. Netaji’s remains, too, were given a ‘temporary’ home in Renkoji Temple in Tokyo, Japan,” she further wrote in a press statement.
Pfaff said, “Many people, also members of his own family, hoped he did not die on Aug 18, 1945, that he could escape persecution and death once again. Meanwhile, most, if not all, documents pertaining to Netaji’s death —
including 11 reports on investigations of the event — became available to the public. We must accept he died on that day, following an airplane crash on take-off in Taipei, Taiwan.”
She requested to not keep Netaji exiled any longer. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid homage to Subhas Chandra Bose, calling him an epitome of courage and grit.
Today, on Parakram Diwas, I pay homage to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. His contribution to India’s freedom movement is unparalleled. He epitomised courage and grit. His vision continues to motivate us as we work towards building the India he envisioned. pic.twitter.com/HrXmyrgHvH— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) January 23, 2025
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath recalled “Tum mujhe khoon do, mein tumhe azadi dunga” (You give me blood, I will give you freedom) slogan by Netaji. CM Yogi said that during the freedom struggle, the slogan became a mantra for the people of the country.
