In recent news, the central government of India has declared that Subhas Chandra Bose Jayanti, falling on the 23rd of January, will be celebrated as ‘Parakram Diwas’. The Prime Minister heads a high-level committee tasked with planning year-round celebrations to honor Subhas Chandra Bose’s anniversary. A new commendation, the Subhash Chandra Bose Aapda Prabandhan Puraskaar, has been instituted by the government. This award recognizes exemplary efforts by individuals and organizations in disaster management.
Early Life and Career Beginnings
Subhas Chandra Bose was born on the 23rd of January in 1897, in Cuttack, situated in the Orissa Division of the Bengal Province. His parents were Prabhavati Dutt Bose and Janakinath Bose. Bose cleared the Indian Civil Services (ICS) examination in 1919, but chose to resign later on. He drew heavy inspiration from Vivekananda’s teachings, regarding him as his spiritual Guru. His political mentor was Chittaranjan Das.
Association with the Congress Party
Bose was a strong advocate for unqualified swaraj (independence). He voiced opposition to the Motilal Nehru Report that promoted the idea of dominion status for India. He took an active role in the Salt Satyagraha of 1930 and fervently contested the suspension of the Civil Disobedience Movement and the signing of the Gandhi-Irwin Pact in 1931. During the 1930s, he closely aligned with the left politics in Congress along with contemporaries such as Jawaharlal Nehru and M.N. Roy. Bose significantly won the congress presidential elections twice, at Haripura in 1938 and Tripuri in 1939, even defeating Gandhi’s candidate Pattabhi Sitarammayya. After leaving congress due to ideological differences with Gandhi, Bose formed a new party, ‘the Forward Bloc’, aimed to coalesce the political left, especially in his home state, Bengal.
Formation of the Indian National Army
In July 1943, Bose arrived in Japanese-controlled Singapore from Germany. It is here that he delivered the famous call, ‘Delhi Chalo’, announcing the formation of the Azad Hind Government and the Indian National Army (INA) on 21st October 1943. The INA was initially formed under Mohan Singh and Japanese Major Iwaichi Fujiwara. It comprised Indian prisoners of war from the British-Indian Army captured by Japan in the Malayan campaign and at Singapore. Eventually, civilians from South-East Asia also joined the INA, causing its strength to grow to 50,000. The INA waged battles against allied forces in 1944 within India’s borders, in Imphal, and also in Burma. Post-war, when the British decided to put the INA men on trial in November 1945, it caused enormous protests across the country.
